IAR Bits and Bytes

Interep Interactive, Ad Pepper Ally

Continuing the recent string of global online media alliances, Interep Interactive has signed a deal with Europe’s ad pepper media to represent each other’s sites.

As a result, ads on sites repped by Interep Interactive’s divisions — Winstar Interactive Media, Perfect Circle Media and Cybereps — will be sold in Asia and Europe by ad pepper, based in Hoofddorp, The Netherlands.

Meanwhile, New York-based Interep Interactive, a unit of radio ad sales giant Interep, will sell inventory to U.S. advertisers on the more than 500 sites represented by ad pepper media.

The arrangement is exclusive, and the second such recent deal for Interep. Last month, the firm partnered with chinadotcom’s online marketing subsidiary Mezzo Marketing, which handles sites formerly represented by 24/7 Asia.

The alliance also comes just weeks after ad giant DoubleClick sold its money-losing European media network to a German rival.

“Let other companies get out of the media sales business,” said Interep Interactive president and chief executive Adam Guild. “Interep Interactive is building the same kind of foundation that helped our parent company become the largest radio sales rep firm in the world.”

Mediaplex to Offer Real-Time Reach and Frequency Reports

Mediaplex, a subsidiary of ad network and technology firm ValueClick, said it now provides real-time reach and frequency reports.

The reports use cookies to track the number of unique visitors that see an ad, and the number of times each sees it. Using the company’s reporting tools, marketers can optimize their campaigns.

Most competitors track click-throughs and impressions, rather than frequency and reach — which is typically calculated after a campaign is completed.

“Mediaplex has chosen to implement its reach and frequency reports differently than our competitors,” said Mediaplex vice president of product management Anders Torgerson. “The Mediaplex real-time reach and frequency process will allow our agency and direct clients to begin campaign optimization more quickly than with other services.”

The move follows increased support for traditional media branding metrics by players like the New York Times Digital, and the Online Publishers Association. The thinking is that by selling online media like traditional mass media — which rely on reach in calculating metrics like gross ratings points — Web publishers can better woo media buyers.

“Impact and awareness measurement based on Reach and Frequency reports will help move traditional advertisers into the online space,” said Susan Alexander, who is vice president of sales at Mediaplex. “The measurement of advertising campaigns, in a format used by broadcast planners, will provide more advertisers with comparative and more positive results of their online campaigns.”

EyeWonder to Power Yesmail E-mails

CMGI-owned email player yesmail.com will begin offering streaming media emails using technology from Atlanta-based EyeWonder.

Through a new agreement between the two firms, Chicago-based yesmail.com will add streaming video email — powered by EyeWonder’s EyeMail product — to its suite of email marketing offerings.

As with EyeWonder’s Web ad product, EyeMail delivers video streams without the use of media players, and using technology that it says allows even dialup users to receive near-TV-quality streams.

“As use of e mail by marketers continues to accelerate, advertisers are going to be looking for ways to differentiate their messages and give them greater impact,” said EyeWonder chief executive John Vincent. “Working together, EyeMail and yesmail can provide that competitive edge.”