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IAB SmartBrief

April 27, 2012

Marketing Trends & Research

Will the "newfronts" persuade marketers to open their wallets?
The Digital Content NewFronts are proving a hit, with Web platforms eager to pitch themselves to brands, and marketers saying they're ready to invest serious money in digital video outreach. It's unclear how much of brands' $70 billion TV-advertising budget will be diverted into online video, but online video is increasingly being seen as a powerful marketing tool. The "newfronts" were originally conceived as a way "to beat a drum for change," said Mark Beeching, chief creative and strategy officer at Digitas, but "now, it's servicing a need." The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (4/26)

Google video sites thrive as Facebook loses viewers
Video viewing via Facebook was down 8% year over year in March, while Yahoo! was up by the same percentage, per comScore. AOL and Microsoft sites experienced the greatest losses of the period, down 23% and 22%, respectively. Google sites, which include YouTube, posted far and away the most minutes per viewer in March 2012, at more than 424, compared with Hulu's 275.2 and Yahoo!'s 72.4. ClickZ (4/26)

Other News

Mobile ads work best with a full screen, says Greystripe's Kurt Hawks
eMarketer (4/27)

Company Watch

Google adds e-mail marketing to paid search ads
Consumers searching for a specific brand will be able sign up for newsletters or e-mail alerts for special offers via paid search ads using a format being tested by Google. Clicking on the ad summons a form with the user's Gmail address, which can be sent to the advertiser in return for special alerts. It amounts to "a very sophisticated form of lead generation," said Terry Van Horne of Reliable SEO. MediaPost Communications/Online Media Daily (4/26)

Can Punch create a knockout system for tablet advertising?
Punch Media, an Apple iPad-native magazine service, is hoping to create a model for tablet-based advertising. Rather than featuring conventional pop-up or display ads, Punch is working with brands to develop application-style advertorial units, encouraging user engagement by offering media-rich, genuinely interesting or useful content. "We wanted to do an ad unit, but we wanted to reinvent how it works for the tablet's more deep, immersive experience," said CEO and co-founder David Bennahum. Adweek (4/26)

Content-driven ad platform Ricochet debuts from NYT's R&D Ventures
The New York Times Co.'s R&D Ventures introduced a product called Ricochet that helps brands drive readers to articles related to their business, where ads tied to that brand await the consumer. Links to Ricochet-enabled stories can be distributed via social network. SAP already signed on to use the format, which is expected to become a self-serve platform. "This is an entirely new concept in digital marketing that creates a whole new class of inventory: socially driven inventory," said Michael Zimbalist, vice president of research and development at The New York Times Co. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (4/26) PaidContent.org (4/26) The Wall Street Journal/Digits blog (4/26)

Agency News

Auto and retail spending help Interpublic narrow gap
Led by double digit growth in automotive and retail client spending, Interpublic Group's year-over-year first quarter revenue increased from $1.47 billion to $1.51 billion. The ad agency holding company's net loss was lower as well, declining from $48.1 million to $45.9 million. CEO Michael Roth said he remains "comfortable" with earlier forecasts of 3% organic revenue growth for the year. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (4/26)

Other News

WPP increases revenue forecast based on Asia, Latin America results
The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (4/27)

Marketer News

Most marketers weigh last click too heavily, study finds
Marketers are too reliant on a last-click attribution model, according to an Econsultancy and Google Analytics study. More than half of agencies and marketers assign full credit to the last click, whereas 41% of agencies and 25% of marketers weigh clicks by channel. Study authors said using first- or last-click attribution without more nuance assigns too much or too little value to such action simply because it's easy to measure. eMarketer (4/27)

Sauza Tequila fireman stokes YouTube views
A provocative campaign for Sauza Blue Tequila has become a viral hit for agency Euro RSCG Chicago, garnering 656,000 hits on YouTube in 10 days. The two-minute video uses a buff fireman delivering a monolog about helping out women who come to him for assistance -- by offering them a drink recipe. MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (4/26)

Supercuts mixes musical cuts with hair stylings
Supercuts' new campaign highlights emerging musical artists by showing members of the groups getting their hair styled at Supercuts. GMR Marketing and Element 79's "Rock the Cut" campaign "rests on the idea that there's immense marketing power in pairing everyday brands with something as emotional and provocative as music," says GMR's Jamie Hannah. Forbes/CMO Strategy blog (4/26)

Interactive Media

NHL wants fans to predict plays via free mobile app
The National Hockey League has created a predictive gaming mobile application that is intended to be used while watching hockey on TV. Called NHL PrePlay, the free download awards points in real time to fans for correctly predicting the outcome of in-game events such as faceoffs and penalty shots. "This is more engaging than a check-in," says Christopher Golier, NHL vice president of mobile marketing and strategy. GigaOm/Mobilize blog (4/26)

IAB News

IAB Innovation Days @ Internet Week -- Check out the just-released agenda
Advertising experts break down exactly what and who brand marketers and agency executives need to know in order to thrive in this new media ecosystem—one built on screens to the Nth power. As the most important marketing and media dialogue of Internet Week, IAB Innovation Days, May 16-17, in New York City, exposes you to insights and experiences that will transform the way you work in the multiscreen universe. Review the jam-packed agenda and register now to hear from BuzzFeed; CollegeHumor Media; FlipBoard; Johnson & Johnson; Quantcast; MLB.com; SAY Media; VEVO, and more. Your peers, partners, and competitors are already registered. Join them now.