IN BRIEF
Working with Sweden Unlimited,
Refinery29 revamped its e-commerce site R29 Shops. The new
site is a remodel of the media company’s previous e-commerce store
called “Boutiques,” which launched
in 2007. R29 Shops is designed to
be a richer, more integrated experience for the consumer. The online
shops are stocked with products
selected by editorial staff as well
as by designers.
Content verification helps
brands keep their currency
Toy company Mattel launched its
first-ever mobile-optimized web-
site. Mattel worked with Usablenet
to build the site. The idea for the
site came after the
brand’s executives
noticed increased
e-commerce traffic
from mobile devices.
The mobile site isn’t
built for m-commerce,
but is instead de-
signed as a research
tool for consumers in
retail locations.
By Dianna Dilworth
While growth in ad exchanges makes serving ads across the Internet in real time cheaper and
easier, brands have a dilemma: hedge a bet
and pay around $.50 cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) for an ad that could show up
on a premium publisher’s site or pay around
$500 for the same impression with full control over where it is served and the content
next to which it is served.
Steve Sullivan, VP of advertising technology at the Interactive Advertising Bureau
(IAB), says there is little transparency when
advertisers buy inventory from a network, as
networks don’t always inform brands of the
content alongside which the ads will appear.
Steve Sullivan, VP of advertising technology at the Interactive Advertising Bureau
Hearst Digital Media plans to
launch a private ad exchange
called The Hearst Audience Exchange. The exchange is designed
to help advertisers target specific audience segments. The idea
for the exchange came because
brands and advertisers were
looking for ways to better target
consumers. The exchange will segment consumers by their interests,
beginning by segmenting readers
interested in food.
Ad spending’s growth continues
U.S. online advertising spending
grew 23% to $32.03 billion in 2011
U.S. online advertising spending is expect-
ed to grow 23.3% to $39.5 billion this year
Total U.S. ad spend rose 3.4% to
$158.9 billion in 2011
U.S. total media ad spending will grow an
estimated 6.7% to $169.48 in 2012
U.S. digital advertising spending at
magazines is expected to grow
19.3% to $3.3 billion this year
Source: eMarketer, U.S. Online Advertising
Spending to Surpass Print in 2012
“Companies that the network buys inventories from might be premium sites that don’t
want the buyer of the inventory to know that
they are selling this low cost inventory, so
it is a blind network,” says Sullivan.
To purchase cheap ad inventory without
harming company reputation (for instance,
For instance, a baby food company submits
a list of suitable content sites where its ad
should run. Its ad networks or exchanges use
content verification tools to automatically
restrict the brand’s exposure from inappropriate content. These tools often quantify site
Toys “R” Us launched a new
customer loyalty program
called Rewards“R”Us. The program
includes a new co-branded Master-Card credit card through GE Capital Retail Bank. “R”Us credit card
holders are automatically
enrolled in the rewards
program. The new
program stems from
feedback from existing Rewards“R”Us
members and “R”Us
credit card holders.
content on a scale of 1 to 1,000, which allow
brands to decide the score against which they
are comfortable running ads.
“Protecting the reputation of any brand
is critical,” says Alex Tait, director of inter-
national digital acquisition at American
Express. “As online advertising becomes
increasingly automated, we need to be secure
in the knowledge adverts are reaching appro-
priate destinations.”
While content controls have been in place
for years, current content verification systems
give brands more granular control over
which sites run their ads with the addition
of content safety tools. “Ad verification just
passively points out the problem and shows
where your ads ran,” says Scott Knoll, CEO
of AdSafe. “Ad safety will work in conjunc-
tion with an ad server to look at a page before
the ad is running and determine if it should
run there.”
But it’s not always easy. An ad for children’s
shoes shouldn’t be placed alongside content
on dealing with a child’s death, but automat-
ed technology still might not recognize the
inappropriateness.
“Digital itself has sold itself as the perfectly
accountable medium, but we...need to check
that a brand’s criteria has been met before ads
are served,” says Richard Foan, group executive director of communication and innovation at Audit Bureau of Circulations U.K. ■
