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Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Media Planning & Buying, on December 08, 2008 at 03:00 PM PDT
As technologies like ad exchanges, more sophisticated metrics and other technologies mature, it's natural for media planners to wonder whether or not their careers have much of a future. The short answer is, yes.
The main reasons? Machines can't solve mysteries or come up with killer ideas.
Speaking on a panel at this week's...
Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Opinions, on December 05, 2008 at 03:00 PM PDT
An economic slowdown is the time for reexamining costs and making some cuts, but it's no excuse to slash innovations or shelve big ideas.
I know your instincts are telling you, "now's the time to play it safe with my ad budget." But you've got to fight that. Here are some insights from around the net…
10 Worst Innovation...
Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Media Planning & Buying, on November 19, 2008 at 11:00 PM PDT
As GM falls to its knees (their stock today reached the lowest point since 1942), the world's biggest automaker told congress they would crank up digital ad spending to help turn things around.
"We're actually shifting a huge amount of our ad budget that remains to digital marketing which is less expensive and more efficient," GM chief...
Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Opinions, on November 19, 2008 at 03:00 PM PDT
Over at Forbes they've got a catchy piece, "Yahoo's Five Biggest Mistakes." They blame the company's woes on missed acquisition opportunities (Google, DoubleClick), hiring Semel and turning down Microsoft's bid (Yahoo's stock, by the way is now 63 percent below Microsoft's offer).
Does anyone else think Forbes missed the mark?
I...
Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Email, on November 19, 2008 at 02:00 PM PDT
It's happened to all of us. You unsubscribe from a mailing list, but the messages keep coming. And coming. And coming.
I've always thought it was maybe one in 100 companies that made this mistake, but it's a lot more than that. Twenty percent, according to a recent Return Path study (thank you Marketing Charts for the tip on this).
While most...
Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Opinions, on October 28, 2008 at 02:33 PM PDT
The latest IAB-UK/PwC study shows internet ad spending pulled within striking distance of TV spending, reports MarketingCharts. Online spending grew 21 percent (to $2.6 billion) during the first half of 2009, and now accounts for 19 percent of all advertising (up four points). TV is currently at 22 percent of all ad spending.
Search (of...
Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Media Planning & Buying, on October 27, 2008 at 01:34 PM PDT
Ad Age has a terrific piece evaluating the impact of rapid growth in our industry. All the extra money and attention is great. But there have been costs.
Overwhelming complexity: With all the new ad nets, ad-supported websites, social nets and other media outlets, the process of media planning and buying in the digital space has...
Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Opinions, on October 21, 2008 at 11:51 AM PDT
Jobs cuts have been reported across the advertising industry, but don’t expect things to get as ugly as they did in 2001, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal found many agencies had already been “running pretty lean” going into the turmoil that’s gripped the financial and automotive industries. In...
Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Wireless, on October 15, 2008 at 07:23 PM PDT
Whether you’re a supporter of Obama or McCain, you need to download and check out what Obama has managed to accomplish with his iPhone app. It’s the killer app for the iPhone at the moment.
For advertisers, playing with this app will unleash a lot of ideas.
The Obama app scans through your contacts and returns a...
Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Emerging Platforms, on October 14, 2008 at 01:20 AM PDT
Nielsen's elayed viewing numbers are in for this year’s TV season kickoff, and they show DVR audiences account for millions of viewers, or as much as half of a show’s audience, reports the NY Times.
NBC’s head of research (Alan Wurtzel) referred to the news as bittersweet due to “commercial avoidance” by DVR...
Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Word of Mouth, on October 03, 2008 at 02:27 PM PDT
Microsoft’s bizarre Gates/Seinfeld ads racked up 3.2 million online views during the 10 days following their launch, while “I’m a PC” ads netted less than half that, reports online video measurement company Visible Measures.
Again, the Gates/Seinfeld ads are pretty weird. So it’s worth asking, is this a good or bad...
Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Emerging Platforms, on October 02, 2008 at 12:24 PM PDT
While DVR users are surely fast-forwarding through most commercials, that doesn't necessarily mean the ads aren't making an impression finds an Innerscope Research study (reported by MSNBC).
Sure, people that watched ads in real time recalled the ads better, but those who fast-forwarded in the study "still recalled ads and recognized...
Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Social Media, on September 29, 2008 at 12:00 AM PDT
Thinking of launching a blog? Don’t do it, suggests Ad Age’s B.L. Ochman. Blogging, she warns, takes a lot of time (researching and writing) and money (building it, driving traffic to it). And it’s “not a substitute for advertising.”
Sound defeatist to you? Well, if the goal of your blog is to tie...
Posted by Mario Sgambelluri
in Creative Best Practices, on September 29, 2008 at 12:00 AM PDT
I like the Wall Street Journal, but I’m not a big fan of their recent website redesign. I’m no design expert, so I couldn’t put my finger on why I wasn’t comfortable with it, but an old colleague sent me a link that helped.
In a word, it was too… loud.
Here’s the post from designer Andy...