A New York Times story screams, "An Ad Engine to Put 'Mad Men' Out of business. it's a story about PlaceLocal, a program that creates an ad simply from a person entering the name and address. Then PlaceLocal spreads its tentacles and gathers images, video, hours of operation, phone number, blog commentary on the business and other information. Once that information is gathered, an ad magically appears, Yes, it's true. And it's impressive. But it's not going to put Mad Men out of business.
This sort of service is perfect for the local baker or car dealer or restaurant or any other small business that can't afford to pay for an agency or even a freelancer. Of course, it won't be long before agencies use this service for their pown clients, pass the work of as their own and then charge 20 times the actual cost.
Hmm. This really isn't a bad thing. Small business can make decent ads on their own. And lazy agencies can use it to up their revenue. What's not to love?
I will come up with a slogan for your website or product for $5. I will hold up a message on time square for $5. I will submit your site to all major search engines for $5. I will print screen your company logo on a t-shirt and wear it for a week for $5. I will consult your business on search marketing for 30 minutes for $5. I will design a custom web banner for your business for $5. I will write a memorable tagline for your business for $5. I will do a voiceover for your podcast/website/business for $5. I will design your Business Card for $5.
Well I won't but hundreds of fiverr members will. fiverr is a site on which people promise to to things for $5. And it's as simple as that. Browse. Click. Buy. If you need some simple, ad-related tasks done, this site is definitely worth a look.
And if you're an agency looking for the opportunity to wildly mark up costs to reap a ridiculous profit, this site is most definitely for you.
Google's not going to be a fan of this one. Cambridge UK-based Rapportive just released a Firefox and Chrome extension that boots ads off a person's Gmail page and replaces them with Retagr-style social media links and bio info of the person whose email you are reading. It'll also pulls in their Twitter stream.
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Ever wonder makes a great website? Well, Aquent, with help from Barbarian Group, thinks it has the answer. As you roll over particular elements of the site, The Internet Online Website provides tips on the importance of each element and hos you can use the tips to improve youur own website.
As Ryan mcMaus write on the Barbarian Blog, "InternetOnlineWebsite.com is a website ABOUT websites. It's been specially formulated to educate, enlighten, and delight those who are looking to add to their online presence and marketing initiatives."
We like. Simple. Informative. Helpful. Instructional.
- Like old ads? Check out Vintage Ad Browser.
- Are you at CES this week? See who else is with this Fuel Industries-created buzz tracker which visualizes the conversations occurring at the conference.
- Into video advertising? Tremor Media has a collection of new products and ad formats.
- Another calendar-based advertising option: Shane Rich, a photographer in Boulder,CO has just launched a 365-day photographic marketing project at oncemany.com. He's booking each day in 2010 for one client to have their business or individual message endorsed through his photography. He'll work with each client to create their message, then utilize his blog and other means of social media to document and market the results to the masses.
Thanks to Seesmic's recent acquisition of multi-social network updating service, Ping.fm, we're all now in for an exponentially increased onslaught of "I just made a ham and cheese sandwich" updates.
There are those who love Ping for its simplicity. And there are those who hate it and its ilk for trying to cram the same update down the throat of multiple services which, because they aren't all the same by design, often call for individualized, network-specific updates.
We love it because we're lazy but just wait until brands catch on to this. It will be like broadcast media all over again. Sometimes we never learn.
Help Andy Murray hit the ball at Radical Messenger. After you sign it first and send it to a friend of course. I think we need a name for the hybrid Facebook-microsite application thing the kids love so much. The Microbook? The Fap? Send your suggestions to the agency who came up with it, Aimaq & Stolle out of Berlin, Germany.
Well, stranger things have been tried...and worked. Modeling itself after eBay, GotAdSpace has launched and aims to be the middleman (apparently instead of ad agencies and sales rep forms) between advertisers and...the general public. Yes, the site aims to make it possible for people to sell ad space on whatever it is they have...to anyone who wishes to buy it.
Yes, exchanges like this have been around forever but it seems this one wants to make it possible for the average Joe to get into advertising and make some money. It's not so far fetched. With people becoming more aware of advertising, using it on their blogs, podcasts and pages to make a few bucks as well as the rise of social media and pay per post-style ad models, everyone's getting in on the ad game.
Why not a network to make it easier?
Because sometimes serious news can be useful, we're happy to inform you search ad network Looksmart, is out with SmartRotation, a cost-per-action (CPA) tool that automatically serves the best-performing ad creative in an ad group based on conversion data from a tracking pixel. The new tool, part of LookSmart's ad rotation, allows advertisers to optimize campaigns by conversion events like sales, sign-ups, downloads, and registrations to drive higher performance.
"It doesn't matter how many clicks you have if it doesn't convert", said Michael Schoen, Vice President and General Manager of Advertising Platforms at LookSmart. "While other platforms only offer even ad rotation or optimization by click-through rate (CTR), LookSmart's SmartRotation analyzes conversion rates and serves the best-converting ad creative, giving advertisers a better rate of return on their search investment."
See? Now don't you think that will make your job a lot easier when your boss asks you which ads are converting the best?
Social Media got you down? Confused by all the hype? Sick of "social media strategists" knocking on your door all day long? With the introduction of ViralHeat, you'll no longer have to deal with these bothersome headaches. Nope. For just $9.99 per month you'll get a full suite of tools to monitor and analyze all the social media bullshit swirling around the toilet of today's marketing cesspool.
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