Christopher Saunders

The Interactive Advertising Bureau released its highly-anticipated guidelines for impression measurement and auditing on Tuesday to much fanfare. But now that industry players have had a chance to mull over the association’s new standards, some are concerned they don’t go far enough. What has some insiders upset is that the IAB and other organizations have […]

E-mail marketing has proved to be one of the more resilient areas of the online advertising industry, but its clients are often undermining their success through bad business practices and missed opportunities, according to a new study from AMR Research. For one thing, the Boston-based researcher found that companies considering an e-mail marketing program are […]

DoubleClick is making a play for direct marketing dollars, forming a specialized group in its Global Media division. Headed by DoubleClick veteran Bill Wise, the company’s new Direct unit came about in late December, with a mission that amounts plugging a hole in the company’s media offerings. “If you took at look at what DoubleClick […]

It’s a mixed bag of news for Web portal Yahoo!, which on Wednesday reported the resignation of president and chief operating officer Jeff Mallett while posting better-than-expected quarterly and yearly results. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo! said only that Mallett’s departure came as a result of his desire “to take advantage of greater flexibility for family and […]

As the online ad market continues to see softness, the roll-up of interactive agencies also continues, with the U.K.-based Aegis Group purchasing independent shops Lot 21 and Vizium. According to sources close to the deal, Aegis paid just over $2 million for San Francisco-based Lot 21, and about $650,000 for Framingham, Mass.-based Vizium. Aegis also […]

As if it weren’t tough enough for interactive agencies, advertisers are increasingly reluctant to enter into long-term agreements with them — requiring some immediate changes in how they market themselves, according to a new study by Jupiter Media Metrix. In large part, advertisers’ standoffish attitudes are a result of the current economic turmoil. With corporate […]

Web ad leader DoubleClick topped Wall Street estimates and its own guidance, with a fourth-quarter improvement in net losses and revenues. The New York-based firm posted a net loss of $64 million, or $0.48 per share, on $96 million in revenue — a 3.7 percent increase in income from third quarter. Last quarter, DoubleClick posted […]

The Interactive Advertising Bureau made good on a years-old promise to deliver standards for measuring and auditing ad impressions and unique users — though it refrained from handing down rules on at least one key issue. “Today is a great day for the industry,” said IAB chief executive Greg Stuart. “This is a major step […]

IBM is looking to highlight its e-business infrastructure products and services with a new campaign featuring National Basketball Associations legends. In its latest television ad campaign for its server and e-business products, Big Blue taps a veritable Dream Team of basketball greats, including Moses Malone, Xavier McDaniel, Muggsy Bogues, Detlef Schremp and Bill Laimbeer. Except […]

Yahoo! is receiving a vote of confidence from Havas’ Arnold MPG unit, which said on Monday that it has committed to buying inventory on the Web portal on behalf of a number of clients. The commitment is designed to emulate the upfront buying process of traditional broadcast media. For publishers, such a move is a […]

True Audience, an online traffic-tracking venture formed by Real Media founder Dave Morgan, is taking on a new name and new mission, as it expands into a larger market for consumer relationship management and marketing automation applications. Morgan quietly launched True Audience in late summer, with the goal of helping Web publishers build extensive profiles […]

Seneca Investments on Friday completed its tender offer for interactive agency Organic, making the San Francisco shop the latest acquisition of the secretive New York-based holding company. In September, Seneca offered $0.33 for every outstanding share of Organic that it didn’t already own. By that offer’s close on Thursday, that bid had fetched about 10.5 […]