Digital Marketing Blog

Self-service ad agency gets WPP financing

Web-based ad agency Spot Runner has confirmed it has gained a new round of funding from WPP, CBS, Interpublic and other major media groups.

The firm, whose site enables small companies to create and place ads on local TV stations, said it had received $40m to expand into new forms of media, including online video, video-on-demand and IPTV.

by Richard Maven 30 October 2006 08:09am 0 comments

The 100th birthday of the press release

Guest blog by Greg Jarboe

October 28th was the 100^th birthday of the press release. Internet marketing executives who are interested in the future of the online press release can learn some important lessons from the early history of public relations.

Ivy Lee, who some consider to be the father of modern PR, invented the press release on October 28, 1906. One of his first clients was the Pennsylvania Railroad in the US. Following a major accident in Atlantic City, NJ, Lee not only convinced the railroad to distribute the first press release, he also invited reporters to the scene of the accident and provided a special train to get them there.

by Guest Author 28 October 2006 00:01am 0 comments

36 greatest Bill Gates quotes, just for Apple fanboys

Digg.com is having one of its Apple fanboy days, where every other story on the Digg homepage could have been submitted by the Apple PR department.

A story published by Wired on Steve Jobs' best quotes illustrates this, making it onto the Digg homepage and racking up hundreds of diggs in next to no time. As I write, there are no less than four pro-Apple stories in the top ten of Digg's technology homepage. Wisdom of crowds, huh?

We wondered what would happen if we balanced this view with a similar piece on Macboy nemesis Bill Gates. After the jump we've culled a bunch of Bill's quotes, 36 in total, including a gem about spider monkeys.

Bill Gates, dude...

Let the flaming begin...

by The Shredder 27 October 2006 16:44pm 4 comments

Report shows influence of internet on offline sales

New research once again proves the influence of the internet on both online and offline sales. A study has shown that 77% of electronics purchases are researched online before customers head to a store.

The results of the US-focused study indicates that online research time increases in line with product prices.

by Graham Charlton 27 October 2006 11:42am 1 comment

Email marketing worst practice list - exhibit A

At our recent Email Marketing Roundtable one of the attendees said: "I hear the phrase 'best practice' email marketing bandied about, and everyone nods sagely. I'm sure some people could give a definitive list, but where is that list? And is there a list of 'worst practice'?"

I had a little dose of worst practice this morning, something worth adding to any email marketer's Things Not To Do Under Any Circumstances Because You Will Have Angry, Disbelieving Customers list.

by Jos Merideth 27 October 2006 10:15am 6 comments

New flaw found in Internet Explorer 7

A flaw in Internet Explorer 7 has been found which could mask phishing scams, exposing surfers to the kind of risk that the browser was meant to have dealt with.

Security monitoring company Secunia discovered that IE7 allows a website to display a pop-up window which can contain a spoofed web address, which may trick users into accessing malicious pages.

by Graham Charlton 26 October 2006 15:27pm 0 comments

Irony shocker as Forbes lists ‘10 most dangerous online activities’

In a somewhat sensationalist article called ‘The 10 Most Dangerous Online Activities’ Forbes outlines – yup, you guessed it – the 10 things people should be wary of when online.

Most of these activities are obvious no-go areas, though one or two amount to madness. Such as “using Linkedin”. I’m not kidding, folks. Be scared, be very scared...

by Chris Lake 26 October 2006 13:54pm 0 comments

Visits to European job sites grow 11%

European visits to career-related websites jumped by 11% year on year in Q3, according to new figures from comScore.

The study showed sites dedicated to online career resources, job searches and training attracted 50 million visitors per month during the quarter, with Monster leading the category.

by Richard Maven 26 October 2006 12:54pm 0 comments

UK digital divide driven by internet 'refuseniks'

According to new research from Point Topic, resistance to the internet is growing among the portion of the population currently without access.

By early 2006, an estimated 11.2 million households in the UK (44%) had no internet access at home. Of those households, 74.6% don’t think it is important to, a rise from 51.7% in the same survey last year.

by Graham Charlton 26 October 2006 12:15pm 0 comments

BBC and Sky dominate mobile TV market

The BBC and Sky are dominating the nascent market for mobile video and TV services in the UK, according to a study by audience measurement group Telephia.

by Richard Maven 26 October 2006 11:03am 1 comment