Advertising

uSocial Lets You Buy Twitter-Followers

Authored by Jay Baage on July 2, 2009 - 7:57am.

Australia - How is this for an innovative social media marketing idea? An Australian marketing company called  uSocial is offering a paid service that finds followers for users of the micro-blogging service Twitter. Is it cheating? You decide.

Joost to Become White-Label Video Provider; CEO Volpi Out

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 30, 2009 - 7:12am.
New York - Joost, the video distribution firm launched by the creators of Kazaa and Skype, announced on Tuesday that it will cut staff and turn its focus from an entertainment portal to being a provider of white-label video services. Chief executive Mike Volpi is stepping down, but will remain chairman, and will be replaced by former Comcast executive Matt Zelesko.

Gannett To Lay Off 1,400, Digital Units Safe

Authored by Jay Baage on July 2, 2009 - 6:47am.
New York - Newspaper publisher Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI), owner of USA Today and dozens other newspapers, plans to cut 1,400 jobs in the next few weeks, as a result of decreased advertising revenue.

Yahoo to Shutter Video Distribution Unit Maven Networks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 30, 2009 - 5:23am.
Sunnyvale, Calif. - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) plans to shutter its Maven Networks online video distribution and ad platform, which it acquired for $160 million in January 2008, TechCrunch reported. "While video initiatives remain a priority for Yahoo, both for its consumer and advertising experiences, we are increasing investment in some areas while scaling back in others," the company told TechCrunch.

Simage Gets $1.4 Million for Custom Digital TV in Bars

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 30, 2009 - 4:33am.
Chicago - Simage, the operator of a digital ad and programming network for bars and restaurants, has raised $1.4 million in angel funding, from investors including Horizon Investment Partners, Victory Records founder Tony Brummel, and individual angels.

Report: Microsoft Looking to Unload Razorfish Ad Agency

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 29, 2009 - 8:57am.
San Francisco - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) has hired Morgan Stanley to help it sell off Razorfish, the digital ad agency it acquired as part of a $6 billion deal back in 2007, the Financial Times reported.

Sense Networks Raises $6 Million for Targeted Advertising

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 26, 2009 - 6:56am.
New York - Sense Networks, a provider of targeted online advertising technology, has raised $6 million in new financing, led by Intel, VentureBeat reported.

ReverbNation Offers Artists Cash in 'Sponsored Songs' Promotion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 24, 2009 - 12:03pm.
New York - ReverbNation, a provider of online music marketing services, on Wednesday announced a new Sponsored Songs program that will provide up to 1,000 artists the opportunity to earn money when their songs are downloaded by fans. Each song will incorporate "a small section of branded messaging within the digital cover art," with the artist paid 50 cents for each qualified download. The songs will also be "tracked as they are passed from fan to fan allowing the brand sponsor to capture ongoing value as the music is shared virally."

AdMeld Lands $8 Million for Online Ad Optimization

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 24, 2009 - 9:21am.
New York - AdMeld, a provider of online ad optimization services, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $8 million in second round funding, led by Spark Capital and Foundry Group.

Frazoo Acquires Ad Network BrandClik

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 23, 2009 - 6:56am.
Reston, Va. - Frazoo, a San Diego-based search engine company offering pay-per-click advertising, said on Tuesday that it has acquired in-text ad network BrandClik.

Spotify Offers 'CD-Quality' Streams for Premium Subscribers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 22, 2009 - 12:31pm.
London - Spotify, the ad-supported streaming music service available in the U.K. and parts of Europe, has upgraded the streaming quality for subscribers to its ad-free premium service to "CD quality." Subscribers pay about $16.40 per month in the U.K. for the premium service will now enjoy 320 Kbps streams, up from 160 Kbps.

FTC to Issue Guidelines on Blogger Disclosures, Compensation

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 22, 2009 - 10:58am.
Washington - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans to issue new guidelines for bloggers who accept products, monetary compensation or other gifts in return for writing about the providers of said gifts, the Associated Press reported.

Tumri Secures $15 Million for Online Display Ad Platform

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 22, 2009 - 8:47am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Tumri, a provider of dynamic display advertising services, has added over $15 million in new venture capital financing, including over $10 million in equity from Time Warner Investments and previous backers Accel Partners, Shasta Ventures and Tenaya Capital.

YCD Multimedia Lands $12 Million for In-Store Digital Network

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 22, 2009 - 6:48am.
New York - YCD Multimedia, a provider of in-store digital media systems for retailers, announced on Monday that it has raised $12 million in new financing, led by Pitango Venture Capital and Arts Alliance Digital.

Adgregate Markets Acquires Widget Ad Network Gydget

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 18, 2009 - 7:12am.
Sausalito, Calif. - Adgregate Markets, a provider of transactional advertising technology, announced on Thursday that it has acquired Gydget, a provider of brand-oriented widget advertising services.

Guest Column: Why Facebook Will Fail

Authored by dmw on June 17, 2009 - 10:44am.

Last reports I saw had Facebook at over 200 million active worldwide unique users (and growing) and an estimated $200m-plus in annual revenue in 2008. Pretty kooky to claim it'll be a failure, eh? Let me start by saying that social networking itself is a utility that is not routinely differentiated by any particular protectable intellectual property. It's a utility that demonstrates a better way for the online and mobile web audience at-large to connect with each other. But it's also a utility that ultimately threatens to be its own worst enemy.

AdWhirl Gets $1 Million for iPhone Application Ad Platform

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 17, 2009 - 7:16am.
Menlo Park, Calif. - AdWhirl, the provider of a dynamic mobile ad platform for Apple's iPhone, has raised a $1 million round of seed funding, led by Foundation Capital with participation by several angel investors.

YouTube Testing User-Selected Advertising on Some Videos

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2009 - 1:04pm.
San Bruno, Calif. - Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube on Tuesday launched a small test of user-selected advertising, wherein users will be able to choose whether to watch one Promoted Video at the outset, or a few in-stream ads during their selected video. Users who choose the Promoted Video will also be able to choose which video they'd like to watch. "We are constantly testing a wide range of options to find the right advertising format for the right content on YouTube, and we think giving users a say in the process helps our efforts," YouTube product manager Phil Farhi wrote on the company's blog.

Yahoo Adds Five Papers to Newspaper Consortium

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2009 - 1:03pm.
Sunnyvale, Calif. - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) on Tuesday announced five new members of its Newspaper Consortium, which aims to boost ad revenue by integrating paid search technology and HotJobs listings on newspaper web sites, as well as offering the company's ad inventory to their local clients. New members include Freedom Communications' Orange County (Calif.) Register and Colorado Springs Gazette, the North Jersey Media Group's The Record and Herald News and The San Diego Union-Tribune. Launched in late 2006, the consortium now has 814 members.

PwC: Media, Entertainment Spending to Grow 2.7% Through '13

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2009 - 11:24am.
London - The global entertainment and media market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 2.7% over the next five years, to reach $1.6 trillion in 2013, according to the annual report from PricewaterhouseCoopers.