Articles of the Day
IAB Declares War On Web Measurement Firms - Long-standing discontent over the state of Web traffic metrics is coming to a head. The Interactive Advertising Bureau has issued an open letter to comScore and Nielsen//NetRatings requesting they submit to a third-party audit of their measurement processes. New president and CEO Randall Rothenberg is also galvanizing the ANA and AAAAs to join the fight.
Privacy Advocates Challenge GoogleClick With FTC Complaint - Three consumer privacy groups are taking their concerns about the Google/DoubleClick deal to the Federal Trade Commission, charging the deal would “create unique risks to privacy” and calling for an investigation into plans for the sharing and storage of usage data.
Digital Agency Leaders On Demand, Consolidation, Spending, and GoogleClick - Ed Montes of Havas’ Media Contacts and Andrew O’Dell of AKQA discussed a wide range of industry topics on a conference call organized by investment firm Piper Jaffray.
Roo To Power mtvU Online College Papers - Roo Group’s customizable video players will now service mtvU’s network of more than 500 online college newspapers.
U.S. Online Banking Population Grew 9.5% In 2006 - As the online banking industry matures, the rate of customer growth is decreasing. In its annual review, comScore reports the U.S. online banking population grew 9.5% in 2006, which is down from 27% growth in 2005 and 47% in 2004.
Should Google’s Influence Be Limited? - Here’s a non-controversial statement: Google dominates the Internet. The quintessential business success story, a technology company built around a simple idea grew into a $150 billion juggernaut–and with unprecedented speed. Success has made it eerily similar to a Web-based version of Microsoft. Which means that companies like Microsoft and AT&T, and consumer groups across the country have every right to question Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick, he says. Microsoft was eventually barred from extending its influence over the software market, so why shouldn’t Google, the undisputed leader in Internet advertising?
Transformation Breeds Success for Old-School Agency - Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, one of the largest and most established ad agencies, has undergone a “wrenching shift” into new media. The agency, creator of the legendary “Got Milk” campaign, has managed what the newspaper calls a “stunning transformation,” thanks to the forceful direction of its co-founder Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein. In addition to hiring 109 new people with interactive backgrounds, today, roughly 54% of Goodby’s work is largely based on the Web. In May 2005, that figure was 17%.
User-Generated Content Hopes and Fears - More than half of media and entertainment executives surveyed in Accenture’s “Global Content Survey 2007″ cite user-generated content as a leading threat to their bottom line. Two-thirds of respondents believe that within three years their businesses will be making money on user-generated content. A quarter does not yet know how that will happen. Respondents agreed that short-form video offers the best growth potential over the next five years.
The Dangers Of Playing Monopoly - Concerns are growing about Google’s increasing influence over media — and for good reason. As the dominant search engine, Google is emerging as a gatekeeper to the world’s information. One day, probably soon, if a business doesn’t exist in Google’s index, it may as well not exist at all. At least one business, KinderStart, already faced this prospect when it found itself delisted from Google’s index and sued the company.
Newspaper Earnings Show Slowdown In Online Ad Growth - In reporting their respective Q1 earnings, newspaper companies have been able to point to at least one general bright spot over the past few quarters: online ad revenue increases, mostly from online classifieds. But as the earnings for the NYTCO, Gannett and Tribune have shown, interactive ad dollars are not growing as expected (Dow Jones and the smaller Journal Register Company represent the exceptions). And as WaPO prepares to release its Q1 earnings, the CEO of its online division tells the WSJ that online ad growth is slowing across the board.
Websites Audition To Become Digital ‘American Idols’ - A number of online startups want to bring American Idol-like talent contests to the internet, the Boston Globe points out: sites like OurStage and HowFamous have recently raised financings for their respective ventures. Others, like Bix recently tried to gain attention when its founder actually tried out with others to audition for American Idol.
Portals Dominate Online Ad Take - Advertising is the main revenue driver for the top four portals, in growth if not in sheer dollars.Competition among Google, Yahoo!, AOL and MSN is intense, and they each take a large share of US ad revenues. eMarketer estimates that nearly $13 billion will go to just those four sites in 2007. In fact, Google and Yahoo!’s ad revenue (excluding traffic acquisition costs) alone will account for over half of all US online ad spending in 2007.
comScore Responds To IAB’s Request For Third-Party Audit - comScore on Monday offered a diplomatic response to an open letter issued last week by the Interactive Advertising Bureau asking comScore and Nielsen//NetRatings to submit to a third-party audit of their measurement processes.
