For the Future of YouTube Ads, It’s All About Context

February 1, 2012 by Mike Isaac

YouTube SVP Salar Kamangar speaks about the future of YouTube at the AllThingsD media conference. Photo: Asa Mathat/AllThingsD

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. — It must have been frightening to be among the first advertisers for YouTube. Since the site’s inception it’s been seen as the wild west of digital content platforms, with millions of users uploading anything from pirated material to the patently offensive, and of course, the plainly ridiculous (think: stupid pet tricks). To slap a branded ad on a piece of user-generated content in the site’s early days, frankly, was a risky business proposition.

For advertisers today, however, there is strength in dog and cat b-roll. It’s about context, not content.

Salar Kamangar, senior vice president of YouTube, says as much. “We’re focusing on the kind of ads that appear in YouTube videos,” Kamangar said at the AllThingsD: Dive into Media conference on Tuesday.

Think of it this way: An advertisement for say, dog collars, may run in the $2 range of CPMs — or cost per thousand of ad impressions — in a normal YouTube video. But after the most recent YouTube redesign, the same ad could command as much as ten times that number when packaged as part of one of YouTube’s new “channels.” Slapping an ad on one of a million dog videos on YouTube may not be costly, but putting that same ad inside of a canine-themed channel? That’s valuable real estate.

Kamangar estimates that in the current media marketplace, only 20 percent of revenues come from rental and DVD services, with 40 percent stemming from subscription-based, premium services and the the remaining 40 percent coming from ad spend. Over the next decade, Kamangar expects that ad spend number is only going up.

It’s part of Google’s broad push into recreating the popular video site, as the company aims to transform YouTube from more than just a site for one-off video views, and into a destination media platform. The front door of YouTube was completely overhauled in December, with a feed running down the center of the page personalized to each user’s channel choices. In theory, YouTube wants to marry the TV experience of channel surfing with the 24/7 access to online content that the web brings, without alienating users into getting caught up on the whole online part. Essentially, the masses are comfortable with the medium we’ve seen since the 1930′s with the advent of the traditional television.

“We’re trying to catalyze channel creation,” Kamangar said. “We’re channel-izing YouTube, the product.”

But part of the problem for YouTube is beefing up its polished content ecosystem. In other words, convincing the big boys in Hollywood that web-based video production efforts are worth their time. Traditional ad spend on online media is peanuts compared to the tens of billions advertisers spend on traditional television media campaigns. But eMarketer estimates spending of over $3.1 billion in 2012, a 40 percent jump from the 2011. And for content providers — who participate in revenue sharing with Google on the video ads — want to go where the money is.

YouTube isn’t hurting for users — over 800 million people use the site — and it certainly isn’t lacking in video views, with more than three billion YouTube views occurring each week. The problem, in fact, is getting those eyeballs to stick around for longer.

“The minutes viewed on YouTube are still very small,” Kamangar said, referring to the amount of time a single user spends viewing the site on a given day. “Right now, we’re in the ball park of a couple percent.” For advertisers and content creators alike, that’s problematic.

But Kamangar and company are trying to fight this with creative approaches to their ad products, instead “focusing on the kind of ads that appear in the videos,” Kamangar said. YouTube introduced, for example, its Adwords for video product ‘True View,’ in which users can watch ads, and skip them if they decide they don’t want to watch them. If a user skips the ad before passing a certain threshold of time — say, five seconds — the advertiser doesn’t pay. That keeps both parties happy — users aren’t needlessly leaving the site because of cumbersome ads, while advertisers aren’t paying for ads that aren’t being watched.

Couple this with ads that make sense to a particular niche channel — like dog-focused ads in a dog-themed YouTube channel — and theoretically, you’ve got happy ad guys and happy content companies. At least, that’s what Google wants.

It is, of course, too soon to tell if this will work. But Google has made it clear it is in this for the long haul.

“It’s about catalyzing something that would otherwise happen,” Kamangar said. In other words, he believes that, one way or another, an online, streaming media destination platform is inevitable. And YouTube wants to be the one to bring it to you.

Photo: Asa Mathat/AllThingsD

Why SOPA Won't Work: We Are All Pirates, Copyright Holders Included

January 19, 2012 by (author unknown)

Interactive marketers aren’t the only ones who’ll suffer if SOPA passes. Copyright owners: I think you’re going to have to find another way.

A Taxonomy of Tech Bloggers –Who Will Lead Beyond The Golden Age?

December 29, 2011 by jeremiah_owyang

In order to understand the movement in the ever-changing tech blog space, let’s dissect the market to identify trends.

Whether folks agreed or disagreed, the assertion that Tech Blogs are evolving from the Golden Era to the next, continues to resonate as a healthy discussion. I saw responses from many of the blog management teams (Techcrunch, Mashable, RWW, VentureBeat, BoingBoing, and more) both agreeing and disagreeing, as well as traditional journalists at Wired chiming in.

Recap: Four Trends Why Blogs Are Evolving Out of Golden Age
In the previous post, it was identified there are four distinct trends why tech blogs are changing:

1. Corporate acquisitions stymie innovation.
2. Tech blogs are experiencing major talent turnover.
3. The audience needs have changed, they want: faster, smaller, and social.
4. As space matures, business models solidify –giving room for new disruptors.

The Next Generation Blogs Will Have The Following Traits
Then, it was identified four future trends on what the next-generation blog will look like, in summary: 1) An opportunity for new stars to emerge, 2) Yet, the rise of personal brands will be harder, 3) New models to emerge, long form content not the only way, and finally 4) that a new mix of media will emerge.  To further the discussion on what these trends will mean to this industry, let’s explore even deeper to identify where we should expect to see innovation from.

A Taxonomy of Tech Bloggers
This classification will help to shape who are the players are who should defend, those that are on the fast move, and those that could clinch a new seat as an established tech blog.  To understand, let’s segment the market by class, Ill give examples, and explore at a high level their strengths and challenges.

Classification	Example	Strengths	Challenges
Big Media Blogs	These blogs have transcended others and have been acquired by traditional media companies: Techcrunch (AOL), Huffington Post (AOL), RWW (Say Media), Engadget (AOL), ZDNet (CBS)	Access to new resources, funding for larger staff, and ability to tap into new revenue opportunities through existing advertising and distribution network of parent company.	Will be challenged to quickly innovate, redesign, and hire top talent who may be seeking the upward moving startup lifestyle.
Established Blogs	These blogs are dominant players in the space, and are either self-owned, or part of a blog network, among them includes: Mashable, Gizmodo (Gawker blog network), GigaOm, Venturebeat, The Next Web (European base), BoingBoing, All Things Digital, (created in house at Dow Jones), Enterprise Irregulars	Have solid coverage, strong editorial teams and processes and have established their business model.	Some may be content to forge their own destiny and not exit, yet some may seek to be acquired and exit, They will constantly be threatened by the tier above them scooping them, and challengers below trying to out-manuveur them.
Challenger Blogs	These players could quickly move into the Established category: The Verge (Vox Media) who left AOL’s Engadget’s to start this visually rich new site with high production video.	These players have tried a new approach, and are seeking to gun at the Established by trying a new format, editorial process, and may have connections to scoop stories.	While many root for the underdog, they may not have the resources the Established blog networks have, and will be forced to find inventive ways to get what they need, and Established blogs may not link to them.
Emerging Blogs	Silicon Angle (by my former boss John Furrier), Kernel (launched earlier this month), Uncrunched (Former Techcrunch writers), and the rumored blog Sarah Lacy may be planning.	These up-and-comers are the ones to watch. These folks will innovate, try new editorial approaches, formats, and providing storytelling styles.  In some cases, these blogs may find a niche and own it.	While all team blogs started here, this segment likely has the most challenges: Struggle to get scoops, lack of resources, and fight for advertising revenues, and Established blogs may not link to them.
Career Individual Bloggers	These individuals have learned to make blogging a career, and may be funded, sponsored, or work for a tech company, notable examples include: Chris Pirillo (multiple sponsors), Robert Scoble (Rackspace employee), Louis Gray (Google+), and many others.	Autonomous and masters of their own destiny, they’re able to do their passion at blogging, while earning a living.	Difficulty scaling a personal brand into a network, beholden to those that fund them, and difficulty in scooping stories from team blogs who may not link back.
Individual Bloggers	Millions of talented bloggers (like you!) worldwide that chime in on topics related to personal technology, careers in tech, and the industry overall.	Passion baby, Passion! What a great outlet to get your voice heard.  Most in this space started off here, or still maintain a personal blog.	Will be challenged to directly monetize through traditional advertising, but often this medium is used for career growth, promotion of books and speaking, or access to events.  This crew is challenged to maintain their blog, while holding a full time job.

Be a Savvy Blog Reader:  Know How Hierarchy Dictates Behavior.
The behaviors of each tier of blog depends on where you are in the taxonomy.  For example, those at the top of taxonomy are in dominant positions and will to sustain that.  As such, they will: have higher quality production in content, ability to scoop stories, may not link to original sources, all in order to maintain their lead.  On the flip side, those on the bottom of the taxonomy will also have different behaviors: they may give their own editorial spin, find long tail specific stories that mainstream doesn’t pickup, and can give deeper coverage in interviews the top players will not.

Watch the Challengers and Emerging Blogs as Post-Golden Tech Blogs.
Who will emerge as a victor in the post-Golden Age?  The established will seek to keep the up and comer challengers down, as well as the Emerging category.  In particular, the Verge is demonstrating a new approach by a fresh visual layout, high production video, and an experienced editorial team with insider connections.  Secondly, the Emerging blogs continue to grow organically, or have carved a niche that will keep from growing into a mainstream tech blog. As players towards the bottom move up, we’ll see a new “Platinum Age” (Sarah Lacy term) of Tech Bloggers emerge.

Above all Else, Look for Passion.
One of the attractive aspects of this medium is how the individual writer brings forward their point of view, their personality, their opinion.  As such, this has made blogging hold our attention as the rules of traditional journalism have been challenged  Despite the business aspects of running either an individual blog, or a big media blog, we should always look, interesting content, unique points of view, and of course, passion.

I look forward to your thoughtful comments as our industry continues to mature.

10 Signs Internet TV is Ready to Disrupt the Industry

November 14, 2011 by Mark Suster

I recently gave a talk about the Future of Television. I’m still planning to write some in depth pieces on the topic but I thought I’d do the quick version here.

Since this is about how video will consume the Internet over the next 5 years, what better way to exemplify this than with a 10-minute video? Here’s a link to watch it or click the image above (Sorry for speaking so quickly. I was given the impossible task of covering this in just 10 minutes.) The the text summary is below.

1. The promise has been made for too long, People are cynical – We’ve been promising digital, interactive video since the Time Warner trials in Orlando Florida in the early 90′s. So the industry has heard this claim for long enough that nobody really believes it will happen.

2. The right factors are finally in place - I believe that for any innovation to take place you need a variety of factors to be present. For example, YouTube took off rapidly because they timed some changes of Flash perfectly that allowed you to be able to watch video on the Internet with limited hassle. The key factors that had to come together are depicted in the graphic below

3. YouTube is the new Comcast - Many people perceive YouTube as “dogs on skateboards” and don’t realize that it is now professionally produced content that is driving billions of video views each month.

The first two companies to realize this en mass were Machinima & Maker Studios (where I am an investor. If you press on the link to the company you’ll see a very cool, short video that describes the company). If you add Vevo & MovieClips these companies are doing well in excess 3 billion video views / month. They are becoming very large businesses in a rapid period of time. Note that the logo of YouTube used to say, “Broadcast Yourself.” It no longer does.

YouTube is the new Comcast. It is the new distributor of video. Yes, it’s lower quality than network, primetime television. But many network shows cost up to $100,000 PER MINUTE to produce. Maker Studios costs about $500 per minute. Guess who has a huge advantage in the future of the medium.

4. The distributed ad platform enabled this industry to evolve – What people often don’t realize is that until we had a “distributed ad market” it was very hard to build a low-cost video business. But with YouTube / Google now selling both pre-roll (the 15 second spot before a video) and translucent overlay ads), video producers can now make profits on producing ads – provided that they can produce them at a low enough cost.

This is a point that is lost on many in the industry who complain about the “low CPMs on YouTube.” They don’t realize that “low” is relative. If you don’t have the huge costs of production & distribution you can build a meaningful business on “low.” And keep in mind that YouTube sells your inventory for you. This allows startups to reach a certain scale before hiring a direct salesforce.

5. Internet TV is following the CLASSIC case of the “Innovator’s Dilemma” – the most fundamental driver of the Internet destruction of industries that we’ve witnessed over the past 15 years. If you want a quick description of the Innovator’s Dilemma and why it chews up existing industries see this short post.

6. Cable & Satellite packages will become music albums – In fact, I believe we’re finally on the verge of seeing some of the signs of television following the music industry. My analogy is that “cable & satellite bundles are the album. and given choice consumers prefer either singles or to make their own bundles.” Watch the video if you want to understand this analogy more deeply.

The TV industry in the US is worth $350 billion in its own right. 91% of all US households pay for television bundles. This is overpriced and consumers are paying for content they don’t watch. In a world of controlled distribution the powers that control the distribution can force that on consumers. The Internet changes all of that. The industry feels slightly complacent due to the “cry wolf” problems of saying it’s right around the corner for nearly 20 years.

It’s not “right around the corner” but the sea change has already begun.

7. Mass adoption of Internet video has already taken place – 86% of all Internet consumers in the US now watch online videos. That means your mom is now watching online videos. Yup. In fact, 108 million people will watch 1.3 billion videos. TODAY. (according to Comscore). In August of this year 185 million people watched 42 billion videos for 17 hours. That’s 228 videos PER PERSON.

8. TV is the medium people prefer (whether we like it or not) – Much as intelligent people don’t want to believe it, Americans watch on average of 5.3 hours of TV PER DAY and read less than 1 hour. They are online for 3 hours / day. So I would argue that the future of the Internet will be video. And lots of it. In fact, 12-17 year olds already spend 33% of their online time watching videos.

9. Video is different than text. It requires unique, creative skills – And who’s going to produce all of this content? It’s not as easy as text. It takes screen writers, sound people, lighting, editing, costumes, direction, post-production and acting. I think that creative talent is going to play a major role in the next wave of the Internet. And I find that exciting.

10. This revolution is starting in Los Angeles. This is the first time LA has had our own locally produced, massive tech opportunity that is unique to our city – the majority of these people live and work in Los Angeles. Where I call home. And where GRP Partners, the VC firm in which I’m a partner, is based. We’ve seen other centers of excellence in the Internet era here (lead generation, price comparisons, affiliate networking, ad technology) but nothing of this scale. And it’s exciting.

If you want the PowerPoint version in stead of the TV version of my presentation I can still do that, too. I’m Old Skool. Deck is below. You can download it, too.

Future of TV

TV Ads' New Digital Role

November 10, 2011 by Shiv Singh

Television advertising has undergone significant changes in the last 30 years. However, it is arguably on the verge of its greatest changes ever. From where I sit as the Global Head of Digital at PepsiCo Beverages, charged with navigating our brand’s foray into the digital world, I see three big changes:

–The value we put on an advertisement will change as we seek to account for engagement metrics in the pricing.

–The narrative arch will change as we think of the advertisement as a trailer versus the whole story.

–Location-aware technologies will force a greater degree of engagement on a format that had historically been passive, impersonal and certainly without any extensions.

When you look at the statistics, the reasons are obvious. According to a recent study, 60% of television viewers also look at their mobile phones while watching TV shows. 33% have their laptops open in front of them and most interestingly, iPad owners spend the most time in front of the TV with their tablet than any other activity. It makes sense for TV advertisements to be thought of as an element in a broader narrative arch for the brand – a narrative arch that allows the brand to tell a more complete and a more interactive story. But what are the implications for marketers today? I see six key changes.

1. In the future, no television advertisement will be just self-contained narratives designed to entertain, inform, educate or remind consumers about products. Their role isn’t going to be about building brand recall, favorability and awareness in that moment alone. They will be trailers into deeper branded digital experiences. When TV ads become teasers for digital experiences, the ROI on the investment will improve significantly as the digital experience will stretch out the brand experiences beyond the 30 second clip. The ROI won’t be measured by the impact that the TV ad has when it’s aired but also by its residual influence on engagement in other mediums in the weeks that follow the airing. We saw a good example of this with the Pepsi Sound Off platform that was launched to fuel conversations around the X-Factor TV show.

2. Fewer and fewer advertisers will start their strategic marketing planning with a television advertisement in mind. Instead, they’ll step back and begin with an engagement strategy that gets operationalized through a series of creative ideas that then get routed through different channels. We saw this with the most successful Super Bowl ads like the Volkswagen ad, which was launched online the preceding week, and the Mercedes advertising, which was driven by their Tweetrace engagement program. We’ve also seen it with Best Buy’s Twelpforce where TV was used to promote the powerful and award-winning digital engagement program.

3. Location-based digital experiences will be the new driver of television advertising. Back in July, Pepsi ran television advertising that was all about celebrating that summertime is Pepsi time. The ads ended with a call-to-action encouraging people to check-in at summer locations like beaches and amusement parks for exclusive content and to get the Pepsi Summer Time Badge on FourSquare. The badge became FourSquare’s most popular brand badge ever and the tight TV, web and mobile integration drove its popularity. As marketers look to get stronger ROI from their TV investments, location-based programs linked to the TV advertisement will come to the forefront. These will matter as they can track the user all the way to the store shelf.

4. Media planning will change, as social signals will heavily influence media-planning decisions. With technologies from companies like Blue Fin and Networked Insights, I now know which TV shows (and which Pepsi ads) triggered the most social engagement online. I also know which TV shows were most engaging for Pepsi consumers specifically. You can bet that information will heavily influence planning decisions in the future. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that in the future the metric GRP (which stands for Gross Rating Points and which accounts for reach and frequency) will look something like a “GRPE” with the “E” meaning “engagement.” capturing how social a particular TV show is. As advertisers, we will place a premium on shows that have a high “E” component.

5. Being ready for digital participation in real-time becomes the new imperative for marketers. They’ll need to structure around that. Whether it’s the Super Bowl or the VMAs, as marketers run television advertising, they need to be ready for the real-time response and the real-time marketing opportunities for deeper digital engagement. When Beyonce showed her pregnancy during the MTV VMA’s, that was a real-time moment. It lit up the web with conversation and savvy brands jumped on the buzz to promote related products and services. This will soon become common for all marketers.

6. Reflecting digital culture through television will become a priority for brands. Increasingly, consumers care most about items like what’s trending in pop culture, what’s about to become really important, and what music, entertainment, sports or celebrities they need to care about. All this typically breaks online today. Reflecting that and sharing it with wider audiences in ways that correlate to the brand’s objective, is going to become a new role for TV advertising. It’s going to give street credibility to the brands. It’s going to start with those 15-second spots but soon all advertising will cover this.

These are indeed exciting times and not just for the networks that try to brandish their digital credibility, but also for savvy marketers who suddenly are discovering that the world doesn’t start or end in a 30 second spot. The TV spot has become the trailer for something bigger, broader and more interactive.

Yahoo, AOL, Microsoft Forge Partnership in Bid to Raise Online Ad Revenues

November 8, 2011 by (author unknown)

Aging portals AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft officially announced a long-rumored partnership today to pool their non-reserved display inventory in an effort to simplify the buying, and to maximize the value, of their remnant inventory.

Let a Thousand Ad Networks Bloom

September 14, 2011 by (author unknown)

While there is truth to the “networks are dying” narrative, get ready for a whole new category of niche ad networks to emerge.

Article: Mobile Ads Six Times as Effective as Standard Banners

September 13, 2011 by (author unknown)

Channel, location, size and placement all matter for telecom display ads

What to Know About the Promise and Perils of Mobile Metrics

August 23, 2011 by (author unknown)

It’s an often-lamented reality in marketing that the most measurable medium of all — online — is also the one most awash in metrics that overwhelm rather than enlighten. But when it comes to complexity, nothing beats mobile metrics.

Twitter Pushes Ads Into the Timeline — Again

July 28, 2011 by (author unknown)

Twitter’s new ad product will show you paid tweets from brands you follow when you sign in or refresh your stream.

When's Prime Time in Mobile? Same as TV

July 5, 2011 by (author unknown)

Working stiffs turn to their phones after they’ve logged off their computers for the day and plopped down on the couch at home.

Article: US Online Ad Spend Poised to Grow 20% in 2011

June 8, 2011 by (author unknown)

Video remains fastest-growing format while search gains most new dollars

Google Just Blew Past Yahoo in Online Display Advertising

May 26, 2011 by (author unknown)

Google, known for its dominant position in search, just crossed an important milestone, unseating Yahoo as the biggest seller of online display ads, according to IDC.

Facebook Scores Again With Most Ads on the Web

May 8, 2011 by (author unknown)

Facebook serves the most ads, but even more impressive, according to the latest metrics, is that it’s actually increased the amount of ads it’s serving per page over the past year while everybody else has either leveled off the number of ads or stayed flat.

Article: Facebook to Surpass Yahoo! in Display Ad Revenues This Year

March 1, 2011 by (author unknown)

More than one in five US display dollars will go to the social network

Article: Social Network Ad Revenues Rising Worldwide

February 2, 2011 by (author unknown)

Social network advertising increasing share of online advertising

Facebook Turns the 'Like' Into Its Newest Ad

January 25, 2011 by adageeditor@adage.com(Irina Slutsky)

SAN FRANCISCO (AdAge.com) — The ubiquitous “like” is currency for brands, and Facebook is giving them a new way to collect: an ad unit that shows up on the right-hand side of the screen it calls “sponsored stories.”

New York Times Prepares Digital Paywall, Tiered Pricing

January 24, 2011 by Sam Gustin

As The New York Times readies its highly anticipated online paywall, some price details are leaking out — and they’re raising eyebrows.

For one thing, the paper seems intent on charging more for its iPad application than for regular web access.This raises the question why people would pay the iPad app premium, when they can visit nytimes.com using iPad’s built-in web browser for less money.

The Times is considering charging about $20 per month for a digital bundle that includes access to the website, as well as the iPad app, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The paper will charge “less than half that for the web-only offering.” Reading the paper using Amazon’s Kindle e-reader currently costs $20 per month.

Is the Times iPad app really worth twice the money of web-only access?

Felix Salmon at Reuters suggests that the pricing structure will keep many people away from the paper’s iPad app and drive them toward the browser-based offering. That could undercut the iPad app by reducing the incentive to devote resources to it.

“It seems clear to me that if the NYT insists on charging significantly more for its iPad app than for full access to its website (which looks so great on the iPad that Apple uses it in its ads), then it’s essentially sounding the death knell for the chances of any further serious development work on the app,” Salmon wrote Monday.

One would think that the Times would want to encourage people to adopt its iPad app, but that’s going to be tough as long as its possible to access the browser-based version for less money, as Salmon point out.

The Times is clearly trying to thread the needle with its forthcoming paywall. On the one hand, the paper knows that it needs to capture new subscribers — even if only for the digital products — to drive revenue. On the other hand, it doesn’t want to make the terms so onerous that the site loses significant amounts of traffic, as News Corp.’s The Times of London did when it erected it paywall.

One middle ground is the first-click-free model, in which nondigital subscribers would get to read a small number of stories for free on the site before triggering the paywall. This a model used by some publications, including the Financial Times, to encourage bloggers to link in and to allow casual readers access to some content. The hope is to capture heavier users as new subscribers.

The New York Times last month said it was working with Google, which sends huge amounts of traffic to newspaper websites, to prevent abuse of the first-click-free model.

“We will take great pains to make sure that the first-click-free policy isn’t abused in any way,” Martin Nisenholtz, the Times‘ digital chief, told a media conference in comments reported by Yahoo’s Cutline blog. “Google has been quite cooperative in terms of setting a limit for the number of free articles that can go in for any one day, so that you can’t just sit and engineer your way into a free use of the website. It’s first click free, not 50th click free.”

When paywalls first started to emerge on the websites of the The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, it was fairly straightforward to access content for free by going through Google News, for example. But the publications have worked with Google to crack down on the number of times a user could do that.

Full-freight print subscribers will get digital access to Times content for free, which is very nice of them, because a rack-rate print subscription to The New York Times costs more than $700 per year.

Follow us for disruptive tech news: Sam Gustin and Epicenter on Twitter.

See Also:

• College Newspaper to Erect Paywall: It’s Academic
• New York Times Plans to Charge for Articles
• Wall Street Journal Takes Paywall Fight to Mobiles
• NY Times’ Sulzberger Explains Philosophy Behind Charging for Articles
• Placating Publishers by Limiting Links: A Google 5-Click FAQ
• Financial Times Shirks Paid Model for Awkward Hybrid
• Print War Between NYT and WSJ Is Really About Digital

Some Good News for Ad Spending — Unless You're Foursquare

January 19, 2011 by mcarmichael@adage.com(Matt Carmichael)

Two surveys paint a hopeful picture for ad spending in 2011. Strata’s fourth-quarter survey of media buyers found just over half of media buyers predicting an increase in business — the highest percent since the software provider for media buyers began the surveying its clients in 2008. Meanwhile, Alterian’s annual survey of agencies, marketers and marketing service providers found 49% predicting that marketing expenditures were likely to increase slightly (5%-25%) and 9% predicting an increase of 25% or more.

Facebook Books $1.86B in Advertising; Muscles In on Google Turf

January 18, 2011 by elee@adage.com(Edmund Lee)

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — According to an estimate from eMarketer, Facebook took in $1.86 billion in worldwide advertising revenue for 2010, an 86% increase over the company’s estimated 2009 advertising revenue of $740 million worldwide.