Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.
Winning TV, Losing Online
If TV has a bigger audience then online, and Fox leads CNN on TV, then why is CNN winning the online wars? That’s the question Mike Shields reviews in Mediaweek. Theories on the CNN lead range from it’s just better to CNN has been committed to online for a longer period of time. Read more.
Skype Calls For IPO
Skype is joining Demand Media and others in the race toward the public markets. All Things D’s Peter Kafka reports that Skype hopes to raise $100 million for a company which is either barely profitable or really profitable depending on your favorite accounting flavor. Read more. And, see the S-1.
Google Buying Social
-It’s a social land grab! -There’s gold in them thar’ (social) hills! After acquiring social developer Slide last week, Google grabs virtual currency platform company, Joombal, according to TechCrunch’s Mike Arrington. He writes that the rumored $55 million acquisition (not including earnouts) may have been fueled by “Facebook Credits” which shut Joombal out of Facebook. Nothing like a few million to heal the wounds. Read more.
In a video interview with Alan Murray of The Wall Street Journal, Sir Martin Sorrell emphasizes that the advertising industry needs to make sure that the consumer understands the business of cookies and tracking and the importance of self-regulation. In regards to the openness of the web, he notes the difference in generational perceptions, “As an older person, I am somewhat uncomfortable with some of the things you see on the Web and the exposure that some people are prepared to go through.” View the wide-ranging, 23-minute interview that also discusses his economic outlook (keyword: “sorrell”).
Online Education May Get Haircut
Niki Scevak points to a new report out from the The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) which provides results of a review of the online education business. Things don’t look so good as Scevak identifies one observation form the report – admissions officials were telling applicants that “barbers can earn up to $150,000 to $250,000 a year, an exceptional figure for the industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 90 percent of barbers make less than $43,000 a year.” Read more from Bloomberg. And, read Lead Critic.
CPCs Going Up YOY
Year-over-year CPCs continue to rise according to new July data from Efficient Frontier’s Dr. Siddharth Shah. He notes that compared to June, though, most CPCs fell and adds, “However, we note that while Retail CPCs fell, spend rose 5% MoM.” See the numbers.
Media Allows Democracy
Angel investor Jerry Neumann responds to recent concerns expressed about online privacy by the Wall Street Journal among others. He writes, “Paying cash for media is regressive. High cover prices exclude those with less disposable income. (This strategy is used purposefully by mixed-model high-end media outlets to produce a demographic appealling to better-paying advertisers.) Advertising democratizes media. And media allows a democracy.” Read more.
Creative As Fluoride
With all of the latest targeting technologies available to marketers, the creative and the imporance of its effectiveness is getting lost says White Horse marketing dude Eric Anderson on iMedia Connection. He urges, “Spend a little more on creative in your next retargeting campaign, or convince your client to do so. Put some really different stuff out there. Give consumers some content they can care about, and keep it fresh.” And then?
Jacobs On Rules And Regs
Ad.com’s Dave Jacobs trumpets the new IAB ad networks and exchanges guidelines on ClickZ. Jacobs identifies “brand safety” as a chief objective of the new rules which address “the continued proliferation of ad networks, growth in data usage, the emergence of exchange models, as well as increased technology offerings including demand-side and supply-side solutions.” Read it.
The Next Silicon Valley
In a tour-de-force article, Bradford Cross and guest writer Russell Jurney explore on Cross’s blog where and why the next Silicon Valley will emerge – or not. The team identifies “economic clusters” as the seeds of innovation. And, looking at the differences between NYC and Silicon Valley, they write, “The capital and talent network, combined with the culture of calculated risk taking and acceptance of failure is a potent combination that is extraordinarily difficult to emulate.” Read more.
Product Recall-itis
A little less ad spend and little more spend on product development is Jack Neff’s thesis in a piece on Ad Age. Neff sees a pattern where recent recalls may have been avoided if the company had spent more on a product’s quality assurance. It proves brand marketers are not immune to performance pressure. Spend it, baby!
Your Small Town Startup
Your startup doesn’t have to be in Silicon Valley or Alley or the appropriate corridor in Boston to succeed. So says MyYearbook CEO Geoff Cook in a guest post on TechCrunch. He addresses the perception of hiring challenges: “One concern we often hear is about hiring: how can you find quality people in Pennsylvania? I would argue that good people are hard to find anywhere (…)” Read more.
M&A, IPO Weather
The Wall Street Journal’s Renee Schultes writes that “M&A conditions look strong. Valuations are compelling” but still don’t expect a blizzard of deals. Schules says that CEOs may see a sack of cash in their coffers, but the board still sees macroeconomic trouble ahead. Read more paradoxes here. Meanwhile, IPOs may prove to be a challenge as well says The WSJ’s Lynn Cowan. She comments on the upcoming MediaMind IPO (possibly scheduled for Wednesday), “MediaMind works with Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. as publishers and with Microsoft as an ad agency; it derived 22% of its revenue from Microsoft last year. But the two tech giants actually pose a risk to MediaMind: Google owns DoubleClick and Microsoft owns Atlas, primary competitors.” Competition from Atlas? Read more.
Know Your Marketing Mix
The IAB and MarketShare Partners have released a new white paper on the marketing mix in an interactive world. The study “analyzes three brand scenarios in three different verticals—consumer packaged goods, financial services and automotive. Read the release. And, download the white paper (PDF).
Green Speaks Display, Search
CEO Jeff Green of demand-side platform The Trade Desk brings his views on the merging of the search and display marketing channels in a webcast sponsored by Acquisio on Third Door Media’s Search Marketing Now site this Thursday, August 12. Read the release. And, sign up here.
Informing The Masses
Peer 39’s Amiad Solomon and AudienceScience’s Denise Colella and recently taught a professional development class through the IAB and ScribeMedia.org makes a video teaser of the presentation available. See it and “learn to love remnant.”
DSP Simpl.fi Launches New Site
Search and display-focused DSP (demand‑side‑platform), Simpli.fi has launched a new site. See it here.
