From WSJ Digits blog, the post, “Does Size Matter When Measuring Online Audience?” explores the way in which Comscore and Nielsen count audience with Quantcast noticeably absent. Nielsen is claiming to have launched the “Largest, Most Representative Online Audience Measurement Panel in U.S.”
MediaPost editor-at-large, Diane Mermigas did a Q&A back on July 1 with VivaKi Ventures EVP, Tim Hanlon. Among many observations, Hanlon looks at innovation in online creative and says:
“The new world gives us the ability to serve targeted ads, but that is dependent on coming up with the right creative solution. That means convincing a creative person in an agency environment to create nonlinear asset that can be compiled by a machine or an algorithm, versus a 30-second ad that gets randomly placed. There are only a handful of folks that are doing it: Visible World, Target Spot, Tumri or Dapper (AdExchanger.com Q&A here) – the last two may be the salvation of display advertising because they are componentizing the creative play based on audiences, data and inventory. “
Michael Learmonth trumpets the cause of enhanced targeting in AdAge. With recent negative nabobery in the news about cookies, tracking and privacy concerns, Learmonth emphasizes what “good” there is in tracking for the consumer. Learmonth quotes digital executive who basically say that if no cookies, no tracking existed, “It would be like having the same conversation — over and over and over again.”
Entertainment news site, TMZ, has stopped selling its inventory through AOL and has brought its sales staff in-house according to PaidContent.org.
TMZ.com has been profitable since it launched, but remains to be seen how it looks this year and next, especially if it goes completely independent of AOL. No one would confirm the revenues, but they are likely in the $15 million range.
Targeting UK publishers, The Rubicon Project released a new study saying that publishers are leaving money on the table as they fail to monetize international traffic effectively. From the release, AdOperationsOnline.com quotes Jay Stevens (@JustintRProject), Vice President and General Manager, International for the Rubicon Project:
“Almost half of UK publisher revenue is trafficked through online advertising networks, a testament to the efficient revenue stream they provide. However, many publishers fail to effectively yield as much value from their inventory as they could be earning. Added to that, brands have different values in different territories, which can further affect rates.”
More Rubicon mentions: in a SoCalTech interview with Mark Suster, GRP Partners, Suster notes that he’d like to see an L.A.-area company make it in the world of technology, “I’d like to see Rubicon Project become a smashing success, which would be a victory for me.”
Range Online Media’s VP of Strategy & Media Dustin Engel will be presenting a Webinar on Thursday, July 16th with ChoiceStream’s Cheryl Kellond entitled “Attribution: Proving Online Display Ads Drive Sales for Retailers”.
Is this the tipping point we’ve been waiting for? Someone needs help with their RMX buying program. If you’re in the San Francisco area, there is a Craigslist help-wanted ad waiting for you. (We have no idea who/what this is. Enter at your own risk.)
Scott Rafer continues blogging at Lookery and recently explored changes in the advertisers “universe.” Rafer notes that “local advertising networks have begun to reach out to Lookery for our demo targeting as well as private retargeting via Lookery MyProfiles.” He suspects that the targeting which Lookery technology enables is helping drive the engagement currently lacking in local advertising.
Finally, Harvard Business’ Stat of the Day sources a Harris Poll which found that that online ads are the least helpful of all ads. WAAA-wa.
