Building brand loyalty requires more creative tactics for the Web
Ad agencies are in the brand-building business, but sometimes their efforts transcend the kind of process automation that intermediaries such as Google and MSN introduce to Web advertising. How can online creativity be bottled and distributed?
NEW YORK CITY (BetaNews) - In the drive to make online advertising more accessible to, and more targeted toward, individual Web users, something may be lost in translation: the creative element that makes most ad campaigns unique and innovative. One of the panel discussions at today's OnMedia NYC conference, sponsored by AlwaysOn, centered around this question, expressed exactly the way it was phrased here by several presenters: "How do we get to creative?"
Lackluster bidding for 700 MHz 'C' and 'D' blocks
With the first eleven rounds of bidding nearly complete in the FCC 700 MHz auction, the minimum bid for the prize package "C-block" that would trigger open access rules has yet to be met.
When the US Federal Communications Commission set forth its guidelines for bidders in its auction of spectrum presently occupied by UHF TV channels, it mandated that the winning high bidder open up any wireless services deployed on the prize "C-block" of that spectrum to the customer's choice of equipment. But it also made a curious rule stating that if the minimum bid of $4.6 billion had not been met or if no one bid, the mandate would be automatically scrapped and the rules revert to the original form.
Web advertisers debate the merits of 'micro-targeting'
The more precisely you can target a Web viewer according to his browsing habits, the more likely you are of converting him into a customer. Few dispute this, but some are arguing today over whether this level of targeting is a job they'd happily outsource.
NEW YORK CITY (BetaNews) - "For the next few years, content and advertising are going to become much more specific for individuals on the Web." That was the proclamation this morning from David Moore, Chairman and CEO of 24/7 Real Media, the online advertising services provider acquired last May by Madison Avenue powerhouse WPP Group. Moore's comments came as part of a panel discussion this afternoon at the OnMedia NYC conference, sponsored by AlwaysOn.
BroadbandTV, Vuze join to advance IPTV platform
BroadbandTV hopes that the acquisition of Vuze will solidify its position in the IPTV market, which progressively looks to be the content delivery platform of the future.
BroadbandTV is a Vancouver, British Columbia company that specializes in the "aggregation, optimization, tracking, monetization of video content" over the Internet, according to its company profile. It was founded in 2005.
PayPal acquires a security company in a renewed anti-fraud effort
EBay's PayPal division recently snapped up Israeli security company Fraud Sciences, in a move that could help advance eBay in its long battle against online scammers.
Fraud Sciences' unique software is reportedly able to properly sort "between real and fraudulent transactions with unprecedented accuracy." Yesterday, its chief executives agreed to join PayPal's fraud management division, in a transition which could benefit hundreds of PayPal's merchant customers, and which could bring at least 200 more merchants to PayPal.
Former Earthlink chief leaves Helio CEO post
Mobile virtual network operator Helio has announced that former SK Telecom CEO Wohnee Sull will take over as its chief executive.
Formerly led by Sky Dayton, the founder and former leader of Earthlink, the troubled network that began as a joint venture between Earthlink and Korean communications group SK Telecom is now seeing Earthlink's interest in the project gradually excised. Control of the Helio network has shifted to majority shareholder SK Telecom.
Verizon soon to face the biggest class action lawsuit yet
Yesterday, a class action suit four years in the making was certified against Verizon Wireless over the company's unfair early termination fees.
A trial date has not yet been set, but Eugene I. Farber, the senior arbitrator/mediator for the American Arbitration Association in White Plains, NY, has certified the 70 million former Verizon Wireless subscribers as a class entitled to engage in litigation against the cellular provider.
Google finds a way to embed hyperlinks in newspaper ads
As online advertising continues to put the squeeze on newspaper publishers trying to get ad revenue, Google is looking for innovative methods to cash in on one side of the ad market it has not had much luck penetrating: print.
Google's Print Ads program allows buyers and sellers of advertising to work together through Google, as a way to meld their print campaigns with their online campaigns. But for Google to make this program lucrative, it needs to find some way to make print ads -- especially in newspapers -- more interactive than they've ever been before.
Rapidshare's future in doubt following legal defeat
The popular file-sharing service may be forced to shut down if it can not control the uploading of pirated music to its service after a German court ruling.
The German equivalent of the RIAA, GEMA, won a legal battle in district court in Düsseldorf last week which found that Rapidshare should be held responsible for the uploading of infringing material to its site.
EU court: ISPs need not always disclose subscribers' names
A European Court of Justice ruling this morning appears on the surface to reaffirm the rights of Internet users from having their data subpoenaed in civil trials. But a deeper read of the ruling shows the high court left the matter wide open.
The right of privacy among Internet users trumps the rights of copyright holders to pursue prospective infringers, at least insofar as civil matters are concerned. This was the finding this morning, Belgium time, of the European Court of Justice, in a ruling stating that member states need not compel a defendant ISP in a copyright infringement trial to turn over data on its members to an aggrieved plaintiff.
UK retailer Woolworths moves Blu-ray exclusively
With Blu-ray rapidly gaining momentum in the next-gen DVD war, UK retailer Woolworths has announced it will stop stocking Toshiba's HD DVD format in stores.
HD DVD players will still be available from its online store after March, which is when the company will sell Blu-ray players exclusively in its 820 locations throughout the UK.
VCs now wait for 'blockbuster hits' before investing in Internet content
At a major gathering of the leaders in Internet content production this morning, producers learned why it may be tougher than ever before to receive first-stage funding. Today, their shows need to already exist...somehow.
NEW YORK CITY (BetaNews) - A cornucopia of Internet content producers, from the somewhat-known to the wholly unknown, arrived here for an online media conference produced by industry publication AlwaysOn. They met with representatives of some of the nation's biggest venture capital firms, and the news they got this morning may have been sobering.
O2 beefs up iPhone plans in UK to boost sales
British cellular carrier O2 has overhauled its iPhone plans in a likely effort to make the device more appealing to a broader customer base.
In addition to currently available plans, O2 has introduced a new heavy usage plan for customers who may use their iPhones more frequently. Also, customers of one of its plans will be moved down to a less expensive tier.
DVI appears to be losing to HDMI and DisplayPort
While the resolution of the high-def disc format war may end up with few consumers winning, if any, another battle may have bigger consequences: It's about high-bandwidth digital interfaces for connecting PCs, consoles, and displays.
This battle pits the old-guard DVI (digital visual interface) against newer rivals HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) and DisplayPort in the industry race for connecting PCs and other devices over high bandwidth networks.
Gartner analyst: HD DVD has until the end of 2008
A Gartner analyst today predicted that, based on the numbers of movies expected to be available for the two warring high-def disc formats, that HD DVD will once and for all lose out to Blu-ray by the end of this year.
"Gartner expects that, by the end of 2008, Blu-ray will be the winning format in the consumer market, and the war will be over," according to Gartner analyst Hiroyuki Shimizu, writing in Gartner's Semiconductor DQ report today.
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