Articles of the Day
Liberty 4Q Revs Rise, Looks For e-Commerce Buys - As its QVC shopping channel and Starz Entertainment division suffered weak financial quarterly results, Liberty Media took stock. It is aggressively looking at making e-commerce acquisitions to complement QVC. Liberty wants to acquire Internet commerce businesses that will work with its QVC channel. Liberty Chief Executive Greg Maffei says the company will be casting somewhat of a wide net–looking at businesses anywhere from $50 million to $5 billion.
Turn Smart Network Combines Targeting Methods - Turn Inc. today formally launches its automated ad network more than a year after the service debuted in beta. Co-founded by former AltaVista CEO Jim Barnett, the Turn Smart Network aims to stand apart from myriad competitors by combining contextual, audience, behavioral, and other targeting methods to serve the optimal ad placement.
Amazon Launches Video Widget Program For Affiliates - Amazon has launched a service for registered Amazon affiliates to upload videos, and then select products to can be displayed with them. The Amazon Your Video Widget program has not launched with a destination portal–and so, for the time being, will not be competing directly with the YouTubes of the world. Your Video Widget welcomes a range of video from product review to personal family video, which are then monetized with ads paid as a percentage of generated sales rather than on a Cost-Per-Click or CPM basis.
Unicast Partners With AdMob To Power Mobile Web Pages - Unicast, a division of Enliven Marketing Technologies, is partnering with AdMob, a mobile advertising marketplace, to power mobile Web pages via the Unicast Rich Media Mobile platform. The Rich Media Mobile technology is a hosted delivery and tracking solution for optimized rich mobile Web page content aiming to help advertisers provide a richer experience for audiences that are both media- and mobile-savvy. The platform provides tools for advertisers and agencies to create, deliver, and measure the effectiveness of rich media mobile ad campaigns.
More Bad News From eBay - In an SEC filing last week, online auctioneer eBay revealed that its business faces many challenges in the coming months, including slowing growth in its three largest markets, the U.S., U.K. and Germany. Growth of listings, active users, new users and sales is expected to slow, driven by the weak economic climate in each of three countries. Regardless of a recession, ecommerce growth had been expected to continue its deceleration. Wall Street analysts expect eBay to earn revenue of $8.7 billion in 2008, a rise of 14 percent over 2007–which is a far cry from rates of 30 and 40 percent in recent years.
DoubleClick Groups Products, Partners With Seevast - DoubleClick has grouped its suite of ad products for Web publishers under the DoubleClick Revenue Center umbrella and upgraded its ad sales management and forecasting tools. Meanwhile, Seevast Corp. announces a new division called SyndiGO and a new partnership with DoubleClick.
Timex Launches Podcast Campaign To Promote iPod-Linked Watch - Timex is going after gym rats and joggers with a new podcast campaign for its Ironman iControl watch, a timepiece that can wirelessly control the owner’s iPod. Omnicom’s PHD is the media agency behind the campaign, with VoloMedia as the company providing the ad serving, tracking and reporting technology.
Wikileaks Back Online After Judge Reverses Order - Whistle-blower site Wikileaks.org got its domain name back Friday, after a federal judge reversed his prior shutdown order. “It is clear that in all but the most exceptional circumstances, an injunction restricting speech pending final resolution of the constitutional concerns is impermissible,” wrote San Francisco federal district court Judge Jeffrey White.
Zale Corp. Taps Bazaarvoice For Customer Reviews - Zale Corp. taps Bazaarvoice for customer reviews to power customer reviews and feedback on jewelry products for its Zales and Gordon’s Jewelers Brands. The fine jeweler recently deployed Austin-based Bazaarvoice’s Ratings & Reviews platform at Zales.com, and amassed more than 3,000 reviews in the process.
Hollywood, Silicon Alley Firms to Invest Together - Here’s a trio for the future: Hollywood talent agency William Morris is teaming up with Silicon Alley VC firms Accel Partners and Venrock to invest in digital media startups in the Southern California area. Telecom giant AT&T is also on board as a limited partner.
