The Return Of Adware, Again; Twitter's Premium Ad Strategy; ATT's Ad Network Pulsing

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.

Adware Developments

In the spirit of toolbar strategies from the days of yore, The Wall Street Journal’s Emily Steel discovers how certain developers have created new ways to suck in APIs, feeds and web pages and display them in a custom app with ads that don’t pay the original content owners such as Facebook and Google. Facebook isn’t pleased but has yet to shut down the “app” owners in spite of cease and desist letters. Steel writes that “as a warning to members, Facebook lists 13 programs on its website as ‘adware’ that give users ‘special Facebook powers,’ such as customizing a profile page, but cover up portions of its site with ads.” Read more (subscription).

Twitter’s “Premium” Strategy

Like any good publisher, Twitter has its direct and its data-driven remnant strategy. Yesterday was more focused on the the direct ad biz as Twitter launched the redesign of its interface and has added new brand pages. See new Twitter on VentureBeat. But don’t go scramble to the Twitter login page to get your brand page. Only 21 lucky, big brand, marketer twitter accounts get the new customized twitter page. Ch-ching. See examples on TechCrunch. Need more? Read all about the latest update on the Twitter blog.

The Ad Network Lives

AT&T Interactive’s YP ad network announced that it has hit the 1 billion, mobile, in-app ad impression mark. Surel YP Local Ad Network now serves more than one billion mobile local in-app ads monthly[1]. The network says that since its April launch, in addition to sell-side platforms, the company’s network now includes 75 mobile publishers. Read it. The ad network model is alive-and-well in mobile as growing gobs of inventory mixes with a critical need for better targeting.

Targeting Content

Netshelter has productized analytics + sponsored content throughout its tech blog ad network calling it “inPowered.” In a release, the company explains, “The new platform allows marketers to include in their online ads links to relevant content curated from NetShelter’s network of more than 4,500 bloggers.” For the advertiser, controlling the ad and the landing page integrated into an endemic site – especially if there’s decent scale – is potentially appealing. Read more.

Publishers Adding Commerce

JC Penney announced that it has acquired a piece of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Read about it in MediaPost. MediaPost’s Eric Sass writes, “The landscape of the magazine publishing business continues to evolve, with magazine publishers creating or acquiring new businesses, including marketing agencies and private ad exchanges.” Nimble publishers are adding commerce as a core component of their business one way or another.

Exchanging Down Under

In Australia, Ninemsn has created the new role of GM of Microsoft Media Network and Microsoft Advertising Exchange and appointed Marc Barnett. This latest move was part of an overall strategy as trade publication B&T reports, “Last month Ninemsn CEO Mark Britt implemented an internal restructure that formally integrated MMN, the Microsoft Advertising Exchange and aligned the business into four distinct divisions: audience, advertising, data and operations.” Read more.

Know Guys

Upstream Group’s Doug Weaver dishes sage advice once again to sellers everywhere on his company’s blog: “…Be ‘the guy who knows a guy.’ Collect experts. Introduce them freely to others. Admire and validate what they know and celebrate it to others. Become one of the most useful people your customers know because of all the useful people you know. Be a human router of knowledge and excellence.” Route more here.

But Wait. There’s More!