Blogs

In just a few days, thousands of the most creative digital minds in the world will make the pilgrimage to Austin, TX for SXSW Interactive.

If you're going to be there, be sure to prepare! The conference has thousands of events, so in order to make the most of your time there our social media expert, Matt Knell, has written a SXSWi preview over on our AOL Corporate blog with the panels and events you can't afford to miss. 

In partnership with Moat, a research and brand analytics company, we recently conducted research that compared user engagement across three different versions of the same brand ad:  the IAB Portrait format vs. custom rich media vs. standard animated Flash (all 300x1050 in size).

The results show that the IAB Portrait performed 12% better than the custom format and 72% better than the animated Flash version.

“The 12% difference does not sound like much, but there’s been a perception in the marketplace that the only way to build a highly engaging ad unit is through custom rich media executions,” said Rogers. “By teaming with Moat in this research, we are validating that Premium Formats perform as well, if not better, than custom executions and standard Flash, while providing the benefits of repeatability and scalability through a productized approach.” 

Learn more about AOL’s Premium Formats ads.

The Oscars weren't the only star-studded event last evening. The IAB hosted their annual creative showcase last night, and AOL's Portrait and Pushdown units were recognized as official IAB standard ad units.

Another star among our midst is Dave Jacobs, Senior Vice President of Publisher Services of Advertising.com, has been re-elected today to the Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB) Networks & Exchanges Committee as Co-Chair for 2012.

Read more about the stars of AOL on the AOL Corporate Blog.

Here’s a look at how dynamically personalized ads emerged onto the display advertising scene and what the future possibilities can be. Join us at eTail West, 2/28-3/1, to learn more about our newest generation of Dynamic Ads.

Online Display Landscape

Online display ads have come a long way in the last 14 years since the birth of Advertising.com. Dynamic Creative Optimization is one of the newest and (arguably) most interesting areas of the market today. But, how did we get here?

Here’s a quick look back at the evolution of the online display landscape. In the early 1990’s, banner ads were embedded into publishers’ sites and a direct transaction happened between an advertiser and a publisher... then ad networks came along.

These ad networks, such as Advertising.com, provided the ability to serve the ads on behalf of the publisher and monetize their site for them, usually via a revenue-share agreement, ultimately delivering higher quality and broader reaching content which was optimized for each advertiser. This optimization was a revolution for online display advertising, as it gave advertisers insight into the channels that were performing well for them via a key metric known as the click-through rate.

Leveraging Display Data

Today, AOL announced it has joined forces with Digitas, Hulu, MSN, Yahoo! and YouTube to bring the first-ever Digital Content Newfronts (DCNFs) to the market April 19-May 2, 2012. This incredible partnership has been formed by the marketplace leaders and will showcase online content for consumers, brands and their investments, and agencies.  

Keywords: announcement

Today StudioNow introduced WorldView – a quick and innovative way for clients to gather insights from real consumers in targeted markets using the power of hyper-local video.

This high-impact video solution leverages face-to-face consumer interviews to gather specific opinions important to our clients, allowing them to not only get answers to questions, but to witness things like body language, facial expressions and tone of voice that can truly bring insights to life. 

The product was developed after hearing a common need from clients for first-hand market research and strategic opinions they could use to either guide a video content strategy or use as actual content for publication.

Here’s How It Works:

Top 10 for ’12: Consumer Perceptions of Tech Trends

Didn’t get a chance to go to CES? Or you went, but there were so many exhibitors and products, you’re not sure what you saw – or what it means for 2012? Here’s your chance to Get Smart.

Lucky for us, we asked our resident experts at Engadget (the Official Online News Source for the CEA) to predict the top trends to impact the tech world in 2012. From cloud computing to inductive charging, from electric motorcycles to ultrabooks, they identified the trends, companies, and technologies that would make a splash this year.

We then asked our readers what they thought about those trends – which ones they were actively tracking, which ones they were excited about – and which ones would be game-changers.

We also asked our readers some intriguing questions about their favorite tech gadgets – and what they would sacrifice to keep them.  Their answers might surprise you. Their passion for technology won’t.

Some highlights of the research findings:

Cambio’s original Web series, Aim High was honored this week at the prestigious NATPE 2012 Digital Luminary Awards. Aim High was selected as the winner in the category of Original Web Content in a Drama Series.

The award recognizes excellence in creation of an original dramatic web series that has broken through and achieved critical and financial success in the past year. NATPE CEO Rick Feldman announced the winners of the third annual awards, which honor the innovative people and companies who act as catalysts in the content revolution.

AIM HIGH is a testament to Cambio’s ongoing commitment to producing and distributing best-in-class original content.  As a media platform for teens and young adults, Cambio continues to create innovative ways of combining the latest digital technology with premium programming.

Keywords: announcement

The largest CES in history wrapped up Friday and there was no shortage of gadgets, toys, devices, tools, products, robots and screens to check out.  In our second panel, AOL’s digital prophet David Shing leads a panel of industry insiders through a recap of trends and insights live from the AOL Studio stage at CES.

Listen in as they discuss everything from the movement towards software and awat from hardware, the rise in simplicity and design, and what we’re most excited about - organic interaction.

CES Round-up by AOL Advertising

Moderated by David Shing, AOL's Digital Prophet

Panelists (left to right):

AOL was all over CES 201 in Las Vegas, Jan 10-13th. Engadget was back as the “Official Online New Source of CES”, while TechCrunch and AOL Autos also provided exclusive coverage from their unique perspectives.

This year, for the first time, AOL brought our world-class studio team to the conference.  AOL Studios, which produces segments such as celebrity interviews for Moviefone and live concerts for Spinner, brought the stage to the main lobby of CES giving the over 150,000 attendees the chance to watch live interviews and demos as they were streamed across AOL HPMG sites.

Much of CES coverage, including that by AOL, focuses on the consumer and the consumer product.  But what about the billions of marketing dollars that goes into researching, developing and ultimately bringing these products to market?  AOL Advertising believe there is a need and opportunity to address the industry from the point of view of marketers– the people whose insights, ideas and understandings drive support for and access to the latest trends and opportunities.

So for the first time at CES, AOL Advertising gave business leaders the chance to weigh in on the key trends and product announcements at CES.  Up first, AOL Mobile's Mandar Shinde interviews some of the biggest and brightest names in  mobile.

Keywords: Events