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Yahoo Brings Custom Display Ads to the Creatively Challenged

Written on June 23, 2009 by admin

Filed Under: marketing

It only took Yahoo 8 months to react to Google’s AdWords display ad builder thingymajig.

AdAge reports that Yahoo decided not to build its own ad builder technology, instead partnering with Seattle-based start-up AdReady. With Yahoo’s My Display Ads…

…Advertisers can pick creative off the shelf from more than 800 display ad templates — including dancing cellphones, ads proclaiming “Amazing Values” or countdown clocks — or bring their own…Ads can be purchased on a cost-per-thousand impression basis or as part of a cost-per-click auction. The ad inventory fed into the system includes both Yahoo-owned and network properties through Yahoo’s Right Media exchange.

Yahoo clearly hopes that it can convince its search advertisers to make the jump over to display ads by making the process a lot easier. If it’s successful, Yahoo’s sitting on a lot of display ad inventory. Maybe it won’t need to worry about challenging Google in search, afterall.

Interested in learning more? Head over to the Yahoo Search Marketing Blog.

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Yahoo Brings Custom Display Ads to the Creatively Challenged

MySpace Looks to Close Some Space

Written on June 23, 2009 by admin

Filed Under: book, marketing

In the Google, Facebook and Twitter swirl of news and rumors that we all tend to concentrate there is that other guy, MySpace, that is still lurking about. Unfortunately, as news is coming out that there are layoffs and office closings on the international front, it may be appropriate to say that MySpace is limping about.

MySpace has already trimmed its domestic operations so this move comes as little surprise. TechCrunch UK is reporting this update and has the internal e-mail that was sent to employees regarding the move. (Note to self, nothing – repeat nothing – is private for a company anymore) Here are some highlights.

From: Owen Van Natta
Subject: IMPORTANT: PROPOSED INTERNATIONAL RESTRUCTURE
Importance: High

Everyone,

Last week we made a number of changes to MySpace’s domestic structure in order to create a leaner, more nimble organization. Today, we are announcing the next step in our overall restructuring effort – a proposal to streamline our operations abroad.

Unlike our recent domestic restructuring announcement, what we are announcing today is a formal proposal we intend to implement, rather than an executed plan. As required by laws in countries where we operate, we will not implement the plan until we have consulted with potentially affected employees. As a result, even though the plan we are proposing today would apply to all international divisions of the company, a finalized international restructuring will be put into action over a period of days.

Similar to our domestic restructuring, our international plan is designed to rein in growth in staff and expenses that we cannot sustain. Our proposal would reduce MySpace’s international staff from 450 employees to approximately 150 employees and close at least 4 of our offices outside the United States.

…….. As with the domestic changes we made last week, these proposed international reductions and eliminations will be extremely challenging – professionally and personally. These are difficult decisions and they are essential to our financial well-being and the re-establishment of our overall growth strategy.

……….. The last two weeks have been tough for everyone. The employees who leave us played an important role in the successes of MySpace in these international markets, and I thank them for their hard and dedicated work. The restructuring steps we have taken have laid the groundwork for an exciting new chapter of innovation for MySpace. I look forward to working with you all and speaking with you in the coming days.

Thank you,

Owen

The potential office closings are among Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, and Spain and they will be placed under review. One commenter on the blog has reported that the Moscow office will close as of June 30 but there is no confirmation of that.

So what’s the deal with MySpace? While they appear to be the red-headed stepchild of the social media space they still have a considerable number of users. I personally don’t know any of them but that doesn’t mean anything (other than the fact that I am not a pre-pubescent kid who is a music fan).

How do you use MySpace, if at all? Is it still part of your social media strategy or sphere? Let us know. As always, we can talk all we want but until someone who actually is still active in MySpace chimes in, it’s just talk.

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MySpace Looks to Close Some Space

Ask.com’s Ex-CEO Talks About His Departure & Company’s Chances Against Google

Written on June 23, 2009 by admin

Filed Under: book, marketing

I’m going to say what most people will think when they read the news that former Ask.com CEO Jim Safka is back in the saddle again.

Did he really leave Ask.com for the stated reason that his brother had died?

Don’t get me wrong–losing a family member is crushing–but at the time, I couldn’t help but wonder if Ask.com was covering up Safka’s real reason for leaving.

It turns out that I don’t have to feel too guilty about my theory. In an interview–that appears to focus more on Ask.com than his new company Chegg–Safka reveals that his brother’s death was not indeed the only reason he left the company.

My reasons for wanting to leave were multifold. I always wanted to work for a company that was at an early stage and closer to my home. (Chegg is based in Santa Clara, Calif, and Ask is about 50 miles north, in Oakland.) It was a little earlier than I expected to leave Ask. But this in my mind was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Is it just me, or does that last sentence practically spell out that Safka left Ask.com to take the Chegg job?

When pressed if he left Ask.com because the company was dead in the water, Safka responded in a way that sounds like he signed a non-disparagement agreement on departure:

Absolutely not. We completely overhauled the technology at Ask. In addition to improving the core search results for customers, we reduced the monetization (by running) fewer ads. So it’s a better user experience. That’s a good long-term move for the franchise. A lot of the metrics at Ask are heading in the right direction.

Again, this is all my speculation, but reading between the lines, I suspect Safka left to focus on a company that had a chance of being #1 in its market. That will never happen with Ask.com.

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Ask.com’s Ex-CEO Talks About His Departure & Company’s Chances Against Google