Microsoft readies Bing-a-thon

June 05, 2009

By Matt Kapko

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/23405.asp

If Microsoft has its way and gets its money’s worth from a $100 million campaign, Bing will be everywhere. Following the launch of the company’s new search engine, a campaign is underway that has Bing prominently placed inside TV shows and Hulu, The New York Times reports.

“It’s a very tall marketing challenge and a very tall product challenge,” Yusuf Mehdi, SVP of Microsoft’s online services division, told the Times. “It’s going to take multiple steps to get where we want to go, and this is the first step.”

On Monday, Hulu will run a telethon-style commercial called a “Bing-a-thon,” beginning at 8 p.m. (Eastern Time). Los Angeles-based Creative Artists Agency developed the program, according to the Times.

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Cause For Celebration: Online Ad Spending Falls Just 5%

Article Link: Media Post

Article Author: Mark Walsh

Article Date: 05-June-09

From the Article:

Online ad spending fell 5% to $5.5 billion during the first quarter of 2009, marking the first year-over-year decline for any quarter since 2002, according to new data released Friday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers.That total also reflects a drop of about 10% from the $6.1 billion spent in the fourth quarter, when ad dollars tend to rise in connection with the holiday shopping season. Many industry forecasts have predicted single-digit growth for online ad spending in 2009, but if the current pattern continues, those projections may soon begin to look overly optimistic.

Trying to cast the ad decline in the best possible light, the IAB stressed that the Internet has not been as severely affected as other media in one of the worst ad marketplaces in decades. “Current economic conditions are clearly challenging,” said David Silverman, a PwC assurance partner, in a statement. “Nonetheless, interactive media continues to consume a larger piece of the overall advertising pie.”

News Corp.’s Miller Backs Paid Digital Content

Article Link: AdWeek.com

Article Author: Georg Szalai

Article Date: 03-June-09

From the Article:

Paid digital media services are the wave of the future for media giants, and the only question is how fast they will become reality, said News Corp. chief digital officer Jonathan Miller, adding that the conglomerate will push to develop new business models that work for the industry overall.

Tremor Media Touts New Web Video Ad Format

Article Link: MediaWeek

Article Author: Mike Shields

Article Date: 02 -June-09

From the Article:

Forget the standard pre-roll. Ditch the overlay. Tremor Media today is set to release V-Choice, a set of new online video ad placements that the company claims will successfully marry the sight, sound and motion of TV spots with the control and interactivity that users expect on the Web.

The company, which boasts a video ad network that reaches 57 million unique viewers (comScore, March), has just completed a beta test period with several top advertisers, including Proctor & Gamble, Universal Pictures and Ubisoft. Now, it plans to roll out V-Choice ads to the general market.

Carl’s Jr. Makes New Kind of Network Buy

Article Link: AdWeek

Article Author: Brian Morrissey

Article Date: 01 -June-09

From the Article:

NEW YORK Justine Ezarik might not be a household name, but the 25-year-old has a cable TV-size audience. The only difference: Ezarik’s audience is on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks to Google, she’s also now part of Carl’s Jr.’s effort rolling out this week to sell the Portobello Mushroom Six-Dollar Burger to young men. The search-engine giant drafted Ezarik and eight other popular YouTube creators to participate in an ad campaign for the fast-food chain on the video-sharing site. They were commissioned to put their own spin on the CKE Restaurants brand’s infamous Paris Hilton-eating-a-burger commercial by showing how they would eat theirs.

Showtime Taps Amazon’s Kindle for Advertising

Article Link: Ad Age

Article Author: Michael Bush

Article Date: 01-June-09

From the Article:

“Nobody has figured out what the future ad model for a device like the Kindle is going to be,” OMD’s Mr. Haber said. “And while this is not an ad per se, it’s content, it is the first step in figuring out how marketers can use this platform and provide some value to consumers from a content standpoint while finding a way to raise awareness and buzz about a product, or in this case a TV show.”

Microsoft Search Leads to Bing

Article Link: AdWeek.com

Article Author: Mike Shields

Article Date: 28-May-09

From the Article:

As expected, Microsoft has officially announced the launch of Bing, its new search engine brand, which will go live on June 3. The company is touting the product as a “decision engine” that has been designed to help users solve immediate problems faster by narrowing down the number of search results it delivers. And without naming Google directly, Microsoft is emphasizing Bing’s ability to save users from sifting through thousands of links for every search they conduct — i.e. the typical Google search experience.

Taking Online-Ad Measurement Beyond the Click

Article Link: Ad Age

Article Author: Abbey Klaassen and Michael Learmonth

Article Date: 18-May-09

From the Article:

If not the click, then what?

There is no one answer to how to best measure online advertising. But it’s becoming increasingly clear that in an era defined by deeper and better analysis of online data — the Google-ification of online advertising — many marketers are betting on a familiar-looking model: Do the ads move those more-traditional metrics, such as consideration and intent to purchase?

Present Day: AOL and Time Warner Will Part Ways

Article Link: NYTimes.com

Article Author: Saul Hansell

Article Date: 28-May-09

From the Article:

Time Warner said on Thursday that it would file for divorce in one of the most ill-fated marriages in the history of the media and technology business, its 2001 merger with AOL. The companies hope the separation is complete at the end of the year.

Circa 2000: AOL, Time Warner to Merge

Article Link: Wired.com

Article Author: Declan McCullagh

Article Date: 10-Jan-00

From the Article:

The move has already drawn a rush of investors to the companies on Monday, both of which have seen their stock languish in recent months. Time Warner, which closed Friday at 64 3/4, had not managed to best its 52-week high of 78 5/8 from last spring, and AOL’s closing price of 73 3/4 is about 10 points lower than its May 1999 value.

That’s already changing. Time Warner shares catapulted $30 to $95 in pre-open trade on Monday morning, while America Online jumped $13 to $85.875. The enthusiasm spurred shares of media stocks higher across Europe and sent the combined market capitalization of both companies higher by some $10 billion.