Ad Industry Roundup: Peer39; Blinkx; Twitter; Pepsi
This story was written by David Kaplan.
Peer39's semantic ad net bites the dust: Peer39 has decided to close its "Semantic Ad Network" and laid off its four-person sales staff as it hopes to focus more on the technology side of its business. As opposed to running a network of sites, the New York- and Israel-based company just wants to offer tools that lets publishers, ad agencies and other clients identify the content on a particular site and place a related ad. Despite the job cuts now, the 50-person Peer39 still plans add another 10 or 20 staffers by the end of '09.
Blinkx unveils new ad unit, the "Un-roll": Video search engine blinkx rolled out a new ad unit called the "Un-roll," a pre-roll/overlay hybrid. Advertisers can choose to include a link or other call-to-action at the end, but the idea is to keep viewers engaged throughout the entire clip instead of making them sit through an ad at the startand risk having them click away.
Brands still trying to figure this "Twitter thing" out: Much has been made this past year about Twitter as the next great social net marketing tool. Brands are flocking to it, but they still can't figure out if it's purpose is best for marketing, customer relationship or just PR. For one thing, some companies' established "Twitter stars," like Ford Motors' digital guru Scott Monty, are still keeping most of his tweets about himself. "Nobody wants to have a conversation with a car unless it's Knight Rider. I hope I am able to imbue some kind of personality through these accounts."
Pepsi expanding digital ad efforts in China: The global economic meltdown is not stopping Pepsi from ramping up its digital ad plans for China, including plans to spend $1 billion across all media there. The soft drink marketer recently switched its account to Omnicom'sTribal DDB from WPP's Agenda unit, which is based in China. Pepsi has had digital campaigns for its flagship and 7Up brands, but will expand its online and mobile initiatives for less well-known drinks like Miranda. Pepsi's stepped up China focus doesn't mean it's forgotten about the U.S. market, as Brandweek notes that the marketer began running a new ads on its YouTube channel and launched a microsite called RefreshEverything.com.
By David Kaplan