Adobe, Yahoo launch PDF advertising

ADOBE and Yahoo have launched a service that lets commercial publishers run dynamically generated advertising within PDF documents.

The companies say the service opens up a new frontier for the online advertising market, putting contextual advertising that matches the readers interests in PDFs.

Called ‘Ads for Adobe powered by Yahoo’, the service has been launched initially as a beta program.

“By partnering with Yahoo! on this innovative advertising service we are creating opportunities for publishers to build new businesses around unique content that previously was just given away or not available to a mass online audience,” said Adobe senior vice-president for Corporate Development, Rob Tarkoff.

“As advertisers look to touch new audiences, readers can look forward to some exciting Adobe PDF content coming their way.”

Yahoo! Publisher Network senior vice-president Todd Teresi said the partnership created a previously untapped opportunity for advertisers to connect with qualified audiences, while opening new revenue streams for publishers.

Particpants in the beta program include IDG InfoWorld, Wired, Pearson’s Education, Meredith Corporation and Reed Elsevier.

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Facebook sells users to corporates

WILDLY popular social network Facebook is to test the loyalty of its 50-million-strong user base, unveiling a new advertising system that targets its users based on their personal preferences.

The company is also announced plans to allow corporations to launch dedicated brand pages on the service, saying it had already signed deals with dozens of companies, including Coca-Cola, Blockbuster and eBay.

Facebook Ads would allow marketers to become “part of the conversation,” Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg told a conference in New York.

The highlight of the system is that “users can now learn about new businesses, brands and products through the trusted referrals of their friends,” the company said.

The Facebook ad system was expected, but its invasiveness has surprised some users. Groups have already appeared on the service protesting the use of personal information by the system.

Facebook’s corporate blog said the Facebook Ads system improved the service for its users. It promised its pages would remain clean-looking, and that users would not see any more advertisments than they see now.

The company also said the service would allow its users to keep in closer contact with the brands they feel “passionate” about.

Mr Zuckerberg said the social network’s role in advertising was becoming increasingly powerful.

“Social actions are powerful because they act as trusted referrals and reinforce the fact that people influence people,” said Mr Zuckerberg said.

“It’s no longer just about messages that are broadcasted out by companies, but increasingly about information that is shared between friends. So we set out to use these social actions to build a new kind of ad system,” he said.

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Google jumpstarts TV business with Nielsen

GOOGLE has taken a next step in furthering its ambitions for TV advertising distribution, entering a strategic relationship with The Nielsen Company, a ratings specialist in the US.

The companies said as a first step, the relationship involves using Nielsen’s experience in television audience measurement to bring demographic data to the Google TV Ads advertising platform.

By combining the Nielsen data with aggregated set-top box data, Google says it can give advertisers better information to help them create more targeted ads.

The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the relationship.

Google TV Ads is an online platform for buying, selling, measuring and delivering television ads. It has been operational since May.

Google has been pushing a pay per click model. It says the key benefit of the Google TV Ads platform is the ability to report second-by-second set-top box data so advertisers can evaluate the reach of an ad and only pay for actual set-top box impressions.

Data derived from Nielsen’s representative television ratings panels will provide Google TV Ads advertisers with the demographic composition of the audience. The companies say this is the first time advertisers would have access to this level of detailed measurement from a single source in such a large scale.

“As we continue to expand our TV advertising program, it is important that we provide advertisers and agencies with data that will help them reach their target demographic with the right ad,” said Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt.

“Working closely with Nielsen, the industry leader, improves our measurement capabilities by adding a demographic layer on top of existing set-top box data. We’re pleased that Nielsen is working with us in this endeavour,” Mr Schmidt said.

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