Waiting for Chaplin: Google Brings Video Doodle to Home Page by Steve Smith

It goes without saying that any homage to Charlie Chaplin is going to come at the expense of those daring to mimic him. Robert Downey Jr.'s astonishingly good bio-pic version notwithstanding, most imitations feel feeble against Chaplin's epic talent. But Google's Doodle team gave it a shot on Friday. After increasingly more elaborate animations and interactive doodads gracing the Google homepage, the group tasked with humanizing the Google brand on the search engine home page posted a full video to commemorate Chaplin's 122nd birthday. ...Read the whole story

  • packaged goods Kotex Launches Fem Care Products for Tweens by Tanya Irwin

    Research shows that one in three young girls has no idea what's happening when she gets her first period, according to Kotex. Four out of five moms feel only somewhat or not at all prepared to talk to their daughter about her changing body. ...Read the whole story

  • Envivio Files For $69 Million IPO, Targets Sales, R&D by Mark Walsh

    Broadband video provider Envivio has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $69 million in an IPO. The company's technology powers live and on-demand video for telecom providers, cable and satellite TV operators and content publishers across PCs, tablets, mobile phones and TVs. ...Read the whole story

  • Internet Users View Ads As Distraction by Laurie Sullivan

    What does it take to get Internet users to click on ads? With the average click-through rate at .09%, new research AdKeeper suggests designing ads that allow the Internet user to learn about products or services without leaving the Web site page. ...Read the whole story

  • Solve Sends Toyota Messages In CAPTCHA-Like Ad Unit by Laurie Sullivan

    On Tuesday, Solve Media plans to launch a new feature called Insights in its flagship advertising product Type-In, an updated version of a CAPTCHA security code. The platform allows advertisers to survey consumer interactions with ads by measuring how effectively they remember the brand's messages to complete a transaction. ...Read the whole story

Mixing Topical & Talent-Driven Content To Build Distribution For Content Owners and Marketers by Ashkan Karbasfrooshan

With so many professionals expecting 2011 to become the year that online video goes mainstream with marketers and finally garners the ad dollars to reflect that fact, content owners and distributors are facing inversely related challenges that prevent them from growing faster. While ad dollars continue to flow away from print, television and online display (and to a lesser extent, search) to online video, there is a dearth of premium, brand-safe, click-to-play ad inventory available. ...More

  • Online Video: What Do Brands Really Want? by Neil Perry

    Just about every day, new press accounts reinforce the exploding demand for online video content by marketers. With this consensus seemingly in place, I asked myself the question: What are brands really looking for in online video? Well, I decided to do some serious investigation. I contacted about two dozen marketers I know from Fortune 100 companies and asked them that question. The responses reinforced that yes, marketers want MORE online video, and they don't want to have to pay a lot. And here's what the Fortune 100 marketers told me they're looking for, in order of importance: ...More