Adobe Teams Up With Yahoo to Run Ads in PDF Files

By VAUHINI VARA
November 29, 2007; Page B3

The text-based advertisements that you are used to seeing on Web sites are coming soon to an unusual place: PDF documents.

Adobe Systems Inc., a maker of online-publishing software, announced Thursday a program in which publishers can get paid to run ads from Yahoo Inc.'s ad service alongside PDFs.

Adobe, San Jose, Calif., gives away the Reader software used for accessing documents in its "Portable Document Format" and makes money by selling the Acrobat software used for creating such documents. Until now, publishers could place ads in PDFs on their own, charging advertisers for static blocks of text or graphics that they would place in the document. But that meant the publishers had to sell the ads and lay them out on the page on their own.

Now, publishers will be able to show ads alongside their PDFs without selling and inserting the ads themselves, by uploading the PDF content to Adobe's Web site to ad-enable it, then distributing the PDFs as they previously did -- an easier and less costly option. Advertisers, meanwhile, can use Yahoo's existing self-service ad system to buy text ads that will run in a panel to the right of the PDF, when it is viewed in Acrobat or Reader. Yahoo will use the text of the PDF to place contextual ads that are relevant to the subject matter of the PDF -- similar to the text ads that run in blogs, for instance. For example, the editor of a newsletter for car enthusiasts could send out the newsletter at no charge and make money through the ad system, which might display ads for car accessories.

The revenue from the ad will be shared between the publisher, Adobe and Yahoo. The companies declined to give details on the revenue split.

"Consumers' expectation is that content is free," says Kurt Garbe, an entrepreneur in residence in advertising at Adobe. "Some content will be sold at premium pricing, but there's a whole bunch of content" that can be monetized through ads.

Publishers participating in the program, called Ads for Adobe PDF Powered by Yahoo, include Meredith Corp., Reed Elsevier PLC and Pearson PLC's Pearson Education, among others.

Link to Wall Street Journal Article (Sub. Req.)

Microsoft Inks Deal For Advertising Watermarking Method

by Laurie Sullivan, Wednesday, Aug 15, 2007 5:01 AM ET

ACTIVATED CONTENT HAS DEVELOPED AUDIO watermarking technology through a new license agreement with Microsoft announced Wednesday. The technology lets advertisers connect with consumers on a variety of mobile devices and Internet protocol television (IPTV). Audio watermarking plays an important role in tracking digital content or protecting media files from piracy, but Activated Content will offer the technology to advertisers that want to connect with consumers through broadcast, streaming or downloadable media. The watermarking technology developed by Microsoft's research lab lets Activated Content insert advertisements and promotions in digital audio content. Software tools embedded in portable devices, such as Apple's iPhone or Palm's Treo, encode and extract the data embedded in audio files that run either on open source or Windows operating systems. "It's like attaching metadata to a picture taken with a digital camera," says Louis Carbonneau, general manager for the Intellectual Property Licensing Group at Microsoft. "You can send the picture to your friends, and they can open and view it whether they have a Mac or PC." The technology listens to the audio, recognizes the encoded watermark and directs the listener through a link to an advertisement or promotional offering without interrupting or disrupting the audio or video content in movies, videos or high-definition radio on mobile devices, laptops or IPTV. "The technology works on any device with a smart chip in it," says Eric Silberstein, CEO at Activated Content, which supports companies like Sony Music and Universal. Technology advancements made possible by a joint effort between Microsoft and Activated Content required developing a method to insert digital advertising links into audio files without affecting the size or the quality, or drawing too much juice from the battery as the file encodes and decodes. But it's going to take more than technology to make this advertising model work. It could mean a cultural change that requires consumers to seek out the advertisement for more information or to buy a product or a service. Consumers in Japan would likely accept the technology today, while the U.S. lags about six months behind. Evan Hill, Activated Content chief technology officer, says it's difficult to predict consumer behavior and timing on adoption, but there are some customers trying the technology. An early advertising model might let consumers purchase a song heard on the radio with a click of a button. Many of the details surrounding these advertising models are still being worked out. Successful online and mobile advertising requires a disruptive technology--but not at the risk of creating consumer backlash, says Marissa Gluck, managing partner at Radar Research in Los Angeles. "The problem with mobile ads is no one knows how to effectively deliver, price and measure it," she says. "There's high demand, and advertisers are willing to experiment because they've been using 30-second spots for about 50 years, but it's fraught with logistical complexities, such as the buying, the measuring and the optimization processes." Link to MediaPost Article

Kids Embrace Technology For Its Usefulness

by Wayne Friedman, Wednesday, Jul 25, 2007 7:00 AM ET

WHILE KIDS AND YOUNG ADULTS may be immersed in digital media, there are limits to what they want to know about the technology, according to new research. A massive study--jointly produced by MTV Networks and Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions--surveyed 18,000 kids ages 8-14 in 16 countries, offering a wide range of results on digital entertainment and communications platforms. One major finding is that kids are not focused on the detailed workings of the technology itself: It matters more to them how technology lets them communicate and be entertained. Only 20% of teens and young adults showed any "interest" in technology. Research on mobile technology data also revealed some interesting observations. In Japan, for example, kids don't really own their own PCs--not until they get to college. As a result, their main digital device is the mobile phone. MTV/Microsoft also observed kids' growing number of technology-connected friendships--all with an eye to observing how those relationships can influence brands. Kids 8-14 will have an average of 11 online and face-to-face friends--a number that will quickly rise. Young adults 14-24 have an average of 53 online and face-to-face friends. According to the press release, "friends influence each other as much as marketers do. Friends are as important as brands." Bill Roedy, vice chairman of MTV Networks International, says the study "will help us build stronger and more innovative alliances with business partners across our 137 TV channels and 260 Web and mobile services." For the still TV-centric MTV, the study showed promising data for television viewing--59% of kids 8-14 still prefer traditional TV over the computer and the Internet. One major exception is in China, where the study noted that 8- to-14-year-olds prefer online over TV. The countries in the study included: The U.K., Germany, Holland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, China, India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Link to MediaPost Article