Author Archives: Martina

Advergames!!

Tessa Wegert talks about advergaming in her latest column on ClickZ. It’s a nice article that summarizes a lot of the key issues about advergames. A special focus is on interactive scratch cards, and you might remember me talking about KLM online game a couple of months ago.

File under: advergames, interactive scratch cards

Don’t cheat on chickens!

Pop icon Paul McCartney today fired a salvo for chicken rights, accusing fast food giant KFC of condoning cruelty to the “remarkable” birds that end up as take-away meals. As Smh.com.au reports that “These remarkable animals are deserving of at least a little kindness,” he said in the letter written on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which this month sued KFC for allegedly disguising “grotesque abuses inflicted upon chickens by suppliers” in its online advertising.”

File under: KFC

Amazon: misleading title

On CnnMoney I read this article’s title: Amazon expands free shipping in Europe. Great, I said, I won’t have to pay for shipping the tons of dvd and books I usually from Amazon.co.uk every couple of months! Well, it’s not exactly like that:

“Online retailer Amazon.com expanded its free shipping offer in the United Kingdom in a move to boost its overseas customer base and meet its international sales targets, the company said Wednesday.”

Well, the UK is just the UK, Europe is something different, don’t deceive me

File under: amazon

The ads that will affect your life

Google will provide target advertising and web search to Weather.com. The news is reported in a press release on Biz Yahoo!. I’m always astonished by reading the high-sounding declarations that usually come with these business deals, and Weather.com makes no exception by saying through Joe Fiveash, senior vice president of Product and Business Development:

“Weather.com wants to present our users with information that is the most relevant to them. By adding Google’s search services, we make finding information about any topic just as easy as finding out how the weather will affect your life.”

Wow, these guys are soooo nice to users, they really care about them and their life… Please, don’t forget business is… business, not charity!

File under: ads, deals, google, weather.com

America’s key influentials are online

America’s “Influentials” — a demographic of business networkers, news junkies and community movers and shakers — prefer the Internet to any other media for acquiring their daily information, according to a new study that you can read about on Adage.

File under: influentials, information gathering, online

Goldenpalace.com unconventional marketing

Do you want to build brand awareness and drive traffic to your Web site? Ask streakers to “wear” your ad tattoos. This is the idea of Goldenpalace.com, online gaming provider, that has decided to use unconventional marketing tools like streakers hanging out at British Open and World Swimming Championships. Did someone say that online companies lack of creativity? You can read more on Yahoo! News.

File under: online gambling, online gaming, unconventional marketing

ING Direct new online campaign

ING Direct has launched its newest television commercial on CBS MarketWatch. The :30 second spot will be carried on the site’s story pages for the next two weeks, before beginning a run on network television. In the press release, it’s nice to read the (interested) opinion of Scot McLernon, EVP Sales & Marketing, MarketWatch.com:

“ING DIRECT is a terrific partner to be blazing new ground with us in the online advertising space. This campaign will give them the ability to reach our highly-valued audience with television creative during the middle of the business day. They are the first major advertiser that we’re aware of who has embraced an opportunity like this to create buzz with television creative online first, before launching on network television. It shows that they truly believe in the online medium.”

File under: buzz online, ing direct, online advertising, online campaign

Findwhat announces record second quarter results

Guess what? Findwhat a leading developer and provider of performance-based marketing services for the Internet, today reported record financial results for the three and six months ending June 30, 2003. Revenue in Q2 2003 increased 80% versus Q2 2002, and was more than $500,000 ahead of the Company’s most recent projections. FindWhat.com has increased revenue sequentially for 15 consecutive quarters. You can learn more about it reading through the press release on Business Wire.

File under: financials, findwhat, performance-based marketing services

NetRatings expands in Europe

NetRatings wants to expand into the European market. They have announced the acquisition of NetCrawling S.A., which offers an online advertising monitoring service. The news is reported by IAR that also reports some opinions to explain that the market for online advertising intelligence has just started to develop and appears to be particularly interesting to follow.

File under: online advertising intelligence, online advertising monitoring

Buy a New Beetle, get an iPod

Dawn Anfuso reports about a new agreement between Volkswagen and Apple to launch on the market the 2003 New Beetle with a complimentary iPod. The news is featured on iMediaConnection in Promo to Watch, in which is said that the campaign will start this week with promotions all through America, both online and offline.

File under: apple, campaign, ipod, new beetle