Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Interactive Video Features Eye Surgery

Interactive Video Features Eye Surgery
 
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Product Placements in Video Get Interactive

Product Placements in Video Get Interactive

Source: http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2007/01/17/product-placements-in-video-get-interactive/

Imagine watching a James Bond flick online - and being able to click on 007's watch, his car or his cell phone and purchasing them on the spot.

Offering clickable links inside video is what vendor VideoClix wants to make possible with the latest version of its VideoClix 3.0 software, reports ClickZ. Slated for release next week, it will also allow metrics tracking. The vendor bills .01 cents per click in addition to upfront purchase fees.

Already, the "hot spotting" service - also called "plinking" - has been used by Universal McCann and Chiat Dann. Licensees include Disney, SonyBMG, Dreamworks, Lucas Films, Honda, L'Oreal and Levi's.

The upgraded platform works with Flash .swf files, as well as Apple's Quicktime, and supports MPEG1, MPEG4, DV, AVI, and 3GPP file formats. The system requires that the videos be watched on computers or mobiles.

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User-Generated Video Usage Booms, Ad Revenue Doesn't

User-Generated Video Usage Booms, Ad Revenue Doesn't

Source: http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2007/01/16/user-generated-video-usage-booms-ad-revenue-doesnt/

The user-generated online video market (UGOV) exploded in 2006 and by the end of the year user-generated videos accounted for 47 percent of the total online videos streamed in the U.S.

By 2010, more than half (55 percent) of all the video content consumed online in the U.S. will be user generated, accounting for 44 billion video streams; however, user-generated videos will account for just 15 percent of total revenues, according to Screen Digest, which studies the global media market and this week released its latest report on the UGOV market.
 
Screen Digest foresees advertising as the principal source of revenue for UGOV sites. It forecasts that in the U.S. ad revenues will grow from $200 million in 2006 to nearly $900 million by 2010 - just 15 percent of all online video revenue.

Chart: http://www.marketingvox.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/ugov.JPG

Although consumers have flocked to UGOV sites, the key challenge facing contenders in the UGOV arena is finding a business model that will make them financially viable.

"UGOV sites need to diversify to survive. With the dominance of YouTube and MySpace Video, smaller sites are going to need to offer something different," Screen Digest Senior Analyst and the UGOV report’s author, Arash Amel, comments.
 
"Emerging alternative offerings include online editing, revenue sharing with content producers and hybrid services which offer both premium and user-generated content."
 
In addition to Google, which acquired YouTube, and News Corp, which acquired MySpace, other key players were quietly entering the space in 2006 via acquisitions or new business initiatives. Sony, Time Warner, Yahoo, Microsoft, Turner, Comcast and Viacom are now poised to exploit UGOV opportunities.

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How to Make Effective Online Video Ads

How to Make Effective Online Video Ads

Dynamic Logic Study Looks Into What Works

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Online video ads, a more accountable, relevant version of TV commercials, are going to save the marketing industry, right? Not so fast, warns Dynamic Logic.It seems intuitive, but there's a huge difference in effectiveness depending on the ad, the web-research firm reports. The top-performing ads can lead to a 37.8% lift in ad awareness while the bottom-performing ads barely registered any increase. And creating that online-ad awareness is the first step to moving the needle on other kinds of metrics, including message association, brand favorability and purchase intent.

Tested 108 ads
The survey -- which measured consumer reaction to 108 different video ads in several different categories, including entertainment, consumer package goods and automotive -- polled 125,733 respondents.

So what worked? The top-performing ads had several things in common.

The brand was central to the creative. While a funny, brand-irrelevant spot might fly in the Super Bowl, it certainly doesn't bear well for making an impact online. A good test of this, according to the report, is that it should be difficult for a viewer to describe the ad without mentioning the brand.

The best ads also used the interactive nature of the web, offering up links to additional information. A food marketer might, for example, link to nutritional information, coupons or a social-media-inspired recipe-sharing site.

Smooth transition to offline
And finally, the top online video ads seemed to fit within the offline campaigns and made use of a static companion ad while the video was playing.

The least effective ads, which weren't necessarily engaging or relevant, also shared some traits. Often it wasn't clear what exactly was being advertised and marketers may not have considered that many people don't turn on the sound on their computers -- meaning that a punch line or catchy jingle wouldn't register with all viewers.
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Online Video Ad Best Practices Identified

Online Video Ad Best Practices Identified

Source: MarketingVox
http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2007/01/17/online-video-ad-best-practices-identified/

Web-research firm Dynamic Logic released a report on which online video ads fare best by testing them with over 125,000 respondents, reports AdAge.

The survey measured 108 different video ads in a range of categories. It found that ads where the brand was central to the creative garnered the most awareness among respondents. The video ads should also fit within offline campaigns and use a static companion ad while playing, the research found.

The best ads were also interactive - offering up links to additional info. For example, a food marketer may link to nutritional info, coupons or recipes.

Worst practices included not taking into account that many people don't turn on the sound on their computers - meaning that a punch line or catchy jingle wouldn't register with all viewers.

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Physicians prescribe YouTube videos for patient education

Physicians in Wales using YouTube videos for patient education

 
Courtesy of ePharm5TM
Researching and reporting pharma business and marketing innovation
© 2006, HCPro, Inc.
 
For a subscription, please go to: http://www.epharmindepth.com
A physicians' office in Wales is using YouTube to post health education videos for its 7,700 patients. The videos cover topics such as the correct way to use an asthma inhaler, smear tests, blood sugar tests, and flu vaccines, according to the BBC. In addition to being available on YouTube, the videos are also available via the office's Web site and as MP3 downloads, and there are plans to add a new topic to the video series every month. The office has also shown the videos during flu shot clinics, reports the Western Mail.
 
The physicians there said they hope the videos can help cut down on unneeded patient office visits. Last summer, the same practice began using podcasts to educate their patients.
 
See article below.
 
#   #   #
 
GPs prescribe YouTube to keep patients informed about health

Western Mail via NewsEdge Corporation :

It has become notorious as a website featuring spoof videos and even disturbing and violent 'happy-slapping' incidents. But YouTube is now home to a series of groundbreaking health education films posted by a rural Welsh GP practice.

Builth and Llanwrtyd Medical Practice has filmed a series of short clips explaining some of the most topical health issues of the day.

In an attempt to educate its 7,700 patients and a wider global audience, the practice has uploaded the home- made videos - featuring subjects as varied as the winter flu vaccine and smear tests - onto the website.

The practice has even uploaded a short film about the latest demonstrations organised in the fight to save Builth Wells Community Hospital.

Dr Richard Walters, a GP at the practice, said that he thought this represented the future in providing extra services to patients.

'There are a lot of things that we do in a GP practice that have to be conveyed to patients, some of which are not easy to demonstrate within the surgery.

'Sometimes getting patients to watch a quick video on the computer screen is a lot easier.

'People are more trusting of information that has come from their own locality, rather than something they see in a wider context.'

The videos, which are shot on a digital camera and edited by staff, feature practice nurses Vanessa Wakefield, Gaynor Hooper and Pat Jones explaining cervical screening, the flu vaccine, inhalers and spacer devices.

The smear testing film has already been viewed almost 4,000 times since being put on YouTube.

The practice plans to make another educational film about the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia, specifically aimed at teenagers.

As well as being posted on YouTube, all the videos - which are about three minutes long - are available on the practice's own website and have even been played at the surgery during flu vaccine clinics.

Dr Walters said, 'We are a practice in rural Mid Wales, shops in Hereford and Aberystwyth are an hour away, Cardiff and hour and a half, so although broadband access is not ideal, people tend to use the internet for all sorts of things.

'So while we may not be hugely computer literate, there is a lot of interest in the internet.

'We've also had quite a bit of interest from the US too, but all this is, is just another way of showing a video.'

Dr Richard Lewis, Welsh secretary of the British Medical Association, said, 'The BMA is very supportive of this kind of innovative use of technology. It helps develop patient understanding.

'It also avoids people attending the surgery, which can be especially difficult in parts of rural Wales. Its uses are considerable.'

A growing number of health-related video clips are now available on YouTube - but most of them originate from America and are created by lay people.

A community blood bank in the US is one of just a handful of 'official' organisations to upload videos - its films highlight how many lives can be saved by donating one pint of blood.

Phil Commander created a series of instructive videos for parents with autistic children after his own six-year-old son was diagnosed with the condition.

Mr Commander, who runs an office cleaning company in New Jersey, said, 'At some point it just hit me - I'll show everything I'm doing with my son on YouTube.' But the phenomenon is just beginning to catch on this side of the Atlantic in terms of using the website as an educational or instructive tool.: Videos clips that shocked:YouTube has hit the headlines numerous times in recent months after shocking and spoof videos were posted by members, including: A 33-second video clip of a teacher at a Catholic school being hit over the head by a Bible thrown across a classroom. It was shot on a mobile phone at St Illtyd's RC High School in Rumney, Cardiff. YouTube removed it from the site.

A 20-second clip, captured on a mobile phone camera, featured a grinning man approaching a charity worker in the street and snatching his spectacles. The prank took place in Regent Street, Wrexham, and was posted on YouTube. One man was later arrested. Sin Simon, from Caernarfon and Labour MP for Birmingham Erdington, mimicked Tory leader David Cameron in a video on YouTube. Mr Simon was filmed posing as Cameron offering to give his children away and inviting voters to sleep with his wife. The spoof was branded 'insane and tasteless'.

<<Western Mail -- 01/08/07>>

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Media & Marketing -- Advertising: P&G Boosts Social-Networking Efforts

Media & Marketing -- Advertising: P&G Boosts Social-Networking Efforts
 
Procter & Gamble, in its biggest foray into the hot Web phenomenon of social networking, is launching two Web sites aimed at creating online communities where the consumer-products titan can learn more about its customers and market to them.

One site will be celebrity and fan-club driven, tied to P&G's decades-old People's Choice Awards, and the other is Capessa, a women-oriented site produced by Procter & Gamble for the Health section of Yahoo. Capessa, designed to be a forum for women to discuss subjects such as parenting, pregnancy and weight loss, had been tested for several months and went up Dec. 21. The People's Choice Community site formally kicks off Wednesday, a day after CBS broadcasts this year's award ceremony. (The awards are given to TV stars based on votes from viewers.)

The social-network scene so far has been dominated by the likes of News Corp.'s MySpace.com and Facebook Inc.'s Facebook.com, which draw millions of visitors, although a long list of niche sites are increasingly proving a draw. Marketers also are starting to build their own sites, using them as gathering places for consumers to spread buzz about certain products or brands. This move by P&G, the world's biggest advertiser, with an annual ad budget of $6.7 billion, is likely to draw even more marketers into the arena.

P&G, of Cincinnati, makes a vast array of consumer goods, including Pampers diapers, Folgers coffee and Tide detergent. The two new Web sites follow smaller steps by several P&G brands into social networking recently. P&G's Crest toothpaste brand, for example, launched a MySpace page last year that featured a fictional character called Miss Irresistible encouraging friends to take a quiz. Separately, P&G's Herbal Essences shampoo brand created a MySpace page that allowed people to show off pictures of their hairstyles.

Unlike those efforts, P&G's new sites will be less about promoting specific brands and more about market research. Both new sites will act as continuing focus-group-type environments where P&G -- by monitoring consumer discussions on the sites -- can learn more about its target audience's likes and dislikes and what consumers in different stages of life care about.

P&G is already an expert in studying consumer behavior, using such methods as visiting consumers at home, but its new sites offer the chance to do research quicker and on a bigger scale. P&G will use the information to design marketing plans that resonate better with its audience. "It's going to be one giant living dynamic learning experience about consumers," says Jim Stengel, P&G's global marketing officer.

The sites will do some marketing for P&G. The People's Choice site, which will feature Queen Latifah as a host, will carry regular banner ads for P&G and non- P&G products. P&G also hopes the site will bolster the awards show's sagging ratings, which have fallen 36% since 2000, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Marketing on Capessa will be more subtle. P&G won't run ads for its products on Capessa pages. Indeed, the only mention of P&G on the Capessa site is a line at the bottom of Web pages that identifies Capessa as being produced by a P&G company. Yahoo, which is promoting the site as a big feature of its health section, says it doesn't want to over-commercialize the site given the serious nature of subjects being discussed.

Capessa will occasionally offer some links to P&G experts offering tips about specific issues such as parenting or offer up a P&G newsletter on a particular subject. "Much like when a consumer is searching for something today with Google, Yahoo or MSN, brands serve up a message while they are searching to help that consumer but they do it in a way that is engaging and not disruptive," Mr. Stengel says. "If we cross that line we kill the experience."

Success for P&G's new sites is no slam dunk. Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores pulled the plug on a teen-targeted social-networking site, "The Hub," last year after it failed to gain steam. Capessa's focus on women pits it against numerous other rivals, including NBC Universal's women-focused Web site iVillage.

P&G believes it has an advantage because both of its sites will be produced by P&G Productions, a unit formed in 1933 that is best known for producing popular soap operas such as "As the World Turns" and "Guiding Light."

Indeed, both sites will have a slicker look than well-established social- networking sites, reflecting the older audience of 18- to 49-year-olds that P&G is aiming for, compared with the teenagers and twentysomethings that crowd sites like MySpace. As a result, on Capessa, instead of encouraging women to post homemade videos, P&G will offer them the chance to be interviewed by P&G's production firm.

"The 18-to-49 core of the demo is not going to want to sift through some of the garbage on YouTube to find some inspirational videos," says Scott Moore, head of news and information for Yahoo Media Group. The site is currently offering video stories such as "How I Lost My Baby Weight -- Julie's Story," " Running for Her Life: a Cancer Comeback" and "Mommy Meltdown -- Leiah's Story."

Yahoo's venture with P&G on Capessa comes as the Web portal is trying to gain ground in social networking by joining with consumer brands in the creation of specific sites. P&G's content-development partnership with Yahoo is the biggest social-networking deal Yahoo has done with a marketer to date, says Mr. Moore, who declined to discuss terms of the P&G deal.

Other Web giants have taken a similar tack. Last year, Google teamed with Nike to create Joga.com, a social-networking site dedicated to avid soccer fans.

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Mobile Television Is Now Interactive!

Mobile Television Is Now Interactive!

PR Newswire via NewsEdge Corporation :

INTERNATIONAL CES (Sands #71213), LAS VEGAS, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- MobiTV, Inc., the global leader in mobile and broadband television and music services, today announced a new version of the MobiTV(R) service that includes groundbreaking interactive features. This new version of MobiTV scheduled to debut in February 2007, provides carriers, content partners and advertisers more compelling ways to interact with and entertain television subscribers.

"Not only have we launched the latest in a series of feature-rich MobiTV service updates, we have connected the dots between advertisers, the entertainment industry, and consumers to make everyone's media experience more relevant and meaningful," said Dr. Phillip Alvelda, CEO, chairman and co-founder of MobiTV. "We pride ourselves on leading the convergence of the television, wireless and pc markets and this new release is a tremendous win for everyone."

    Features in MobiTV's new interactive offering:      Interactive Advertising     -- Last year, MobiTV launched its advertising platform, which enabled the        service to feature branded video advertisements during "local avail"        segments of live streaming television.  MobiTV now enables advertisers        to provide consumer-activated offers alongside video advertisements.        For example, when a subscriber sees an ad for a car, he/she can click a        button to enter their zip code and find the nearest dealership, or view        a special long-form advertisement showcasing the manufacturer's        product. MobiTV provides advertisers a variety of compelling options to        quickly deliver relevant information requested by viewers, such as        nearest retail location, promotional coupon codes, WAP-based        surveys/contests and 800 numbers.      Interactive M-Commerce Offers     -- MobiTV now enables carriers, content partners and advertisers to        present buy offers to users related to the content they view. For        example, while a user is watching one of MobiTV's music videos        channels, a button will appear alongside the video allowing the user to        purchase a ring-tone, wallpaper or concert tickets for the        corresponding artist. Also, while a user is watching a movie trailer        they would enter their zip code and a button will appear allowing them        to view local show times and/or purchase movie tickets.      Interactive Content Rating, Voting, Sharing & Community     -- MobiTV's interactive platform can also be extended to enable end-users        to initiate direct interaction with the content they are viewing,        through voting, rating and polling.  Users will be able to vote for        their favorite dancer or singer during network programs, interact with        one another, thus building a mobile community connected to other media        platforms.      About MobiTV

MobiTV, Inc. (www.mobitv.com) is leading the convergence of television, film and music across the mobile and personal computing markets. The Emmy(R) Award winning service has more than one million subscribers and offers popular TV and digital radio channels from top labels, networks and cable providers. The MobiTV(R) service is available in the US through AT&T, Sprint, Cingular, Alltel; the UK through 3UK and Orange; in Canada through Bell Canada, Rogers and TELUS Mobility; in Latin America through America Movil, Claro and Telcel; and other regional carriers internationally. Founded in 1999, MobiTV is a privately-held company headquartered in Emeryville, CA.

NOTE: MobiTV and the MobiTV logo are trademarks, service marks, and/or registered trademarks of MobiTV, Inc. in the United States and in other countries. All other trademarks, service marks, and product names used herein are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE MobiTV, Inc.

CONTACT: Jason Taylor of MobiTV, Inc., +1-925-895-0090, or jason@mobitv.com; or Ruben Osorio of Fleishman Hillard, +1-415-248-4108, or osorior@fleishman.com

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Bigger Sites May Not Be Better for Online Advertisers

Finally some data to support my hypothesis that the growing number of channels and media fragmentation are creating a "long-tail" phenomenon in online advertising... This, in my opinion, is even more pronounced in the healthcare space.  The report from Media Screen even uses the phrase "long-tail Web sites" to describe these niche properties, a term I've been using in some of my latest presentations (which, of course, I always have to explain... Chris Anderson's book... "The Long Tail" ... Read his blog to learn more: http://www.longtail.com/). 

In the meantime, read the overview on Media Screen report from eMarketer's newsletter (see below).

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Bigger Sites May Not Be Better for Online Advertisers

Source: eMarketer
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1004465&src=article1_newsltr

JANUARY 16, 2007

Advertising on smaller niche sites could make a big difference.

In the glory days of television, when mass media reigned, media planners could buy time on CBS, NBC and ABC and waltz out for a three-martini lunch. Easy as that.

Times have changed, of course. Today, planning multimedia advertising campaigns is far more complex. But media planners would still prefer to keep things as simple as possible. When it comes to the online portion of their budgets, they buy Google, Yahoo! and a few major vertical-interest sites and, often enough, that is about it.

Merrill Lynch projects that both search and branded advertising will grow online next year, up 27% and 21%, respectively.

Chart: http://www.emarketer.com/images/chart_gifs/078001-079000/078644.gif

But continuing to put the bulk of online ad dollars on large sites could be a mistake. Big, particularly on the Internet, may not be better.

According to new research from Media-Screen, when brand managers and media planners are choosing where to place their ads online, they should not ignore smaller sites with less traffic.

The "Netpop | Response" study found that small, long-tail Web sites are indispensable to consumers — and they provide a new way for brands to position ads where users want to see them.

Interest in the products and brands advertised on smaller sites is greater than on larger sites: According to the study, 42% of sites with less than one million unique visitors a month advertise products of interest to their viewers, vs. 39% of sites with more than one million visitors.

The difference is small, but for savvy advertisers looking for an edge, it is worth exploring.

"Consumers have gained control over the content they consume online and advertisers need to adjust their strategies to match," said Josh Crandall of Media-Screen. "By advertising on smaller Websites, those that consumers are visiting based on their personal interests, companies can reach a highly engaged consumer with a message that relates to a subject that is important to them."

Advertisers should consider putting at least some of their online budgets aside for experimenting with niche site placements.

"Search engines are a driving force behind these trends, enabling broadbanders to venture beyond the major brands to the niche sites they previously never knew existed," said Cate Riegner of Media-Screen. "62% of sites that respondents mention receive less than one million unique visitors."

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OPTIMIZERx Helps Patients Reduce Rising Prescription Drug Co-Pay Costs

OPTIMIZERx Helps Patients Reduce Rising Prescription Drug Co-Pay Costs

Business Wire via NewsEdge Corporation :

ROCHESTER, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 2007--A free, new Internet site called OPTIMIZERx (www.optimizerx.com)  is now available to help the majority of patients reduce their rising costs for prescription medications. With escalating co-pay costs now being passed on to patients, many Americans are finding out the hard way that even with healthcare insurance, they are not immune to the rising cost of prescription medication. Too often, particularly when a brand name product has been prescribed, patients are choosing not to fill their prescriptions due to high "out-of-pocket" costs.

Founded by a group of physicians and healthcare veterans, OPTIMIZERx offers an innovative way for patients to access and participate in available co-pay savings, offers and other programs designed to help them better afford their prescribed medicines.

According to the Washington, DC-based Kaiser Family Foundation's annual surveys of employer sponsored health benefits, the average co-payment for branded preferred and non-preferred drugs rose 62 percent and 99 percent, respectively, between 2000 and 2004. As a result, nearly one out of five insured patients decided not to fill a prescription when met with a co-pay cost "surprise."

While there are many programs available to assist the uninsured with lower levels of income, OPTIMIZERx is the first in the industry to target prescription savings solutions for the majority of Americans who currently have traditional private health insurance. Additionally, there are no income limits associated with participation.

"We recognize that even if a patient has healthcare insurance, co-pays on prescribed medication can still represent a significant expense for the consumer, especially for those patients who are required to take multiple medications or take medication over a lengthy period of time," said Dr. Jay Pinney, MD, medical director for OPTIMIZERx. "We are concerned that patients should have affordable access to prescribed medications so that they are able to comply with their physicians' recommendations and better look after their health."

Patients simply go to www.optimizerx.com and select or type in the name of each branded prescription product they are taking. From there, OPTIMIZERx determines if there is an available savings offer for that product or, if not, any alternative products within that category that may offer savings. The amount of savings depends on the type of medication and available product offers. There are several ways to redeem offers, but most savings are received either at the point of sale or by way of rebate. Additionally, OPTIMIZERx also offers savings on over-the-counter medications and other healthcare products and services.

Headquartered in Rochester, Michigan, OPTIMIZERx Systems, LLC, was founded by a group of physicians and healthcare industry veterans. OPTIMIZERx is a Web-based system that provides patients with information that will enable them, in partnership with their physicians, to improve access and compliance with their physicians' therapies and optimize their prescription healthcare dollars. For more information, please visit www.optimizerx.com.

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User-generated Web sites in clicks-to-cash dilemma

User-generated Web sites in clicks-to-cash dilemma

ZDNet News via NewsEdge Corporation :

User-generated video Web sites, dominated by heavyweights such as YouTube and MySpace, may be awash with millions of clips, but face big challenges turning traffic to cash, a London-based research firm said Monday.

Market research analyst Screen Digest predicts that although 44 billion video streams--55 percent of all video content consumed in the U.S.--will be created by 2010, the market will account for only 15 percent of total revenues.

User-generated video made up 47 percent of the total online video market in the U.S. last year, said Screen Digest.

Compounding the problem of making money from video streams is that many such sites do well in content that can be violent, rude and boring, not something big advertisers are drawn to. Another challenge is the time taken to experiment with new advertising formats and the threat of a Web site losing its user appeal when ads appear near personal videos.

"It is the nature of content itself. How do you monetize free content? That is the core debate," said Arash Amel, a Screen Digest analyst who wrote the report. "No one has found a way to make real money from the huge audiences who participate on these sites."

Amel said there were a number of indicators that suggested "2007 might be the leveler for 2006" despite the strong growth.

These included the exit of key executives and co-founders in companies like Los Angeles-based video sharing company Revver and rival Guba and the drive by major media companies to buy into user generated video Web sites.

"They are actually becoming yet another outlet for parent companies to cross promote their content," said Amel.

Despite this, U.S. ad revenue is expected to remain the key source of revenue for user generated online video sites, rising from $200 million in 2006 to almost $900 million by 2010.

Amel said this would still dominate other business models such as licensing, digital sales and rental premium movie and television content and subscriptions.

Screen Digest's report said video sharing sites need to diversify, particularly with the dominance of video sites such as YouTube, a unit of Internet search engine Google and MySpace, owned by media giant News Corp.

Although the European market is small relative to the U.S., the region is seeing many sites extend their offering of local language sites and fresh initiatives from the likes of MyVideo, Clipfish, Daily Motion, Yoo tribe, Wideo and Flurl Media in Britain, France, Germany and Belgium.

<<ZDNet News -- 01/16/07>>

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Bayer Web site, campaign position its aspirin as "wonder drug"

Bayer Web site, campaign position its aspirin as "wonder drug"

Courtesy of ePharm5TM
Researching and reporting pharma business and marketing innovation
© 2006, HCPro, Inc.

For a subscription, please go to: http://www.epharmindepth.com

The Web address for the new Bayer Aspirin site says it all: www.WonderDrug.com. The site is part of a new campaign from Bayer to boost sales and position the drug as one that "works wonders." The Web site highlights aspirin's continued use as a painkiller, anti-inflammatory, and blood thinner, as well as the ongoing research into aspirin as a treatment for other conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Bayer said there will be a 26% increase in primetime spending for the brand, and ads will feature Ty Pennington, the host of the ABC program "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," according to Advertising Age. The Web site also offers a heart-risk assessment quiz and a Bayer-sponsored contest, also featuring Pennington, which encourages consumers to nominate people who "work wonders" in their lives.

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TACODA Integrates comScore Networks Data With Audience Networksto Produce Unique Consumer Insights

TACODA Integrates comScore Networks Data With Audience Networksto Produce Unique Consumer Insights
 
TACODA Integrates comScore Networks Data With Audience Networksto Produce Unique Consumer Insights

Data Can Inform Creative Approaches and Media Buys

NEW YORK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/15/2007 -- TACODA, the world's largest behaviorally-targeted online advertising network, today announced that it has entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with comScore Networks® to integrate comScore data with its existing massive Audience Networks™ database of behavioral insights. The result will be actionable data that will reveal unique insights about online audiences that will allow advertisers to design stronger media plans and produce and place more relevant online marketing messages.

"comScore is pleased to partner with TACODA by providing our rich anonymous consumer data -- including online visitation, e-commerce, and demographic details -- to enhance the targeting segments available through TACODA's Audience Networks™ service," says Anthony Psacharopoulos, Senior Vice President of comScore Networks. "This partnership will enable TACODA to provide information that will change the way brand advertisers think about online media."

"This is the first deal that integrates two of the largest repositories of knowledge about online consumer behavior. Our goal is to synthesize the combined information and offer it to advertisers in a way that will help improve their creative approach and media planning," says TACODA CEO, Curt Viebranz. "Using comScore's data, we are already gaining new insights into how advertisers should think about their markets. This will undoubtedly advance the online advertising process by years."

comScore Networks (www.comscore.com) is a global leader in measuring the digital age. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given comScore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. comScore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, comScore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. comScore consultants apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. comScore services are used by global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, MBNA, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Merck and Expedia.

TACODA®, Inc. (www.tacoda.com) is the world's largest and most advanced behavioral targeting advertising network. Since 2001, TACODA has provided a comprehensive range of behavioral targeting solutions to thousands of Web publishers and brand marketers. Its patent pending technologies power TACODA Audience Networks™ which enable brand advertisers to target relevant messages to specific audience segments. Major US media partners include The New York Times Company, NBC Universal, Hoovers, HGTV.com, FoodNetwork.com, Cars.com and Earthlink.

George H. Simpson Communications
o: 212.309.9068
m: 203.521.0352

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