Christopher Saunders

Streaming media ad firm Hiwire is getting a loud vote of confidence in the form of $9.5 million in financing from investors that include one of the biggest names in radio advertising, Clear Channel Communications. Joining Clear Channel in the investment round is venture capital firm Zone Ventures, and previous investors that include VC firm […]

The Online Publishers Association is taking on the role of evangelist, spreading the good word about what it sees as a major remedy for the industry’s current woes — “surround sessions.” A method of selling advertising begun by New York Times Digital’s NYTimes.com, sessions involve a Web surfer seeing ads from just a single advertiser […]

The Parliament of the European Union is one step closer to restricting the use of cookies and consumer data on the Web, after approving additions to a controversial directive that could mean the end of “opt-out” marketing online. Originally proposed last year by the European Commission — the EU Parliament’s executive body — the bill […]

Consumers might not know what they want, but it’s certainly not pop-up ads. All other things being equal, though, they’d rather see pop-ups than be pestered by telemarketers, according to a new survey by Dynamic Logic. The survey, which asked a random sampling of more than 400 Web surfers to comment on which advertising types […]

Web portal Yahoo! will make its first foray into paid search engine listings, through an agreement with Pasadena, Calif.-based Overture Services, formerly known as GoTo.com. Beginning tomorrow, Overture will provide the technology behind Yahoo! Sponsor Matches through the next six months, after which Yahoo! said it would either offer its own Sponsor Matches program independently, […]

Captivate Network, a company that makes and sells inventory on Internet-enabled monitors in office building elevators, is aiming to boost its technology through a new agreement with Qwest Communications. The multi-year agreement, which will see Denver-based Qwest providing new technology to Captivate, also includes a marketing component, through which the backbone provider and ISP will […]

Luxury auto brand Lexus is partnering with digital video recorder firm TiVo to launch a new sweepstakes — which is designed to encourage users to watch commercials. As part of Lexus’ “New World of Luxury” campaign for its ES 300, the automaker (a unit of Toyota Motor Sales) will offer the chance to win a […]

Ad network and technology player 24/7 Media — now 24/7 Real Media — appears to be betting heavily on future dividends from its recent merger with Real Media, as it reveals sizable losses for its third quarter. During the quarter, which doesn’t take into account Real Media operations, 24/7 Media posted $8.3 million in revenues […]

Online auction giant eBay now will offer its sellers the ability to buy rich media banner ads. Following an agreement with Fairfax, Va.-based Amazing Media, members of eBay’s PowerSellers program — which is geared toward full-time, professional sellers — will be able to design and implement animated ads across the site. Ideally, the offering should […]

Rich media online direct marketer MindArrow Systems is taking the wraps off its long-awaited e-commerce offering, which is designed to make it easier for e-mail recipients to complete a purchase. The technology behind the offering is a recent addition to the Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based company’s lineup. In June, the company received a patent for its […]

Following the nation’s latest airline disaster, Web surfers again turned to the Internet in droves, with top news sites struggling to keep pace. As during the Sept. 11 attacks, major Web sites like MSNBC.com and CNN.com that were covering Monday’s air crash in Queens, New York, were flooded with page requests. As before, that explosion […]

Hoping to boost flagging sales, PDA maker Palm, Inc. announced plans to unveil a new advertising campaign on Monday, which aims to hook holiday shoppers. The announcement comes less than 24 hours after the Santa Clara, Calif.-based firm abruptly lost its high-profile chief executive Carl Yankowski amid internal confusion about Palm’s future direction. The company […]