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I'm an analytics and data leader with a marketing and product mindset. I hold an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a computer science degree from MIT. (More.) The views expressed on this site are my own.
Monthly Archives: July 2007
Failing to quarantine viral video
BBDO Netherlands, working for Chrysler, recently created a viral video ad for the new Dodge Nitro SUV. The ad showed the car electrocuting a dog. Chrysler was not pleased. (And they’ve had problems with BBDO Detroit’s ads before.) Chrysler apologized … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, Marketing, Privacy, Video
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iTunes Next Big Thing: variable pricing
Well, Apple’s iTunes has finally given in to variable pricing pressure – a little bit. iTunes’s new “Next Big Thing” section lists albums for $5.99 and $6.99, instead of the normal $9.99. While it’s not the per-song variability the record … Continue reading
Posted in Marketing
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Creative optimizers and Yahoo SmartAds
Following up on the concerns about how to use Yahoo SmartAds, the answer is probably to use a souped-up creative optimizer, ideally hooked into the ad serving system itself. That way you can analyze your results and then show your … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, Marketing, Personalization Design
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Types of online video ads
Via Nick Wright’s Vir(tu)al Marketing and Media, online video and its inserted ads are getting more and more press. Google launched an AdSense for video pilot at the end of May. Google Video has had ads since the beginning of … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, Video
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Ad as biopic
Just finished watching the (fabulous) Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal. Aside from the amazing tennis (the one sport I turn on the TV to watch), I was fascinated by a great Nike ad, in a format I don’t remember … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, Marketing
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Quiet structure for reading online
Via Leisa Reichart’s disambiguity, Andy Rutledge has a discussion of “quiet structure” on the new CNN site design, contrasted with the busyness of the new USA Today design. He mentions simplicity (in header and structural elements) and consistency (in element … Continue reading
Posted in Design, Information Architecture
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Yahoo’s SmartAds launch – do we know how to use them?
Separate from all the hoopla this week about the iPhone, advertising has also made a leap forward. Yahoo has announced a system called SmartAds for on-the-fly composition of display ads – meaning a firm could set up an ad for … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, Marketing, Personalization Design
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