Whenever a platform becomes a standard, there are usually other companies that create platforms atop this initial one in order to help facilitate the available actions between third party developers and that platform. Such is the case with AdWhirl, which has announced a $1 million round of funding led by Foundation Capital.
(more…)

Ad networks pride themselves in offering targeting options for optimal ad placement, and Resonate Networks is one such ad company that provides options for niche advertising as well. As an ad network specific for public affairs, political and corporate campaigns, Resonate Networks launches as a differentiated solution for a unique set of industries.
(more…)

Buddy Media, which creates apps and “app-vertisements” for brands looking for engaging ways in which to interact with users across social networks and other online media outlets, has made a name for itself with its popular applications and ad delivery system. Now Buddy Media is further establishing itself as a resource for all things social media-ad related. The data Buddy Media is able to collect can prove quite helpful for its clients, social networks, advertisers within and outside of its network, as well as developers looking to monetize applications on the web.

So as part of the recently released research report called “Social Math: The Economic Case for Branded Applications” Buddy Media also launched a new calculator tool that enables marketers to better estimate their online social media budget. This estimate is based on a marketer’s average CPM and evaluates the cost of generating engaged users with certain social media ad campaigns.

This basic calculator offering gives a very broad overview of what marketers can expect to get for their established budget. And this also ties in directly with Buddy Media’s own offerings, which the company is promoting for such deliverables. But equally important is Buddy Media’s findings, which are offered in the report. For example, Buddy Media states that “app-vertising” campaigns offer nearly 400% more engaged users than display ads, at 78% less in terms of cost. More impressions, more engagement, and less money.

These are the qualities that several branded app networks are offering, with an emphasis on lowered costs. In an era of budget cuts and an attitude of sticking to traditional media for advertising in some cases, Buddy Media is doing well to offer up its findings in order to help establish its online presence and its overall industry.

Buddy Media’s findings are based on aggregate data from more than 80 “app-vertisment” programs with over 60 of its clients, which have been compared to public data for display advertising. Access the entire “Social Math” report and calculator here.

Social media agency AdParlor has expanded its virtual currency monetization platform, making this feature available on all the major social networking sites. Already having this option presented to developers using Facebook’s Platform, AdParlor has now extended the option to developers that would like to create applications with virtual currency on MySpace, Bebo and the others.

What the virtual currency option provides is a revenue-generating feature that benefits developers and AdParlor. As users interact with the given application, they earn virtual currency points which can usually be redeemed for rewards after a certain number of points have been earned.
(more…)

Online brand advertising measurement system Vizu has teamed up with three other ad companies that deal specifically with brand advertisement within social networks. AdNectar, Buddy Media and Lotame are all using Vizu’s Ad Catalyst brand ad measurement system to extend the feature set of their own products. Given the social media directives of these other ad companies, there’s a reason they’ve all chosen Vizu’s Ad Catalyst system.

The ads used in social networks are decidedly different from those found on other sites, and as ads continue to evolve within the social media realm, the way in which a brand marketing success is measured must change with time as well. That’s where Vizu comes in.
(more…)

As part of our work at GeniusRocket, a D.C. startup that crowdsources creative content, we researched some of the trends in viral video (as of July 2008) that confirmed certain assumptions and challenged several widely held beliefs.

After looking at the 1) Top 50 Viral Videos of the Year, 2) Top 50 YouTube Videos in a Typical Day, and 3) Top 50 Viral Ads of the Year, we can share some insights that are useful whether you are a Brand Manager or have ambitions to be the next Tay Zonday.

Top 50 Viral Videos of the Year: 5 Lessons
#1: The most viral content is usually corporate content.
#2: The most viral content is posted on hundreds of blogs.
#3: The most viral content is usually OVER 1 minute in length.
#4: The most viral content occurs in the following categories (by frequency): 1. Music 2. Ads 3. Politics 4. Comedy 5. Animals 6. Sexy 7. Tech 8. Strange
#5: The thumbnails of the most viral videos nearly always depict humans (particularly faces), not objects.
(more…)

When Google and Facebook launched their social identity platforms over a week ago, few people realized the changed that occurred. It’s not surprising that few took note. Over a week later, there are less than 100 sites that have publicly integrated with Facebook Connect. Compare that to the more than 150 applications that were being launched daily immediately after the Facebook platform launched last year.
(more…)

Back in November I wrote that the new GlamApps program validated the business of branded social applications. Yesterday Brian Morrissey of AdWeek wrote that branded applications “are as popular as desolate Second Life islands.” In many cases Brian would be right. An advertiser launches an application, traffic surges after an initial ad campaign, and typically traffic falls off. Regularly, a small percentage of people stick around.

Take for example the “Ballers Network” which Nike launched and which Morrissey refers to in his article. He states “Despite its global ambitions and support in three languages, the application has a mere 3,400 users per month.” Now compare that to traditional advertising. How many monthly users does a T.V. or radio commercial have after the commercial has run? None.
(more…)

The holiday shopping season is upon us, and online advertisers may be considering better use of social networks for more effective advertising this year.  According to AdvertisingAge, a number of advertising tactics have been developing over the years that take advantage of one’s personal network of friends and associates, both offline and online.  Yahoo, for example, has targeted the friends of Yahoo Fantasy players with Fantasy ads, and found an increase of quality click-throughs and uptake as a result.  So this begs the question; can socially graphed advertisements predict what online consumers will buy?
(more…)

Last month we broke the news that MySpace was launching the MySpace advertising platform. Well tonight, three weeks after we first broke the news, they are officially announcing it. We have more details on the service this time around which MySpace has provided us with:

• The service is officially launching tomorrow morning
• HyperTargeting is 99% accurate as it is cross referenced with U.S. Post Office database
• Range for MyAds is $25.00-10,000.00
• 1100 interest categories to target individuals by
• Since beta opened up, there has been over 3,000 new advertisers register

Now that MySpace has officially opened up the service, it will be interesting to hear advertiser feedback. Facebook has been offering a similar service with demographic and keyword targeting which makes advertising on the site highly targeted. The most significant challenge on Facebook has been attracting more significant click-thru rates.

I would write a more thorough overview of the service but I already did that a month ago. Check out the previous article for all the juicy details.