The Weekly Boost - 060107

In this Week's Wrap:

1. Google Adwords Reports 'Impression Share'
2. Heinz contest on YouTube going awry
3. Screenshots of YouTube’s new player
4. Speaking of... Rip YouTube Videos with new RealPlayer
   
5. Hollywood and Silicon Valley: Similarities and Differences
6. Online Video Appeal for Child’s Return: The Ultimate in Social Media
7. Friday Fun - Brain Fitness Training (and-a-One-and-a-Two...)
   

The Gist After the Jump:

1) Google Adwords Reports 'Impression Share'

The gist:  New option for Google Adwords reports - choose to add the column 'Impression Share' to show "the percentage of impressions where your ads were shown out of the total available impressions in the market you were targeting."

Commentary:  As StraightUpSearch Notes "...until "the market you were targeting" can be concisely defined, this new bit of information is largely useless. Without understanding exactly what the universe of available impressions is, knowing the portion to which your ads were served is irrelevant."  Definitely worth taking note of, however, for future optimization.

2) Heinz contest on YouTube going awry

The gist:  Man brushes his teeth and shaves with ketchup.  Teenage boy rubs ketchup over his face like face cream and puts pickles on his eyes.  Man chugs blood straight from the bottle.  Need I say more?

Commentary:    The shortcomings of the content entries are refuting predictions that user-generated content can entirely replace the work of creative agencies (somewhere in New York, Zipatoni is breathing a sigh of relief).  Also, this brings up the case that the contest-idea on YouTube is getting played out.  True creators are moving away from YouTube to places like Vimeo, Blip or Veoh.  What do advertisers do now?  Also, is YouTube going to become an iteration of the ol’ broadcast marketing model for big brand companies? 

3) Screenshots of YouTube’s new player

The gist:   YouTube continues to add features that were commonly available with Google Video (which a lot of on-demand aficionados preferred).  In this case, it allows users to jump to any part of the video even if the video isn’t fully downloaded.  Also, you’ll get to see the related videos without having to wait until the video playing ends. 

Commentary:   YouTube is shaping so much of its users’ consumption behaviors.  How will advertisers who love pre- or post-roll advertising on other sites be challenged when a new generation of users are going to be forwarding videos (essentially controlling viewing patterns) on YouTube and translating their behaviors onto other sites? 

4) Speaking of...Rip YouTube Videos with new RealPlayer

The gist:   New RealPlayer (free download) makes a splash by allowing users to rip/save and organize video files, including those from sites such as YouTube, Google, AOL and the like.

Commentary:  This isn't new functionality but is the first time that a 'mainstream' option is available, especially one for free.  I can't see the already sensitive 'content owners' being happy with this becoming mainstream. 

5) Hollywood and Silicon Valley: Similarities and Differences

The gist:   Scott Kirsner - writer for NYTimes, Wired, Variety, Fast Company, Boston Globe, and Newsweek – pinpoints some similarities and differences between Silicon Valley and Hollywood. 

Commentary: The marriage between Silicon Valley and the music industry receives most of the press, so it’s interesting to see the Silicon Valley/Hollywood angle of it. 

6) Online Video Appeal for Child’s Return

The gist:   Citizens are posting videos on sites like YouTube to call for the safe return of Madeleine McCann.  Her parents also have a MySpace page dedicated to finding her. 

Commentary:   Word-of-mouth/social media tools meets the ultimate call for word-of-mouth.  Intriguing story. 

7) Friday Fun - Brain Fitness Training (because Sudoku and Crosswords are sooo 2006)

The gist:   Improve cognitive function through games and exercises in the Lumosity brain fitness program.  Neuroscientist-approved to improve memory, attention and... wait, what was that third thing? 

Commentary:   Clearly this is a must for me.  Bet you all can't wait to see my posts improve!

Comments

[Micha]

I'm excited about the Google impression stat, my take is that it can have a significant impact in budgeting decisions especially for larger complex accounts with multiple campaigns.

Sarah and I were cracking up on the last post .... reading booststrapping on the tablet PC while cruising on the 405 has never been easier ... I love Verizon Wireless ;)

[Ian Grist]

Did u just start doing the weekly boost? This is a pretty sweet roundup of stories. Keep it real over @ the boost!

-Ian
t&t

[Danielle]

Hi Ian,

You are correct! Weekly Boost is a newbie category since I've been a bit over-zealous posting 'news' and 'cool stuff' and hiding all of our actual, 'from-the-brain 'cuz they're genius' staff posts.

Now I'm trying to contain myself to a weekly "OH..LOOK HOW COOL THIS IS!" post every Friday. It might take some restrictive duct tape or a severely limited 'net connection, but I'll get it done.

Glad you like it and thanks for sharing the comment love!
-D