The recent NewFronts sparked a lot of interest and subsequent debate about the value of digital video advertising. It was exciting to read about all of the publisher presentations and hear about the parties. Apparently Snoop Dogg was in the house. Post hysteria and hangovers, two "open letters" appeared in the digital advertising trades. The first was from a group of high profile digital buying directors. They shared succinct points for "publishers" to consider in order for digital video advertising to improve and prosper. Immediately responding to this letter with an "open letter" of his own was IAB President-CEO Randall ...» 2 Comments
Timothy Cook, Apple's embattled CEO, announced that Apple iMacs are now available for sale at all New Jersey Turnpike rest stops. The deal sent shockwaves from Exit 18W all the way down to Exit 1.» 8 Comments
Mention the word "optimization" in the online advertising world, and images of the ad operations team instantly come to mind. However, the combination of new technologies, evolving campaign success metrics and increasing advertiser demands means that optimization can no longer fall solely on the ad ops teams' shoulders. Rather, in today's ecosystem, optimization is central to every campaign and must be looked at holistically by sales and ad ops, at the start of each campaign and straight through until the campaign is delivered in full.» 3 Comments
We have industry journalists writing articles saying "banners" are meaningless and the clicks they elicit mean even less. We have industry pundits putting their weight behind attribution models and native advertising solutions in an attempt to move away from performance metrics and closer toward the brand ad dollars that have escaped us. Then we have the programmatic marketplace promoting greater performance through sophisticated audience targeting. Then, of course, there is Google, a company that earns a whole bunch of money selling ads, based on clicks.It's official: online advertising is schizophrenic. We are 19 years old and we don't know who ...» 4 Comments
While the online advertising industry is frantically developing methods to combat banner blindness and adapt display for rapidly diminishing user engagement, little has changed in search engine marketing. Search keeps humming along, taking a healthy share of the marketing budget and delivering reliable results. Of course, it's not all up to the advertisers. Publishers play a huge role in advertising success, and can actually drive the movement to make display advertising more effective. If we look at search sites like Google, Yahoo and Bing, there are several of lessons we can learn.» 2 Comments
Brands are unquestionably shifting to "real-time" marketing. For some, this means accelerating from "brand as publisher" to "brand as newsroom." The word "newsroom" conveys the commitment to high-quality storytelling and the urgency required to keep pace with the social landscape.» 1 Comments
It's not your grandfather's, or even your dad's, publishing company any more. Publishers are now embracing technology and learning to unleash new solutions that can give them a leg-up on monetizing their audience relationships and contextual value.» 1 Comments
I remember when someone first presented the idea of "flag" football to me. My first thought was, "Why?" If I'm not risking a broken bone -- or, more importantly, striking fear in the hearts of others -- what's the point? Where's the excitement if there's no contact? Similarly, a connection is required to make sales happen. However, that connection does not have to be preordained.» 4 Comments
CPMs reflect a medium's perceived value. While other media like television have experienced significant growth over the past ten years, "ours" has completely nosedived over that same time period.» 8 Comments
Content marketing is not a new tactic. From the days of advertorials in print, to content hubs built by online publishers, to brand integration within programming on television and digital media, brands have long recognized that content can often be more powerful than advertising to deliver a story. But content marketing is undergoing a revolution as brands move beyond "one-off" executions to full-blown continuous storytelling. When a brand is in a position to capitalize -- in real-time -- on the lights going out at the Super Bowl, we've reached a new level of marketing agility and impact.» 7 Comments
