IAB Rising Stars across Guaranteed Brand-Safe Sites? Done.

Bigger and better – it’s an underlying theme that is driving the development of our latest advertising solutions. As our Co-Founder Eric Franchi has referenced in countless industry presentations, bylines, and panel appearances – banner blindness is a real industry challenge. That’s what makes emerging formats like the IAB’s Rising Stars command attention and garner significantly higher levels of engagement including the following (according to the IAB’s October release on initial findings):

1. Consumers exposed to a Billboard ad were 4X more likely to watch videos, search for the brand, or visit the advertiser's site than those who were not
2. Flimstrip increased both exposure time and interaction rates by over 90 percent compared to other rich media ad
3. Sidekick engagement time reached 7X the industry average
4. Pushdown garnered ad engagement more than 3X the norm
5. Portrait engagement rates average 7 percent and frequently reach double digits

Pretty exciting initial findings, don’t you think?

We thought so which is why we moved quick to offer the full suite of Rising Stars as part of our high impact product suite. Large, interactive brand canvases like these are the future of digital advertising and we’re out to prove it. Reach out to learn more.

Beyond Beneficial, It’s Value Creation

This week we announced exclusive, strategic partnerships with 12 top-tier publishers including American Media Inc. (AMI), Bonnier Corporation, AccuWeather, Britannica, Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel and International Business Times  (check out Gavin O’Malley’s account of the announcement on MediaPost, “Undertone Solidifies 'Publisher Network,' Signs Exclusives With Big Titles.”)

The agreements not only give the publishers a license to sell our proprietary PageGrabber™ and PageSkin™  units but also make Undertone the only third-party ad provider able to sell the units across the publishers’ sites.

While the signing and announcement of these agreements is exciting, what’s even more exciting is what they really mean for our advertisers and publisher clients…

For advertisers… this opens the door to differentiated inventory and streamlined execution for high impact, brand-building ads.  Portals are no longer the only industry players that can deliver against brand’s digital engagement goals. By combining creative flexibility and impact with the reach and targeting capabilities of portals, we’re creating new and valuable advertising opportunities for brands that no one else does.

For publishers… this is a game changer and is already fast becoming our  most sought after publisher solution. It simplifies the equation by allowing publishers to work with one full-service partner who makes the execution of the high impact formats that the world’s best brands want as easy as tag and serve.  And, we’ve taken it a step further by licensing out the technology behind PageGrabber™ and PageSkin™ for their own sales channels and use.

We started 2012 talking about what we’re doing to push digital advertising forward and make the Web better for brands. Now, we’re proving just how serious we are and creating value for everyone in the process.

Want to hear more about our initiatives for 2012 and our commitment to delivering Standout Brand Experiences™? Get in touch; we’d love to hear from you.

Viewable Impressions: A Good Metrics Move

When I began reading today’s AdExchanger article, “Taking Issue with Viewable Impressions,” I expected the author to argue that “in view” is not a meaningful metric. Had my initial assumption been accurate I was prepared to pounce on the comment board to argue that moving to viewable impressions would be one of the best things we did, as an industry, in a long time.

As it turns out Mark Hughes, CEO of C3 Metrics, is very much in favor of utilizing viewable impressions as a metric. Rather, Mark takes issue with the recent comScore report that found about 31% of its 1.7 billion impressions tested non-viewable. Evidence from Mark’s own research suggests that this number is grossly understated.

Regardless of how big the percentage, Mark and comScore are making the point that there is a serious problem with our current digital metrics and their billing model. For a client to pay for an ad that is never seen, in a medium that is fully capable of knowing the difference, is insane. It’s time we fix this through standardized reporting and things like the IAB’s 3MS initiative.

Mark also makes a point that is often overlooked as part of this discussion: How it impacts attribution… Today, a media partner can get a view-through attribution through cookie bombing (placing ads at the bottom of a page with no intent of them being seen but the sole intent of getting view-through attribution). Getting view-through credit for ads that were never even intended to be seen…Ironic, isn’t it?

Cut Supply: Testing a Theory

Earlier this month our Co-Founder, Eric Franchi, posted an article entitled, “Want to Save Display?  Cut Supply,” on Digiday. The article put forward the theory that the Web would be a better place if we didn’t have so many display ads.  His belief is that if there are less, but more immersive and engaging ads on each page, it would make the Web a better place for all those involved: consumers, content creators, and brand advertisers. 

It’s an interesting thought, particularly coming from an executive at a digital advertising company like Undertone… Apparently, however, the industry agrees. There was an overwhelming positive response to Eric’s piece as it was shared, tweeted, retweeted and commented on by people throughout the industry.

There are many questions that need to be explored further and we all realize that making an overhaul like this is no easy feat. But Eric is committed to testing this theory. It’s a big project, one that he is working with leaders industry-wide on over the course of 2012.

So stay tuned to hear more about his, and Undertone’s, progress to make the Web a better place for brands.

Standout Brand Experiences™ — a Purpose and a Promise

Digital isn't about devices anymore. It's possible to have digital functionality in nearly every item you own. We are quite literally surrounded by digital tools, apps, sites, videos, games, devices and yes, advertising.

And yet, brand marketers are still struggling to make digital work. Media clutter has created an attention economy made even more challenging by consumers that have developed an armor-plated capacity to ignore marketing appeals – particularly in the digital space.

There is a cacophony of voices debating what needs to be done to "fix" digital media to accelerate the shift of brand dollars to digital. Of all the voices, none matter more than our customers, which is why we spent a big part of 2011 listening.

We spoke to advertisers who represented over $8 billion in digital spend in 2010 — and publishers who accounted for over $1 billion in digital ad revenue. We spent hundreds of hours interviewing at every level, from senior VPs to junior planners. The findings weren't surprising — just overwhelmingly consistent.

The future for brands IS digital. Marketers are starved for solutions that will create immersive brand experiences that stand out and get noticed. The market research did more than just affirm the massive market opportunity in front of us; it gave us a renewed sense of purpose.

You'll see that purpose reflected wherever you see Undertone. On our website, in our product roadmap, our sales presentations, our proposals — in the superior service our clients have come to expect.

At Undertone, our mission is to make digital media, in all its current and emerging forms, work as a platform for creating experiences that can build brands over time — and sales overnight. We call this promise delivering Standout Brand Experiences™. And we'll do it by combining the best creative, context, people and technology.

We're in a unique position to help make the Web a better place for brands. There are a lot of exciting developments ahead: New partnerships, new products, new offerings. In the meantime, we'd love to continue to hear more: what is a Standout Brand Experience to you?