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<title>iMedia Connection: Most Read News</title>
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<pubDate>Sunday,  21 Sunday, March 21, 2010 2010</pubDate>

  <item><title><![CDATA[ Google's mobile ads become a hot commodity]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26283.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ 
It's too early to call Google's Nexus One smartphone an iPhone killer, but the Google phone -- and its associated Android operating system -- is taking a bite out of Apple's mobile ad monopoly.
Ad requests for Android devices on the AdMob mobile network grew 56 percent over the past two months, ClickZ reports. Google is in the process of acquiring AdMob, which could explain the jump, but other mobile ad networks are seeing more interest in Android as well.
Millennial Media saw a 25 percent jump in Android ad impressions in February, representing the largest month-over-month increase in the company's history. Meanwhile, Israel-based ad network Todacell saw 600 percent growth in Android requests between December 2009 and January 2010. Overall requests in its network grew by 300 percent in that same period, showing that Android is growing at twice the pace of the overall mobile market.
Apple is still the dominant player in mobile advertising, and its operating system offers far more reach than Android at this time. Still, the numbers indicate a possible sea change for the mobile landscape in the near future.<br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Google: Mobile ad rates will surpass PC rates]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26212.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ The price tag for mobile search ads will surpass that of desktop-based ads, according to Google engineering VP Vic Gundotra.
During a webcast for analysts, Gundotra cited the surge of smartphones as the reason for his prediction. He noted that, in the last two years, the number of Google searches done on phones has increased by a factor of five. He also said that the company will aim to produce more relevant ads that will make use of burgeoning smartphone technology, Reuters reports. It was hinted that Google might focus on the GPS applications that can pinpoint a user's whereabouts. 
Google has made a flurry of moves on the mobile front. In January it began selling the Nexus One, a Google-produced smartphone that uses the Android operating system. Last November, it announced plans to acquire mobile marketing firm AdMob for $750 million. The purchase is now under regulatory review. 
Gundotra's webcast came during a swell of speculation over Google's status in China. The company has announced that it will resist any form of censorship demanded by Chinese government. When asked about the company's mobile plans in China, CFO Patrick Pichette said that Android was available to everybody and should "flourish" there. And nbsp; <br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Facebook passes Google in traffic]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26208.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ Facebook has surpassed Google in traffic to become the most popular website in the U.S., reports VentureBeat. Facebook had a 7.07 percent share of web traffic last week, slightly more than Google's 7.03 percent share, according to data from Hitwise. The figures do not account for traffic outside the U.S., however. And nbsp; 
While both sites have seen a recent surge in activity, Facebook's torrid pace outmatches that of its competitor. Within a year, traffic for the social site has increased 185 percent. Part of that success can be attributed to games such as Farmville, which are played on the Facebook platform. Farmville, which was released last June, has amassed a following of 83 million users.
While the data is favorable for Facebook, not all of the research is in agreement. Another analytics firm, comScore, says that Google reaches 81 percent of the U.S. internet audience, making it the leader of the pack. Facebook is placed behind Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, reaching 53 percent of the internet population. And nbsp; <br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Mobile app market on the verge of explosion]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26229.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ The iPhone's popularity for mobile marketing is due in large part to the success of Apple's App Store, which has proven that consumers are willing to pay for branded applications. The fervor for mobile apps won't die anytime soon, with the market expected to triple in size this year.
U.S. app revenue will hit $1.6 billion in 2010, according to the latest prediction from research firm Yankee Group. Yankee's latest estimate comes after a swell in paid downloads in early 2010. Paid apps accounted for 18 percent of all downloads in 2009, but account for almost one-third so far this year, MediaPost reports.
The average iPhone user downloads 60 apps a year, and those range in price from free to up to $15 for an app like MLB's At Bat 2010, which offers live baseball scores. Not every paid app is as pricey -- the Hearst publishing company just rolled out 70 niche apps that start at 99 cents.
While the iPhone has laid the groundwork for the age of applications, Yankee Group expects Google's Android platform to drive the market as well. The Android marketplace currently offers 30,000 applications.<br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Microsoft condemns Google's ad operation]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26273.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ Microsoft wants a piece of Google's search advertising business, and the company is not afraid to let marketers know. A Microsoft executive publicly trashed Google's ad selling practices this week and implored marketers to expect more from the search giant.
According to Mary Snapp, Microsoft's deputy general counsel, advertisers should demand that Google let them use data gathered by its AdWords tool for other digital advertising initiatives. Snapp also condemned Google's practice of letting competitors bid on search terms associated with a brand or company. Microsoft only sells search ads based on brand names to companies that own those keywords, according to Adweek.
Snapp's comments were delivered at the ANA Advertising Law  And amp; Public Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. Google responded by saying that its system gives advertisers the best possible return on their investment and that its trademark policy strikes a balance between trademark owners' rights and offering consumers the best possible search results.
Microsoft reached a deal with Yahoo last year that combines the two companies' search businesses, with Yahoo taking charge of both companies' ad sales. The move is an obvious ploy to steal Google's share of the paid search market; SEM was one of the few digital sectors where revenue grew in 2009, according to eMarketer.<br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Dunkin' Donuts develops Twitter tracking model]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26272.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ How do you make money off Twitter? Dunkin' Donuts may have the answer. 
The popular chain is tallying the click-through rates on its "Win Free Coffee for a Year" offer, with hopes of tracking the potential revenue. There is also a database that compiles all the members of their "DD Perks" program. The members are assigned a quantitative value that could predict the amount of dollars flowing in, according to Portfolio.
Dunkin' Donuts is a veteran in the world of tweeting. The brand jumped on the scene in 2008 (before Twitter was a household name), and began tweeting about contests, deals, and new concoctions from the kitchen. Customer suggestions are also acknowledged on a regular basis. Over 46,000 users follow the chain on Twitter. And nbsp; And nbsp; And nbsp; And nbsp; 
Dunkin' Donuts' interactive success highlights the question of how to approach Twitter as a marketing tool. As noted by Emily Riley, analyst and research director at Forrester Research Inc., businesses are struggling to find a doctrine that would guarantee success on the social site. She describes the general strategy as being "all over the map."<br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Nielsen and eXelate gang up on consumer privacy]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26195.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ EXelate Media, a start-up that collects and sells web data on consumers, is set to announce a partnership with Nielsen to merge data that may help provide advertisers with more detailed profiles of consumers. But some regulators are voicing concerns that linking web-surfing habits with personal data crosses a major privacy line, according to The Wall Street Journal And nbsp;(subscription required). And nbsp; And nbsp; And nbsp; 
EXelate gathers online consumer data through deals with hundreds of websites. Based on site visitors' access and registration data, the company can determine a consumer's demographic information and web habits via use of cookies. The new deal will allow advertisers to go to eXelate to buy Nielsen's Claritas-PRIZM data converted to a cookie-based digital format. That data comes from sources such as the Census Bureau and consumer research firms, as well as Nielsen's own research. 
Though eXelate claims its data can't be traced to individual consumers, and Nielsen strips out consumers' personally identifying information, the powerful targeting combination has come under fire before, and was a factor in the FTC's probe of DoubleClick in 2000. 
"If consumers learn that information about them has been compiled from multiple different sources, it could certainly cause them to be concerned," said Christopher Olsen, an assistant director in the division of privacy and identity protection at the Federal Trade Commission.<br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Engaging rich media ads trump banners]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26228.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ Ad units that are "engaging" boost brand recall and consumer attitude, according to a study by VideoEgg that researched the impact and implications of rich media units.
Video ads, including VideoEgg's "AdFrame" units, outperformed banner ads when it came to brand recall. Participants were twice as likely to remember a brand after viewing the AdFrame unit, according to VideoEgg. Optimal results were produced when the video units were integrated with interstitials. Compared to the results of banner ads, this method was 2.5 times more likely to generate brand recall. The units were also effective in changing the perception of consumers; participants that viewed the unit were 12 percent more likely to recommend the brand. 
Another portion of the study observed the impact of different environments. Ad units were studied across a range of sites: brand name sites, sites that were contextually relevant to the brand, and sites that were completely non-contextual. It was found that the context of the site did not hamper the effectiveness of the ad units. 
The research was conducted through the aid of comScore, a metrics company. A total of 14,000 participants were included in the study. <br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Jameson goes virtual for St. Patty's Day ]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26227.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ Jameson, the popular brand of Irish whiskey, wants to be known as the "official drink" of St Patrick's Day, and it's using an interactive campaign to do so.
Through an integration of social media, print advertisement, radio spots, and in-bar promos, the brand has collected more than 150,000 votes thus far. Voters can chose from a variety of Jameson cocktails, including a Jameson and ginger, and a Jameson and Coke. The Facebook page also allows users to send promotional badges to their friends. And nbsp; And nbsp; And nbsp; 
An obvious concern of AdNectar, the agency behind the initiative, is the possible exposure to minors. To prevent this, the agency is using the process of age-gating to block the content from minors. And nbsp; 
The campaign is part of the company's recent push in marketing, Marketwire reports. Despite the brand's longstanding popularity, it wasn't until last year that it produced its first television commercial. Jameson currently holds a 66 percent market share among Irish whiskies.<br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Google unveils retail inventory search]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26178.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ 
Google is connecting mobile and brick-and-mortar retail by letting consumers see whether an item is in stock at nearby stores, all through the search results on their smartphone.
The service went live on Thursday, featuring inventory checks from Sears, Best Buy, Williams-Sonoma, and Pottery Barn. Consumers can access the feature by clicking on the "shopping results" link in their search results. They will see a blue dot in their search results if the item they're searching for is available in a nearby store, according to Google.
The service is currently available on the iPhone, Palm WebOS phones, and Android-powered devices. The new retail inventory feature is the latest in a line of mobile search applications from Google. Earlier this year, the search giant unveiled a "near me now" search tool that used the GPS system commonly found in smartphones to help locate local restaurants and services. <br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Facebook, Twitter sway consumer attitudes]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26165.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ Consumers are more likely to do business with a brand that engages them on social network sites like Facebook or Twitter, according to a recent report.
The study, done by Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies, surveyed 1,504 people on their attitudes towards the use of social media as a marketing tool. When asked if they would be more likely to buy something after becoming a "fan" of the brand, 67 percent of Twitter users answered "yes," while 51 percent of Facebook users followed suit. When asked if they would be more likely to recommend the brand, 79 percent of Twitter users said they would, and 60 percent of Facebook users agreed.
The research also asked if it was reasonable for brands to skirt the social media route. The replies suggested that people will consider a brand archaic or myopic if it's not plugged into Facebook or Twitter. One response said that a brand needs "a strong electronic presence" or else customers will "doubt [its] relevance in today's marketplace."<br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ The real-time bidding revolution arrives]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26179.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ 
When Google acquired DoubleClick in 2008, it was betting that real-time bidding -- and the ability to immediately reach customers as they move across the web -- would become an integral part of the advertising landscape. And nbsp;Those days have finally arrived, and publishers and advertisers are betting that real-time bidding could revive the display market. Advertisers are paying an average of 130 percent more on ads sold through the DoubleClick exchange compared to ads sold through networks, The New York Times reports. Other publishers are commanding prices that are 50 percent higher when they sell space in real time as well.
Real-time bidding lets advertisers buy and serve ads on a consumer by consumer basis, basing their decisions and bid prices on a consumer's browsing and purchase history. Advertisers can buy ad space in the milliseconds between a consumer arriving at the page and the time it takes the full page to load.
Google unveiled its revived DoubleClick exchange in September, but it's not the only big player in the real-time game. Yahoo is currently experimenting with the process on its Right Media Exchange, while Microsoft sells ads in real time on its AdECN exchange.
The popularity of real-time bidding will be good news for the entire industry. Display spending dropped 2.3 percent last year, according to eMarketer. Meanwhile, spending on search, which uses similar bidding technology, rose 2.2 percent.<br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Chevy jump-starts ambitious digital spending]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26207.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ Chevrolet is using the annual SXSW Interactive conference to kick off its digital marketing initiatives, including social media, mobile, and augmented reality programs. It's the first major digital move for Chevy, which plans to devote 30 percent of its ad spend to digital this year, Ad Age reports.
One initiative unveiled in Austin is a mobile augmented reality app, iReveal, which lets consumers view three-dimensional models of cars on city streets. Chevy also affixed QR codes to the hoods of its cars around Austin that, when photographed by a mobile phone, launch microsites with more information about the car.
While Chevy is using SXSW as a launching pad for its digital campaigns, the brand maintains that its focus on interactive will continue long after the festival. The company plans to commit 30 percent of its marketing budget to digital this year and it used SXSW as a launching pad to solicit feedback from the assembled technology experts.
Other car brands have launched digital campaigns in the past, but Chevy is just the second of the Big Three automakers, after Ford, to fully embrace digital.<br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Will the next Twitter be mobile-based?]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26180.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ 
With SXSW Interactive kicking off this weekend, technology geeks will undoubtedly be searching for the next Twitter. It turns out that the next big thing won't be found in Austin, but on the other side of the globe, in India.
That's where a new social-networking device called Bubbly is taking off, with more than 500,000 users before its official launch, Ad Age reports.
Just like Twitter, Bubbly sends short messages to large groups of followers, only instead of quick bursts of text, Bubbly uses the actual human voice. Users can sign up to follow friends, brands, and celebrities, and whenever a message is sent out, users get an alert on their mobile devices. Most messages are less than 30 seconds, and the maximum length is one minute. If a user chooses to listen to the message, they pay for the mobile airtime. Brands like the BBC have already signed up to use the service in India.
Bubbly is the product of Bubble Motion, a 5-year-old mobile social application. Bubble Motion's current plan is to launch the product in fast-growing mobile markets like India, Japan, and Brazil.<br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Twitter unveils info service, but no ad plan]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26210.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ Much of the buzz surrounding this year's SXSW Interactive conference centered on Twitter's much-anticipated ad platform, but that eagerly awaited announcement never came. But while Twitter did not unveil an ad model at the conference, it did unveil a new information-sharing tool for publishers.
Dubbed @anywhere, the new service will essentially let publishers further integrate with Twitter's platform. When users mouse over highlighted terms on a webpage, a box will appear with Twitter data related to the term, which might include branded accounts or recent updates, Adweek reports.
Initial sites implanting the service include Amazon, Ad Age, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and YouTube. Twitter did not give a launch date, but once the service goes live, users will be able to follow New York Times reporters directly from their bylines or tweet about YouTube videos without leaving the site, according to the company.
While Twitter's service is big news, it left much of the SXSW crowd disappointed. The crowd thinned out substantially after Twitter CEO Evan Williams announced @anywhere in an interview with Havas Media Lab director Umair Haque, and some audience members even complained that the interview itself was boring, according to Adweek.<br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Yahoo hit with unexpected sales shakeups]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26282.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ 
Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz says that the web portal is "drowning in data," but the Yahoo sales team is in clear need of a life preserver after some abrupt executive shuffles this week.
Former sale chief Joanna Bradford left the company suddenly this week to become chief revenue officer at Demand Media. Bradford's tenure at Yahoo lasted only 18 month. Second in command Hilary Schneider will now oversee Yahoo's ad sales as the portal searches for Bradford's replacement, Ad Age reports.
Yahoo has been making a strong public push in recent months to court advertising dollars. At the same time, Yahoo is in the middle of integrating with Microsoft's search sales operation, but Bradford's departure is not expected to disrupt that process, according to the company.<br><br />]]></description></item>
<item><title><![CDATA[ Facebook offers more fan page insights]]></title>
<link>http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26284.asp</link>
<description><![CDATA[ 
When it comes to social media marketing, the metrics are still murky as brands try to understand the correlation between Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and sales. Facebook is trying to make things a little easier for marketers by providing weekly stat updates to brands that use its popular fan pages feature.
The weekly emails contain the number of fans added, comments, "likes," and visits in the past week, according to Mashable. It's a small gesture, but it shows that Facebook is serious about getting more brands to use its platform. And nbsp;Earlier this month, the social network partnered with Omniture on a deal that lets advertisers track their Facebook ad data within Omniture's reporting suite. At the same time, Facebook has been cracking down on unseemly and inappropriate ads, hoping to keep consumers happy while encouraging brands to buy more ad inventory.<br><br />]]></description></item>


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