Newspaper Weblogs Shoot For $79,000 in Revenue

Washington State's Spokesman-Review publishes several weblogs and its sales forces is now trying to fill what could potentially amount to $79,000 in ad revenue. Two of the paper's weblogs, Wheel Life and Health Beat have had deals cut. While the sales forces struggles to understand what, exactly, they are selling, Online and New Media VP Ken Sands says, "they seem to be selling themselves right now."

Fritos Trys to Lay Jay

There's a billboard campaign in Chicago for Fritos's Lays potato chips that claims Chicagoans "prefer the taste of Lay's over Jays." Chicago-based Jays isn't going to let Fritos off so easily and has sued Fritos for lying and wants Fritos to turn over the research Fritos supposedly did to back up its claim. The lawsuit claims Fritos is comparing their brand to a non existent, unflavored Jays potato chip brand but a visit to Jays website shows a bag of regular potato chips top on their product list. Unless you can call potato chips made out of potatoes, oil and salt unflavored, Jays definitely markets a brand of unflavored potato chips.

On Wednesday, a U.S. District judge said Fritos had to turn over its so-called research because the public has a right to know. Since Wednesday, Fritos has been unavailable for comment. Apparently, the entire company is involved in fielding a research study.

UPDATE: Jay beats Lays.

PUMA Launches Subdued Ad Campaign

A little over a year ago, there was big uproar over a spoof PUMA ad campaign that showed a lucky guy dribbling with excitement after receiving a certain pleasurable treatment from his girl. After laying low for a while, the footwear maker has decided to go lame and tame for its fall ad campaign. One of the ads features Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon sitting on the ground with a bat on his lap flashing the peace sign with a one word headline, "Hello." That ad is likely to generate enough brand awareness for a family of microbes compared to the notoriety it received from the aforementioned blowjob ads. Oops, now we'll be getting cease and desists again.

A Month of Email Marketing Analyzed

Bill McCloskey, whose company, Emerging Interest, puts out a product called Comprehensive Email Tracking System which is made up of a vast database of monitored email addresses, has released month's worth of email tracking data to draw a picture detailing who is using email to sell product. The top market sectors using email marketing are coupons and promotion, home-based businesses, credit card companies, business services, home study, online universities and computer products. The coupons and promotions category is made up of companies who use opt-in email addresses to send third party offers and includes companies such as Remodel 4 Free, owned by 123 Click; SubscriberBase, owned by FreeSlide; Franklin Surveys, owned by SilverCarrot; GroupLotto and Winhundred.com, owned by Traffix; Enjoy Savings, owned by Advertising.com; Quality Health, owned by Marketing Technology Solutions; WinSweepstakes.net and Jackpot.com, owned by The Vendare Group; and It's Your Opinion, owned by Permission Data LLC. The rest of the study details the other categories and reveals most big brands are still not using email in their marketing programs.

Survey Reveals More Newspapers Likely to Cheat on Circulation

MediaLife conducted a poll among its readers querying whether or not readers felt newspapers other than those already reported cheat of their circulation figures. In the study, 71.2 percent agreed with the statement, "There are more bad seeds, but not an entire crop. I think a closer investigation into other newspapers would find that the same thing is happening elsewhere, though I believe the majority are staying honest." And close to a fourth (24.7 percent) agreed with the statement, "The crop is rotten. If three papers are doing it, who?s to say 300 aren'?t? I?ve become wary of newspapers because of this, and I?m advising my clients as such." Only 4.1 percent think the problem is limited to the reported offenders. More study results reported here.

Don't Use Media to Target New Moms

In another self serving study, this time by Time Inc.'s First Moments, it was found that most moms are getting their product information from other moms (77 percent), healthcare providers (69 percent) and mother in laws (62 percent). First Moments just happens to be in the business of product sampling through doctors which, of course, is one of the highest ranking (90 percent) means through which moms get their product info.

Corporate Spam Filtering A Hurdle For B2B Marketers

A recent study conducted by Forrester Consulting for Return Path found 61 percent of corporations use commercial spam filtering, 49 percent write their own filtering software, 37 percent maintain private blacklists and 34 percent use public blacklists. What's a poor B2B marketer to do in the face of these increasingly bigger hurdles? Well we all know companies don't sponsor research like this unless they have something to sell that solves the exact problem detailed in the study.

So, along with the release of the study, Return Path has announced a new version of its Spam Filtering Monitor, part of its Delivery Assurance Solutions, which expands the filtering, tracking and monitoring tools marketers can use to glean "context and actionable information" about why their email campaign didn't make it through.

For The Love of Adrants Advertisers

Adrants is all about advertising thus it's natural Adrants carries advertising. Here's a brief rundown on this cute/hot/yummy/weird/Hollywood pictures you see to the right of the page. It was exciting to welcome to Adrants Paramount Pictures who is promoting their new Denzel Washing movie, "The Manchurian Candidate." And who can pass up over a click on that arm-covered, bulging breast image used to urge readers to check out the testosterone-filled Hot Sauce weblog? Then there's MailSteward which offers Mac users the ability to better archive their email. Music 123 is promoting its online superstore where you can find all forms of instruments you might need to rock your world. Andreas Duss has placed an ad on Adrants to promote himself. He's a London-based Art and Creative Director who's moving to Toronto and looking for work. Rhodia wants creative types to check out their writing and drawing pads that give you a place to let your ideas flow. The Spaghetti Ice Cream Company, who makes a really interesting looking bowl of ice cream is tapping Adrants readers for strategic partnerships. And finally, Talent Zoo has everything you could possibly want to better your advertising career from job listings to career advice to salary data. They all have something wonderful to offer. Take a minute and check them out.

Making Kash From MP3 Sales

Kashpoint, London's most creative club has engaged the ASABAILEY viral advertising agency to promote its club nights and artist roster online. With the aim of driving up record sales, the club promoters and record label Kashpoint have tasked ASABAILEY to develop a number of tactics to push direct MP3 sales through online stores such as iTunes and Napster.

"The club nights attract some very interesting characters and celebrity scandal is always on hand at a Kashpoint night" comments Asa Bailey, founder of the ASABAILEY agency. "We plan to capture and circulate magazine style hot content from the nights and push the artists through a number of viral campaigns that are to include a number of what we can only call banned music videos." Stay tuned. You'll see those campaigns here on Adrants.

Online and Offline Data Give Clearer Target Audience Picture

Writing in iMediaConnection, Interep Interactive's Adam Guild urges media buyers to look at both offline (MRI, Scarborough) and online (Tacoda) research to paint a better picture of one's target audience. Guild claims offline data helps with determining markets that index high for a given target audience and online helps steer the ad message to the most effective area within a given medium.