Branded content is a form of advertising media, many times video, that blurs the lines between advertising and entertainment. It is essentially a fusion of the two distributed as entertainment content. Branded content is generally funded entirely by a brand or corporation. The term branded content really took hold as a new marketing technique in… Read more >>
Many of us–at least those that still have cable subscriptions–have become accustomed to recording our favorite television shows then watching them at our convenience and fast forwarding through all those expensive commercials that brands and agencies produce. Though, 41% of Americans never end up watching their recorded content. But the community-building nature of social television… Read more >>
BuzzFeed says that the future of online advertising is not in banner advertising, but instead in branded and sponsored content that is shareable on social sites. The founder of BuzzFeed, Jonah Peretti spoke at SXSW on Tuesday about the power shift in media. Peretti believes that making content that people want to share is how advertisers… Read more >>
Kyle and I give a quick recap of our key takeaways from the fifth day of South by Southwest Interactive 2013.
Traditionally, agencies and brands have purchased and placed their media based on demographics like age, gender, race, geography, etc. But with the amount of data that consumers are now giving about themselves, their preferences and their habits, we should forget about demographics and think instead about cultures and reaching audiences through the self-identifying information… Read more >>
Over the years, I’ve found media people and creative people at odds about the length of radio and television commercials. Creative obviously want longer spots while media is trying to build frequency and wants shorter, less expensive spots. Well, digital video has brought us together so we can both live happily ever after. We can… Read more >>
I recently participated in a webinar lead by Undertone Network and the IPG Media Lab on Understanding the Drivers of Standout Video Experiences. The research they presented provided some interesting insights for us all to keep in mind as video advertising continues to grow in the online world. There are four key elements of the… Read more >>
Some time ago, I wrote a post about the demise of the print newspaper, musing as to whether or not the world was going to end or not because of it. Like many, I’m quite content to receive my news online from my local paper’s morning news “eblast.” However, if I were a business that… Read more >>
At Stone Ward we are always looking for ways to improve the effectiveness of the media dollars spent on behalf of our clients. In the world of online advertising we sometimes think we have it nailed. But, this constantly evolving industry is always coming up with new ways to target, track and count the effectiveness… Read more >>
Today Emily and I talked about a new tool for evaluating sites that are part of ad networks that we purchase for our clients’ online ad campaigns. Listen to our discussion below, or subscribe to our podcast in iTunes.
Drawing inspiration from the cicada when designing tiling graphics for the web. I first read about this idea about a year ago, in this Design Festival article. In the article, the author proposed a technique for creating repeating backgrounds that avoid the monotony and repetition of the standard web page tiled background image. The first… Read more >>
As video consumption habits have rapidly begun shifting across multiple devices, a significant need to understand and evaluate the impact of an advertiser’s video campaigns both offline and online exists. Nielsen’s newest product, Online Audience Segments – TV Viewing, identifies this disparate gap in evaluating true media efficiencies. Online Audience Segments – TV Viewing connects… Read more >>
Just when you thought that there could be no more new platforms for sharing and communicating with like-minded people, three new ones emerged this week. Whether these new platforms take off and gain Twitter or Pinterest-like traction remains to be seen, but they each seem to be worth at least checking out for potential future… Read more >>
Does online display advertising drive search traffic and results? I believe it does and I have for some time now. I’ve seen the combination work many times for Stone Ward clients. Pre-target, an ad targeting software company, agrees and has pulled together a simple yet educational infographic on the subject. This infographic shows that display… Read more >>