Cobalt Bridge

So yesterday I’m on a news-related web site and notice a banner ad for Golfsmith in the margin. I’ve actually been thinking about acquiring a new used driver, so I clicked on the ad. The Golfsmith site popped up in a new window, I poked around a bit, suddenly remembered that (A) A new golf club is not currently in the budget and (B) I hardly ever actually get to go out a play golf anymore, so I closed the window and went back about my business.

I left that particular news site by following an interesting link. When that new site loaded, I was a little startled to find that all of the banner ad windows were occupied by Golfsmith ads.

Indeed for the rest of the day, many of the web sites I visited were populated with Golfsmith. I was experiencing something called “re-targeted ads.”

Now that I think about it, I have been seeing a remarkable number of Overstock.com ads for men’s watches with black straps in windows ever since I visited that site a few weeks ago and browsed some men’s watches with black straps. I didn’t buy because (A) I realized that a new watch isn’t in the budget right now, and (B) I already own 14 watches.

Today the New York Times has a piece on this practice and the technology behind it. It’s headlined, “Retargeting Ads Follows Surfers to Other Sites.” An excerpt:

While the technique, which the ad industry calls personalized retargeting or remarketing, is not new, it is becoming more pervasive as companies like Google and Microsoft have entered the field. And retargeting has reached a level of precision that is leaving consumers with the palpable feeling that they are being watched as they roam the virtual aisles of online stores.

So is it possible to harness this technology with making prospective customers feel like you’re stalking them? John Batelle of Searchblog thinks so. Check out his article titled “How to Keep Re-Targeted Ads from Creeping People Out.” (via BusinessInsider.com)

In a number of recent discussions on the integration of mobile into the media mix for our clients, we usually hear a “huzzah!” over it’s inclusion. Still, it’s difficult to get everyone to see how it really fits, let alone how it will perform. I came across this helpful opinion article that explains how mobile’s use in advertising planning is on the rise as its use becomes clearer. This, along with the recent news that social media’s overall use is growing, paints a pretty picture of a rapidly evolving media landscape.

As the author, Bob Walczak of Ringleader Digital points out, “No longer is mobile viewed as an experiment or a one off. Mobile is finally being approached strategically as part of a digital experience and brands and customers alike will benefit from consistent messaging and creative.”

As mobile’s role becomes clearer, it’s important to understand that, as Bob concludes, “The industry is no longer broken down into mobile and online – it is merely digital media with different access points offering a variety of unique experiences for a brand to connect with a consumer.”

Marketers, promoters and sellers are obsessed with social media for good reason. Traditional advertising is increasingly being filtered out or ignored by media consumers.

Even online advertising  is an increasingly dicey proposition. Banner ads, pop ups and pop unders are all on the wrong end of the diminishing returns curve.

Practitioners of PR are still largely stuck in the old paradigm of “rent a list and bombard it with releases.” They have just moved from paper and faxes to emails. It’s still just “spray and pray.”

What holds the promise of real power and impact is authentic buzz and referrals emerging organically from social networks. The problem is that ham-handed attempts to co-opt these networks for marketing messages are scorned as spam or trolling.

I’m convinced there are some methods and strategies that can tap the power of social networks consistently and reliably. I plan to deploy some of these in these in the–admittedly selfish–cause of promoting my upcoming book. After all, the cook should be willing to eat his own recipes and you shouldn’t trust a doctor who doesn’t follow his own advice.

I’ll let you know how it goes. By the way . . . coming soon! You can pre-order your copy now at your favorite online bookseller.

So, it’s not the latest spot to air, still…

…we love this ad.

Thank you

With all of the political blame throwing, mud slinging and finger pointing, it’s easy to forget about the thousands of folks in the armed forces who stay at their post, keeping watch…all for our benefit. To them a “thank you” hardly seems enough. Still, we sincerely hope and pray that all our serving men and women enjoy a safe, happy and memorable Memorial Day. We are thankful for their service and so very grateful for the sacrifice of those who have gone before us.

In October of last year, I shared my joy over Food Network owner Scripps Networks Interactive’s decision to serve up a second course, the Cooking Channel.

The wait is over.

On Memorial Day, the Cooking Channel launches and with it a whole rasher of fresh cooking talent debuts along with one of the most seasoned chefs of all time, Julia Child.

Isn’t she just great?

Her program, “Julia and Company” will air each day, bringing back memories of the queen of cooking for a new generation to steep in.

Another seasoned citizen of TV cooking will join Julia. TV’s classic “Galloping Gormet” with Graham Kerr will air daily as well.

I’m excited! The Cooking Channel promises to get back to cooking shows that really show you how to cook. I’m inspired! Maybe I’ll figure out how to get my radio cooking show launched. After all, I have a face for radio.

Bon Appetit!

A “hat tip” to TV Week for bringing this to my attention. Samsung is promoting its 3D television technology and kicked it off in stunning fashion. Below are two videos of the event held in Holland. The first is a sub-titled report on the event and the one below it is an uninterrupted video of the presentation.

What is noteworthy is that they used a famous Dutch building as the screen and that spectators did not need to wear any type of glasses to get the 3D effect.

I want to see this!

Well, that’s what Nike thinks. Maybe they’re right:

Me? I’m a New Balance man.

For a few years now we have been watching (eagerly and expectantly) the incredible changes happening in the broadcast industries of television and radio. Of particular interest to me is the upheaval in radio.

Mark Ramsey is a radio industry insider and forward thinker. Earlier this month, he made a presentation at the British Columbia Association of Broadcasters conference. It’s worth a few minutes of your time to hear a little of what he had to say:

You can subscribe to his “thoughts” here.

Most of our readers and clients have heard of HD Radio, but few really understand it. Conversely, the British embraced digital radio (the name before the US jumped on board the HDTV nomenclature bandwagon) long ago. Though the Internet continues to expand (some say invade) the reach of radio, the British continue to develop better digital over-the-air options.

I came across this little video report that explores the digital radio engineer’s love of technology, while balanced with making it affordable for the Queen’s subjects all across the realm.

(WARNING: Heavy engineering vibe!)

Radio’s Digital Future : A visit to Kings Langley from Jonathan Marks on Vimeo.

By the way: I love it when radio guys produce video. Minimalist to be sure. And how about that giant microphone attached to the man’s shirt!

Here’s a very tasty little bit of HD video.  After the jump, I’ll tell you what makes it more than just cool.

A day in PARIS from Benoit MILLOT on Vimeo.

I point you to this video short because it was shot entirely with this:

That’s right, a Canon still camera. Most of the new, high-megapixel cameras will shoot HD video. The tools of media production just keep getting cheaper, more powerful, and more portable. But they still need to be placed in the hands of an artist if they are going to result in great communication.

(hat tip: BoingBoing.)

I’m sorely tempted to pre-order an iPad and use it primarily as an ebook reader. I could probably recover the price of the thing in six months with the savings I’d realize on books I currently buy on Amazon for project research.

Want a glimpse of what reading your favorite magazine might be like on an iPad? Take a look at this demo of the cover of an e-publication called VIVmag. Click on the “Vivify” button on the mag’s cover to see what I mean.

Or check out this (mildly racy) internal spread:

VIV Mag Interactive Feature Spread – iPad Demo from Alexx Henry on Vimeo.

Today the FCC announced an ambitious plan to expand and improve access to broadband internet across this great land of ours–from the redwood forest to the New York island.

As the AP article leads off:

Communications regulators are unveiling a sweeping proposal to overhaul U.S. broadband policy. Their aim: to bring affordable, high-speed Internet connections to all Americans and make access much faster for people who already have broadband.

It’s a grand idea. There are just a few little problems to be worked out:

. . .it’s not certain the Federal Communications Commission can find the funding, corporate support and legal clearance to carry out the entire vision of the plan.

And then there is the opposition from the broadcast spectrum licensees who are going to be asked to give up some hefty chunks of spectrum so they can be handed over to a hoped-for wave of new wide-area wireless internet providers.

Watch this space. We’ll keep you posted on developments.

This is interesting . . .Salem Communications has purchased the Hot Air online site for an undisclosed sum. So says this exclusive story over at Mediaite.

Hot Air is a popular conservative news and blog aggregator with an emphasis on online video. It was co-founded by Michelle Malkin back in 2004 and rapidly built a huge online following.

Salem Communications used to be radio only company. Then it went public several years ago and began to rapidly diversify its activities–adding publishing and online components to its roster of radio properties.

Currently that list of owned-and-operated stations has grown to nearly 100, including strong stations in the top 25 media markets. But Salem’s truly aggressive growth has been through online acquisitions.

Right now Salem owns the following sites: Townhall.com, OnePlace.com, Crosswalk.com, ChristianJobs.com, Christianity.com, SermonSearch.com, Churchstaffing.com, Crosscards.com, Crossdaily.com, Lightsource.com, TheFISH.com, CCMmagazine.com.

You can now ad HotAir.com to that impressive list.

Air America–the liberal world’s most recent and most expensive attempt to counter the perceived influence of conservative talk radio . . . expired this afternoon.

Actually it had been hemorrhaging cash and on financial life support for several years, kept alive only by the largess of deep pocketed socialists like George Soros.

The whole undertaking was built upon a multi-layered foundation of deeply-flawed premises. First liberals assumed that millions of Americans tuned in to Rush and Sean and Glenn to be told what to think. Wrong. The reality was, millions of conservatives, weary-to-death of a uniformly liberal mass media culture, tuned in to hear someone articulate what they already were thinking.

Secondly, liberals assumed there would be a listening audience for liberal talk radio . . . that there was unmet demand out there for Al Franken’s and Janine Garafolo’s views on current events. Wrong again. Politically liberal media consumers need only to flip on any radio, television or DVD player at random to have their world view smugly validated.

In other words, talk radio thrives because conservative opinion in other media is so rare. Liberal talk radio failed because it was utterly and completely redundant. Superfluous.

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