Appearing Soon in an Ad Near You
Imagine this: ads featuring you, your kid, and your ex-girlfriend! Why it's not as far-fetched as it seems. Sep 22, 2008
Why Search Doesn't Really Matter
Rules that exist for search advertising don't necessarily apply to other media. Here's why. Aug 25, 2008
Supply and Demand in Online Advertising
What's wrong with today's approach to buying and selling online display advertising -- and a proposal for change. Jul 28, 2008
Is an Impression a Commodity?
At what point does the delivery vehicle for digital advertising move from being a premium good to being a raw commodity? Jun 2, 2008
Media Agencies vs. Ad Networks
As an advertiser, why would you buy from an ad network that can mark up inventory to any amount it likes? May 5, 2008
Ad Exchanges Are the Future
Ad exchanges are where advertising's promise will be realized. This means new roles for buyers, publishers, and ad sales. Jul 30, 2007
Advertising on the Surface
New technology from Microsoft just might change the world of online advertising as we know it. Jun 4, 2007
Paid Search Doesn't Scale for Brand Advertisers
Paid search is successful because it's a self-generating pool of highly targeted inventory that converts very well. But why doesn't it work for brand advertisers? May 7, 2007
Frequency Distribution and Fruit
Many impressions are delivered to a small part of the audience, and a few impressions are delivered to a large part of the audience. It's an inefficient way to buy media. Why haven't publishers dealt with it? Apr 11, 2005
Is CPA Dying?
All indicators point to an era of online brand advertising. Mar 14, 2005
The Inconvenience of Privacy
Privacy comes down to convenience and security. Take care of those, and privacy will take care of itself. Nov 22, 2004
Media's Believe-It-or-Not Future
We consume traditional media primarily in a linear fashion. In the future, we'll consume media any way we like. Oct 25, 2004
Solve Marketing Channel Conflict
What aspects of your online marketing work? In tandem with which others? How to get started with deep analytics. Mar 15, 2004
Why Flash Could Disappear from Online Ads
You've been warned: The new Internet Explorer release could wreak havoc on every Flash-enabled page on the Internet. Oct 27, 2003
Wireless Convergence: A Personal Quest
Cutting-edge digerati spend their time researching products, brands, services, and CRM. It gets personal when Eric decides it's time for a new mobile phone. Apr 14, 2003
How to 'Fix' Online Advertising, Part 1
There's a lot of talk about what's wrong with online advertising. Eric lays the groundwork for a solution. Dec 23, 2002
@d:tech NY Rises Like a Phoenix
Follow along with Eric as he takes a look at the technologies making waves at the show. Nov 25, 2002
The Three Biggest Ad Headaches
What needs fixing? Low media costs, ad-server discrepancies, and IE 6's cookie crunching. Oct 28, 2002
The Future Is Coming! The Future is Coming!
You'd think the slow economy would put the brakes on technological progress, but fear can be the strongest of motivators. Aug 5, 2002
Flash Flood Rising
You've heard the basics, but the details are even more dramatic. Here's why the latest version of Macromedia's animation software could bring significant changes to the rich media ad world. Jun 10, 2002
Rich Media Trends
What's the zeitgeist in the world of rich media, and how can you take advantage? Eric shares the lay of the land. Mar 6, 2002
We Have the Technology
Waiting for the Next Big Thing in advertising technology? It may already be here. We just haven't learned how to exploit it yet. Feb 6, 2002
Technology Partners, Not Vendors
A technology provider isn't like the phone or gas company. Technology powers your business. Build a partnership with your provider rather than treating it like a vendor. You'll both come out ahead. Dec 26, 2001
Advanced Ad-Serving Features, Part 2: Third-Party Ad Servers
Choosing ad-serving technology? It's a big investment with a panoply of factors to consider. Server side? Third party? In the second part of this two-part series, Eric walks you through the major functions and features of the different technologies -- so when you're talking to vendors, you'll be asking the right questions. Nov 28, 2001
Advanced Ad-Serving Features, Part 1: Site-Side Servers
Choosing ad-serving technology? It's a big investment with a panoply of factors to consider. Server side? Third party? In this two-part series, Eric walks you through the major functions and features of the different technologies -- so when you're talking to vendors, you'll be asking the right questions. Nov 14, 2001
Ad Serving 101
I get about 20 questions a week concerning ad servers from sales people and customers trying to figure out the differences between site-side and third-party ad servers and regarding the ad-serving business in general. So let's go over the basics, with the objective of helping you understand why you might need one ad-serving solution over another. Oct 17, 2001
Searching for a Hero
Determined to find a lesson to take away from this tragedy, to hold close to our chests as a shield against terror and futility, Eric finds that there are many. Sep 19, 2001
Rich Media: Damn the Standards -- Full Speed Ahead!
Eric talks about the real state of rich media in this industry: What kinds of things we have seen -- what you can really run -- and what seems to be the trend among publishers and advertisers. Aug 22, 2001
Wireless: Location Tracking Will Change Everything
Eric's feeling a little frustrated about the state of wireless when it comes to advertising. The "best" idea he's heard on using the space for marketing was to fire Starbucks coupons at customers as they walk by store locations. And that's just plain stupid, he thinks. Jul 25, 2001
Protect Yourself from Exploding Technology Partners
Technology companies are going off like dot-bombs all over the place. So what is an agency or advertiser to do? The world is a dangerous place right now, and being prepared to see which companies are ticking time bombs can save you from a world of hurt. Jun 20, 2001
Oh Say Can You See Convergence?
One day, after watching hours of digital cable, Eric gradually saw the light... He'd uncovered some interesting issues at the convergence point of digital cable, interactive TV, game consoles, and broadband. May 23, 2001
IAB Rich Media Task Force: One-Sided?
The Interactive Advertising Bureau Rich Media Task Force will be setting industry-wide standards, but it's excluding rich media technology companies from participating. Here's an open letter to the task force with Eric's general recommendations for all formats. Apr 25, 2001
Analytics: Beating Ad Clutter
The outlook for online advertising is good for the long term despite the current dip. But isn't there something publishers can do to avoid ad clutter and optimize inventory? Mar 28, 2001
Interactive TV: Don't Repeat Web Advertising's Mistakes
Eric thinks the time is right for interactive TV. First, a look at how these new media models will play out during the early-adopter stage. Second, how we can make this medium work for advertising. Mar 14, 2001
Rich Media: Time to Pay the Piper
Why do we see ePod shutting its doors and Enliven's future in question? The quiet little secret is that advertisers and agencies want a free ride. But it ain't free -- and never will be. Feb 28, 2001
Embracing the Promise of Interactive Advertising
The explosion of rich media advertising in 1999 was just that, and it forced many traditional advertising agencies to evaluate how they could offer this exciting, dynamic interactive medium to their clients. While some successfully made the leap to rich media, too often the alleged limitations of the technology - or simply a fear of it - prevented people from tapping into the wealth of experience they had accumulated through ad creation in broadcast and print, as well as in GIF banners. Jan 24, 2000
A Not-So-Brave New World
There's a flurry of interest in rich media across the online advertising community. There are also some misconceptions about file requirements on host sites when it comes to rich media versus traditional banners. After contacting major portals, networks, and sites responsible for setting their own rich media guidelines, Eric Picard finds that the stringent requirements placed on traditional banners do not apply to rich media in most cases. Jul 9, 1999