Web TV's New Format: Bite-Size

ClickZ News Blog
ClickZ's editors opine on Internet marketing trends, search engine marketing, online advertising, branding and interactive media.

1. Web TV's New Format: Bite-Size - 2007-06-19 17:06:41-04
   

   
   Sony Pictures Television is airing paired-down versions of its classic shows on MySpace. The channel is being called the Minisode Network. The name reflects the three- to five-minute length of each Web episode, which is edited down from half-hour and one-hour shows. Honda signed on as the exclusive launch sponsor with "mini spots" for the new Fit car. The mini spot includes a :03 billboard and :05 mini-mercial that runs at the top of each episode.

   At launch, the Minisode Network has three episodes each from 15 of the Sony library. Shows include "Partridge Family," "Starsky & Hutch," "TJ Hooker," "Charlie's Angels," "Diff'rent Strokes," "Facts of Life," "Silver Spoons," "Who's the Boss?," "What's Happening!!," "Dilbert," "Sheena," "Fantasy Island," "Police Woman," "VIP" and "Ricki Lake." Sony expects to exceed 500 episodes by the end of the year.
   

   
   
2. Take that UGC Portals! - 2007-06-19 17:15:55-04
   

   The Online Publisher's Association (OPA) is hitting the road with its recently released "Frames of Reference," report and sharing additional details about how media sites may be the best sites to place video ads.

   The OPA flew in the face of general perception two weeks ago when it said that :30 ads can claim better viewer retention than shorter ads. Pam Horan, president of the OPA, also told me that while most everyone might assume that humorous videos can claim the highest number of views online, it's actually the news and weather videos that viewed the most on a daily basis and receive the highest conversion rates for advertisers.

   Specifically, the report states that over one-third of consumers on magazine, newspaper, and online-only news sites say they have searched for more information after watching a video ad, while about one-quarter did so after watching an ad on a portal or UGC site. It also states that one-quarter of consumers on magazine and online-only news sites went into a store to check out a product after viewing a video ad, while only 17 percent on portal sites and 14 percent on UGC sites did so.

   About one-in-five consumers on local broadcast TV, national broadcast TV and cable TV sites requested more information after viewing a video ad, while only 16 percent on portal and 14 percent on UGC sites did so.

   Members of the OPA are spending the next two weeks visiting cities like Boston, LA and San Francisco to discuss the report.

   
   
3. Microsoft Relaunches Mobile Site - 2007-06-20 03:56:05-04
   

   Tech giant Microsoft is taking another stab at its mobile portal with a relaunch of its MSN Mobile site. The company said it's a redesigned and reengineered portal for
   mobile phones in the United States to provide customers with access to e-mail, news, sports, entertainment, local movie listings, maps and directions. It's also set to provide mobile links to Microsoft's Live services including Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Spaces, and Live Search.

   The site is set to work with devices with Internet browsers utilizing Wireless Application Protocols (WAP) 1.2 or greater.

   
   

   
   
4. Nielsen TV Panel Leery of Web Tracking Plans - 2007-06-20 13:05:55-04
   

   So, Nielsen wants to track the online activities of the folks on its TV household panel. In fact, they'd like to make it mandatory. Evidently, they aren't taking well to the notion. A Mediapost report notes, "results from a small test sample of the so-called 'convergence panel' indicate that a significant number of respondents have refused to add Internet measurement due to concerns about their privacy." The firm, merging officially with its online firm NetRatings soon, may begin testing the online measurement with its live panel homes this fall.

   Considering the clamor for cross-media tracking and reporting, it makes perfect sense that Nielsen wants to do this. Whether they can convince their traditional TV panelists to let 'em is another story.

   
   
5. Digital Marketing Remainders for June 21 - 2007-06-21 11:22:22-04
   

   The YouTube overfloweth. The great YouTube expansion under Google begins. At an international press event this week, YouTube announced site launches in Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK. And yesterday Apple and Google said the video site would be available on Apple TV and the iPhone. Too early to say how or if marketers will be able to interact with consumers on the Apple devices, but it's a noteworthy media platform crossover.

   Speaking of which, The Register reported recently that Joost is courting hardware vendors. Pre-loading its platform onto TV's would vault it into competition with cable, Apple TV and Slingbox, among others – somewhat daunting company.

   Online retailers should chat it up. Coremetrics and CompUSA report use of the InstantService live chat tech on compusa.com resulted in a 10x higher conversion rate and higher incidents of return shopping. ( release)

   EBay auction: bid on my non-personally identifiable info. You laugh, but what if a site launched to aggregate auctions like this? (via adrants)

   Gannett invests in mobile firm. Publisher, already a key distribution partner for 4INFO, invests a $10 million Series D round. ( release)

   
   
6. Rise Up Against Squatting! - 2007-06-21 18:12:33-04
   

   Fledgling online site YouChoose.net is touting itself as a social network for causes and petitions, and it's picked up on a continuing annoyance of an issue to get folks riled up about: Cybersquatting. YouChoose.net is still in Beta, but it's intended as a place for folks to post petitions for gathering signatures. Mike Dever, co-founder of YouChoose, is apparently going after ICANN President and CEO, Dr. Paul Twomey to rein in those malicious individuals that gather up domain names in hopes of a big corporate pay off, or culling money from ad networks like Google AdSense.

   The petition reads:

   "We, the undersigned, are concerned about domain name parking abuse and request that ICANN revisit the Anti-Cyberssquatting Consumer Protection Act and the Trademark Cyberpiracy Prevention Act to ensure that a domain names that are parked would be available for sale at a price tag that would not be considered extortion. We request that 'Cybersquatting' issues be discussed, reviewed and formalized this year into a written law to help stop the continuation of domain parking as an extortionist means that cause legitimate businesses to pay high price for the domain name."

   Since it was created on June 12th, the petition has gathered 558 names as of today. Not a lot, but still not bad considering the site itself has only been around since February.

   Separately, anti-typosquatting firm CitizenHawk has once again issued a "TypoAlert" to bring attention to how many slightly misspelled URLs close to major brands sites are being used to redirect viewers or trick them out of their personal data. Since launching its service in April, the company has gone on to warn about bank sites being targeted, and now has done the same for kid oriented sites.

   The company found, for instance, that there are 628 potentially trademark-infringing domains listed around ClubPenguin, while Disney got 247, Cartoon Network got 537 and Nickelodeon got 318.

   Of course, it behooves CitzenHawk to show the need for its services by listing potential violators, and it's most likely a good idea for firms to do their due diligence to keep folks from violating their brand identity, but even so I still can't get Maude Flanders' shrill "Won't somebody please think of the children?" out of my head.
   

   
   
7. Google's Schmidt: Expect More iPhone Integrations - 2007-06-22 11:24:21-04
   

   "iPhone is a powerful new device and is going to be particularly good for the apps that Google is building. You should expect other announcements from the two companies over time," a ZDNET story quoted as saying at an event in Paris.

   Is the iPhone Google's real mobile platform strategy?

   
   
8. Insider Thinks Google Won't Serve DoubleClick's ASP Customers - 2007-06-25 10:38:51-04
   

   I had an interesting talk with Dana Ghavami, CEO of rich media/ad management firm CheckM8 the other day. One topic our discussion naturally flowed towards was the recent upheaval in the ad management space, spurred on by Google's DoubleClick purchase. I asked him what he thought of AOL's acquisition of AdTech, a lesser-known Germany-based ad management firm with strong ties to the European market.

   While some insiders in the ad management sector have told me they don't think the acquisition will affect AOL's relationship with the now Google-owned DoubleClick (AOL is one of if not the biggest client DC has), Ghavami disagreed.

   "I don't think it's a coincidence that they outright bought AdTech," he told me during our talk a couple weeks ago. "I would go so far as to say that AOL Time Warner will be using AdTech as their in-house publisher solution."

   Ghavami believes that once Google begins servicing DoubleClick clients, it may ditch companies like AOL that license its technology, rather than plugging into DC through its ASP system.

   "There is a very good chance that DoubleClick is no longer going to support their licenses," said Ghavami. He believes that Google bought DC for access to the data flowing through its ASP system, and if they don't have access to some clients' data, they won't want to serve them, at least in the current capacity. He added, "They don't want to have the DoubleClick data out of their hands on the publishers' systems….It's outside of the Googleplex."

   Continued Ghavami, "DoubleClick is now serving the interests of Google and not DoubleClick's customers."
   
   
   

   
   
9. Web Analytics - Buy the Book! - 2007-06-25 15:07:20-04
   

   Hope you've got the budget for at least two books on Web analytics this summer because another must-read title was just released by Shane Atchison and Jason Burby, who respectively pen ClickZ's Actionable Analysis and Analyzing Customer Data columns.

   Actionable Web Analytics: Using Data to Make Smart Business Decisions is the name of the new tome, and it's been getting raves from anyone who's anyone in Web metrics (Lester Wunderman, Jim Sterne, Eric Petersen and Avinash Kaushik, to name just a few).

   Here's the blurb I supplied to endorse the title:

   "If you're one of the many people who view Web analytics as a necessary evil, this book will spin your perception 180 degrees. That Jason and Shane know Web analytics backward and forward (not to mention upside-down and inside-out) is a well-known fact. But these two possess another singular talent: the ability to make analytics palatable, understandable, even digestible for even the most data- and math-adverse right-brain thinker you know (perhaps you're that person?). These two go way beyond the numbers. They can explain with crystal clarity how to use data to improve processes, businesses, and their bottom lines."

   
   
10. eBay Halfheartedly Returns to Google - 2007-06-25 17:35:21-04
    

    
    Less than two weeks after announcing it was ditching Google, eBay is back, but not in full force. According to a New York Times report, eBay discovered, through what it stressed earlier was simply an ad optimization experiment, it wasn't as dependent on Google's AdWords as "some people thought."

    As reported here, eBay pulled its ads aimed at U.S.-based Google users on or before June 13. Coincidentally, and many believe in direct response, the online auction house made the decision official after Google threatened to host a protest of eBay's ban on Google's Checkout payment system during eBay's annual bash for its hardcore sellers.

    Of course, eBay owns Checkout rival PayPal, so it's no surprise it would rather not allow another digital transaction system on its site. Plus, although eBay will be allocating dollars to all the big search engines, it's got a special relationship with the Google adversary Yahoo, which both handles display ads on the eBay site and serves sponsored text links on eBay. Indeed, some folks think it's about time Yahoo and eBay tie the knot officially.

    
    
11. Mapping out Good Business - 2007-06-26 14:57:08-04
    

    Tech savvy consumers are well aware of the usefulness of mapping programs to find the businesses they're looking for, and it's clear that businesses are starting to take a closer look at how they can improve their listings and woo consumers to them.

    With that idea in mind, Google Maps is giving both sides of the fence new tools to help consumers reach good businesses but offering user ratings and reviews directly from its map system. Some time ago, Google Maps made it possible for businesses to list themselves directly onto its mapping platform, but now it's giving users the ability to rank those listings and even make comments on them. Using Google Maps, users can search for a listing, click on the "More Info" link, and then the "Write a Review" section.

    With all the interest in maps, including having the ability to place ads directly onto them , I have to wonder if local social media sites like CitySearch, Yelp, Judy's Book, Backfence and others have a new battle on their hands as the map giants like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo push into their market in new ways.
    

    
    
12. Zimmerman and ImageSpan Partner for Auto Ads - 2007-06-26 16:54:02-04
    

    Local car dealers have long been the source of some really annoying ads. After all, who doesn't remember some cheesy talking chimpanzees or some "Crazy Larry" guy claiming he has the best deals on cars cause he's "craaaazzzyyyyy," all touting the local car dealership? Nevertheless, auto industry advertising is a multibillion dollar business with a growing online component, and now Zimmerman Advertising and ImageSpan are partnering to help local dealerships… hopefully… make some better ads.

    Zimmerman's Pick-n-Click Ads.com lets auto dealerships to create video or photo ads, while ImageSpan provides licensing automation technology and access to a network of 7,000 videographers and photographers. The idea is that dealers can choose from hundreds of automotive campaigns created by the automotive advertising agency, customize them with video or photos of their dealership supplied by ImageSpan video professionals, and then automatically license the content.

    I can only hope that it'll be the end of Crazy Larry for good.
    

    
    
13. Can Mobile Measure OOH Media Exposure? - 2007-06-27 11:33:48-04
    

    Can mobile devices enable out-of-home media exposure and conversion?

    That's what research firm IMMI is betting on. Today at the ARF's Audience Measurement 2.0 conference, the company's co-founder Amanda Welsh, walked us through a new product that will debut this fall.

    Here's how it works: An audience panel's mobile phones are pinged for a 10 second duration every 30 seconds (these durations can be varied). The ambient sounds of whatever setting they're in are monitored. If OOH advertising audio is detected (radio, TV or closed network systems), these sounds are matched to the corresponding ads. Additionally, a small device called a beacon is plugged in next to the TV the panelist uses most often to monitor their viewing habits. IMMI can track not only ad exposure, but also take a stab at coming up with conversion figures. In tests, the company claims panelists exposed to ads for the movie "300" converted at a rate of 9 percent, for example, while non-exposed conversion was c. 2 percent.

    The pings pick up other data as well, such as the phone's battery level, and even whether or not it's plugged into a charger.

    Interesting...and, of course, flawed. Overall, I'm betting men, who tend to carry mobile devices in pockets and on belts, would be imminently more trackable than women, who are more inclined to bury the thing in a handbag. Depending on the size of a panelists home, would a charging device be within range of the beacon? What if a family member's watching the set, but not the actual panelist? What about lost and left-behind cell phones? There are a myriad of variables that could skew the data. Or is the answer that at least it's better than nothing?

    Interesting solution to a complex problem. We'll be following up with more on the topic.
    

    
    
14. When the Conversation Turns Nasty - 2007-06-27 14:05:33-04
    

    As with all A-list controversies, the vitriol surrounding a Microsoft sponsorship of several Federated Media tech bloggers over the past three days is a bit irritating and overblown. But it's also totally fascinating, and an important one for marketers to watch. That's because the entity that's incurred the most damage here is not Mike Arrington, Nick Denton, Om Malik or John Battelle, but Microsoft, which had sought to affiliate its "People Ready" tagline with influential tech writers and wound up the object of derision in the comments sections of TechCrunch and other sites across the FM network.

    Background for the uninitiated: Before the mess, FM implemented a campaign for Microsoft that involved the creation of ad units and a microsite where FM bloggers weighed with their thoughts on "people ready," Redmond's primary ad slogan for its business products since last year. The campaign fell into FM's "conversational marketing" bucket, touted by John Battelle since he founded the company. In form and execution, it closely resembled sponsorships FM had already created for Cisco and Hakia. (I wrote about the Cisco effort in the background to this story.)

    John Battelle nemesis and "conversational" curmudgeon Nick Denton was the first to cry foul on ValleyWag, calling FM and its bloggers so many shills for Microsoft, and the fiasco spiraled quickly. Everyone's weighed in. CNET picked up on it, and Mike Arrington promptly attacked CNET. Om Malik, an FM author, issued a rapid mea culpa. Jeff Jarvis damned the enterprise. Fred Wilson came to its defense and called Nick Denton "old school." The inevitable satirical site appeared. And on and on. Finally John Battelle tried to put an end to the crisis (and it is a crisis for FM, which stands to alienate Microsoft and its network sites) by urging FM bloggers to more strictly disclose their affiliations with such campaigns. That outraged Mike Arrington all the more, who lashed out at everyone involved and suggested he wants new ad representation. Arrington questioned why anyone ought to disclose that content appearing inside an ad is sponsored content.

    The disclosure discussion really was a red herring in the whole debate, but that doesn't make Arrington correct. The real question is whether it's alright for a journo-blogger like Mike Arrington to endorse a company or slogan by contributing statements directly to an online campaign and accepting payments for those statements. I'm no digital media ethicist and so wouldn't venture an absolute judgment on People-Ready-gate. But speaking only as a reporter for ClickZ, I'd be very uncomfortable writing copy for an advertiser as part of a campaign scheduled to appear on our site. Standards for bloggers may be totally different, but it seems likely to me the tech writers in FM's network share my concern about maintaining objectivity and the perception thereof on their sites.

    Right or wrong from a blogger ethics point of view, the risk to advertisers is clear should audiences reject experimental conversational strategies. Things can get negative very fast. In the case of this Microsoft campaign, many bloggers and commenters appear to feel that what FM and Microsoft were engaging in was not innovative marketing, but an advertorial in disguise.
    
    

    
    
15. Heavy on the Hellmann's, Skimpy on the Video Production - 2007-06-27 17:31:39-04
    

    Dig potato salad? Well, Yahoo Food has a tantalizing recipe in video form including tarragon, dill, lemon juice…and…raw potatoes. I swear! Evidently whoever edited down the film shot for a series of Yahoo Food videos sponsored by Hellmann's mayonnaise cut out the bit about boiling the taters!

    Is this truly the best Hellmann's can…er…bring out?

    Well, thankfully, they were sure to leave the close-ups of the mayo jar in place. "The start of my potato salad sauce is Hellmann's mayonnaise, the best mayonnaise out there," proclaims host Dave Lieberman (yeah, that guy from the Food Network).

    According to a Wall Street Journal story about the 12-week "In Search of Real Food" Web series, "The show is part of a multimillion-dollar advertising and marketing effort the company kicked off in April promoting the freshness of ingredients in Hellmann's."

    Lieberman "will travel the country seeking out interesting recipes, and once each episode he will cook up a recipe -- which in some cases will call for Hellmann's." Well, so far there are four clips up, and they're all shot in Brooklyn and Manhattan -- which, coincidentally, is where the Food Network studios are.

    The story goes on to note the mayo maker Unilever has agreed to spend between $1 million and $2 million in ads on Yahoo to promote the show, and will be pushing it on jar caps 'n' such. Hmmm…might wanna make sure the show is of as high quality as the mayo, eh?
    

    
    Well, even if Hellmann's improves the quality of its Yahoo clips, they could never touch the mini-films produced for Vaunnies Mustardayonnaise, Stensons Mayostard, or Mundees Mustmayostarayonnaise.
    
    
16. Universal McCann: U.S. Ad Spending Staggering, and Dot-Com Marketing Budgets Slip Too - 2007-06-28 12:15:17-04
    

    UniversalMcCann's Rober Coen put out a report this week that reiterates what we've already been hearing about the U.S. ad outlook and digital's role in it. Namely, things are looking grim for the former and peachy for the latter.

    It's not quite that simple. Yes, U.S. ad spending in 2006 grew a less-than-expected 3.9 percent, leading the company to lower its 2007 growth forecast to 3.1 percent. And Internet ad growth meanwhile was up 16.7 percent in Q1 2007, more than any other category. Still, many categories posted year over year gains, some considerable, in television and magazines. By Q1 2007, however, many national marketers' TV budgets had declined. And of course, newspaper classifieds tanked. 'Nuff said about that.

    The most severe impact on ad budgets has come from shifts in media spending by local advertisers, "although there is definitely slippage in the relative importance of advertising in terms of big national companies' total marketing and communications spending," the report said.

    Interestingly, consumer advertising by dot-com marketers is expected shrink this year for the first time since 2002. Universal McCann believes that's partly because they're putting their budgets into search.

    The report also discusses ad spending shifts by country and globally. You can download it here .
    

    
    
17. Tremor Adds ClipSyndicate to Video Ad Network - 2007-06-28 13:16:54-04
    

    In what's basically a mini-version of the deal it made with BrightCove earlier this spring , Tremor Networks added video content and syndication firm ClipSyndicate to its video ad network. ClipSyndicate offers a bevy of video content that's heavy on news, sports and current events from a variety of professional and semi-professional sources. Its syndication network consists of "thousands" of small to mid-sized site owners, including bloggers.

    
    
18. Mysterious and Compelling Eye-Project Site - 2007-06-28 13:28:25-04
    

    KDDI Corporation is some sort of a Japanese communications company doing some sort of viral, CGM-fueled project that assembles photos, Web images and movies into a constantly morphing display of digital imagery.

    Can't tell you much else about it, other than the Eye-Project site is hypnotically cool:

    
    
19. TribalFusion to Build Out In-Stream Contextual Video Network - 2007-06-28 14:06:07-04
    

    ROO and TribalFusion are planning to work together to improve how video offers are targeted against text-based content online.

    The companies' joint announcement today is light on details and heavy on bombast (the deal "will forever alter how consumers view pre-roll advertising," and will make "clicking through to a video link a far more compelling proposition than ever before," etc.) but the gist of it is that sites in the Tribal Fusion network will be able to offer video content and ads relevant to the Web page a person is on.

    The example given is that of a person reading a newspaper site article about indie bands, who is then offered videos about the music discussed on the page they're reading. People who watch the video will then be able to purchase that music if they want it.

    Part of what's interesting here is that Tribal Fusion appears to be growing its pre-roll ad inventory by partnering with a video content aggregator (ROO) and serving video content into display ad space. I can't be sure how the final iteration of the agreement will work out, but by using inventory on its partner sites to invite Web users to click content related to a page they're on, the company increases the amnount of high value in-stream inventory it can sell. As a bonus, Tribal Fusion can contextually target those pre-roll and in-stream ads, since it will be able to infer the topic of the video.

    Who knows if any of this will actually happen, but the potential is there.
    

    
    
20. Google Top Referral Site for Clinton, Paul in May - 2007-06-28 17:53:31-04
    

    Presidential contenders, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Ron Paul came out on top among major party presidential candidates when it came to traffic to their official campaign sites in May, according to Hitwise. The site measurement firm just sent me some supplemental data showing the top five referral sites driving that traffic for each.

    Both candidates' sites have four referral sites in common, Google, MySpace, Yahoo Search, Yahoo Mail. Yep, Google comes out on top, driving nearly 20 percent of traffic to those sites. Check out the rest here, part of ClickZ's ongoing election data coverage.

    If you haven't caught our other recent election-related data coverage, here are a few more links:

    Giuliani Site Visitors Seek Health Content, Clinton's Go for Games and Country Music

    Candidates Using E-mail for More Than Fundraising in May, June

    Clinton on CNN Only, McCain on Conservative Sites and Networks in April