Archive for January, 2009
Coca-Cola Deleting ?Classic? From Coke Label
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
After 24 years, one of the most famous blunders in marketing history is quietly coming to end.
Malcolm MacPherson, 65, War Reporter, Dies
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
Mr. MacPherson was a former foreign correspondent for Newsweek whose novels and nonfiction books dealt with subjects as varied as Disneyland, the Iraq war and special operations in Afghanistan.
Newspaper Companies to Make More Cutbacks
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
Gannett said it planned a $5 billion write-down while The Los Angeles Times and the A. H. Belo Corporation announced job cuts.
Consumed: Dumb and Dumber 2.0
Friday, January 30th, 2009
An old joke gets a digital remake ? and attracts consumers in a down economy.
Battling Click Fraud is Important for All Involved
Friday, January 30th, 2009
Every pay-per-click advertiser sees the presence of click fraud, as does every search engine. We're just disagreeing about the numbers. Both sides need to acknowledge that a certain level of click fraud exists, and work together to diminish its impact. ...
Best-Kept Secret in PPC? Part II
Friday, January 30th, 2009
Last week's discussion of Google Conversion Optimizer generated a flood of user questions. It seems the promise of simplifying the time-consuming, complicated chore of regulating keyword bids is especially appealing to advertisers. ...
2009 is a Year of Change for Travel Search Marketing
Friday, January 30th, 2009
The economy is forcing travel search marketers to change the way they approach online marketing. The travel vertical is already one of the most advanced groups of search marketers, but the industry has been under more pressure in recent months to make their campaigns count. ...
Advertising: Upbeat but Sympathetic: A Fine Line for Super Bowl Ads
Friday, January 30th, 2009
Advertisers for the Super Bowl are walking a tightrope this year, trying to entertain and sell products, while not appearing insensitive to the economic environment.
A Former MTV Executive Will Lead Oprah Network
Friday, January 30th, 2009
Christina Norman, a 17-year veteran of MTV Networks, will be chief executive of OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.
Disney?s TV Unit Will Cut 400 Jobs
Friday, January 30th, 2009
The move is part of a cost-cutting effort to deal with what it called ?a weakening economy.?
At Reader?s Digest, Layoffs Are Part of ?Recession Plan?
Friday, January 30th, 2009
The company said it would lay off close to 300 people, as well as put employees on unpaid furloughs and suspend contributions to their 401(k) plans.
With Magazines Folding, One Finds a Surprising Bid
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
The publisher of a small magazine called Hardcore Gamer was determined to keep it alive. So he put it up for sale on eBay and a last-minute savior swooped in.
Washington Post?s Book World Goes Out of Print as a Separate Section
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
The Washington Post has decided to shutter the print version of its Sunday stand-alone book review section and shift reviews to space inside two other sections of the paper.
James Brady, Columnist Chronicling the Power Elite, Dies at 80
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
Mr. Brady helped start the Page Six gossip column at The New York Post, chronicled the doings of the New York power elite and wrote a gripping memoir of his combat experience in the Korean War.
What’s a Yahoo Advertiser to Do?
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
The notion that Yahoo wants to help its advertisers is comforting, but the way that they are going about it is questionable. It's clear that the beneficiaries of Yahoo's new "automated optimization" strategy are not the advertisers...but a small change in the program could make it work for everyone. ...
Promising Fans at Game a View From the Couch
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
In football, the best seat in the house may be in the living room, not at the game. Now sports officials are trying to bring the screen to the stadium, not the other way around.
Digital TV Beckons, but Many Miss the Call
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
For viewers who still use set-top rabbit ears, the switch to digital television has often proven a bewildering and cumbersome burden.
YouTube Said to Be Near Hollywood Deal
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
The deal between YouTube and the William Morris Agency would place the company?s clients in made-for-the-Web productions.
Times Co. Results Reflect Ad Slump
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
The company posted fourth-quarter income of $27.6 million, down 47.5 percent from a year ago. For the year, the company lost $57.8 million, after more than $300 million in non-cash charges.
Domino, Shopping and Decorating Magazine, Closes
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
The three-year-old Conde Nast magazine will publish its final issue in March.
Advertising: NBC Making the Most of Its Super Bowl Coverage
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
NBC will get $30 million of free promotional time during the Super Bowl, but it is also banking on the opportunity for more than a temporary advertising jolt.
ABC Said to Consider ?Kimmel? in ?Nightline? Slot
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
The network has held discussions about moving its comedy star to compete directly with Conan O?Brien.
Bribing People With $50 Gift Cards: Part Deux
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
We asked what you might want to see here, and what would a promotion-monitoring component look like? The readers' ideas far exceeded expectations, and could really help push this column further along. ...
Congressional Quarterly Is for Sale
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
The move by the owner of the St. Petersburg Times is an attempt to separate the most profitable part of the business from the more troubled flagship newspaper.
Advertising: Advertisers Change Game Plans for Super Bowl
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
Advertisers that have purchased commercial time on networks during the Super Bowl are pondering changes to the ads they plan to run in those spots on account of the economy.
Self-Publishers Flourish as Writers Pay the Tab
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
Companies that charge writers to publish are growing while many mainstream publishers are losing ground.
Yahoo’s New Era
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
President Obama received a warm welcome with record-breaking fanfare, but I just didn't see the outpouring of joy for Yahoo's new chief executive. I suppose one could argue the United States is in much worse shape than Yahoo, but the lack of enthusiasm I've seen for Bartz (among the digerati) is disappointing. ...
Track Those Alternate Conversions
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
It's natural to think about revenue-generating events such as sales, leads generated, or ads clicked on when we think about conversions. But there are many other types of valuable conversions, and we're shortchanging ourselves when we look at it this way. ...
For Iraqi Journalists, Free Press vs. Free Land
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
Iraq?s land-for-journalists program illustrates the challenges democratic principles face when they clash with entitlements that were never before questioned.
Film Channel Has Name, but No Network Carrier
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
Epix, backed by Paramount Pictures, MGM and Lionsgate premium movie channel, will launch online in May, having not yet found a television distribution deal.
New Analysis: Change at Union May Re-energize Hollywood Talks
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
The firing of Doug Allen, the executive director of the Screen Actors Guild, could mean a return to long-stalked talks on a labor contract.
James Brady, Reporter, Dies at 80
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
Mr. Brady created the New York Post?s gossipy Page Six and wrote celebrity profile columns for Parade magazine.
Movie Production Incentives Are Said to Help New York
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
The revenues yielded by New York?s tax incentives for film and television production more than cover their costs, a study found.
BBC Assailed for Refusing to Carry Gaza Appeal
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
Citing concern with protecting its impartiality in the Arab-Israeli dispute, the BBC declined to broadcast an appeal by aid agencies for victims of the recent conflict.
Screen Actors Guild Fires Its Executive Director
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
Members of the Screen Actors Guild forced the firing of Doug Allen in a bid to restart long-stalled negotiations.
Advertising: Teaching Teenagers About Harassment
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
Digital harassment has gotten to be such a problem that it?s now the focus of a campaign from the Advertising Council.
William Kristol?s Column in the Times Ends
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
A single sentence printed below Mr. Kristol?s weekly column in the Monday issue broke the news: ?This is William Kristol?s last column.?
Senate Approves Digital TV Delay
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
The Senate voted to delay next month?s transition to June 12 because some viewers would not be ready for the switch.
Breaking the Norm with Search
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
One untapped way to capture search traffic is to combine content of related items in new ways. Many engines, especially Google, are looking for uncommon combinations of content that typically don't exist together. ...
SEO Web Site Review: Water Filter Corner
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
This Web site recently launched and has several elements that need to be corrected to lay a sound foundation for future SEO success. ...
Movies Sell Slowly at Sundance
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
In a weakening entertainment economy, sales slowed, but did not halt, at the usually more exuberant festival.
Slicing Decades of Video for New Life on the Web
Monday, January 26th, 2009
Video clips of TV shows and behind-the-scenes outtakes are omnipresent online -- but how do they get there?
Television Review | ‘Trust Me’: A Fictional Ad Agency That Really Hawks [Your Product Name Here]
Monday, January 26th, 2009
?Trust Me,? a TNT series set in a Chicago advertising agency, is clever and likeable -- which, incidentally, is what most commercials try to be.
Advanced Keyword Research Checklist: Using Multiple Datasets
Monday, January 26th, 2009
Search behavior has long provided marketers with useful data for informing their search and other online marketing campaigns. But in 2009, there are additional datasets available to marketers, using mash-ups of analytics, paid and organic search, and social media. ...
10 Ways Twitter Can Make Money
Monday, January 26th, 2009
With traditional advertising proving less effective, marketers need new outlets like Twitter and Facebook to help create interest and demand. By working new features into the service, the company could enhance users' Twitter experience, and monetize their service at the same time. ...
Web Analytics 101, Part 2
Monday, January 26th, 2009
When using Web analytics, it's easy to get caught up in all the numbers and lose sight of the overall goal of increasing your site's ROI. It doesn't do any good to use Web analytics to produce cool charts and reports, but then fail to act. ...
?Obama Girl? Team Retools for Tech Satire
Monday, January 26th, 2009
The ?Obama Girl? music video attracted 13 million Internet views, twice as many as the Obama campaign?s official videos.
Advertising: Infomercials Find Their Way to Television?s Prime Time
Monday, January 26th, 2009
A sign of the ailing economy, infomercials are now filling television slots that traditional advertisers like banks and automakers once owned.
New on the Networks: Safe Formulas From the Past
Monday, January 26th, 2009
With significant ratings declines, the networks are extending the runs of old shows and limiting the experimentation seen in recent years.
Isle of Man Plans Unlimited Music Downloads
Monday, January 26th, 2009
Promoting an offbeat remedy for digital piracy, the rainy outpost in the Irish Sea is suggesting a fee on Internet service to pay for downloaded music.
