“Don't Spoil Your Widget Campaign”
“Quantcast: The Next Generation of Media Research”
“A Note from Barcelona ”
March 27, 2008 Volume 7 Issue 2
“A Look at Metrics Issues”
February 14, 2008 Volume 7 Issue 1
“A Mediasmith Mashup”
November 14, 2007 Volume 6 Issue 6
“Learn the Secrets of Video Search”
“How OTT Will Change Everything”
August 6, 2007 Volume 6 Issue 4
“iPhone: The New Apple of a Marketer's Eye?”
June 13, 2007 Volume 6 Issue 3
“How to be a Rockstar Media Planner ”
April 10, 2007 Volume 6 Issue 2
“The Medium is the Metric for Online Ads”
The Mediasmith CEO predicts that in the near future there will be an Agency of Record for metrics, and details the standards that still need to be established for online media.
March
8, 2007 Volume 6, Issue 1
Editor’s note: Dave Carlick
is a long time advisor to Mediasmith management. While his comments don’t
always reflect those of the editor, we appreciate them all the same and thought
you would too. They are very reflective of the fragmented media landscape we
all face today. So we are breaking with tradition to bring you an Anvil written
by an outsider..
October 25, 2006 Volume 5, Issue 6
Audience Development 2.0
"Eyeballs are back." The New York Times declared
it so a few months ago. And who can deny it? Once again web properties can be
sold based upon size of audience. And once again, web publishers are sold out
of inventory. Gone are the CPA deals that were rife when inventory was unsold.
September 21, 2006
Volume 5, Issue 5
"What Engagement REALLY Is (Or, Engagement for
Dummies) "
In a recent article for iMedia
which also became July’s Anvil, I talked about the technical definition
of engagement, saying that it was more of an effectiveness than an exposure
metric. In this article, I want to talk about engagement from a logical
laymen's perspective. I feel a need to write this as more and more conferences
are being scheduled about engagement, and more media are claiming that they
have a superior claim relative to engagement. Simmons
is even developing an engagement metric.
August 30 , 2006
Volume 5, Issue 4
"Vertical Search Innovation"
This column will take a look at recent innovations on the
vertical side of search marketing.
Vertical Search is an area in considerable ferment. Much VC funding has flowed to the area, under
the assumption that the big search players are so broad that there is
opportunity for sites devoted to specific niches. A Jupiter Research study
identifies four primary vertical categories that would be likely to account for
the majority of spend: retail, financial services, travel and media and
entertainment. But many other niches are
getting funding.
July 25 , 2006
Volume 5, Issue 3
"Engagement: An Incomplete Equation"
As many of you know, the theme of the recent iMedia Agency
Summit was Engagement: The New Reach. Interestingly, the AAAA's
is calling engagement the new frequency. I have tried to read and study about
this new "metric" for the past couple of years, especially in the
last six months as it has gained momentum. While it is
clear that engagement is a really cool word to use to describe communication
and involvement of the campaign with the consumer, it feels more like a
psychographic word than a metric and its place is not up at the reach and
frequency level.
June 20 , 2006 Volume 5, Issue 2
"Microsoft Renews Emphasis on 2nd Screen"
Introduction
Microsoft's Strategic Account Summit on May third and
fourth showed the software giant is expanding their advertising universe. The
world's biggest software manufacturer clearly has its eye on something larger
than the web, and readily admits that Google has provided a huge
wakeup call to them in the advertising arena. And this goes
beyond search, and even beyond the web. It goes to the PC (second screen) and
includes advertising on the desktop and within applications.
May 3 , 2006 Volume 5, Issue 1
Is There an Inventory Crisis?
Is there a web inventory crisis? Unlike Mick Jagger, it turns out that you can always get what you want
-- assuming you plan far enough ahead and are willing to pay the price. In
fact, some say that we don't have an inventory issue, we have a pricing issue.
At any rate, there are issues, sidebars and issues on top of sidebars to this
problem. In the interviews and research conducted by us for iMedia, we've tried to get a handle
on the very complex problem. Whether the site side, the agency side or on the
part of technology solutions to "the problem," there was no shortage
of folks with input -- some on the record and some off the record.
December 22, 2005 Volume 4, Issue 9
"A Letter from Shanghai Part II"
Search
There is no question that search is a major factor in
December 19, 2005
Volume 4, Issue 8
"A Letter from Shanghai Part I"
I am not sure what I expected out of ad:tech
Shanghai, but one thing is for sure; just being here is mind boggling. Urban legend
has it that over 70 percent of the building cranes in the world are in
October 27 , 2005 Volume 4, Issue 7
"R.I.P. Geico versus Google"
Now that the dust has settled (and so has Google), what should the search
advertising industry make of the results of that case? Has it settled
everything regarding Google's right to sell branded keywords to the highest
bidder? Has it settled anything?.(more)
September 14, 2005
Volume 4, Issue 6
"Web Leaves the Rest of Marketing Behind"
Last month in the Wall Street Journal, WPP's Sir
Martin Sorrell called econometrics the "Holy Grail" of advertising.
According to the Columbia University Press Encyclopedia, econometrics is a
"technique of economic analysis that expresses economic theory in terms of
mathematical relationships and then tests it empirically through statistical
research. Econometrics attempts to develop accurate economic forecasting and to
make possible successful policy planning.".(more)
June 28, 2005
Volume 4, Issue 5
"Project Apollo: Ready to go or half baked?"
There has been much discussion at recent industry events about Project Apollo.
This is an initiative of Nielsen/VNU and Arbitron and
backed by Procter & Gamble to measure media usage on an “apples to
apples” basis. Among the venues that have been reported on across many of
the advertising oriented sites are the AAAA Media conference in
May 31, 2005 Volume
4, Issue 4
"Project Apollo: Ready to go or half baked?"
There has been much discussion at recent industry events about Project Apollo.
This is an initiative of Nielsen/VNU and Arbitron and
backed by Procter & Gamble to measure media usage on an “apples to
apples” basis. Among
the venues that have been reported on across many of the advertising oriented
sites are the AAAA Media conference in
April 5, 2005
Volume 4, Issue 3
"French Open Door Closed by Geico"
Just when search marketers thought it was safe to sell keywords with abandon, a
French court ruling about a Louis Vuitton case may
change the game. Not content with being a thorn in George Bush’s side, the French are now
throwing a monkey wrench into search engine marketing. A French court has ruled
against Google in a lawsuit brought against the search giant by Louis Vuitton. (more)
February 10, 2005 Volume
4, Issue 2
"TV Sponsorships Producing Enough Creative?"
Watching the great (and not so great) spots on the Super Bowl is always as good
as the game itself. Especially with Tivo where you
can run them again and again. Which brings us to a question: why do we see so
much creativity jammed into this 3-4 hour time period that we don’t see
the rest of the year? The companies that did the best job in the Super Bowl had
multiple spots that did not rerun over and over (except for the Ford Mustang Fargo
send-up which I believe ran three times.) This brings me back to some thoughts
I wrote for MediaPost last fall which I am revisiting
for you here. (more)
January 6, 2005
Volume 4, Issue 1
"Search Needs to Grow Up"
It's obvious that Search Engine Marketing (SEM) has grown. Indeed it has grown
to equal -- traditional interactive (an oxymoron if there ever was one) -- but
I regret to report that SEM has not grown up. Too much of SEM today is just
buying the same old keywords. As the very success of search drives inventory
shortages, SEM must reach beyond its current practices and emerge from its
boutique corner of the advertising world. Only when advertisers integrate their
search strategies with the rest of their media tools will SEM realize its true
potential. (more)
August
05 , 2004 Volume 3, Issue 9
"Challenging the Agencies to Change"
At this year's Microsoft Strategic Account Summit in March, Donnie Deutsch of
the eponymous named agency put a challenge out to the agencies.
He questioned why the agencies continued to have silos of offline and online.
He contended that there was no ongoing reason for that. He said that they were
successfully integrated, that others can be to, and we tend to agree. But there
are many barriers, some more obvious than others and many reasons that agencies
give for the silos. (more)
February
26, 2004 Volume 3, Issue 8
"Online Marketing For Traditional Marketers -
Planning vs. Buying"
In the early days of the Web there was not much differentiation between
planning and buying. We determined the client budget, surfed the Web, found
sites that seemed to make sense, and figured out if they took advertising at
all, tested them, and watched businesses develop as a result. Much has changed.
(more)
Special
Edition
"What should we do about the CAN-SPAM Act?"
Many are asking us what the implications are about the CAN-SPAM Act recently
signed into legislation by President Bush. To this end, we sat in on a recent
conference call held by the IAPP. What follows is an executive summary of the
conference call... (more)
December
15, 2003 Volume 3, Issue 7
"Web Reach and Frequency: Four Applications "
I have written about Reach and Frequency a lot over the past few years. Lately,
there has been some discussion at various conferences (@d:tech,
iMedia and others) as to whether this topic was a) done b) worn out c ) had a
long way to go or d) not even relevant. The last is the easiest to deal with...
(more)
November
12, 2003 Volume 3, Issue 6
"Some Principles to Work By"
What would you say about a company whose goals included phrases like
"benefit everyone who is touched by our business", "nothing is
more important to our success than our integrity" and "building and
nurturing our relationships....is an essential part of our work"? (more)
July
31, 2003 Volume 3, Issue 5
"Making The Case For Spending Levels"
OK. We’ve gotten to the point where many advertisers accept that the
Internet has to be a part of their mix. They also realize that they need to be
aggressive in advertising levels overall (see MPA and ARF literature on
spending in a down market). But how much should they allocate?...
(more)
July
15, 2003 Volume 3, Issue 4
"Media Impressionism"
At the iMedia Summit in Scottsdale in May, Andrew Heyward, President, CBS News
spoke about a number of interesting and enlightening topics. One thing stuck
with me greater than all of the others. He said that teens and kids (and
probably others) have a new way of taking information in. The don’t get
all of their information from a single, linear stream such as reading a complete
analysis or watching CBS News every night. Rather, they get parts of a story
from many different sources. Little snippets rather than start to finish. (more)
March
27, 2003 Volume 3, Issue 3
"Panacea or a Good Tool?"
I know that we have had some bad times, but sometimes the press gets a little
crazy. Google announced a new program featuring content-targeted ads earlier
this month. People suddenly become aware of a two-year old program from Primedia's About.com called Sprinks,
treating it as if it were a copycat of the Google program. I got more calls on
this topic from the press than I have on any topic in months. "Is Google
changing their strategy?" "Is this a panacea?" (more)
February
20, 2003 Volume 3, Issue 2
"Is it the Promise of the Internet or the Promise of Synergy?"
Talking with one of my board members last week, he did the kind of thing that
board members do. Threw me a one liner that represents a hard question.
(That’s one of the functions of board members.) He asked me what business
we thought we were in. Are we in the Internet business or the business of
creating synergy between the Internet and other media/marketing efforts? (more)
January
23, 2003 Volume 3, Issue 1
"Total Cost of Service: The concept media agencies should be
offering"
Many software and hardware companies today sell based on TCO or Total Cost of
Ownership. This tactic is especially effective when comparing to either a
market leader or a company that is cutting prices and appears to be cheaper.
The concept of TCO has to do with the end cost of the deal when all is said and
done, including upgrades, service fees, etc. (more)
December
5, 2002 Volume 2, Issue 12
"Web Reach and Frequency: Game Over or More Study?"
It seems like, everywhere I go, I am asked about Web Reach & Frequency.
Now, I have certainly set myself up for this, having written about it for
several years, by my involvement with the ARF Online R&F Standards Committee
and participation in industry meetings and through various speaking
engagements. (more)
October
31, 2002 Volume 2, Issue 11
”A Mainstream Move for Magazines”
I could not help but notice the trend these past several weeks in print
vehicles covering the Internet and the “new economy”. (more)
October
1, 2002 Volume 2, Issue 10
“What the Next Generation Will Expect”
We can only speculate about the future. But given the lessons of the past,
products and services will increasingly be tailored to consumer demand. (more)
August
13, 2002 Volume 2, Issue 9
“September 11: National Time Out Day?”
As we get closer to September 11, many of us are reflecting backwards to
9/11/2001 and what has happened since. And if you are like most Americans, you
are starting to think about what is the proper thing to be doing this year on
September 11. (more)
June
6, 2002 Volume 2, Issue 8
“The New Media Agency”
In the March 28 issue of the Anvil (Vol. 2 Issue 5), we published an article
titled "A New Planning Organization". In it was discussed the concept
of the new independent media (planning) agencies taking over the account
planning function. In this article I will expand on the concept and talk about
"The New Media Agency" from a global standpoint. (more)
May
23, 2002 Volume 2, Issue 7
“If Search is so Hot, Where’s the Strategy?”
One of the topics at the iMedia conference in
April
25, 2002 Volume 2, Issue 6
“The Hangover”
It is great to talk about what the business should be for the future, but some
days the stark reality of the present jumps up and bites you. And sometimes, no
matter how much we try to move on from what has already happened, the present
looms again. (more)
March
28, 2002 Volume 2, Issue 5
“A New Planning Organization”
The agency media department business continues to change as it grows,
especially on the unbundled side. A little more than a decade ago, unbundling
media involved execution. The major agencies set up "independent"
media buying operations, splitting off buying and planning. (more)
March
4, 2002 Volume 2, Issue 4
"How Does the Web Compete with TV?"
Last week over dinner at
February
12, 2002 Volume 2, Issue 3
"New Models for CPA Deals"
The argument over whether sites should take CPA deals,
and the sites that come down on the side of not taking CPA deals misses the
point. Flash bulletin: There is a lot unsold inventory out there. I know that
this may be shocking to some of you, but it is true. (more)
November
29, 2001 Volume 2, Issue 2
"The Future is Now"
We still want to be optimists. In fact, we can't stay in business unless we get
up in the morning and think good things have to happen today...
October
17, 2001 Volume 2, Issue 1
"Less Filling, Tastes Great!"
For some reason that I really cannot understand, the "argument" over
whether the Internet is a DR vehicle or a branding vehicle that has heated up
lately...
August
27, 2001 Volume 1, Issue 8
"Post Impression Rules the Day - Again"
You may have seen reports of the Engage Online Advertising Report dated Summer 2001 issued recently. I'm going to go into some of
the findings today as they reinforce the movement away from direct response...
July
18, 2001 Volume 1, Issue 7
"Multi-Media Optimization: How to Make it
Work"
Traditional media optimization has been tried before. And it failed. It was
used primarily for planning purposes and didn't catch on because it was too
cumbersome...
June
28, 2001 Volume 1, Issue 6
"Time to Define The Online Impression"
Last month we wrote about online metrics and the need for implementation of
some basics. Among those was agreement from all parties on definition of an
impression...
May
14, 2001 Volume 1, Issue 5
"Lead, Follow, Or Get Out Of The Way*"
The dot-com shakeout and overextended technology sector certainly contributed
to the rapidly weakening economy just as it did to the unusual rise in economic
growth before the fall...
April
26, 2001 Volume 1, Issue 4
"The Universal Cookie"
The battles between consumer privacy advocates and those of us who desire to
target Interactive media users boil down to two conflicting desires. The first
desire is being able to browse the Internet without unknown agents collecting
personal information...
April
5, 2001 Volume 1, Issue 3
"Online Media Metrics: Time to Put a Stake in the Ground"
The Web suffers from not having standardized media metrics that are comparable
to other media. It is also the toughest medium for an agency to reconcile for
payment due to a lack of standards in metrics from the ad servers...
January
31, 2001 Volume 1, Issue 2
"Future for Media Requires Interaction"
After 40 years at the helm of the traditional media business with three major
agencies, I traded in my diploma for an advanced degree in higher learning...
October
2000 Volume 1, Issue 1
"Less Filling, Tastes Great!"
I've been harping a lot lately about pay-for-performance advertising; with
clients, colleagues, and in print. I have made it no secret my enthusiasm for
pay-for-performance advertising as it pertains to the online media space...
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