Targeting

Ralph Lauren has bought out the New York Times app's inventory for the entire month as part of a deal that will also provide non-subscribers with unlimited access to several sections. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the sponsorship is a live video event scheduled for September 15, when Ralph Lauren will stream its Fashion Week runway show within the app.  

Actress/comedian Molly Shannon is helping Nestlé USA build awareness of its recently launched Skinny Cow Candy line via a new Facebook promotion.

Amazon flew under the radar in late June when it announced it was entering the world of advertising by using its consumer data to deliver targeted advertising on third-party sites across the web, but it's big news for online retailers and advertisers. Amazon will now use its huge supply of data to pool consumers into buckets based on the products they looked at or purchased on the retailer's website. The company will help advertisers reach these consumers with targeted media, using behaviorally targeted display ads to drive them to any URL.

The "click for live chat" option is nearly omnipresent online. Consumers have come to expect customer support via text chat as a minimal level of service on the websites they patronize. Successful e-tailers, however, recognize that minimal levels of service do not boost sales or create competitive advantage

Consumer electronics in general, and the smartphone in particular, are becoming an indispensable part of family life. According to a survey of more than 1,000 moms conducted by The Parenting Group publishing company and BlogHer, 71% of moms do not go more than one day without using the Internet, with 40% saying they can go only a few hours without using a mobile phone and the Internet.

Before you read this story, I'd like you to take a mental leap and imagine that, despite this contrived start, it turns out to be pretty insightful, and important enough to make you want to save it, or maybe even pass it on to a friend or colleague. In the old days, you might have torn it out of this magazine, or made a duplicate on a copier and forwarded it through the postal service.

Navigating the ins and outs of the ad network world can be a large and daunting task. We all wish we could simply launch a campaign and then sit back and watch it triumph effortlessly. Here are five key ways advertisers can get more from working with ad networks.  

Having just announced its phasing in of healthier Happy Meals, McDonald's is making sure nutritional elements are included in its massive, global promotions tying in with the new "The Smurfs" movie. The promotions also tie in an eco-friendly theme.

NBCUniversal's Universal Audience Platform (UAP), an online ad network that launched in July 2010, today announced the creation of a private ad exchange open to select digital advertising agencies. The private exchange will provide clients with direct access to premium display ad inventory that can be targeted at scale across the UAP's vast digital content portfolio. The launch marks the next phase of NBCUniversal's strategy to reduce reliance on third party ad networks, forging stronger partnerships directly between premium content publishers and advertisers.

Two ecommerce ventures catering to pet owners have either launched or received new funding in recent days, leading to some to reach the eyebrow-raising conclusion that online pet food and product stores may be trying for a comeback.