Why Digital Agencies Are Indeed Ready to Lead†

They Understand the Technology, the Speed of Iteration and Analytics

Advertising Age, November 12, 2009 — Over the past 18 months, a great debate has consumed our industry: Are digital agencies poised to sit at the head of the advertising table? Depending on whom you ask and what you read, the answer seems to flip flop — with a majority of people still having reservations and making claims that digital agencies aren't ready to lead.

So why does the debate continue? Does offline or online really matter to an oblivious consumer who's only interested in "no-line" communications? Are we spending too much time focusing on who should lead and not enough asking: What's next?

Happy Birthday, Digital Advertising!†

The Banner Campaign that Started a $24 billion Business, and Got a 78% Click-through Rate

Advertising Age, October 26, 2009 — Oct. 27 marks the 15th anniversary of the industry's first banner display ads, which appeared on Hotwired.com. To the many of you reading this who weren't in the business back then, that's not a typo; I'm not referring to www.HotWire.com, the travel site, but HotWired — the first commercial digital magazine on the web and the offshoot of Wired magazine.

Internet overtakes television to become biggest advertising sector in the UK

Record £1.75bn online spend makes UK first major economy to spend more on web ads than TV, says IAB

The Guardian, September 30, 2009 — The UK has become the first major economy where advertisers spend more on internet advertising than on television advertising, with a record £1.75bn online spend in the first six months of the year.

The milestone marks a watershed for the embattled TV industry, the leading ad medium in the UK for almost half a century. It has taken the internet little more than a decade to become the biggest advertising sector in the UK.

Nielsen To Develop Online Planning Tool For UK

MediaPost Publications, September 29, 2009 — The Nielsen Company has been selected by UKOM, the UK Online Measurement body, as its official partner in creating the country's first online campaign planning tool.

Set to launch in January 2010, the UKOM Audience Planning System (APS) powered by Nielsen is intended to provide advertisers and agencies with the online reach and frequency metrics needed for media planning and buying.

Office Depot's Sunday Circular Goes Digital†

Adweek, June 30, 2009 — Office Depot is using part of the $100 million it spends annually on Sunday circulars to launch an online show touting weekly deals.

Dubbed Smart Specials with Matt and Matt, the show will supplement Office Depot's print product. Consumers can watch the show on TheSurvivaloftheSmartest.com and Hulu. The retailer will also send out e-mail links to its rewards members. WPP's Young & Rubicam in New York produced the Matt and Matt show.

Skittles Cozies Up to Social Media†

Candy's Site Is Built on Consumer-Created Content From Twitter, Facebook

Wall Street Journal, March 3, 2009 — For years, Skittles has encouraged consumers to "Taste the Rainbow." Now, the candy brand wants people to "Chat the Rainbow."

Mars Snackfood, maker of the chewy, multicolored candies, launched a new homepage at Skittles.com on Thursday that may represent the closest embrace of social media yet by a mainstream marketer. Instead of a typical product site that highlights information about or videos and games related to a product, Skittles.com features content created by consumers — most of it gleaned from other Web sites.

General Mills Thrives on Increased Marketing Spending†

Boosting TV Ads Hiked Cereal Sales, But Digital ROI Even Higher

Advertising Age, February 17, 2009 — General Mills, one of the package-food industry's top performers, laid out a number of recent marketing successes at the Consumer Analysts Group of New York conference this morning, and offered a preview of the rest of its fiscal year.

The company has staunchly supported consumer-marketing spending increases — 19% in the first half of fiscal 2009, which began in June — while competitors, including Kellogg and Kraft, have begun to scale back on the heady marketing outlays of 2008, instead preaching bundling and greater return on investment. General Mills estimates that its consumer-marketing spending will be up by "double digits" for the full fiscal year.

A New Odd Couple: Google, P&G Swap Workers to Spur Innovation†

Wall Street Journal, November 18, 2008 — At Procter & Gamble Co., the corporate culture is so rigid, employees jokingly call themselves "Proctoids." In contrast, Google Inc. staffers are urged to wander the halls on company-provided scooters and brainstorm on public whiteboards.

Now, this odd couple thinks they have something to gain from one another — so they've started swapping employees. So far, about two-dozen staffers from the two companies have spent weeks dipping into each other's staff training programs and sitting in on meetings where business plans get hammered out. The initiative has drawn little notice. Previously, neither company had granted this kind of access to outsiders.

Like a Billboard, but, Oh, So Sleek

New York Times, November 5, 2008 — One of the biggest and fanciest shopping malls in Europe opened here last week in a test of British consumers’ ability to keep spending during a steep downturn. The shopping center, Westfield London, is also shaping up as a vast experiment in making over the humble billboard.

CBS Outdoor, a division of the CBS media conglomerate, has installed more than 100 digital advertising screens at Westfield, including one covering 646 square feet.

The idea is to try to attract new kinds of clients to so-called outdoor or out-of-home advertising, including luxury brands.