Roku to Open Its Box to Anyone
The Roku set-top box is closely associated with Netflix, but during a speech at Streaming Media West this morning, company CEO Anthony Wood said that it will open up the little box to any content provider over the next few months. Wired reports:
“We’re opening up the platform to anyone who wants to put their video service on this box,” says Wood. “We’re going to release the software developer kit, so anyone can publish any channel, and users can access web content on their TVs.”Yahoo Hires Bain To Help 'Streamline Processes'; Layoffs To Come?
nd to think what they could've gotten from Microsoft… Yahoo , whose stock continues to languish, has hired Bain & Co. to help it "(explore) ways to streamline our processes and bring new agility and efficiency to how we work as an organization." in the words of spokesman Brad Williams, who spoke to Bloomberg. He says it was premature to speculate on whether the company would in fact have layoffs, but that's often what the word "streamline" means.
80% of Net Users to See Video Ads
A new report from eMarketer says that with 67 percent of Internet users already seeing some form of video advertising online (in-stream, in-banner, or in-text) at least once a month, the audience has reached critical mass and video ads will become “ubiquitous” by 2012.I n August, research firm cut projections for Internet ad spending this year to $24.9 billion, the second revision of estimates first released in October. The firm expects Internet advertising growth to slow to 17.4% this year fom 25.6% in 2007. Next year, growth will slow even more, to 14.5%. "Online advertising will not grow as fast because of the economic problems," eMarketer senior analyst David Hallerman says.
Comcast: New Cap Not 'Set In Stone' - New cap goes live one week from today...
Comcast's new 250GB monthly cap goes into effect one week from today, though customers have not yet been given an officially sanctioned consumption tracking tool. An article at GigaOM quotes Comcast spokesman Charlie Douglas as saying the limits aren't set in stone, and could rise once DOCSIS 3.0 gets deployed.
10 Tips to Help You Win the $1 Million Doritos Superbowl Video Contest
PepsiCo is offering a million dollars to the best consumer-created 30-second spot, which will air during the Superbowl. The “Crash the Superbowl” campaign. Five finalists will receive $25,000 and a trip to the Superbowl.
Should you enter? Sure if you’ve got a killer idea, and are prepared for stiff competition. While many contests languish, these Doritos campaigns tend to have large media campaigns that result in entries from quasi professionals looking to build credibility. So the odds are not in your favor.Then again, the site has plenty of assets you can use, and there’s plenty of creative freedom for those entering. The Wall Street Journal says PepsiCo is after the pre-game buzz that helps offset the high cost of advertising. But I’d argue nothing tops the post-game buzz about the favorite ad. And if it’s a consumer one that tops recall, I’ll eat Doritos for a week.
Online Ad Slowdown Looms
Online marketers are converging on New York for the ad industry's annual conference, where they'll hold discussions on everything from tracking online brand buzz to using humor to lure a Web-surfing audience. But perhaps the most pressing topic for attendees of the Advertising Week V conference in Manhattan is the financial crisis gripping Wall Street and what it means for their business, especially on the Web.
Companies dependent on Internet-based advertising are bracing for a slowdown as financial-service companies cut ad budgets. "The first six months of the next year will be slow," says Russell Fradin, president of Adify, a company that helps firms set up online advertising networks.
When budgets are tight, advertisers tend to look for proven methods, such as ads placed alongside a Google or Yahoo search, and place less empasis on experimental venues, such as social networks, experts say. "Mobile and social networks will be hit," Fradin says. It's harder to prove that ads placed on a social network or embedded in a video are effective in luring Web surfers to a site or enticing them to make a purchase. Matt Sanchez, CEO of online video advertising network Video Egg, says he expects growth to slow in the coming 12 months. He expects that some smaller, less well-funded video ad and ad targeting firms will have difficulty sustaining their businesses. "The next 12 months will be tough," he says.
