March 08, 2006
Room 116 Blog
I snagged the above photo of a Sony Walkman print ad on the Room 116 blog site. It's an great blog site hosted by Bryan Chiao over at Anomaly in New York City. Excellent resource for those non-traditional advertising wonks out there.
Posted by richard ting at March 08, 2006, 06:58 PM
TBWA Blog -- Lisbon
Thanks to Harshal Sisodia for the link. Check out the TBWA\LISBOA blog, which is a part of the TBWA\ network which, in turn, is part of Omnicom Group Inc, one of the world’s largest communication groups. The TBWA\LISBOA office has a team of 50 people who work on a wide range of areas such as: brand management, creativity and ideas, design, research and strategic planning, traffic and TV/Radio/Photo production.
There's a ton of cool ideas posted on this blog. Give it a look.
Posted by richard ting at March 08, 2006, 06:51 PM
April 27, 2005
Google Starts Pilot Program to Serve RSS Ads
GOOGLE THIS WEEK ROLLED OUT a test program to serve ads into RSS feeds, the search giant confirmed Tuesday. The program debuted on Longhornblogs.com, a blog devoted to information about an upcoming version of Microsoft Windows. Robert McLaws, one of the authors at Longhornblogs.com, posted on the blog early Tuesday morning that the sites' RSS feeds were now including ads served via AdSense. Although McLaws said on his blog that he couldn't release many details, he stated that if Google decides to launch this product, AdSense publishers could expect to see a wider-reaching public beta within the next few weeks. On the other hand, McLaws wrote, the ads in the test feeds could be temporarily removed, or may be discontinued altogether. He did not respond to requests for comment from OnlineMediaDaily.
In November, Yahoo! announced it was looking into serving RSS ads, and in February, the popular blog BoingBoing.net announced it was experimentally hosting ads in its RSS feeds through a partnership with Feedburner, an RSS and Atom syndication technology company, and Overture. Also in February, Kanoodle and Moreover announced a joint effort to create publisher tools for serving ads into RSS feeds.
Posted by richard ting at April 27, 2005, 07:38 PM
January 14, 2005
Advertising on Blogs
Ad Network BURST! Media has begun to sell advertising on blogs represented in its network. One of the first advertisers to launch a campaign was Kyocera Wireless last week on Screenhead, Gizmodo, and Defamer (all part of Gawker Media). The Kyocera Wireless campaign is running expandable leader boards promoting the advergame "Red Carpet Blitz" which features the company's new wireless camera phone, the Koi/KX2. The purpose of the game is to demonstrate the phone's various features. Media Revolution created the campaign.
Posted by richard ting at January 14, 2005, 11:44 AM
October 15, 2004
RSS Feeds Hunger for More Ads
No online medium is safe from advertising anymore.
In recent weeks, more companies have started bringing advertising to RSS feeds, the popular platforms for aggregating content from multiple sites in a single place. In the past, RSS feeds have typically been free of ads.
By most accounts, companies, analysts and bloggers have reported little complaint from readers, noting that they can "vote with their feed" simply by unsubscribing.
Companies that are employing advertising in RSS include Topix.net, a news site; Moreover Technologies, a search-services company founded by mass blog publisher Nick Denton; Feedster, a news and blog syndication service; and Weblogs, the parent company of Engadget, a popular tech product blog.
Posted by richard ting at October 15, 2004, 12:32 PM
October 13, 2004
Moblogs, Mobots and Marketing
DEMOmobile conference highlights new technology and new opportunities for marketers. The hoopla that surrounds the opening of a trade show can be akin to the excitement you felt as a kid on Christmas morning. The glittering displays, the sparkling new products, the press cameras flashing all make you hope that somewhere in that pile of goodies and marketing ploys you'll find a pony.
No pony, but at this fall’s DEMOmobile conference in San Diego, Nokia and SixApart’s new partnership raced out of the gates like a thoroughbred. The two companies gave attendees a sneak-peek at “Moblogging,” the next generation of mobile marketing using imaging to power-up social networking, create instant communities and put a new face on blogging.
Take cell phone giant Nokia, add blogging tech-powerhouse Six Apart and the two equal a potential promotional jackpot for them, potential media buyers and sponsors seeking a real-time branding opportunity.
It’s also simple to use. With the phone-based application, you snap a picture, type in a short title and description on the keypad, and then transfer the image directly to a blog with a push of a button. No clumsy emailing required. Both the phone and PC version of Nokia’s Lifeblog software now work directly with Six Apart’s much-acclaimed TypePad to enable this next generation of moblogging.
“Several trends are converging, making it not only possible but also easy to document your life and share it with others, from anywhere” explains Barak Berkowitz, Six Apart’s CEO. He says that widespread camera phone usage, ubiquitous Internet access and the popularity of Web blogging make it easy for people to stay in touch no matter where they are.
Posted by richard ting at October 13, 2004, 02:04 PM
September 23, 2004
Advertisers Beware: Blog-Fortified "Copy Cops" at Your Doorstep
by Pete Blackshaw
Blog and bloggers have made a huge mark in 2004, and this should give every major marketer and advertiser pause for deep reflection.
Bloggers gave Howard Dean's campaign early, unexpected momentum. They fanned the flames of the Iraqi prison crisis with rapid distribution of photos, especially the most controversial ones. They catapulted into the mainstream Burger King's "Viral Chicken" campaign, as well as the controversial "Swift Boat Veteran for Truth" anti-Kerry video. More recently, blogs have showcased new and promising ways for brands like Microsoft, Nike, Nokia, Sun, and HP to reach out to consumers and other stakeholders.
But let the word go forth - to marketers and agencies alike -that the blog revolution brings with it unmistakable tradeoffs and potent new "rules of engagement." Ignore them at your peril.
New Rules of Accountability
Like it or not, bloggers promise to hold marketers to new levels of accountability, impacting just about everything advertisers do, say, and claim.
Posted by richard ting at September 23, 2004, 10:54 AM
August 30, 2004
Blogging Goes Mainstream
by Tobi Elkin
Irreverent soliloquies on obscure pop bands from Asia, blow-by-blow accounts of fishing trips in Alaska, hand signal guides, and rapid-fire political debates spanning the ideological spectrum - virtually any topic on someone's mind, is fodder for bloggers. Blogs can be full of useless, arcane drivel and raunchy gossip.
In the so-called blogosphere, everybody's a content creator, editor, publisher, diarist, and critic. Quirky and acerbic rants are par for the course. Once largely an underground phenomenon, blogging has gone mainstream, attracting marketers particularly eager to get in front of hip 18- to 34-year-olds and savvy influencers.
To be sure, the majority of the blogosphere's millions toil alone for the pure pleasure of it, faces glued to the glowing screen of a PC monitor on a 24/7 basis. They are addicted to the art of blogging and are passionate about the process as a means of self-expression and creativity. They like the concept of self-publishing, building a community, and creating a dialogue based on common interests. But as with any emerging media form, marketers are racing to figure out how to harness the blog. Many will view blogs as yet another tool with which to target niche audiences of tastemakers and influencers.
Probably the best example of the buzz-generating power of blogs is Gawker Media, publisher of several popular blogs that combined have managed to rack up some 15 million total page views per month. Monthly unique page views for each property range from 300,000 to 900,000.
Gawker Media's portfolio consists of Gawker, Gizmodo, Fleshbot, Kinja, Wonkette, and Defamer. Currently the toast of the mediarati, Gawker Media has a target demographic aged 26 to 35, according to advertising data on its Web site, although founder and publisher Nick Denton says he's focused primarily on 18- to 34-year-olds. Either way, the influence of Gawker Media properties extends far beyond those groups. Wonkette's avid following includes Washington, D.C., power brokers, wily political operatives, and elected representatives and their staffs.
Posted by richard ting at August 30, 2004, 12:03 PM
June 18, 2004
RSS: A Medium for Marketers
Email marketers get often stopped by spam filters. Their challenge to deliver a legitimate promotional message to users' mailboxes is gettin harder and harder. The end is near... But, wait, don't desperate, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! It's called RSS, and it's here to save a lot of jobs in the email marketing industry...
As pointed out today on ClickZ, RSS is, indeed, a medium for marketers, not just a tool for lazy web surfers who want to have all the content they're interested in just one click away.
But the main point I'd like to focus on, is exactly this: lazyness. I tend to forget to turn my feed reader on, and I tend to assume this is something that might happen to several other users. So will RSS really help email marketing to survive?
Posted by richard ting at June 18, 2004, 01:30 AM
June 15, 2004
Nike-Gawker Deal tests 'Art of Speed' Online Feature
A Blog That May Not Be a Blog
June 14, 2004
By Kris Oser
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Nike's new "Art of Speed" blog on gawker.com is a public experiment that other marketers will watch closely. The results of this collaboration could reveal a lot about whether a mainstream marketer can marry its message to the hip, satirical content of a blog such as Gawker, and, in doing so, gain access to the influential, early adopter blogging crowd.
The Art of Speed, which appeared earlier this month, showcases the work of 15 innovative filmmakers to interpret the idea of speed -- a branding concept Nike is pushing leading up to the Olympics. It was masterminded by interactive shop RG/A, which developed the site, the trailer and the introduction of nikelab.com. While R/GA is responsible for the overall Art of Speed campaign, creative for the blog is handled by Gawker's creative team.
Posted by richard ting at June 15, 2004, 10:52 AM
June 08, 2004
Nike Tries a New Medium for Advertising: The Blog
Gawker Media, a small company that operates snarky Web logs on culture and politics, like Gawker and Wonkette, has begun blogging on behalf of major advertisers.
The company's first paid blog is for Nike. Called Art of Speed, the blog will spend about a month showcasing a series of 15 short films on the theme of speed, all commissioned by Nike. Gawker Media Contract Productions, a new division of Gawker Media, will supply layout, commentary, links and other features. Terms were not disclosed.
"A lot of marketers are interested in Web logs as a medium," said Nick Denton, publisher at Gawker Media in New York. "One thing to do is to run advertising campaigns on the sites. Some marketers are moving one step beyond that and looking at other ways they can engage this new form of independent media."
The approach, Mr. Denton stressed, is borrowed from the print tradition of advertorials and special advertising sections.
Posted by richard ting at June 08, 2004, 04:38 PM
April 14, 2004
RSS Offers Targeted Ad Opportunities
RSS, or XML Syndication, has the potential to offer unique and targeted advertising opportunities to online publishers and the marketers they want to attract. Even though the majority of XML Syndication activity exists in community blogs frequented by tech-geeks, information technology (IT) professionals, and other types of early adopters, an advertising market is beginning to evolve.
Robert Scoble, a technology evangelist for Microsoft Corp., notes that lack of visual stimulus and clutter drives the functionality of an RSS feeder. He says it enables the user to scan content more easily and without distraction. The market opportunity for advertisers is via text ads.
“In my RSS news aggregator, “I’m able to scan a large number of stories or content very quickly without having to be distracted by color, by advertising,” Scoble says, continuing: “but I’m not talking about advertising--like text ads, because I think there’s actually going to be advertising in RSS. Google figured out a very effective way of advertising, which is to use text, because the human eye can process that very quickly and not get distracted.”
Posted by richard ting at April 14, 2004, 11:13 AM
Putting Blogs in Their Place
This chief of New York Times Digital once famously planned to spin off the online division and take it public. That didn't happen. But now that his operation is turning a tidy profit, Martin Nisenholtz is back to making declarations. In a recent keynote speech he said online journalism "needs a Pong" - a transformative application - and that blogs aren't it. Is he dismissing a threat to big media hegemony, or is he onto something? Wired inquired.
Posted by richard ting at April 14, 2004, 11:11 AM
April 01, 2004
Blog of blogs
Kinja.com could help make sense of the blogosphere.
The man who gave the world commercial Weblogs including Gawker and Wonkette is now offering digests of blogs covering 14 subjects including baseball, sex, and politics. Subscribers to Nick Denton's Kinja.com can enter the addresses of blogs they read and also receive digest excerpts. Sample digests say each "contains the newest writing from web logs picked by editors at Kinja."
Kinja.com's service, a blog of blogs, is designed to help people who have heard about blogs become comfortable with them. "Weblogs have probably reached 10 percent of the Internet population," Denton said. "Our goal is to reach the remainder," he told The New York Times.
Posted by richard ting at April 01, 2004, 01:13 PM
Will 'Moblogs' Mean Mo' Money?
Although new cell phone models increasingly come with cameras attached, wireless companies with huge investments in new high-speed networks and fancy phones fear people won't find a corresponding new need to take pictures and send them--for a fee--over the wireless Internet.