Christopher Saunders

AOL Time Warner’s America Online unit and Hispanic/Latino media giant Univision Communications are seeking to jointly capitalize on the nation’s fast-growing Spanish-speaking population with a series of new cross-marketing initiatives. Financial terms of the deal between the two media players were not disclosed, though Los Angeles-based Univision.com will license America Online’s e-mail application, as well […]

Yahoo!, which on Wednesday announced a surprise counteroffer for New York-based recruitment site HotJobs Inc., is orchestrating a play that could boost its bottom line both from advertising and enterprise software revenues. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo!’s $436 million cash-and-stock offer tops an earlier, all-stock bid from Monster.com parent TMP Worldwide, worth only about $366 million at […]

Toyota Motor Corp. is mulling over the idea of using the Internet as a cornerstone of a launch effort behind its new vehicle line, spokespeople told internetnews.com on Wednesday. The Japanese automaker’s U.S. unit said that the company is considering ways to promote a third brand of automobiles, which would complement its existing Toyota and […]

Following closely on the heels of its announcement of a distribution deal with Compaq, Seattle-based steaming media player RealNetworks also said it’s been successful in attracting several big-name advertisers to its new RealOne service. Advertisers including Absolut, Honda’s Acura and DeBeers’ adiamondisforever.com have been running spots on the service. Like other streaming media providers — […]

AT&T Wireless is tapping “takeover ads” and portal buys through its first online branding campaign, designed by Avenue A and White Horse. The creatives, designed by Portland-based i-shop White Horse, center on the wireless carrier’s network quality. In the ads, an AT&T Wireless-branded plowing truck pushes away show obscuring parts of the screen. Copy in […]

Consumers increasingly are shifting from direct mail catalogs to online shopping, according to a new study by DoubleClick’s Abacus and @Plan units. According to the findings, which were based on the 90 million U.S. households in Abacus’ co-op database and @Plan’s survey-based research, 67 percent of U.S. online users reported making a purchase from July […]

As the Web struggles to prove its own worth to advertisers, a New York-based startup, Intermedia Advertising Group, is aiming to use the medium to measure television’s effectiveness. With clients including Coca-Cola, Unilever and Tricon, IAG this week released its flagship product, TrendReporter, which uses online quizzes and games to provide data on consumers’ response […]

Overture will provide its paid search engine listings to InfoSpace’s Web properties — including Excite.com — through an expansion of an earlier deal. The agreement extends for another three years the agreement that has existed between InfoSpace and Overture — formerly known as GoTo.com. Through the deal, Overture’s pay-for-placement listings will continue to appear on […]

None other than Microsoft Corp.’s own Bill Gates took to Europe this week, in an effort to sell the MSN portal and related services to advertisers and agencies — amid the continued stagnation of the online advertising market. Speaking in London on Thursday to an audience of chief executives, marketing directors and media planners, the […]

Marketing technology firm Emmperative has secured new investments from technology and management consultancy Accenture and existing investor Procter & Gamble, both of which contributed to a funding round that’s expected to total $27 million. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company, which to date has raised about $45 million to $50 million, provides ASP-based knowledge and research […]

Web ad leader DoubleClick continued its string of strategic alliances this week, taking a minority stake in workflow automation firm Solbright. Alley-based Solbright’s AdSuite ASP provides tools for outsourcing order entry, creative approval, trafficking and billing reconciliation. AdSuite for some time has had the capability to work in conjunction with DoubleClick’s ASP solution, DART for […]

For the release of the first film in its “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, AOL Time Warner is launching an audacious online and offline marketing promotion, reprising its momentous earlier effort for “Harry Potter.” In addition to running ads throughout its Web sites, AOL Time Warner devised an interactive sweepstakes intended to boost interest in […]