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The Data-Driven Digital Revolution December 28, 2011 Traditionally, online advertising was viewed primarily as a direct-response vehicle. However, the growing use of data to define and deliver audience targeting means it now can have an impact on all levels of the purchasing funnel -- from fostering awareness to reaching consumers at the ideal intersection between desire, intent and action.

Google Gives Firefox 3 More Years of Rations December 21, 2011 Google and Mozilla have reupped their search revenue agreement. Under the new three-year plan, Google Search will continue to be the default search provider for Firefox users. Given Google's clear desire to push Chrome into the top ranks of the browser market, it would seem counterintuitive for it to re-ink a deal with one of its chief rivals in that arena.

Online Tracking, Profiling and Targeting - Behavioral Advertisers Beware! December 19, 2011 In May 2011, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada released a report based on a consultation process for online tracking, profiling and targeting of advertisers, and cloud computing. The goal was to engage the public on recent technological advancements and privacy complications in behavioral advertising.

AOL, Yahoo, MS Cling to Each Other in Rough Display Ad Seas November 09, 2011 AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo are joining forces to sell unused online ads to each other, a position designed to combat the growing market dominance of Google and Facebook. The partnership will allow the companies to buy and sell each other's online inventory of ads.

Google Reveals the Whys and Wherefores Behind Targeted Ads November 01, 2011 Google might soon quit surprising you with ridiculously off-target ads in your search results and Gmail. Or, you may finally find out how they deliver ads that are strikingly right-on. The search leader has announced an upcoming feature called "Why These Ads?"

Revenue-Sharing 'Interest Network' Invites Users to Chime In October 18, 2011 There's a new social network in town -- Chime.in, the brainchild of Bill Gross, known for creating Google's AdWords platform. Gross is the CEO of UberMedia, the developer of popular Twitter clients Echofon and Ubersocial. Chime.in launched as a public beta on Tuesday and will fully launch in November.

Online Ad Scams, Part 2: Fighting Back September 23, 2011 Victims bilked of their money by fake online ads are not the only ones hurt. "Blatant fraud, like the fake-news diet promotions and other online scams that have sprouted in recent years, only serves to undermine consumer confidence and eventually marketers and business as a whole," said attorney Bill Rothbard.

In-Your-Face Advertising That Consumers Might Love September 21, 2011 3D marketing is powerful -- and even more so, when it's delivered to the palm of your hand. Mobile 3D is becoming an increasingly common way of grabbing, holding, and entertaining consumers. From using current mobile technologies to create a sense of 3D, to creating actual images that seem to pop off the screen and into the air, mobile marketers are using the power of interactivity.

Responsys Reopens the Customer Conversation September 16, 2011 Responsys has beefed up its email marketing, social media, mobile and channel marketing Interact suite with a retargeting application for display ads. Generally speaking, ad retargeting refers to the ad strategy of showing ads to consumers who may have visited a website, lingered over a product or two, and then decided to leave the page without buying anything.

Online Ad Scams, Part 1: Tip for a Tiny Belly and Other Snake Oil September 16, 2011 You've seen the ad a thousand times on the Internet: "1 Tip for a Tiny Belly" says the hand-lettered headline above the crudely drawn swelling-and-shrinking belly. "Cut down a bit of your belly everyday following this one weird tip," it goes on to say. If starvation caused by having funds continuously siphoned from your bank account counts as a weight loss program, then maybe the ad lives up to its claim.

Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL Lock Arms Against Google September 14, 2011 A new ad sales pact between Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL has the tech companies teaming up against a common enemy, Google. By selling ad inventory on each other's sites, the three aim to hang onto ad revenue that previously was lost to third-party networks. Their goal is to convince big Web properties to share ad inventory and get ad holding companies to run some purchases through their sites.

Google Slips Zagat Up Its Sleeve September 08, 2011 Google's acquisitions occur so frequently that they tend to attract interest for a few hours after they're announced, and the market then goes about its business. However, the company just made a deal that the online ad industry has been fixated on all day: Google has bought Zagat, the famed restaurant review publisher and provider of original content.

The Wedding Crashers September 03, 2011 Nobody expected AT&T to have an especially easy time convincing regulators to allow it to buy up rival wireless carrier T-Mobile. AT&T announced its intentions last Spring to purchase the fourth-largest U.S. carrier from parent company Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion, and critics from all corners wasted no time expressing why they thought that would be a very bad idea.

Steamed Shareholder Sues Google Over Drug Ads Debacle August 30, 2011 When Google settled with the U.S. Department of Justice for $500 million over accusations that it allowed Canadian pharmaceutical companies to illegally place ads on its network, it may have thought its troubles with this issue were over. It was wrong. A shareholder has filed suit against the company, alleging Google breached its fiduciary duty by facilitating illegal imports of prescription drugs.

Investors Dance to Pandora's Q2, but How Long Will the Music Last? August 26, 2011 Internet radio service Pandora announced its first results as a publicly traded company on Thursday. Quarterly revenues totaled $67 million, 117 percent up year over year, and listener hours hit a new high of 1.8 billion, up 125 percent YoY, Pandora said. Advertising revenue more than doubled, from about $27 million to more than $58 million.

Google Shells Out $500M to DoJ Over Shady Drug Ads August 24, 2011 Google has agreed to a $500 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice for allowing online Canadian pharmacies to place ads through its AdWords program targeting consumers in the United States. The ads resulted in the illegal importation of controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs into the U.S., according to the Justice Department.

LinkedIn's Brief Dance With the Devil August 13, 2011 A social network makes changes to its privacy policy. Shortly thereafter, users are shocked to see their names and photos appear in in-house ads. For example, an ad promoting the services of a local printer might include the faces of three "followers" of that particular company. Is this Facebook privacy fail, episode 231,789? Not quite. LinkedIn is the social network in question -- the "serious" social network.

The Data-Fueled Display Ad Revival August 08, 2011 For more than 15 years -- since the dawn of the Internet, really -- display advertising has held promise, but it has often underperformed with boring, static banner ads whose value diminished greatly as consumers became trained to ignore them. Today, innovative technologies are pumping new life into display advertising and helping e-commerce brands profit by turning this medium into a finely tuned, money-making channel.

Meeting the Great Expectations of a New Breed of Shopper July 30, 2011 As recently as just a few years ago, consumers had a limited set of research options when they were looking to make an informed product purchase. They may have done a Google search to learn where to buy the product or noticed an advertisement and visited a store to speak with a sales rep about it. For larger purchases, they might have picked up a copy of Consumer Reports or asked friends for advice.

Peering Into the Future of Online Video July 15, 2011 2010 saw many large retailers experiment with online video. According to eMarketer, nearly three quarters of all U.S. retailers featured video on their sites in Q4 of 2010, which is up 55 percent from a year earlier. They created homepage videos, how-to videos and select product videos on their websites and other channels such as YouTube.