‘Call me when you’ve got something new,’ scoffs the jaded advertiser to the harried media buyer. Well, maybe Point Roll’s ad delivery platform will be just the thing to persuade that numbed ad exec. Point Roll (pointroll.com) commenced operations in August, bent on capturing web-directed eyeballs with a version of the next generation ad banner. Proprietary software enables advertisers to deliver up to eight distinct pop-up messages within a single online banner ad. Has Philadelphia-based Point Roll built a better mousetrap? CEO Jules Gardner certainly thinks so. “Our vision is to create a new banner and to price it in …

Last I checked, the wheel has already been invented, gravity has been defined, and 1 plus 1 still equals 2. So why is it that seemingly reputable research companies that use words like “leading” and “cutting-edge” to identify themselves, keep trying to pass off common knowledge as new discoveries. For example, a certain company, which shall remain nameless, recently released the results of analysis that “underscores the importance of businesses identifying and targeting their most profitable customers.” Ready... Set... DUH!!! Targeting is important? Who knew! The company’s official news release states that the top 20% of online shoppers …

Trade associations—their purpose is to promote their medium and to separate hype from reality, and they’ve been quick to take to the Internet to provide this information. Here’s a rundown of some of these associations and what you will be able to find on their websites. American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) (www.aaaa.org) provides an upcoming events listing, latest news releases, transcripts of selected speeches from the AAAA Management Conferences, links to other trade organizations, as well as selected articles from Agency magazine. There’s also the AAAA publications catalog for books and videotapes. All of these features are available …

All of us are sure to remember this last month as one of the more turbulent periods in recent history. And no, I’m not talking about the presidential election. That was huge, but November also turned out to be the month during which we were finally faced with the undeniable fact that the health of the online advertising industry was in serious jeopardy. To quote a CBS Marketwatch story, “Just when investors in online ad companies might have thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did.” The story was referring to the announcement of disappointing third quarter results and …