Leading online advertising company DoubleClick Inc. cut some of its media staff yesterday, reportedly due to the sharp downturn in the ad market. The news should not take anyone by surprise. Last week the company posted a wider third quarter net loss, and revenues fell 31%. CEO Kevin Ryan said the company could obtain profitability next year through stringent cost cutting, including layoffs during the fourth quarter. According to company spokesperson Jennifer Blum, the layoffs in no way support rumors that the division is in danger of closing altogether. In fact, she said, the structure of the business is not at all impacted by the layoffs and the company's relationships with advertisers and publishers will not change. Blum explained that the media group, one of the company’s five strategic business units, employed about 90 people, and all jobs that were eliminated yesterday were support positions. She declined to give the exact number of layoffs, but said it is not significant. The company’s official statement read: "As we stated on last week's earning call, DoubleClick plans to be profitable for the full-year of 2002. In line with that commitment, we stated that we were going to be taking steps to cut expenses and to run our businesses more efficiently. The steps we took yesterday in our media division are absolutely in line with that commitment. As a result, we have greatly increased the percentage of people associated with increasing revenue in that division." DoubleClick is the latest addition to the list of networks that have tweaked their media businesses to focus on the technology side of online advertising. In late August, Engage, Inc., one of DoubleClick’s closest competitors, entered into discussions with potential buyers for its media business, and eliminated approximately 100 media-related jobs.
The young Superman tale "Smallville" proved to be more powerful than a locomotive Tuesday, premiering to some of the best ratings in the WB network's seven-year history. Tuesday also saw continued boffo ratings for the CBS dramas, more good news for rookie comedies "Undeclared" (Fox) and "Scrubs" (NBC), and slight improvement for a beleaguered ABC. According to Nielsen Media Research, the 68-minute premiere of the critically acclaimed "Smallville" (9:00-10:08 p.m.) attracted the largest audience ever for a series premiere on the WB (8.35 million viewers) -- outdrawing ABC's comedies and Fox's "Love Cruise" to finish third for the hour. It also bagged the best 18-49 rating for a WB series premiere (3.8 rating, 9 share) as well as the best score for any episode of any series in the WB's history among adults 18-34 (4.5/12), men 18-34 (5.0/14) and men 18-49 (3.9/10). The strong male demos are especially encouraging for the heavily femme WB, home of "Felicity" and "7th Heaven." "Smallville" won its hour in demos such as persons 12-34 (4.4/12), men 18-34 (5.0/14) and teens (4.1/15), growing through its broadcast. The WB's "Gilmore Girls" (5.99 million, 2.4/6 in adults 18-49) also did well, improving in several categories from its strong second season premiere a week earlier. CBS won the night in its target adults 25-54 demographic for a second consecutive week (5.6/13) and tied for second with NBC in 18-49 (4.4/11), just 1 share behind first-place Fox (4.6/12). CBS also continued its domination on the night in total viewers, with each drama winning its hour. Despite increased drama competition from "Smallville," rookie hit "The Guardian" drew the largest audience since its premiere (15.08 million) and was second to NBC's comedies in adults 25-54 (4.9/11). "JAG" (17.27 million), the most-watched show of the night, and "Judging Amy" (season-high 16.06 million) both topped their hours in adults 25-54, with "Amy" also winning in 18-49 (4.8/12). Fox received strong ratings for its Tuesday comedies "That '70s Show" (10.27 million, 5.5/15 in 18-49) and "Undeclared" (8.49 million, 4.8/12), both of which won their slots in 18-49 and 18-34. "Undeclared" has held onto 90% or more of its lead-in every week. Fox clinched the night in 18-49 -- its first Tuesday victory of the season -- when reality series "Love Cruise" wrapped with the best numbers of its seven-episode run (7.26 million, 4.1/10 in 18-49). NBC's "Scrubs" (12.71 million, 5.8/14 in 18-49) also continues to look good, retaining 92% of its "Frasier" 18-49 lead-in (5.8 vs. 6.3) and 94% in 18-34 (4.7 vs. 5.0). It won its half-hour in adults 18-49 for a third straight week. But NBC's "Emeril" fell to new lows in its fourth outing (6.70 million, 2.6/7 in 18-49), dropping 8 shares behind Fox's "'70s Show" in 18-49. ABC's revamped lineup improved by 9% week to week in both adults 18-49 and total viewers but remained fourth in the demo. "Spin City" (7.68 million, 3.9/9 in 18-49) pulled ABC to within 6 shares of comedy rival "Frasier" (down from last week's 9-share disadvantage with "Bob Patterson"), and in the less competitive 9:30 slot, "Bob" (7.18 million, 3.3/8) improved vs. the previous week. At 10, "Philly" added viewers week to week (to 9.30 million), but declined another tick in 18-49 (to a 3.7 rating). UPN's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (6.03 million, 2.8/8 in 18-49) improved week to week, topping the WB's "Gilmore Girls" (5.99 million, 2.4/6). "Buffy" got the best of the war with WB in adults 18-34 (3.5/10 vs. 2.8/8), with "Gilmore" doing better among women (3.9 vs. 3.7) and "Buffy" better among men (3.3 vs. 1.7). But at 9, UPN's "Roswell" (3.03 million, 1.2/3 in 18-49) clearly felt the effects of "Smallville," slipping 29% week to week in 18-49. -- Variety
To promote a new book, a Sci Fi publisher tried an unusual form of advertising -- it talked up the book in Internet forums and discussion groups. Newgate Internet, a Sausalito, CA company, specializes in this kind of promotion and ran it for the publisher, which it declined to name for this article. The program, launched earlier this year, ran for two months, and succeeded in spurring interest in the book, which made The New York Times bestseller list, according to company president Tom Dugan. He calls the technique grass roots marketing, because it is literally word of mouth. Newgate representatives visit the discussion groups and post messages about the products in an effort to get group members to talk about them, tell their friends about them and ultimately buy them. The potential audience is vast. "There are close to a million different forums on the Net," Dugan says, noting they can be found at Gogol.com and many other sites. The company doesn't go to Internet chat rooms, which are teen oriented. Instead, they use forums and discussion groups, which are available on the Net on every conceivable topic. They don't operate as live chats, but as places where members can go to post messages and exchange email with other members. Newgate starts each campaign by researching its database of 400,000 discussion groups and forums to find the ones that relate to its clients business. "Then we monitor them to see the flavor of the discussion and participate. We mention the products in a subtle way. Commercial messaging doesn't work," Dugan says. Newgate's campaign for the publisher reached several hundred discussion groups and forums and ran right after the book had been published. There was no heavy advertising for the book and no online conversation about it before the campaign began, so it may have been instrumental in drumming up interest. Among Newgate's other clients are Ubid.com, the Internet auction site, and Paramount Studios. Ubid launched itself with a Newgate campaign that went to mass sites like Yahoo and AOL as well as niche sites, such as news groups devoted to the specific products the company sells. "It was a good kick start to our existence," says Brian Williams, a Ubid spokesman. Paramount used Newgate to promote Star Trek: First Contact. The campaign went to over 400 film discussion groups, forums and Web sites. The campaign promoted visits to the Paramount Web site. The cost of this kind of promotion is low in comparison with other forms of advertising, Dugan says. Costs are based on the duration of the campaigns and the size of the audience they reach. Marissa Gluck, a Jupiter Media Metrix analyst, understands the appeal of forum and discussion group advertising, but warns marketers to be careful. "You don't want to come off seeming crass," she says, noting that some marketers turn group members off by promoting products too strongly. A grass roots campaign for The Blair Witch Project generated complaints from fans who believed the studio was misrepresenting itself, she says. Group members are very dedicated so you need to be cautious and test the waters. You don't want them to bad mouth you," Gluck says.