Chris Dessi - Vice President zanox, Inc

Hot Trends (USA)

Jul 27, 2007 - change date


1. white lady of soul
2. zachary quinto
3. psychosis
4. ian johnson
5. luke russert
6. x 48b
7. laura tennessen
8. kyphon
9. erin burnett
10. peter greene
11. maestro masur
12. scaled composites
13. toronto born magicia...
14. liev schreiber
15. shankar dada zindaba...
16. hot blooded lyrics
17. sean david morton
18. new star trek movie
19. flashdance lyrics
20. leonard nimoy

I cannot tell you how fired up I am about what's happening internally here at Azoogle! Since 2000 Azoogle has been the premier performance based ad network. About a month ago we have expanded our product offering to CPM Media Planning, as well as Search AOR services. In less than a month we've already moved forward with million dollar media buys, and have signed Blockbuster, and Thumbplay as Search AOR clients!

Talk about wanting to get out of bed in the morning! There are so many great things going on here!

iLegal


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“Compliance” as a Sales Tool
by Mark Meckler

When I approach compliance as a lawyer, I am primarily thinking of compliance as a legal issue. That is, what can a company do to assure that they are in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations? This is a defensive posture which will keep you out of trouble, and in the best possible position to defend yourself should a problem arise. But there is an entirely different, proactive and business oriented side to the compliance puzzle.

When quality advertisers go looking for an agency, network or affiliate, more and more they are going to ask about compliance programs. Sophisticated advertisers understand that the online legal environment grows progressively riskier with each passing month, and they want to know what your company is doing to mitigate those risks. When you get asked about this, mumbling something about "industry best practices" won’t get you the account.

What does this mean to you? First it means that you must have compliance programs in place. It also means that you need to be able to articulate those programs to a potential client in a simple, straight forward and confident manner. In the same way that you are expected to be able to explain your advertising programs, you’ll increasingly be asked to explain what you do to protect the online reputation of your clients. And inevitably, part of a prospective client’s decision about who will spend its online advertising dollar will relate to the risk mitigation provided by your compliance programs.

So while "compliance" simply means "following the rules" to some, to others it represents an incredible sales tool. Large, sophisticated web advertisers are generally a cautious bunch; especially if they come from the offline world. And if you have a strong, easily articulated compliance program, you can use that program to sell your potential clients on the relative safety and security of doing business with you. It’s only part of the picture, but it is an increasingly important part.

Often, even sophisticated advertisers have little understanding of what it means to be in "compliance" when advertising on the web, and they’re looking for someone they can lean on in that regard. The law is somewhat uncertain in this area, and the interpretation of regulations changes on an ongoing basis. Like it or not, your clients rely upon you to make sure that what you’re doing on the web on their behalf is not only successful in a business sense, but also that it doesn’t cause them any unwanted legal or publicity issues.

Some companies handle all compliance in-house, and others choose to outsource some components through companies like UnsubCentral (suppression list management) and Lashback (online reputation monitoring). Either way, if you have a program in place, don’t forget to use it as more than just a defensive program. Teaching your sales team to promote an excellent compliance program gives you an excellent tool to differentiate your company when pursuing new business.

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Come back to the iLegal column every week as we get specific about the rules, regulations, laws and trends that affect the online advertising industry. Each week we discuss important legal issues, talk about how to avoid the pitfalls, and cover the breaking legal and regulatory advertising industry news.



Legal Disclaimer: Information conveyed in this column is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. These materials do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Digital Moses, and is not guaranteed to be complete, correct, or up-to-date. The column is provided for "information purposes" only and should not be relied upon as "legal advice." This information is not intended to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney. No person should act or rely on any information in this column without seeking the advice of an attorney.

Mark Meckler is the General Counsel for UniqueLeads.com, Inc., and Unique Lists, Inc.

Copyright 2007 Mark J. Meckler

Ok, so I have to confess...I had a very embarrassing, yet funny experience the last time I went on the road for business. I've put up a few posts about the Internet Retailer show, and I've been debating if I should blog about this particular experience for a few reasons (you'll realize why if you keep reading)....so there I was....all sorts of excited for the Internet Retailer show in San Jose.

For a few different reasons while on business we all bunk with a co-worker. Now, at first blush this may seen like a nightmare scenario for some people. What most people don't realise is that at Azoogleads, we're like a family...seriously. We've all grown very close over the past two years that I've been here (for a few reasons). Not the least of which are: Explosive growth, phenomenal success, and lots of really bright, high energy people that are respectful to eachother at all costs. One major factor that has helped keep this company so glued together has been the shared loss of a co-worker and friend (Jai). We've learned from that loss, and grown together.

So this time around, I was all set to bunk with Tom Barbaro. Tom is an all star at Azoogleads. Tom happens to be a great friend of mine, so I was looking forward to handing out with Tom at the show. Our first night in California, two other members of the team had flown in from New York Chantelle White, and Karen Aquilino. We all met for a nice dinner, then off to bed to rest up for the busy days ahead (Internet Retailer show starts at 7am!!) so factoring jet lag into that equation made me head straight to bed.

When I got back to the room, Tom had already settled into the room, and was getting ready for bed (he had a later flight in from NY). We set our alarms, and off to bed (I told Tom I would get up a bit earlier so we could stagger our shower taking). I woke up (after hitting snooze a few times)...and hit the showers. I shaved, and started my morning routine. I was ready to go, this was going to be a great show. I had a great team along with me, and had set a big meeting with Netflix to dovetail into my time at the conference. As I was thinking of all these great things, a little thought kept creeping into my head "man, I am so tired...that jetlag is killing me!" as I turned the corner coming out of the shower (shaved, hair combed etc.), I gently said to Tom...hey buddy, time to get up, we're running a little late...(my clock said 6:30am, and we had to meet the girls in the lobby). Tom sat up, looked at me like I had nine heads and said "It's only 3:30am!" I stood there in the dark, towel on, shaved, hair combed, clean as a whistle....at 3:30am.....PST.....oh.....my.....GOD.....I forgot to change the time on my Blackberry.

So...red-faced...I crawled back into bed for 2 hours. Much to my relief I was able to get off to sleep quickly, and didn't really feel that horrible during the show. The only issue was that (since I'm VERY Italian, my normal 5 o'clock shadow would be showing up at an un-godly 2pm that day....oh well...live and learn....

If you can't laugh at yourself....right?
:-)

AzoogleAds, the online marketplace for performance-based solutions.

AzoogleAds, founded in 2000, is a profitable and rapidly growing online marketing solutions provider. A pioneer in the performance-based advertising industry, AzoogleAds generates the highest volumes of quality traffic through its network and its proprietary search technologies. With unparalleled industry expertise, the AzoogleAds team can deliver the most comprehensive and cost-effective strategic online marketing campaigns for advertisers of all sizes and across all industries. For publishers, AzoogleAds provides high-impact campaigns that enable publishers to maximize earnings on their inventory. AzoogleAds offers a complete solution for optimizing campaign performance through innovative technology and unrivaled expertise in search and performance based marketing.

AzoogleAds has offices in New York, Toronto, and San Francisco.