Breaking Digital Marketing News

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.

Hype Machine Outs Bands it Thinks Manipulated Charts

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 1, 2009 - 9:22am.
Los Angeles - Hype Machine, an aggregator of music based on coverage and buzz generated on blogs, has made changes to its chart of popular songs after it found allege manipulation of some of the placements. The company found that multiple fake accounts had been created whose only actions were to favorite a single band's songs, upping their ranking. Hype Machine also went as far as to name the bands "who (or their managers, promoters, interns, determined fans, there is no way to ultimately know) we believe have attempted to manipulate the charts on the Hype Machine."

Former NCAA Players Sue EA Over Likenesses in Football Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 1, 2009 - 8:01am.
Los Angeles - A number of former college football players have filed suit against Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS), alleging the company included their likenesses in its "NCAA Football" video games without permission, GamePolitics reported.

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.

Internet Marketing Firm ClickFuel Lands $2.5 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 26, 2009 - 7:01am.
Boston - ClickFuel, a provider of Internet marketing services to small and mid-sized businesses, has raised $2.5 million in its first round of funding, led by Baird Venture Partners.

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.

EA Merges Bioware, Mythic Studios; Inks Dr. Pepper Promo Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 25, 2009 - 12:37pm.
Redwood City, Calif. - Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) is consolidating its Bioware and Mythic game development studios into a single unit that develops massively multiplayer titles, but both studios will keep their existing names. Mythic co-founder Mark Jacobs will leave the company; the new group will be headed by Bioware co-founder Ray Muzyka, while Mythic's other co-founder, Rob Denton, will be general manager at Mythic. EA on Thursday also announced a new multimillion-dollar marketing deal with soft drink maker Dr. Pepper. Under the agreement, special codes found on more than 500 million Dr. Pepper products will unlock exclusive content and levels on select EA titles, including The Sims 3.

Report: Yahoo Planning Major Rebranding

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 25, 2009 - 8:53am.
Sunnyvale, Calif. - Looking to reshape its image, Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) is at work on a major rebranding campaign that may be tied to the expected launch of its redesigned home page this fall, All Things D reported.
tags: Marketing | Yahoo |

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."

The Echo Nest Debuts Fanalytics Music Marketing Platform

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 24, 2009 - 12:01pm.
Somerville, Mass. - The Echo Nest, the provider of a "music intelligence" platform, on Wednesday announced the launch of its Fanalytics platform, which "applies patented Web crawling, machine learning and semantic Web technology to help artists and labels better understand, locate and build their online fan base." Initial customers include Universal's Interscope Records, Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group, Sony's RCA, and indie distributor The Orchard.

AOL Music Integrates StubHub Ticket Marketplace

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 24, 2009 - 12:00pm.
San Francisco - StubHub, the secondary ticket marketplace owned by eBay, announced that it has partnered with Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) AOL Music, which will integrate its Fan to Fan marketplace into AOL Music to offer users instant access to tickets. The deal will enable AOL Music users to buy or sell concert tickets from almost every page of the site.

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.

TiVo, Quantcast Partner on TV-Internet Ratings Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 23, 2009 - 11:42am.
New York - TiVo (NASD: TIVO) announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Web audience measurement firm Quantcast to offer advertisers and media firms an analysis service that cuts across DVR and Internet usage. The Tivo/Quantcast sample of 35,000 households will include TiVo's own ratings panel with Quantcast's direct measurement offering to track the effectiveness of advertising, media consumption and programming affinity.

tags: TV | Reports | Metrics | TiVo | DVR | Research | Quantcast |

The Orchard Teams With Music Intelligence Solutions

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 23, 2009 - 11:38am.
New York - The Orchard, a digital distributor and marketer of independent music, said on Tuesday that it has partnered with Music Intelligence Solutions, provider of the Hit Song Science prediction technology. Under the deal MIS's uPlaya digital music and discovery service will license The Orchard's catalog for use in new artist promotional applications for Web and mobile. The Orchard will also distribute music predicted to be popular by the company's Hit Song Science and Music Universe services.

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.