People who love sports...

Validation!

This morning I saw this great article by Cory Treffiletti on Media Post -  http://blogs.mediapost.com/spin/?p=1050 talking about the value of vertically focused solutions like Jump Start, Real Girls, Active Athlete and others.

I really liked his post, here's a great quote:

"All of these models signal the shift away from large aggregate audiences towards the development of solutions to reach the long tail and provide advertisers with the ability to go deeper into the lives of their audience."

Cory is right on with the article. One thing to add is that unduplicated reach is a critical piece of the puzzle. Being able to offer advertisers complete transparency and access to audience they otherwise couldn't get is really valueable.

 

Convo with the Good Folks at Gartner

Last week I had the opportunity to talk to Allen Weiner, Van Baker and Andrew Frank from the Gartner Group (http://blog.gartner.com/blog/media.php. In addition to dishing about Internet media in general, we talked a lot about the ever-increasing spotlight on ad networks and exchanges. On that topic, I believe that although traditional ad networks and exchanges may benefit the community by encouraging innovation, they potentially de-value their respective audiences. 

By essentially becoming commodities, the business model promotes reach rather than the quality of the people within that reach. Advertisers have told us they feel better served by (non-traditional) business models that sell people rather than pages. This is in sync with a basic principle engrained in me long ago by Dave Morgan at Tacoda. Staying true to this principle, Active Athlete Media doesn’t arbitrage inventory (buy at one price and sell at another), thus aligning the interests of our partners and advertisers with our purest view of audience.

Social Media was hot at AdTech

As you can imagine, last week was pretty crazy with AdTech here in our back yard. The conference was buzzing with activity, and advertising networks and search companies were at center stage. As always, it proved to be a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and become acquainted with new and emerging companies.

A highlight of the conference was my meeting with Debby Richman of Search Engine Watch. We discussed the power of tapping into individuals’ passions and lifestyles through vertical marketing, advertising and search, and the value of premium audiences like Active Athletes®. Check out Debby’s blog at http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/070427-103110 Also check out Collarity (http://www.collarity.com a cool new search company Debby is working with that uses the power of social groups to improve the search experience.