Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.
Betting on Display
Forbes magazine writer Quentin Hardy speaks with Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz about the recent Microsoft search deal as well as the Sunnyvale-based company’s new plans to concentrate on display advertising. Read the whole story.
U.S. Gov’t Reviews Yahoo!/Microsoft Deal
Kim Hart of The Hill is reporting that an initial review of the search deal between Yahoo! and Microsoft has been initiated by the Department of Justice. With dwindling search share for Yahoo! and Microsoft in comparison to Google, and no clear case for monopolistic practices, it’s hard to see this as anything more than a perfunctory process.
Disintermediating Media Buyers
Let The Data Go
In the Wall Street Journal, former hedge fund manager, Andy Kessler, looks at a recent move by AT&T to block the use of Google Voice which can aggregate a group of phone numbers (such as your office, home and cell numbers) into one phone among many features. Though not referencing the industry specifically, his views are entirely relevant to the world of digital advertising. Kessler notes the importance of letting data change the telecom industry rather than protecting old companies and models. Our point: data helps everyone become more efficient in the end.
AdWords On Ad Position
Google Chief Economist, Hal Varian (How many companies have a chief economist?), looks at how conversion rates are affected by ad position for Google AdWords CPC campaigns (we assume). He and his team of fellow economists found that there was little variation in conversion rates depending on the ad position. This isn’t to say you get the same number conversions in Position 10 that you can in Position 1, though. This is about “rate.” Read more.
New Name for DOOH Player
PaidContent.org’s Tameka Kee covers the name change for digital signage network, Danoo, to Reach Media Group which now reaches a total of 15,000 screens. This comes after the July purchase of IdeaCast and investment from VC firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield.
Olympian, Online Spending In 2012 For UK
Research and Markets notes that a recent study by eMarketer suggests 2012 will be a big year in online spending in the United Kingdom as the Olympics overtakes the country. Prior 2012, citing an eMarketer study, online ad spend is expected to pick up beginning in 2010
AOL Pursues Alleged Lunch Stealer
Scott Dance of the Baltimore Business Journal looks at AOL which is suing Advertise.com for trademark infringement. he company alleges that Advertise.com is making a living eating a portion of Ad.com’s lunch.
Big OPA Ads Creating Friction
OK, that’s not exactly what Joe Mandese of MediaPost is writing about when reviewing a Dynamic Logic study on ad sizes. But, he might as well have. The new study leads us in a direction we already suspected – those big ads add friction, and the consumer does not like them. AdAge’s Abbey Klaassen covers the story, too.
UK Gov’t Looking At Targeted Ads
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in the UK which enforces consumer protection and competition law in the UK has announced that it will investigate targeted advertising through a study which may lead to rules around such things as behavioral advertising. (Read the release.) The OFT is taking comments from the public on the scope of the planned study until September 18. Overall, the UK governmental office says, “The study will look at the current consumer law surrounding advertising and pricing. It will evaluate which advertising and pricing practices are most detrimental to consumers, taking into account the growth of the use of the internet for online shopping, information provision and advertising.”
