In a bid to save their skins, telemarketers have gone to court to prevent the U.S government from setting up a national Do Not Call list. They claim that this list, set up by the FTC, would be an infringement on free speech. Don't you love how everyone takes that first ammendment and twist the crap out of it?
Telemarketers are the pop up of offline marketing. Nobody likes it but for some reason it works. Very frustrating to those of us that hate these forms of marketing.
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ABC, in some sort of misguiged wisdom moved 'The Practice' to Monday at 9P directly opposite ratings winner and sleeze fest, 'Joe Millionaire'. What were they thinking? Granted, no one intelligent enough to watch 'The Practice' would be caught dead watching 'Joe Millionaire' but that is apparently what happened as represented by the ratings. 'The Practice' was killed by 'Joe Millionaire'.
What was wrong with Sunday at 10P? Is 'Dragnet' more important to the network than 'The Practice'? I love Ed O'neill but killing 'The Practice' was not the most intelligent decision. But hey, I'm not a TV executive so what do I know?
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In what will be perhaps the biggest uphill battle ever undertaken by an ad agency, AOL is reviewing six finalists for its $150-200 million marketing budget. The six vying for the challenge are BBDO; Crispin, Porter & Bogusky; DDB; HHCC; Saatchi & Saatchi; and Weiden and Kennedy.
God help you.
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Along with AOL/Time Warner's plunging value and write downs, Ted Turner is steping down as AOL/TW Vice Chairman to spend more time on his philanthropic endeavors.
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According to the Smoking Gun, Sarah Kozer, one of the finalists on 'Joe Millionaire' has stared in many bondage and fetish films over the years. She appears in the films hancuffed, gagged, hog-tied, and bound with duct tape. TSG tried to reach Sarah for comment but she apparently hung up on them. And, predictably, Fox spokespeople had no comment. Check it all out here.
You may have to go to the The Smoking Gun Archive page if you can not find the story at the above link as it changes daily.
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DoubleClick's latest Ad Serving Report sheds positive light for the online advertising sector. Among the findings:
- View-Through Rates* Increase By 47%
- Online Advertising Gets Bigger And More Dynamic
- Rich Media Continues To Have Higher Response Rates Than Non-Rich Media
- Marketers Continue To Find Targeting Effective
- Online Ads Are Becoming More Memorable
�It is encouraging to see from the data that online advertising is becoming just like any other established advertising medium, adopting techniques such as contextual targeting and dayparting, borrowed from the print and television worlds,� said Doug Knopper, Vice President and General Manager, Online Advertising Solutions, DoubleClick. �Marketers should no longer just rely on the click-through rate as a response metric; we encourage our clients to also use the view-through rate to assess post-impression response to optimize campaigns and gain a more complete picture of conversions.�
Very encouraging indeed.
* View-through rates assess users who take action within 30 days of seeing an ad, but do not click on a banner.
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More good news today from publishers. Earlier, it was reported that the New York Times Company posted a 45% increase in profit for their Q4 and now Meredith is posted 69% increase for their most recent quarter.
Meredith publishes 16 magazine titles, including Better Homes and Gardens and Ladies' Home Journal, and about 150 special interest publications. The company also owns 11 television stations, most in the nation's top 25 markets, and has an extensive Internet presence.
We'll take all the good news we can get these days.
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While some newspapers struggle, the New York Times Company, which includes the Boston Globe and other holdings in radio, TV, and the Internet, posted a 45% increase in profit for Q4 2002
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