Creative Agency Business on The Move

The New York Times covers recent switches of creative agencies by Expedia  and Orbitz which speaks to the fluid nature of the creative agency business as clients look to buy the secret sauce for their campaigns as well as save their own skins in a difficult economy.

Google Adds Video Compression Technology

This morning Google announced that it has acquired On2 Technologies for $106 million.  (Release here.) The deal brings On2's video compression technology to Big G - might be for YouTube-like applications but, on the other hand, it could be for video advertising as superb compression technology is key to delivering video ads efficiently.

A Digital Out-Of-Home Agency Opens

DM News covers the creation of a new digital out-of-home (DOOH) agency by Dylan Jones, a former VP of at Premier Retail Networks, has launched Jones Digital Media, "specializing in digital out of home strategy, creative and production."  Jones tells DM News, "I saw this gap in the market where you really need somebody who understands the retail space as well as the digital out of home space to create the right commercial to engage consumers.”

A recent Veronis Suhler Stevenson study speaks to the addressable, DOOH opportunity saying that "Alternative advertising is forecast to have a 12.3% CAGR from 2008-2013, compared to a 3.3% decline for traditional advertising, and only slightly outpaced by alternative marketing services at 12.6%.This trend is driven by gains in online advertising and digital out-of-home."

Successful Agencies Need To Know How To Win And Lose

The New York Times covers recent changes by Expedia and Orbitz in their creative agencies as clients look to find the secret sauce for their campaigns while maintaining their executive marketer roles.  The ability to win business and scale to meet client needs is critical in the agency model - particularly on the creative side.  But, the the ability to lose - or absorb the loss - of business and continue on is equally critical.

Publicis Blowing More Smoke About Razorfish?

Rory Maher from BusinessInsider covers the recent, public lack of interest by Publicis in Razorfish. Does this feel like a smoke screen to you like it does to me?

In Maher's article, Credit Suisse analyst Ellie Lawford says Publicis management considers Razorfish a "nice to have." Lawford says: "Management commented that in 2006 when Publicis bought Digitas, “The good fish was Digitas”. They commented that Razorfish has high quality people, and is technically strong (with good tools and measurement systems) and less focused on the creative side than Digitas."

Tremor Media Founders Leave Posts

Kate Kaye of ClickZ covers the departure of Tremor Media's Founders Andrew Reis and Jesse Chenard. Reis will stay on the board. It appears that the move is part of a next strategic phase for Tremor Media as the Company transitions from its startup roots.

CPX Goes Pro With Major Sports Brand

Online ad network, CPX Interactive, has partnered with the NBA to monetize online properties in four European countries - Italy, France, Germany and Turkey. (Read the release.) Considering basketball's popularity in the four countries which have launched NBA careers such as Andrew Bagnani, Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitzki, and with close to 6 million uniques from Europe visiting NBA.com each month according to the release, this would appear to be a significant opportunity for CPX around a great brand.