YouTube has begun offering advertisers the ability to pair their in-video ads with videos the site believes are on their way to becoming viral hits.
The YouTube product team has created an algorithm, which it says can identify videos that are increasting in terms of views. It makes that determination by looking at factors such as the early acceleration of views on a given clip, along with the number of times it is "favorited" (added to favourites) and the number of ratings it receives. The Google owned platform hopes the feature will appeal to entertainment marketers and to those pushing products with broad appeal.
"We believe buzz targeting is a strong marketing opportunity for any advertiser that wants to offer compelling content alongside the most popular videos taking off on the site," the spokesperson said. "It's an opportunity for them to wrap themselves in the experience that is YouTube itself."
However, the targeting option is available only on clips created by members of YouTube's ad partner program. Among those partners are content majors like Universal Music Group, NBA, and CBS & amateur creators such as Brookers and Daxflame & artists like Ashley Tisdale.
The first advertiser to use the program was Lionsgate Films - "The Forbidden Kingdom." For roughly the past month, the distributor has advertised the Jackie Chan/Jet Li martial arts vehicle on approximately 500 of YouTube's most popular music and entertainment videos, YouTube said. Buzz targeting joins other YouTube ad targeting factors such as geography, time of day & profile targeting (only gender and age). The feature is available now to advertisers in the United States only.
YouTube and other Google sites hosted more than 4.3 billion video views in March, accounting for 38 percent of all U.S. video traffic. During that month, U.S. Internet users increased their video intake by 13 percent gain compared with the previous month, and by 64 percent compared with March 2007.
YouTube has regularly introduced new ad-related features in recent months. Six weeks ago it debuted an analytics product designed to generate a wide range of data about who viewed their videos, where they viewed them, and when. Some real good information that can be applied in planning future video programs.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Yahoo Google search advertising deal
This, i guess was always in the offing. Just read an article in NYtimes.com on a proposed Google Yahoo deal for search advertising. It may be a way to fend of Microsoft bids for Yahoo, but it sure does raise many questions pertaining to Anti Trust issues and also an apprehension over the Yahoo - Live.com search sponsored results ie. yahoo's ads on Live.com.
Google Inc.'s top executives expressed hope Thursday that the Internet search leader will be able to form a potentially lucrative advertising partnership with Yahoo Inc.
"We have been talking to Yahoo and we are very excited to be working with them," said Google co-founder, Sergey Brin. ''We share a lot of values with them.''
Neither Brin nor Google Chairman Eric Schmidt mentioned how far along the two sides are in their negotiations after a two-week test which was completed last month. During the trial run, Google supplied a small portion of the text-based ads that appeared alongside the search results on Yahoo's Web site.
Because Google's technology proved it, the alliance could help Yahoo snap out of a prolonged slump that made it vulnerable to Microsoft's buyout bid. Microsoft also cited Yahoo's willingness to subordinate its own ad system to Google's as a reason for dropping its bid.
"We really believe in companies having choices about their destinies," Brin said. "It's not about scuttling (the deal). They were under a hostile attack and we wanted to make sure they had as many options as possible."
Schmidt left little doubt that Google was pleased to ruin the deal. However, he said he wanted to keep Yahoo out of Microsoft's hands largely because he was concerned the world's largest software maker would abuse the added power.
Schmidt described Google's current relationship with Yahoo as "very, very friendly."
If Yahoo were to sign a long-term ad deal with Google, some analysts believe that would repel Microsoft for good. Although Microsoft executives have publicly indicated they are looking for other ways to bolster the software maker's unprofitable Internet operations.
This partnership almost certainly would face intense antitrust scrutiny as the two companies together control more than 80 % of the U.S. market for online search advertising.
"If there were a deal (with Yahoo), we would anticipate structuring the deal to address the antitrust concerns that have been widely discussed," Schmidt said.
Although Schmidt wouldn't specify how Google will address the antitrust issues, analysts speculate, that it could be done by running the partnership as an auction-style system that would allow other rivals, to show ads on Yahoo.
Google shareholders attending Thursday's meeting didn't seem to care about the implications of a potential Yahoo partnership.
Now i wonder what is brewing in the the Silicon valley.
Google Inc.'s top executives expressed hope Thursday that the Internet search leader will be able to form a potentially lucrative advertising partnership with Yahoo Inc.
"We have been talking to Yahoo and we are very excited to be working with them," said Google co-founder, Sergey Brin. ''We share a lot of values with them.''
Neither Brin nor Google Chairman Eric Schmidt mentioned how far along the two sides are in their negotiations after a two-week test which was completed last month. During the trial run, Google supplied a small portion of the text-based ads that appeared alongside the search results on Yahoo's Web site.
Because Google's technology proved it, the alliance could help Yahoo snap out of a prolonged slump that made it vulnerable to Microsoft's buyout bid. Microsoft also cited Yahoo's willingness to subordinate its own ad system to Google's as a reason for dropping its bid.
"We really believe in companies having choices about their destinies," Brin said. "It's not about scuttling (the deal). They were under a hostile attack and we wanted to make sure they had as many options as possible."
Schmidt left little doubt that Google was pleased to ruin the deal. However, he said he wanted to keep Yahoo out of Microsoft's hands largely because he was concerned the world's largest software maker would abuse the added power.
Schmidt described Google's current relationship with Yahoo as "very, very friendly."
If Yahoo were to sign a long-term ad deal with Google, some analysts believe that would repel Microsoft for good. Although Microsoft executives have publicly indicated they are looking for other ways to bolster the software maker's unprofitable Internet operations.
This partnership almost certainly would face intense antitrust scrutiny as the two companies together control more than 80 % of the U.S. market for online search advertising.
"If there were a deal (with Yahoo), we would anticipate structuring the deal to address the antitrust concerns that have been widely discussed," Schmidt said.
Although Schmidt wouldn't specify how Google will address the antitrust issues, analysts speculate, that it could be done by running the partnership as an auction-style system that would allow other rivals, to show ads on Yahoo.
Google shareholders attending Thursday's meeting didn't seem to care about the implications of a potential Yahoo partnership.
Now i wonder what is brewing in the the Silicon valley.
"Plan C" - Microsofts New Strategy
I wonder how many of us remember the Eskimo ad on TV, where they travel all the way to reach a small town in India... I think it was brilliant and yes without batting an eyelid, I can recall it was for Live.com search on Hutch.
How many of us actually use Live.com for search or know that it belongs to Microsoft... Does anyone say " Yahoo it or Live (live.com) it and the first link is my website" but yes you find people saying "Google it". Infact, I remember a Pontiac TVC (in the US) which spoke about the Pontiac G6 and ended with a line "Don't take our word for it, Google 'Pontiac' to find out!”. This ad not only resulted in a high number of searches for Pontiac but also, kind of closed the loop between offline and online advertising. The reason I say this, is cos, increasingly the laptop is becoming a part of the couch, in different parts of the world. Not to forget the ad did become a case study too.
Coming back to the topic, what is it, that’s different with Google and Live.com (Microsoft search)...
Besides, the obvious volumes, it’s the way the product has been positioned and advertised. Did you know, Live search has a lot of different features e.g. its image search results keep growing as users scroll, thus you don't need to click to see the next page. Its Video search thumbnails start playing when the user does a mouse over them. Microsoft has also launched specialized searches for health and medical information and added some fun features like for those who are celebrity-obsessed.
After, Microsoft withdrew its bid of $47.5 billion for Yahoo, its been working on something called "Plan C" which according to many is nothing but re-building and re-positioning itself or as Bill Gates mentioned (In Japan, last Wednesday) in a statement "at this point Microsoft is focused on its independent strategy."
For those who came in late, "Plan A" was about going solo, which was beaten even after a lot of effort and advertising on billboards and ads in magazines. Also, not to forget it acquiring an online advertising company "aQuantive" for $6 billion.
"Plan B" was a desperate effort to acquire a chunk in the search pie, by bidding for Yahoo, which sadly fell through.
Just two days before Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer walked away from the Yahoo bid; he outlined to employees a four-part plan to "build the most interesting position in the world in online advertising, media, and the kind of social connected search and media experiences that go along with that."
First, Microsoft must do the basics - a huge search index, lots of storage in the cloud for users, very well.
It must innovate in "quick waves" that force Google to play catch-up.
It must "change the basic experiences" of communication and search.
And it must gain scale.
"We have a strategy and we have ideas in each one of those categories," Ballmer told the employees. The promise fell flat with analysts who had heard it so recently before.
I really wonder and I’m just too curious to see the bigger picture of what "Plan C" is all about. In one of the interesting articles I read, Charlene Li, an analyst at Forrester Research, also believes Microsoft should look beyond search and perhaps push ahead with plans to deploy software over the Internet and to get marketers to use a Microsoft platform for mobile and display advertising.
"The problem with a definition of success (is that) when this whole acquisition thing began, it was beating Google, and I think that's the wrong battle to fight," Li said. "I'd rather see them hit Google where it's weak."
I personally think, that it all comes down to the way a company positions its product and the way it markets it. Google, on the other hand seems to "just grow" and for those who remember seeing the Google Epic (a few years back) would recall and recognize its developments over these years.
How many of us actually use Live.com for search or know that it belongs to Microsoft... Does anyone say " Yahoo it or Live (live.com) it and the first link is my website" but yes you find people saying "Google it". Infact, I remember a Pontiac TVC (in the US) which spoke about the Pontiac G6 and ended with a line "Don't take our word for it, Google 'Pontiac' to find out!”. This ad not only resulted in a high number of searches for Pontiac but also, kind of closed the loop between offline and online advertising. The reason I say this, is cos, increasingly the laptop is becoming a part of the couch, in different parts of the world. Not to forget the ad did become a case study too.
Coming back to the topic, what is it, that’s different with Google and Live.com (Microsoft search)...
Besides, the obvious volumes, it’s the way the product has been positioned and advertised. Did you know, Live search has a lot of different features e.g. its image search results keep growing as users scroll, thus you don't need to click to see the next page. Its Video search thumbnails start playing when the user does a mouse over them. Microsoft has also launched specialized searches for health and medical information and added some fun features like for those who are celebrity-obsessed.
After, Microsoft withdrew its bid of $47.5 billion for Yahoo, its been working on something called "Plan C" which according to many is nothing but re-building and re-positioning itself or as Bill Gates mentioned (In Japan, last Wednesday) in a statement "at this point Microsoft is focused on its independent strategy."
For those who came in late, "Plan A" was about going solo, which was beaten even after a lot of effort and advertising on billboards and ads in magazines. Also, not to forget it acquiring an online advertising company "aQuantive" for $6 billion.
"Plan B" was a desperate effort to acquire a chunk in the search pie, by bidding for Yahoo, which sadly fell through.
Just two days before Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer walked away from the Yahoo bid; he outlined to employees a four-part plan to "build the most interesting position in the world in online advertising, media, and the kind of social connected search and media experiences that go along with that."
First, Microsoft must do the basics - a huge search index, lots of storage in the cloud for users, very well.
It must innovate in "quick waves" that force Google to play catch-up.
It must "change the basic experiences" of communication and search.
And it must gain scale.
"We have a strategy and we have ideas in each one of those categories," Ballmer told the employees. The promise fell flat with analysts who had heard it so recently before.
I really wonder and I’m just too curious to see the bigger picture of what "Plan C" is all about. In one of the interesting articles I read, Charlene Li, an analyst at Forrester Research, also believes Microsoft should look beyond search and perhaps push ahead with plans to deploy software over the Internet and to get marketers to use a Microsoft platform for mobile and display advertising.
"The problem with a definition of success (is that) when this whole acquisition thing began, it was beating Google, and I think that's the wrong battle to fight," Li said. "I'd rather see them hit Google where it's weak."
I personally think, that it all comes down to the way a company positions its product and the way it markets it. Google, on the other hand seems to "just grow" and for those who remember seeing the Google Epic (a few years back) would recall and recognize its developments over these years.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Facebook - New target for Microsoft
After talks with Yahoo failed, the news is that Microsoft Corp. informally approached social-networking Web site Facebook Inc. to gauge its interest in selling itself to Microsoft.
Microsoft's investment bankers recently contacted Facebook as it looked likely the Redmond, Wash., software company might back away from buying Yahoo. Though there is no active discussions between the two, it is unclear if closely held Facebook would consider selling. The approach was previously reported on the AllThingsD.com Web site, owned by News Corp.'s Dow Jones unit, publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
Yahoo however continues to face challenges of its own. It is said tha Google Inc. executives are now thinking whether to pursue a search-advertising deal with Yahoo.
Separate discussions between Yahoo and Time Warner Inc. also continue. However, they say there is less urgency to reach a deal now that Microsoft has exited the stage. The two sides are discussing combining AOL and Yahoo.
In a letter to Microsoft employees (after failed talks), Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said the company would explore acquisitions and increased investment in its own online services.
Facebook is a fast growing Web service that has become a hub for all kind of consumers. Last year, Microsoft bought a 1.6% stake in the portal, valued at $240 million. It then valued Facebook at $15 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and chief executive, has resisted the idea of selling his whole company. He recently made several high-level hires like Chamath Palihapitiya: VP-marketing & operation, Gideon Yu - CFO etc. that suggest he intends the company to remain independent. Facebook would still faces possible fallout from the weak broader economy, which could pressure online ad based ventures.
Facebook's main attraction for Microsoft is its rapid growth and popularity. In March 08, Facebook had 109.2 million visitors which is a 240% increase from March 2007, according to comScore Inc and expects revenue of $300 million to $350 million this calendar year (which is approx $150 million last year). By comparison, Microsoft's Web sites attracted 563.2 million visitors world-wide in March which is just a 7% increase from the year ago.
The big question for Microsoft is whether Facebook can become a major source of online advertising. Facebook has tried to expand online advertising, but half of its revenue last year came from a partnership with Microsoft. After its investment last year and a deal struck in 2006, Microsoft has an exclusive arrangement to sell display ads on Facebook through 2011. Acquiring Facebook might not significantly add to Microsoft's inventory of space in which to show ads across the Web.
Microsoft's investment bankers recently contacted Facebook as it looked likely the Redmond, Wash., software company might back away from buying Yahoo. Though there is no active discussions between the two, it is unclear if closely held Facebook would consider selling. The approach was previously reported on the AllThingsD.com Web site, owned by News Corp.'s Dow Jones unit, publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
Yahoo however continues to face challenges of its own. It is said tha Google Inc. executives are now thinking whether to pursue a search-advertising deal with Yahoo.
Separate discussions between Yahoo and Time Warner Inc. also continue. However, they say there is less urgency to reach a deal now that Microsoft has exited the stage. The two sides are discussing combining AOL and Yahoo.
In a letter to Microsoft employees (after failed talks), Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said the company would explore acquisitions and increased investment in its own online services.
Facebook is a fast growing Web service that has become a hub for all kind of consumers. Last year, Microsoft bought a 1.6% stake in the portal, valued at $240 million. It then valued Facebook at $15 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and chief executive, has resisted the idea of selling his whole company. He recently made several high-level hires like Chamath Palihapitiya: VP-marketing & operation, Gideon Yu - CFO etc. that suggest he intends the company to remain independent. Facebook would still faces possible fallout from the weak broader economy, which could pressure online ad based ventures.
Facebook's main attraction for Microsoft is its rapid growth and popularity. In March 08, Facebook had 109.2 million visitors which is a 240% increase from March 2007, according to comScore Inc and expects revenue of $300 million to $350 million this calendar year (which is approx $150 million last year). By comparison, Microsoft's Web sites attracted 563.2 million visitors world-wide in March which is just a 7% increase from the year ago.
The big question for Microsoft is whether Facebook can become a major source of online advertising. Facebook has tried to expand online advertising, but half of its revenue last year came from a partnership with Microsoft. After its investment last year and a deal struck in 2006, Microsoft has an exclusive arrangement to sell display ads on Facebook through 2011. Acquiring Facebook might not significantly add to Microsoft's inventory of space in which to show ads across the Web.
Printerstitial - The print cousin of Interstitial
So most of those who know about online advertising have at some point of time encountered an Interstital, which is nothing but a page that loads before an expected page. This page is often used by publishers to promote an advertisment etc. From my experience, i've seen very good CTR's on Interstital ads (right upto 14%). But now there is a cousin of Interstital, the "Printerstitial".
Enter the "PrinterStitial." A Denver based startup, Format Dynamics, has invented a whole new ad category by developing a service that inserts "Ads" into printouts of Web pages, combining the "advantages of online ads with the power of traditional print ads." They've used 18 months of actual "PrinterStitial" results from early publisher adopters, combined with data from market researcher MetaFacts, Format Dynamics estimates that U.S. consumers print approx. 61 billion Web pages annually...creating what the company's CEO Ethan Holien calls a previously "untapped market opportunity, with scale and legs".
72 newspapers of the MediaNews Group, including The Denver Post, as well as Rand McNally, The Houston Chronicle, CNET, Career Builder, and the Orange County Register are currently using Printerstitials.
When consumers take printouts of Web pages enabled with Format Dynamics' "CleanPrint," the technology dynamically reformats the page(s) to be more appealing to the user , while completely eliminating such Web-centric features as navigation bars etc. The PrinterStitials can either be print-friendly versions of ads or completely separate "print ads".
Depending on the online publisher, P'stitials are either sold by the sites themselves or by Format Dynamics, Holien said. The company is talking to vertical ad networks, as well as "advertisers and agencies when appropriate." Travel Ad Network is already on board. Ad revenues are shared between Format Dynamics and publishers.
In their media kit, the Orange County Register and ocregister.com stress how engaged users are with pages they print out. "When users print online content, it's because they intend to read again, hold onto or pass along the information on the page," the kit advises. "Now your ad can appear on those hard copies, giving you the opportunity to create a lasting brand association and an incentive to win their business." The paper's stated ad rate for PrinterStitials is $1,300 monthly.
While PrinterStitial sales are targeted towards the digital buying community, Holien noted that publishers already "versed with print," can sell existing print advertisers. The pitch - "This is print advertising, but you can target it three ways (behaviorally, contextually, geographical). You don't have to buy just a circulation number."
The company has developed a companion analytical tool, PrintTracker, which measures all printing of PrinterStitial ads directly from browsers, providing publishers and advertisers with relevant data and metrics. Previous printing data only measured the minority of pages printed from "printer-friendly" buttons, Holien said. "Most publishers right now don't understand how much printing is occurring," he added.
"It's new inventory that publishers can monetize, and an opportunity for advertisers to plug in ads, We know in general that people do online research and buy in local stores, and a majority of purchases have an online component," he said. Now, FormatDyamics' technology combines that empirical information "with the anecdotal info that people show up in stores with pages in hand." said analyst Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence.
Interestingly, Format Dynamics, has raised $4.4 million in first-round venture capital and in its demos states that both CleanPrint and Click4Print provide the opportunity for "truly integrated online/offline advertising."
I can forsee the loop between online and offline advertising closing very soon :).
(those who want to read the complete article can log on to Mediapost)
Enter the "PrinterStitial." A Denver based startup, Format Dynamics, has invented a whole new ad category by developing a service that inserts "Ads" into printouts of Web pages, combining the "advantages of online ads with the power of traditional print ads." They've used 18 months of actual "PrinterStitial" results from early publisher adopters, combined with data from market researcher MetaFacts, Format Dynamics estimates that U.S. consumers print approx. 61 billion Web pages annually...creating what the company's CEO Ethan Holien calls a previously "untapped market opportunity, with scale and legs".
72 newspapers of the MediaNews Group, including The Denver Post, as well as Rand McNally, The Houston Chronicle, CNET, Career Builder, and the Orange County Register are currently using Printerstitials.
When consumers take printouts of Web pages enabled with Format Dynamics' "CleanPrint," the technology dynamically reformats the page(s) to be more appealing to the user , while completely eliminating such Web-centric features as navigation bars etc. The PrinterStitials can either be print-friendly versions of ads or completely separate "print ads".
Depending on the online publisher, P'stitials are either sold by the sites themselves or by Format Dynamics, Holien said. The company is talking to vertical ad networks, as well as "advertisers and agencies when appropriate." Travel Ad Network is already on board. Ad revenues are shared between Format Dynamics and publishers.
In their media kit, the Orange County Register and ocregister.com stress how engaged users are with pages they print out. "When users print online content, it's because they intend to read again, hold onto or pass along the information on the page," the kit advises. "Now your ad can appear on those hard copies, giving you the opportunity to create a lasting brand association and an incentive to win their business." The paper's stated ad rate for PrinterStitials is $1,300 monthly.
While PrinterStitial sales are targeted towards the digital buying community, Holien noted that publishers already "versed with print," can sell existing print advertisers. The pitch - "This is print advertising, but you can target it three ways (behaviorally, contextually, geographical). You don't have to buy just a circulation number."
The company has developed a companion analytical tool, PrintTracker, which measures all printing of PrinterStitial ads directly from browsers, providing publishers and advertisers with relevant data and metrics. Previous printing data only measured the minority of pages printed from "printer-friendly" buttons, Holien said. "Most publishers right now don't understand how much printing is occurring," he added.
"It's new inventory that publishers can monetize, and an opportunity for advertisers to plug in ads, We know in general that people do online research and buy in local stores, and a majority of purchases have an online component," he said. Now, FormatDyamics' technology combines that empirical information "with the anecdotal info that people show up in stores with pages in hand." said analyst Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence.
Interestingly, Format Dynamics, has raised $4.4 million in first-round venture capital and in its demos states that both CleanPrint and Click4Print provide the opportunity for "truly integrated online/offline advertising."
I can forsee the loop between online and offline advertising closing very soon :).
(those who want to read the complete article can log on to Mediapost)
Monday, May 5, 2008
My First Blog
Well, my friends have been after me for a long long time to start of a blog on Advertising where they could know, all that i learn't in my field of work, rather its a way for them to gauge the depth of how hard i work :)
I'm not that much of a blogger but yeah i can "just about express myself in words". So, here it goes... My first post.
Your probably thinking what you would find here!! Actually, it would be regular stuff of whats happening around the world in the online advertising space and at times even the offline advertising world. You would probably would even chance upon some tips n tricks and dope on online advertising.
I cannot guarantee daily posts, but buddy i would surely try and be regular. So long then...
P.S : For those who find this blog, either surfing or in an organic listing, i could just say, "stay tuned, your lucky :D"
I'm not that much of a blogger but yeah i can "just about express myself in words". So, here it goes... My first post.
Your probably thinking what you would find here!! Actually, it would be regular stuff of whats happening around the world in the online advertising space and at times even the offline advertising world. You would probably would even chance upon some tips n tricks and dope on online advertising.
I cannot guarantee daily posts, but buddy i would surely try and be regular. So long then...
P.S : For those who find this blog, either surfing or in an organic listing, i could just say, "stay tuned, your lucky :D"
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