I’m very happy to let you all know that Leander Kahney’s Cult Of Mac blog has joined our Mac network here at BackBeat Media. They’ve actually been on board for a couple of weeks, and we’ve already placed early-bird advertisers like Crucial, Bare Bones and Microsoft there. Of course, we’re actively working with other potential [...]

Macworld’s Peter Cohen offers some sage advice to iPhone application publishers, warning them not to ignore the value of a true marketing and advertising plan. This advice extends way beyond the iPhone to really anyone who has a product they intend to sell. I highly recommend reading the article. Though Peter works for the competition, [...]

At the core, we at BackBeat Media sell ads for the online publications and podcasts we represent. One of the biggest challenges we routinely face when working with with advertisers is the value — and purpose — of tracking the click. iMedia Conection published an article by Scott Medrum of HypeCouncil entitled, “Make the click [...]

As many of you know, we here at BackBeat Media represent and broker all of Think Secret’s advertising, and have for many years. As such, the confidentiality inherent in our site relationships keeps us from participating in any public speculation on the settlement they recently reached with Apple. But that hasn’t stopped you all from [...]

At lunch on Friday with one of our site partners, I was talking about how the predicted slump in spending might actually increase online ad dollars while it decreases those for more “traditional” media like TV and radio. My reasons for this were the facts that (a) online is increasingly taking dollars away anyway and [...]

I just wanted to take a quick minute this morning and let you all know about two publications we recently brought into the family here at BackBeat Media. iPhoneAlley.com is a site created and published by Michael Johnston, focusing directly on Apple’s latest gadget and its impact in the market. Already iPhoneAlley has posted some [...]

And he’s right: it gave advertisers something tangible to hold on to and helped rebuild the trust in the market.Of course, you all know I like to remind you that tracking clicks of online ads is about as valuable as tracking the number of cars that crash into billboards, but it was *some* metric, and it did help the whole market lift itself from the ashes. And speaking of billboards: though I originally classified it as positive spin on Jupiter Media’s recent stock price decline, Alan Meckler’s post this morning about increasing Internet-focused billboards on Route 101 being a barometer of the amount of fluff in the Internet space may be true.

Focusing on one metric at a time yields nothing, hence the need for Integrated Path Analysis.Unfortunately, Brandt’s goal of “end-to-end” analysis falls short because, well, he’s *starting* at the end by beginning his analysis when someone clicks on an ad…. Was that *single* ad impression the sole deciding factor that lead them to click and then be comfortable purchasing from said vendor?I doubt it.Chances are, they had seen other advertising for this vendor, and all of that *in total* added up to the customer’s comfort level being high enough to move forward with the purchase.

Just a quick note to let you all know that (a) yes, I’m back from vacation and (b) I’ll be at ad:tech Chicago next week…. If you’re not, or even if you are and know of any good Italian or Vegetarian restaurants, please recommend ‘em!

Brief messages, varied creative, interstitial ads, and making sure you understand and respect the audience to which you’re advertising are all excellent points of wisdom here…. Frankly, if you were to take all of his advice and roll it together, most folks would wind up with a different answer: give the host of the show talking points and let them deliver the ad in the style and context of their show.