NBA/TNT on MySpace

In case you didn't know, the NBA playoffs are going on, yeah neither does anybody else. Apparently, the NBA and TNT think that launching a MySpace page will help boost ratings and get the younger crowd involved. Good thing it's just in time for the end of the season.

The page launched Friday, April 19, just prior to the kickoff of the pro hoops league’s two months worth of playoff action. The page is dedicated to TNT's coverage of the NBA, which will feature "exclusive video content featuring the network's Inside the NBA studio team as well as behind-the-scenes footage from the show. In addition, the page will feature both audio and video snippets from the network’s various pre-game and studio segments" (Shields, Mediaweek). TNT also plans to post pictures as well as blog posts.

Will this increase their ratings? I doubt it.

Google and Clear Channel Reach Deal

After more than a year after dMarc Broadcasting joined the Google team, Google has reached an agreement with Clear Channel, the top radio station owner in the U.S, to sell advertisements across all of Clear Channel's radio stations.

According to the press release,"under the agreement, Google™ Audio Ads advertisers will have national distribution, enabling them to reach specific audiences, at specific times, in targeted geographies. For Clear Channel, this agreement opens up an additional sales channel and provides supplemental revenue by making Clear Channel inventory available to advertisers who previously had not used radio."

Google will add 675 stations to their previous reach of 800 stations that were located primarily in smaller markets.

The New York Times reported that "the companies did not disclose the financial details of the arrangement, except to say that Clear Channel would receive the majority of the ad revenue."

Scott Silverman, Strategic Partner Development Manager at dMarc Broadcasting, declared, "this new relationship with the leading U.S. radio group gives our advertisers access to guaranteed inventory on top-rated AM and FM stations all over the U.S., making it much easier for them to reach their target customers with radio ads" (Official Google Blog)

This appears to be a situation where both parties benefit from the deal, since Clear Channel will increase their revenue, as well as gain different types of advertisers and Google will also gain revenue and more clout within the media industry. If they are able to repeat their success in radio, they will likely be able to have added success in the print and television industries.

Google's Most Recent Aquisition: DoubleClick

There have been a few weeks of chatter and bidding surrounding the sale of DoubleClick, and Google came out on top.

The $3.1 billion agreement was announced yesterday. The acquisition will combine DoubleClick's expertise in ad management technology for media buyers and sellers with Google's leading advertising platform and publisher monetization services.

Overall, it appears that Google believes this merger will further improve digital advertising: "It has been our vision to make Internet advertising better - less intrusive, more effective, and more useful. Together with DoubleClick, Google will make the Internet more efficient for end users, advertisers, and publishers," said Sergey Brin, Google's Co-Founder and President, Technology.

Further support is found on the AdWords blog, "We believe our combined efforts will give you more places to target your ads and more ways to help your online campaigns perform better."

Furthermore, Susan Wojcicki, Vice President, Product Management proclaimed on the Official Google blog that "together, Google and DoubleClick will empower agencies, advertisers, and publishers to collaborate more efficiently and effectively, which will, in turn, provide a better experience for our users."

This acquisition will certainly benefit Google, as well as the DoubleClick shareholders, but only time will tell how it will affect the already skewed competitive landscape in the digital market.

Interpublic Acquires Reprise Media

The Interpublic Group has acquired search marketing agency, Reprise Media, for an undisclosed amount.

According to Reprise Managing Partner Joshua Stylman, "the acquisition was driven by demand from Interpublic's international clients for greater search expertise and also supports Reprise's ambition to expand beyond the U.S. market" (Nelson, ClickZ News).

Reprise will remain independent and serve as a resource to the various Interpublic agencies. Reprise will be reassigned to the "Futures Marketing Group," which houses IPG's Emerging Media Lab, and will also manage IPG's investments in sites like Facebook and Spot Runner.

System Maintenance for AdWords on April 14

On the Inside AdWords blog, it was announced that this Saturday, April 14, the AdWords system will be unavailable for scheduled system maintenance. It will be unavailable from approximately 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Although advertisers will be unable to access accounts, campaigns will continue to run as usual.

Viacom parnters with Yahoo!

Viacom and Google have continued their sour relationship as Viacom chose Yahoo! over Google for Search Advertising. This comes just two months after Viacom slapped Google/YouTube with a massive DMCA take down demand, and only a month after Viacom sued Google for $1 billion. Moreover, Viacom partnered with Joost over YouTube last month.

Back to the new deal, Viacom has chosen Yahoo to provide search advertising for 33 of its internet sites. The exclusive multiyear advertising partnership with Yahoo includes the sites for MTV, VH1, BET, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon networks. More importanly, the partnership could expand to more than 140 additional sites worldwide. The deal includes sponsored and contexual search advertising.

This search deal could also lead to Yahoo gaining additional revenue through placement of Yahoo's display advertisements on Viacom sites.

New look for ads above natural results on Google

Over the past few years, the sponsored links above the search results have been displayed in a box with a blue background that a user can click on in order to reach an advertiser's landing page.


According to Daniel Dulitz, Product Manager for the Google.com ads user interface, Google has decided to make changes to the display of the ads "to improve the experience of our users and advertisers."


The first change is the actual look of the ads. Google has been testing the background color of the ads for months, and have decided to change the background color from blue to yellow.


The second change modifies what counts as a click in the box, which is not consistent with the ads on the right side of the natural results. Previously, any click in the blue box would count as a click and send the user to the advertiser's landing page. Now, users must click on the link in the top line of an ad in order to be taken to the advertiser's website.


This combination of changes will lower click through rates, but it will likely improve ROI because the ads are more visible and more qualified traffic will be directed to the advertiser's website, instead of inadvertant clicks. In addition, it will improve the overall user experience, since users won't be redirected from the search page due to an accidental click.


Google details the changes on the Inside AdWords blog.

Bar Codes and Cell Phones

New technology, already in use in parts of Asia but still in development in the United States, allows the phones to connect everyday objects with the Internet. In their new incarnation, cellphones become a sort of digital remote control. The phone can read encoded information on everyday objects and translate that into videos, pictures or text files on its screen. In Japan, customers can point their cell phones at the wrapping on a hamburgers to get nutrition information on their screens.

Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

The pattern on a building in Tokyo is filled with information that can be read by a properly programmed cellphone with a camera. The technology can also be used for many other things, like buying airline tickets.

“The cellphone is the natural tool to combine the physical world with the digital world,” that executive, Cyriac Roeding, the head of mobile-phone applications for CBS, said the other day.

"Advertisers say they are interested in offering similar capabilities in the United States, but cellphones in the States do not come with the necessary software. For now, consumers have to download the technology themselves" ("New Bar Codes Can Talk With Your Cellphone," April 1)

Still, big advertising and technology companies like Hewlett-Packard and the Publicis Groupe, an advertising conglomerate, are pushing to popularize the technology here.

This technology will help consumers get more accurate information at a more rapid rate. Also, advertisers will be able to track which consumers are searching their product, which should lead to more targetted and relevant ads.

DoubleClick sale?

The rumors about the sale of DoubleClick, a New York-based ad serving and marketing technology company, have been heating up in these past few days, especially as more big names have entered talks.

To recap the rumors, it was reported last week that Microsoft was interested in acquiring DoubleClick. "DoubleClick is majority-owned by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman. A source quoted in The Wall Street Journal story last week said the private equity firm, which took a controlling interest in DoubleClick two years ago for $1.1 billion, is seeking $2 billion for the company" (B to B, April 2). Microsoft would be able to gain share in the internet advertising sector where they have been lagging behind both Google and Yahoo.

If Microsoft is able to acquire DoubleClick, what does that mean for Yahoo and Google?

For Google, it might cause an ad revenue loss of $120 million, which is nothing for a company that reported $3 billion in profits. However, if Microsoft then acquires Yahoo, as Mark Simon argues, then Google might be in serious trouble.

Since there is a faint possibility of this happening and Google is into buying pretty much everything, they have entered the rumor mill. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google and AOL are both interested with the price tag now exceeding $2 billion, for the company that is estimated "to earn $300 million in revenue this year (up from $150 million in 2006)" (Google Watch, April 2).