Balihoo, a 3-year-old firm based in Boise, Idaho, is preparing to launch a new search engine aimed at helping media buyers take advantage of the Internet explosion and its expanded media offerings.
"For a media buyer, it's much more difficult to stay on top of the media opportunities that exist," says company founder and CEO Peter Gombert. "And for the media owner, there needed to be an
efficient way to be in front of those buyers when they are looking to spend money."
He notes that until the early 1990s, three spots on prime-time TV could reach 85% percent of a
target audience, a figure that has since dwindled to 35% to 40%. Balihoo helps buyers sort through the many other options. "There never has been one source where you can go and locate all the media
properties," says Side Door Media President Sally Shoquist, who is testing the search engine. "Google is a very, very poor substitute."
Early response has been encouraging, says
Balihoo marketing chief Shane Vaughan. Seven of the top 10 national media buying firms are currently testing the search engine.
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