ReveNews
Cashing Out: Week of June 6-13th 2009 in Online Marketing News
Local Content the Next Big Thing for Mobile
Pundits are fond of saying that mobile is the next big thing. Well, providing local content may be the key to creating that reality. ComScore reported this week a 51% year-over-year growth in the mobile audience that is search for localized content. Downloaded applications are driving the fastest growth showing 83% year over year. However the built-in mobile browser still reigns supreme fulfilling 71% of local content queries.
ICANN’s Proposed Uniform Rapid Suspension Program Creates a Stir
Defending trademark rights online is a constant battle. It is especially true with domain squatters who use other companies’ trademarks or trademark variants to make a profit. In order to fight such squatters ICANN has recently proposed (pdf) the Uniform Rapid Suspension Program (URS) which will allow trademark holders to submit a complaint against 25 domains for only $200. Once the complaint is filed a freeze is placed upon the domain and the registrant who would be the alleged violator in this case has 14 days in which to respond. At that point an examiner would make a decision as to the validity of the complaint.
There are many questions as to burden of proof and possibility of this unleashing a flood of unsubstantiated complaints. There are two great articles we recommend for more reading: One by trademark attorney Ryan Gile, the other on the domain industry focused website thedomains.com. Well worth reading.
Bing Launches Out of the Gate Strong
They may be annoying but the ads Microsoft has plastered offline in support of its new search engine Bing have been effective. And for a campaign that’s reported to run $80 million dollars they better be. According to ComScore initial results for Bing show Microsoft’s share of search results pages grow by 2%. The question is, is this a sustainable trend or just a passing interest?
Online Advertising in Europe Strong in Search and Small Markets
IAB Europe finally released advertising expenditure numbers from 2008. Overall growth was slower than expected with six of the top 10 European markets growing less than 20%. However, growth remained very strong in small mostly Eastern European markets and Search remained robust with a growth rate of 26% accounting for 43% of online ad expenditure.
Amazon Pays $51 Million to Settle Suit with Toys “R” Us
According to an SEC filing, Amazon has agreed to pay Toys “R” Us $51 million dollars to resolve a lawsuit filed back in 2004 by the toy company. The lawsuit was originally filed by Toys “R” Us for breach of contract against Amazon stemming from Amazon’s management of the Toys “R” Us store within their marketplace.
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