Twitter announced a new kind of Tweet today designed to allow marketers to easily collect personal information from Twitter users, if they chose to provide it.

The format, an expanded Tweet called the "Lead Generation Card," includes a button that with one click allows the user to provide their name, email address and Twitter handle to the marketer as a request for a deal, more information or further communication.

The format is designed to help businesses collect leads -- those interested in more information about a product or a service. It's the latest "Twitter Card," an expanded Tweet that contains content far beyond the 140-character limitation of Twitter messages, including images and video.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

The debate over the value of mobile advertising typically focuses on what effect, if any, it has on brand lift, sales and getting consumers into stores. But advertisers have been wasting money on mobile in the literal sense because a significant portion of the ads they're paying for never properly display on devices.

Now, networks and publishers are being pressured to more accurately report how well they deliver ads in an attempt to legitimize the industry and increase mobile-marketing spending.

Apple's iAd earlier this month became the first major mobile-ad network to be fully accredited by the Media Ratings Council as adhering to the standards the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Mobile Marketing Association jointly released earlier this year.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

With over 400 million people predicted to have Smart TVs by 2016, there is an impending "appification" of the TV that presents an enormous opportunity for brands, content creators and media companies. But chances are, few reading this blog have considered rethinking their content strategies for Smart TV consumption, not to mention the accompanying monetization models.

In part, that's because much of the skepticism about the value of the technology is justified. It's true, for instance, that many Smart TV components remain underutilized by consumers. The most successful apps have been video apps, such as Netflix. Software development for anything more complicated than basic streaming -- especially gaming -- has been a challenge because of Smart TV's notoriously slow (and quickly out-of-date) hardware. But manufacturers remain committed to the technology, and are taking significant steps to correct its flaws.

The latest report from IHS Screen Digest predicts that Smart TVs will account for 55% of the market by 2015 and by 2016 will account for two-thirds of the total units shipped globally. In addition, relatively inexpensive auxiliary devices like the Google TV box and the Xbox can turn any TV into a Smart TV in less than 15 minutes. An expected updated Apple TV that would run the iTunes ecosystem would accelerate Smart TV adoption. Inevitably, Smart TVs will become a key component of many households' connected-device ecosystem.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Credit reporting company Equifax has named Dentsu's 360i its lead agency as it reevaluates its approach to data and analytics.

The shift comes after Equifax selected Publicis Groupe's Digitas as its lead agency in August 2011. 360i will focus on direct-to-consumer integrated marketing efforts for the brand's credit and identity protection services.

Said Digitas in a statement: "We have mutually agreed to part ways after two years of partnership. We have high hopes that success will continue to follow both companies and we wish each other the very best."

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Microsoft unveiled its latest Xbox console, Xbox One, today, and with it, an announcement that the company would be turning it's popular Halo video game franchise into a live-action series with Steven Spielberg as executive producer.

"The Halo universe is an amazing opportunity to be at that intersection where technology and myth-making meet to produce something truly groundbreaking," Mr. Spielberg said in a video clip during the press conference.

Introducing the multiple Oscar winner was Microsoft's president of entertainment and digital media Nancy Tellem. Ms. Tellem was formerly president of CBS Television Studios and a senior adviser to CBS CEO Les Moonves before going to Microsoft to spearhead the company's entry into original programming.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Samsung topped Ad Age's Viral Video Chart last week with a decidedly un-evolved spot for its "Evolution Kit," which turns any Samsung TV into a smart TV. Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the box goes on sale this month for $299, including a smart remote that allows swiping of apps across the screen.

The video, "Evolutionary Husband?" doesn't show much about what the box is or does, but took some heat on Reddit for taking some tired stereotypes to the extreme. Nevertheless, it managed nearly 6.7 million views in its first week, according to Visible Measures.

Ad Age named Samsung "Brand of the Year" at the Viral Video Awards in April, largely for its excellent "Next Big Thing Is Already Here" videos for various versions of the Samsung Galaxy phone. This one? Not so much.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

In the mid-90s, the pop band Barenaked Ladies sang out scenarios for their fantasy, "If I had a million dollars." Today, in Silicon Valley and due north in Redmond we have a new version playing out where Yahoo, Facebook and Microsoft are all figuring out what they would spend a billion on.

While the targets -- Tumblr, Waze and Nook -- make for fascinating discussion of fit and valuation on their own, together they show something interesting about the future of these goliaths beyond the personal computer. They're looking well beyond the personal computer, but in different ways.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

The majority of Madison Avenue's ad-tech stack has been built around the dated cookie-based approach. Yet cookies were never built for marketing and advertising; they were conceived to help web masters control session management.

Much of the pressure to reform in our industry has centered around third-party cookies. The use of third-party cookies could be significantly restricted, if not totally disallowed. First-party cookies are still in play and will be allowed, as of this point, which will essentially allow publishers to control site-side experiences, not just advertising.

In a world with third-party cookies banned, first-party cookie owners would have a large advantage, at least in the short to medium term. I assume that in the long term another cookie-like approach will be created to replace third-party cookies.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Brooklyn-based Huge just got a bit smaller.

A group of senior executives from the Interpublic Group of Cos.' digital shop are decamping to start a new shop. Dubbed Work & Company, the agency is launching with: Huge's Founding Partner and Chief Strategy Officer Gene Liebel; Creative Director Joe Stewart, Partner and Head of Product Design Felipe Memoria and VP-Product Design Marcelo Eduardo. Mohan Ramaswamy, a former product strategy lead at Huge and most recently, an engagement manager at McKinsey, is also joining the new shop.

Mr. Liebel has given notice but remains in his role at Huge for the time being.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

TV networks showcasing their wares during the recent upfront have a bigger concern than one-upping their broadcast rivals: grabbing attention from original content on nontraditional platforms, many of which are not ad-supported.

This influx in originals such as Netflix's "House of Cards" and "Hemlock Grove" is being blamed for the overall decline in TV viewership, and potentially stealing dollars from the estimated $63.9 billion U.S. TV-ad market in 2013.

Originals are a small but growing factor. "We think the shift from ad-supported viewing to Netflix had a negative impact of $500 million on total advertising during the quarter," UBS analyst John Janedis wrote in a research note in April.  

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Tumblr founder David Karp and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer have a delicate balancing act ahead of them: Assure devout Tumblr users that their beloved platform won't change, while convincing Wall Street that their union will be a lucrative one.

Highlighting how important it is to maintain the Tumblr experience, Yahoo made an outright pledge "not to screw it up" in the press release announcing the $1.1 billion acquisition. Further, the 26-year-old Mr. Karp -- who will be $275 million richer once the deal closes -- will stay put as CEO, and Tumblr will function as a separate business unit.

While Mr. Karp and Ms. Mayer are adamant that Tumblr will continue on its own roadmap, they also say that its ad business will be spurred along with the help of Yahoo's sales organization -- which is 2,500 people strong, compared to Tumblr's existing 25, per Ms. Mayer -- and that Yahoo will introduce new native ad units to the platform.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

News item:

Yahoo! to Acquire Tumblr

Promises not to screw it up

Continue reading at AdAge.com

The most glaring question regarding Yahoo's Tumblr acquisition is how it will generate more advertising revenue from a platform that, to date, has taken a minimalist approach to incorporating advertising.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is going to change that, however. Ms. Mayer said Monday morning that Yahoo would introduce more "native advertising" formats to Tumblr. She also said that advertising will eventually appear on an individual's original Tumblr "with the blogger's permission."

"I would expect any ad units to be very native and to follow the form and function of Tumblr," Ms. Mayer said.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

AT&T is the country's fifth largest ad spender -- and now its using data gleaned from its own digital advertising to to help other marketers buying inventory through AT&T's AdWorks business.

The company is unveiling a new platform, called Blueprint, for targeted online, mobile and TV ads. However, the platform falls short of achieving what largely remains elusive for advertisers: a way to target one person or group of the same people across digital, mobile and traditional platforms. At the outset, there will be three Blueprint platforms: one for online, one for mobile and one for TV. Most notably, it will be using the intelligence it gathers from its own corporate digital ad efforts to inform the online Blueprint platform.

"We're both an ad network and an advertiser ... our ads show up in thousands of websites that go beyond our network. The nice thing about that is we can leverage that learning," said Maria Mandel Dunsche, head of marketing and media for AT&T's AdWorks. The company's own ads create 4 billion signals per month that it uses to identify audience segments and interest categories, said Ms. Mandel Dunsche.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

This story has been updated.

Like a host of other brands, Yahoo has a millennial problem, and its acquisition of Tumblr could be a step toward fixing it. But will new ownership help Tumblr with one of its biggest problems -- drawing major advertisers?

All Things D on Sunday morning reported that the Yahoo board unanimously approved the deal to buy Tumblr for $1.1 billion.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

It was Larry Page's Willy Wonka moment: The Google CEO was handing out pairs of Google Glasses to anyone who could dream up a novel way to use the device. All they had to do was submit the idea via Twitter or Google Plus and pony up $1,500.

More than a few agency execs ended up with golden Glass tickets, and they're toying with how the technology could be used in marketing.

Ian Schafer, CEO at digital agency Deep Focus, was awarded a pair after posting on his G+ account: "#ifihadglass no matter how far away I was from home, my family would be close." MDC Partners-owned KBS+ created a website devoted to its employees' contest submissions, and Google greenlit eight of them. Dave Meeker of Aegis-owned Isobar got ahold of the eyewear after stating he wanted to build apps on it for clients. Dentsu's Jeff Hinson snagged a pair for tweeting he'd use Glass to develop an interactive marketing campaign for client New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp. And two employees at digital agency Huge won the coveted Glasses.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

As much as we all talked about 2013 finally being the Year of Mobile, I'm convinced that it actually is going to be the Year of Video. Here's why:

Viewing is growing on video, with more time spent on more devices. Too much is made of falling network prime-time ratings. According to our estimates at GroupM, overall video consumption is up year on year by about 3.7%, assisted by viewing of streaming video on PCs, connected TVs and mobile devices. According to the latest comScore, on average, 183 million Americans view 215 videos each month online. Mobile's big boost is also being driven by video, with Cisco forecasting that by 2016, two-thirds of mobile traffic will be viewing video.

Dynamic content is growing audiences. The rules are being re-written on the back of strong original programming investment. Cable network AMC's "Walking Dead' was the second highest rated show on prime-time television, beating top network shows such as FOX's "American Idol" and ABC's "Modern Family" in straight 18-49 ratings. Netflix's "House of Cards" reportedly pulled in 2.7 million viewers in its first 12 days, which is about the same as what premium cable network Showtime's pilot of "Homeland" achieved in live and on-demand viewing when it launched in 2011.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Advertising Age makes a cameo appearance in Reddit's new ad-sales pitch deck in the form of a quote grabbed from my recent column about the social-news site: "Reddit has become, simply put, mainstream media." (See slide 3.)

Reddit's new sales and strategy boss, Mike Cole, sent me the whole deck last night and I'm sharing it with you here because, well, it's pretty funny. It tries to make the case for Reddit's reach, cultural power and user engagement using the lingua franca of Reddit: goofy images.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

A new campaign against child abuse built around a sign that looks different to viewers of different heights has made its way onto the Viral Video Chart, entering at No. 2 and beating clips from usual viral powers such as Samsung. The sign, from Spanish non-profit The ANAR Foundation, shows only short viewers -- children -- a hotline number to call if they need help.

Another new entry on the chart was Audi's video starring the old Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the new Spock (Zachary Quinto), introduced as "Star Trek: Into Darkness" approached its opening this weekend -- even though the movie officially has a tie-in with Mazda. The video came in at No. 4 with more than 5 million views this week.

Heineken's new "Road to the Final" campaign about the UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Arena and Google's "Here's to the Moms" campaign, which debuted before Mother's Day, also appear on the chart.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Does the future of media include breaking-news headlines materializing in front of your eyes as you walk down the street?

CNN and Elle magazine have become the second and third media brands with apps on Google Glass, following The New York Times, and all three are testing early adopters' appetite for a constant stream of content served to them on the go. In their current form, the apps seem to follow the vein of push notifications mobile phone users get increasingly frequently from The Times and The Wall Street Journal. Unlike the apps those push notifications bring users to, however, the media brands' Glass apps aren't allowed to carry ads.

The revenue opportunity is currently minuscule in any case. Google Glass is still only available to a small group of people -- mainly developers -- who plunked down $1,500 for the privilege of beta-testing the device.

Continue reading at AdAge.com