By now you’ve heard that the Internet Advertising Bureau has come up with new standards for bigger banners. At first glance, establishing guidelines for seven new ad units, two vertical units, and five large rectangular units seems like a major accomplishment on the IAB’s part. According to the announcement, IAB hoped that this new set of guidelines would “rejuvenate” the online advertising industry, but many saw this as a clear case of “too little, too late.” To everyone’s surprise (yes, I am being sarcastic here), a few weeks after the original release, the IAB announced that according to their …

About a year ago, a company called AdSubtract.com happily announced that its Internet ad- and cookie-blocking software had blocked well over 1 billion Internet ads for its users. The company said that while this number may make some advertisers and ad-servers very unhappy, it “represents an enormous benefit for AdSubtract users.” AdSubtract works by blocking all ads and cookies, pop-up windows (interstitials), animated GIF images, background music, Java and JavaScript, background images, and “referrers” that inform web servers of where a user is coming from. Advertisers were indeed unhappy, but didn’t think the software would have much of …

What if marketers could find a medium to place their advertising for little to no cost, be in an environment perfectly attuned to their message, and be seen by an audience there is nearly all their target. Do you think they would immediately jump at the chance? Well most of the top 100 brands from 2000 haven’t figured it out yet. You know those big-name marketers who spent in the neighborhood of $25 billion in advertising with about two-thirds of it spent in television. Of these brands, only 19 of them have the vision to use their OWN website …

With 500 employees, 21 full-service offices in 15 countries and further expansion plans in the works, Tribal DDB Worldwide, the interactive arm of DDB Worldwide, is on the fast track. The firm hit $50 million in revenues this past year, is solidly profitable, according to company sources, and is well-positioned, with the backing of its heavy-weight parent organization, to handle the ups and downs of the volatile Internet marketplace. Tribal DDB was formed last August from seven digital units in the Americas, Asia, and Europe and offers a wide range of business consulting, marketing, and e-commerce services. Its clients …

Passion. Obsession. Invention. Necessity. These elements not only form the framework of most successful endeavors, but, increasingly for those of us who work in the field of online advertising, possession of “Type A” personality traits, like passionate obsession, is key to our very survival. This game’s just not for tourists anymore. Nothing typifies this dynamic more intensely than the field of Rich Media advertising. As CEO of Emerging Interest, I’ve been intimately involved in this particular back road of the information highway for years. And this month Media Magazine presents us with a snapshot of this rapidly changing rich media …

So far, rich media has gained only a toehold in the market, but the arrival of broadband may give it a boost. Rich media, once figured as the next big wave in online advertising, has gained a toehold in the market—but research does not forecast a huge, immediate boom in its use. The Internet Advertising Bureau reports that rich media stayed steady at a bare 2 percent of the total online advertising pie from first through third quarter of 2000. This compares with a steady increase in, say, classifieds over the same period from 4 percent to 9 percent …

Driving home from work the other day, I had my radio tuned to my favorite classic rock station. To my delight, Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” came on the air. I always associate this song with the video and those early days of MTV. I was just starting college when MTV launched almost 20 years ago, and I remember it was such a novelty. Back then, few people could actually get the cable channel. In fact, “Money for Nothing” parodied the music channel’s ad campaign urging viewers to call their cable operator and say, “I WANT MY MTV!” The …

The Ogilvy Group—the world’s eighth-largest agency network and a company with an illustrious brand image of its own, burnished by the trailblazing achievements of founder David Ogilvy—began providing clients with “electronic marketing services” in 1984. Originally part of Ogilvy’s non-traditional media group, the interactive division moved under the umbrella of Ogilvy One, the agency’s direct marketing arm, in 1995. From initial billings of $100,000, OgilvyInteractive has risen to become one of the top interactive agencies, with $250 million in U.S. billings and a total of $300 million worldwide last year. One of the few traditional agencies to penetrate …

Radio is a medium that is changing a great deal in this age when multiple media are constantly coming together. By far, radio has converged the most with the Internet and doesn’t appear to be slowing down. The online listening frenzy has only been fueled by the likes of file-sharing programs such as Napster and the sheer variety of tunes the Internet provides. Media buyers and planners must be aware of the implications radio convergence has for their decisions and how to best use it to their advantage. “2001 will be a big year for offline radio going online,” …

Wireless Internet is fast becoming a necessary business tool for some, while remaining a cool toy for others. Regardless of its use, however, the wireless Internet community is growing. People are starting to connect to the Internet from their cell phones and handheld personal assistants (PDAs) to get directions, stock quotes and even to receive email. But how does it all work and what does it mean for advertisers? First off, market research indicates that by 2003 there will be over 700 million Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) enabled cell phones in the market, and enthusiasts claim those cell phones …