Wall Street Keen On Internet Prospects, But Touts Commerce Vs. Ad-Supported Players
The influential Wall Street equity research team at J.P. Morgan released a 2012 outlook for the online industry saying it “remains positive on the Internet sector,” and expects the medium to “be driven by strong secular growth, increased online accessibility through smartphones and tablets, and strengthening trends around social, local and video.” That said, the securities firm said its favorite picks for the year are not the Internet’s ad-supported biggies, but major e-commerce players Amazon and Priceline.
“Amazon and Priceline are our top picks for the year,” opined lead Internet analyst Doug Anmuth in a note to investors, adding: “We continue to like Google at current levels, but believe the risk/reward is now more favorable in these other large-cap names.”
While J.P. Morgan did not tout any specific online advertising players, it is positive on the overall sector, noting that online ad spending will continue to be driven by display and is expected to rise about 16% in 2012.
“We expect online advertising to continue to see strong growth, driven by increasing consumer consumption of digital media and increasing allocations of branded ad budgets online,” the report reads, adding: “Consumers have greater touchpoints to digital media through the rapid adoption of mobile devices and tablets, supported with higher engagement trends through the use of social media and networks. We believe consumer time spent online will continue to increase, and the online advertising dollars to follow.
Read More: MediaPost
Brands Will Choose Online Video Over Display Ads in 2012: Adap.tv
Study shows that advertisers will increase online video spending this year, and that brands want viewer engagement.
Adap.tv completed a research report on the digital video industry shortly before the recent Streaming Media West conference in Los Angeles, and company co-founder and vice president of product Teg Grenager sat down at a red carpet interview to share some of its findings.
This is a good time to be in the online video advertising space, as nearly all the advertisers surveyed said they were sure they would increase their online video spending this year. In previous years, advertisers were more hesitant to jump in.
“This year there were some very interesting findings. The industry is changing and maturing a little bit,” said Grenager, noting that the market was due for significant growth.
That extra spending has to come from somewhere, and the loser in advertising budgets looks to be display advertising.
“Digital video actually is, in some ways, a replacement for some of what display was trying to achieve. It’s trying to achieve branding on the Web, and digital video’s just much better at that,” Grenager noted.
Advertisers’ goals are also changing this year. In previous years, they looked to online video ads to build awareness. Now they want brand engagement with their ads. Noting that engagement is more a tactic than a goal, Grenager explained that viewers who engage with an ad in some way are more likely to think about that brand and see it favorably.
Read More: Streaming Media
DataXu Thinks Global, Acts Hyper-Local: Acquires Europe’s Mexad
In a move it says gives it the biggest global footprint of local manpower of any demand-side platform (DSP), DataXu has acquired London-based Mexad, a leading European DSP with offices in Western Europe and Brazil. Both companies are privately-held and terms were not disclosed, but DataXu Co-Founder and CEO Mike Baker says the acquisition gives DataXu a competitive advantage in a sector that increasingly is about local service and market knowledge.
With 36 employees, Mexad manages real-time bidding campaigns and inventory in about 60 countries in Europe and Latin America, complementing DataXu’s local market knowledge in North America, he says.
“They have an on-the-ground presence in all the major markets in Europe right now,” Baker tells Online Media Daily, adding that “feet-on-the-street” is becoming a key differentiator for the DSP business, because it’s not just about having the best software, algorithms and access to RTB inventory that determines success in local markets, but understanding local cultures, ways of doing business in specific markets, and the ability to advise and service local marketers and agencies in those markets.
Read More: MediaPost
Banner future for digital advertising
Online spending has leapfrogged every traditional medium except television, and that gap is narrowing
When Sprint Nextel this month moved its $1.1 billion account from San Francisco-based Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to Digitas Chicago and Leo Burnett, it was one of the biggest wins in Chicago advertising history.
Beyond the 300 or so new jobs the account will bring to the city, with online-focused Digitas named lead agency, it also represents what may be the tipping point for digital advertising, which has rapidly transformed from a fringe buy to an integral part of the media mix.
“I think it’s a validation of the next evolution of this industry,” said Tony Weisman, president of Digitas Chicago.
Once the insular domain of direct marketers and tech-savvy programmers, online advertising accounted for just a fraction of total media spending in the U.S. at the start of the new millennium. Since then, the medium has leapfrogged every traditional advertising vehicle except television, and it is closing ground fast.
“The Internet has become as important as television to advertisers,” said David Hallerman, principal analyst at eMarketer, a New York-based research firm. “This is where people spend a large share of their time. Marketers chase the audience.”
Read More: Chicago Tribune
Akamai is acquiring Cotendo for $286M
App delivery company Akamai is acquiring app delivery network Contendo, the companies jointly announced today.
Akamai will purchase all of Cotendo’s outstanding equity for a net cash payment of $268 million.
Pending regulatory approval and other typical acquisition conditions, the deal is expected to close sometime over the next six months.
In a release today, the companies stated that they expect their combined technologies, which each have a lot to do with safely and securely delivering content and application packages in the cloud, to accelerate innovation in cloud and mobile services.
“As we look to accelerate growth across the dynamic landscapes of cloud and mobile optimization, we are excited to be joining forces with Cotendo,” said Akamai president and CEO Paul Sagan in a statement.
“Cotendo’s technology, partnerships and people are a strong complement to Akamai. Together, we believe there is tremendous opportunity for our combined technologies as enterprises embrace the move to the cloud and seek solutions for an increasingly mobile world.”
Read More: VentureBeat
Specific Media Continues Video Momentum, Tops comScore Charts in Video Reach
One year after its acquisition of online video company BBE, Specific Media surpasses past video leaders to draw the second-largest video audience in the world
IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Specific Media, a digital media company, today announced that it has surpassed historical video network leaders as well as portal and broadcast network behemoths to draw an audience second only to YouTube in size, according to the latest comScore Video Metrix data. The news coincides with the one-year anniversary of Specific Media’s entry into the video market through its acquisition of online video company BBE. Since then, Specific Media has been on an upward trajectory, growing its audience 242 percent to now reach over 80 million viewers each month.
Noting Specific Media’s continued video momentum, brands are partnering with Specific Media on their video campaigns more than ever. Nearly 25 percent of Specific Media’s clients now take advantage of the company’s ability to run integrated display and video campaigns — garnering compelling results in return.
For example, a leading telecom provider recently worked with Specific Media to run an integrated campaign that leveraged Specific Media’s ability to augment standard video campaigns. For incremental impact, display ads were used to reinforce core messages from the video creative. The smart approach paid off with a 75 percent view-through-rate for the client.
Read More: Businesswire
Enhanced advertiser-level controls and insights in DoubleClick Ad Exchange
Today, we’re happy to announce the roll-out of a new advertiser classification system that automatically scans and classifies each creative using sophisticated machine learning technologies to determine the associated advertiser or advertisers. This means that publishers can more easily and reliably block specific advertisers across all campaigns and buyers.
We focused on an algorithmic solution to this complex challenge, versus a more manual “self-declared” approach for buyers, which can often lead to inaccuracies such as misspellings or misclassifications. This quarter we are introducing this feature with coverage for the top 50 advertisers with a large expansion in advertiser coverage planned soon.
Further taking advantage of this new advertiser-level data, we’re now also able to give our publishers better insights into individual advertiser spending, CPMs and performance to help inform their overall sales efforts. Ad Exchange’s existing multi-dimensional reporting tool now includes an “advertiser” field dimension. This new field will allow publishers to slice and dice their data and see which advertisers are driving the most revenue by geography, domain, channel and a variety of other criteria.
Read More: DoubleClick
