Zachary Rodgers

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has released a six-point industry code of conduct for North American wireless marketing campaigns, hoping to stop a spam epidemic before it starts. The global wireless marketing trade group said it developed the code to protect a fledgling medium that is extremely vulnerable to abuse. The code stipulates that advertisers […]

Google will soon stop accepting ads from unlicensed online pharmacies and will restrict keyword bidding on the names of pharmaceutical drugs such as Vicodin and Oxycontin, the search company said. The new policy, which will not affect Google’s natural search results, will go into effect when the search company implements a third party solution to […]

Digital Media Communications (DMC) has deployed an online viral campaign to pre-launch a Christmas TV commercial featuring a naked Busta Rhymes for client Virgin Mobile. The campaign is being sent to DMC’s online influencer network, as well as being featured on music and lifestyle Web sites. “We’re using DMC’s online viral and buzz marketing expertise […]

At least three product enhancements rolled out in recent weeks aim to give marketers detailed information about how Web users interact with Flash ads and apps. But do Flash interaction metrics say anything about the branding impact of an ad or Web site? DoubleClick’s Motif rich media solution can now report in depth on how […]

The American Homeowners Association (AHA) has tapped comparison shopping search site Shopping.com to deploy its database for a members-only offering it calls Froople.com. The AHA is using its own affiliate relationships with retailers, plus the Shopping.com technology, to offer its members a unique benefit. AHA members can use the comparison features of Froople.com and get […]

The Coca-Cola Company tapped Starcom/MediaVest Group to handle all media planning and buying for its brands within the United States, an assignment that extends to interactive and is estimated to be worth $350 million in total. Brands include the Coke family of products, Sprite, Nestea and Minute Maid, among others. Media include broadcast, print, outdoor […]

LookSmart has enhanced its FindArticles full-text article search service in an effort to boost search volume and create more paid listings inventory. The free service builds on the existing publication database by attaching search algorithms from Wisenut, a search firm LookSmart acquired in March 2002. The new functions are available via a dedicated “Articles” tab […]

The IAB has named Matt Freeman to chair its new agency advisory board, a committee it launched to build a bridge between online publishers and ad agencies. Freeman, the chief executive officer of Tribal DDB Worldwide, will oversee quarterly meetings of the 22-member board, which will identify issues and initiatives to advance interactive’s share of […]

ComScore Media Metrix has released version 2.0 of its Audience insite Measures (AiM) consumer analysis and media planning tool, offering a larger sample of Web users and new reach and frequency reporting functions. The new features come two days after the measurement firm began offering clients syndicated audience segmentation of various ad-supported properties. With the […]

Modem Media Chairman G.M. O’Connell is stepping down as CEO, effective in January 2004, but he will continue to work with the interactive agency as a part-time consultant. He will also continue to serve as chairman of the board. “Serving as non-executive chairman provides the best of both worlds for me,” O’Connell said. “This new […]

AT&T has been awarded a patent on a common technique used by spammers to evade spam filters. Filed in 1999, patent number 6,643,686 describes “a method for counteracting a filtering technique based upon the detection of a duplicate.” That method, which AT&T Labs claims to have developed, trumps the common spam filtering technique of blocking […]

WebTrends Bows Tool for Tracking Flash NetIQ has released a free application designed to support WebTrends users’ efforts to track specific visitor interactions within Flash applications. The WebTrends Developer Kit for Macromedia Studio MX 2004, which plugs into the popular development tool, simplifies the process of installing client-side tags. It lets developers tag specific user […]