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DirecTV Close to Rolling Out Targeted TV Commercials

posted on December 20, 2010

I don’t have a pet and I have no interest in male enhancement products, yet during an average week, I’ll see plenty of commercials for kitty litter, dog food and ExtenZe. DirecTV says that’s going to change and it may happen as soon as the summer of 2011.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, DirectTV has a $10 – $20 million dollar commitment from Starcom MediaVest, a company that buys ad time on behalf of heavyhitters.

Under the new program, the ad buyer would list the characteristics of their target household and DirectTV’s system would search the data pools to find a match. A variety of commercial options would then be loaded into the box and the box itself would decide on the most appropriate commercial for each occasion.

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Free the Internet! Time for the Net Neutrality Vote

posted on December 20, 2010

On Tuesday, December 21, the FCC will vote on a proposal that will allow internet providers to better manage bandwidth by charging more to those users who use more and less to those who don’t. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Apparently, it’s not.

I spent an hour this morning reading over a variety of articles on the subject from the factual pieces from Reuters to the techie take at Crunch Gear to the twists and turns of The Washington Post. My favorite piece was written by Al Franken for The Huffington Post. Yes, SNL’s Al Franken who is now a Senator from Minnesota.

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Commerce Department, Ma’am. Privacy Division

posted on December 17, 2010

I can see it now. The black screen, the ominous ba bum sound and then the words, Law & Order: Privacy Division. They’re federal agents who put their lives on the line every day so that you, the internet user, can surf without fear of being molested by targeted Old Navy ads and free lunch coupons on your birthday. Sure they’re making it hard for the small business marketer to sell his wares, but hey, that’s the way the browser cookie crumbles. Get over it.

So, maybe it won’t be on next fall’s TV schedule, but it may be coming to a computer near you, if the federal government gets their way. Yesterday, the Commerce Department released the Internet Policy Task Force Privacy Green Paper which is loaded with recommendations “aimed at promoting consumer privacy online while ensuring the Internet remains a platform that spurs innovation, job creation, and economic growth.”

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Google Includes Display in Renewed MySpace Contract

posted on December 16, 2010

MySpace and Google Inc. will continue doing business together under a long-term deal that includes the Google Display Network for the first time ever.

Nada Stirratt, MySpace Chief Revenue Officer, has been widely quoted as saying,

“We look forward to participating in the Google Display Network and DoubleClick Ad Exchange to increase yield across our display ad inventory.”

I’m sure it’s true. MySpace has been running down a rocky road of late and parent company, News Corp, is getting tired of waiting for the profits to roll in. A little over a month ago, News Corp president Chase Carey said that MySpace needed to start showing improvement over the next few quarters, not years. Certainly, keeping Google on board, and joining the display ad network will help, but it’s not the key to saving the floundering social site.

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Mall of America Runs a Twitter “Parking?” Party

posted on December 15, 2010

Twitter parties are all the rage with social media moms, but this Saturday, Mall of America is taking that concept one step further with the “Big Secret Parking Party.”

Everyone knows the horror of holiday parking at the local mall, but imagine the nightmare at the biggest mall in the US! It’s enough to make even the jolliest person turn into the Grinch. So this year, for the first time ever, Mall of America will be rewarding their loyal Twitter followers with a VIP ticket to the best parking around.

The event is being run through EventBrite where batches of tickets are being released twice a day for a total of 96 spaces. To claim a ticket, a person must follow the mall on Twitter and provide their Twitter name. There are also very specific times for arrival and a print out of the registration is required.

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Too Much Talk Leads to a Few Less Followers

posted on December 15, 2010

We know that most people choose to follow a business in order to get deals and coupons, but what makes them “unfollow?”  Last week, Smart Brief on Social Media polled their readers on this very topic and here’s what they had to say:

The majority of the people (44%) said they unfollow because they’re overwhelmed by too many updates. Along a similar line, 36.79% said they unfollow if the postings don’t add any value to their day.

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Majority of People Surveyed Say Online Rep is Important

posted on December 15, 2010

78% of people surveyed in a recent poll said they believe it is very important to look up information about people and/or businesses online before deciding to interact or do business with them.

And when they look you up, what will they find? Social media is a great tool for connecting with your customers but it’s also a potential minefield for those who don’t tread carefully. Take the Chipotle restaurant manager who recently posted to Facebook that she’d run over a cat on her way to home. The company says it was the work of a hacker, but more likely it was just a bad joke on the woman’s part. It caused a flood of nasty comments on the restaurant’s Facebook page and even a retaliatory page called Chipotle Hates Cats.