Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.
More Microsoft Ad Exchange Tidbits
According to Peter Kafka on All Things D, in a couple of weeks, Microsoft may be ready to start testing with many of the demand-side platforms that are likely already hooked into Google’s DoubleClick Ad Exchange where the DSPs are known as Certified Ad Networks. It still sounds like several months before Microsoft’s Federated System is rockin’ and rollin’. Read more.
DoubleClick Wreckage?
Nicholas Carlson of The Business Insider says he received an email this morning from a UK DoubleClick employee who says Google is wrecking DoubleClick. The email reads: “My company is a large UK customer of DFA and Dart search. We have seen Google cull large parts of account management and billing at DoubleClick. The atmosphere at DoubleClick in these functions is bleak and service to the clients is woeful.” Read about it.
Real-Time Marketing
B2B targeting platform and ad network, Bizo, announced the launch of its BizAudience API which the release says will allow “B2B marketers [to] now know exactly who is visiting their sites – the moment they arrive. Visitors see more targeted messages.” The company says use of the API leads to better ROI for the marketer. Read about it.
MediaPost’s Joe Mandese writes about what this site has been saying all along – ad networks are only going to proliferate fueled by gobs of inventory with valuable audience. Now, a research firm called Advertiser Perceptions, has a research paper which says it in print. Read the article.
Lobbying The Government
Lawmakers are seeing the world’s largest Internet company more than ever these days since, “In just four years, Google has become the valley’s second largest company when it comes to lobbying expenditures,” says Silicon Beat’s Chris O’Brien. He adds this isn’t a team of programmer and engineers, “The lobbying team includes former employees from the Justice Department, Treasury, the FCC, and Congressional staffs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.” Read more.
Hitting A Low (Quality Ad)
Louis Gray has had enough of “low quality ads” and goes on a rant on his blog. Gray saying a Facebook ad he saw today was the end of the road, “Today’s most recent jaw-dropper? An advertisement for car insurance on Facebook that featured the bearded visage of America’s least favorite terrorist, Osama Bin Laden.” Read more about the road.
NYC Tech Is Exploding
VC Chris Dixon is impressed as his Founder Collective firm, IA Capital Partners, and Betaworks among other VC firms are invading NYC to find the next billion dollar company. Dixon says that all that is missing is a “runaway success” such as Paypal, Google and Facebook. Read more.
Boston Is Booming
Laura Rich of Fast Company looks at the boomtown of Boston and its technology cyclone. Jeff Bussgang, a VC at Flybridge Capital Partners says, “What I think is incredibly unique about Boston is that the university system generates so much IP.” Read more.
Valley Continues To Rally
TechCrunch’s Robin Wauters notes that the Valley’s VC community is steaming ahead, too, as Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs and Cambridge West Ventures are looking to connect with startups and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley.” Follow the money.
The Independent Board Memberer
Entrepreneur and VC Bijan Sabet discusses the importance of picking the right independent board member – someone who is a “rock star” and will stay engaged. Echoing a post by Jerry Colonna, Sabet thinks this board member should have Bobby Knight-like CEO coaching abilities. Read more. I say – if a coach is the important, go hire a good one and don’t mess around trying to find one who will sit on your board, too.
Behavioral Ads Take Off With Restrictions
eMarketer says that privacy restrictions may actually open up targeting for marketers and offers a couple of fancy graphs to help make the case. Senior analyst David Hallerman suggests that clarity on the rules will be catalyst, “A more open deal between the two sides, the ad industry and consumers, could help draw more ad dollars to behavioral targeting.” Read it.
Bargain Is The Sweet Spot
Looking for the sweet spot in your B2C audience? Hopefully, you have bargains in your strategy because according to Janet Morrissey of Time Magazine, that’s all the consumer wants. Morrissey concludes, “The bottom line for retailers: The environment may improve slightly, but don’t hold your breath waiting for the return of happy, indulgent shoppers.” Read it.
Zynga’s Pincus On OKRs
In Sunday’s New York Times, Mark Pincus gave his two cents on how he delegates authority as his startup scales and succeeds. Pincus says he uses “O.K.R.’s, which stands for objectives and key results… the idea is that the whole company and every group has one objective and three measurable key results, and if you achieve two of the three, you achieve your overall objective, and if you achieve all three, you’ve really killed it.” Read more.
Not Sucking At Presentations
Prolific blogger and GRP Partners VC Mark Suster gives his suggestions on “How to Not Suck at a Group Presentation.” Among his tips, “Have someone else drive the demo” and “Be Unique/Memorable.” And, there’s more.
