In October, we wrote a post about our support of a great new group called the IAB Long Tail Alliance. Today, we wanted to provide some more information on the benefits of joining. So,  here are a few things you should know about the Long Tail Alliance:

• Founding members include: AskTheBuilder.com, Condo.com, DailyMe.com, Destructoid.com, Elfster.com, HowStuffWorks.com, Muxlim.com, PetStyle.com, PrimaryGames.com, TopTenReviews.com, VegSource.com and more.
• Alliance members have the opportunity to participate in webinars designed specifically for long tail publishers to grow their business.
  • The next round of webinars begins February 18th and will be lead by IAB member company, TrustE.
  • The first webinar is entitled: What You Need To Know About Privacy–Challenges and Solutions
• Membership in the Alliance is open to any publisher that sells directly, indirectly, or through a network, and has revenues of under $1 million.
• Enter the promotional code CPXLTA to reduce the membership fee from $250 to $100!!

Visit the Alliance website to find out more about the IAB and the Long Tail Alliance.

Last year, US online ad spending faced the first decrease since 2002. But, industry experts predict that these numbers will rebound in 2o10, as the economy becomes more stable.

Despite the decrease in online advertising spending in the US in 2009, online advertising still continued to grow as a percent of total ad spending. This trend is predicted to continue into the foreseeable future.

In his article Online Ads Not Working for You? Blame the Creative, Kunur Patel discusses a study that finds that ad placement may be less important than design when it comes to making the big impact that advertisers want. We agree completely.

CPX has been developing conversion-oriented creatives for clients for years. We regularly find that creatives we develop for advertisers have significantly higher click-thru and conversion rates than creatives they have run in the past. While online delivery is focused on numbers, metrics and technology, it is important to remember that there are still underlying principles of advertising that apply.

Among Patel’s suggestions: Highlight the brand throughout the ad, Make each second count, and Stay simple.

Read more here.

The effects of the recession have been felt in every industry, including online advertising.  But, eMarketer predicts a light at the end of the tunnel, forecasting a gradual rise in US online advertising spending beginning next year.

The IAB Long Tail Alliance is a new program that focuses on serving the needs of smaller publishers, and making sure that they derive value from their relationship with the IAB. CPX Interactive is a major supporter of the Long Tail Alliance because we believe that publishers of all sizes have a role to play at the table when it comes to issues that significantly affect the industry as a whole.

Benefits of joining the Alliance include:

• Learn from the pros in exclusive seminars designed specifically for long tail publishers.
• Get invited to special events.
• Be part of IAmTheLongTail.com.
• Protect your business.
• Network with your peers.
• Get noticed!
• Receive special pricing on insurance, TRUSTe and more. Plus receive discounts to IAB Events and Professional Development.
• Participate in Webinars like Legal Affairs Best Practices for Small Publishers on October 23.

A recent comScore study found that the number of people who click on display ads has fallen to 16%. These findings have created quite a buzz around the online advertising industry, including calls for online marketers to find a better measure of success than click-through rates.

The release of this study is no surprise to CPX Interactive.  In fact, our most recent ad campaign (which can be seen on the pages of OMMA, AdAge and Media magazines (and below)) highlights our belief that every client may have a unique  success metric.  While the most commonly thought of metrics may be CPM and CPC, the truth is that, depending on the campaign, an advertiser may choose to judge success by less measureable metrics like user engagement and brand exposure. It is, therefore, no coincidence that the “x” in CPX represents a dynamic variable. As far as we’re concerned, your metric is the ONLY X!

Samantha Karol, Sr. Marketing Assistant

In July, we wrote a post about the benefits of behavioral targeting, despite the negative connotations of the word “tracking.” That post was sparked by an article published by AdAge called, “Tracking Makes Life Easier for Consumers.” Although the advertising industry recognizes the need for regulation of Web tracking, they believe self-regulation would be better than legislation.

Major industry groups, including the Interactive Advertising Bureau, American Association of Advertising Agencies, Association of National Advertisers, Direct Marketing Association and Council of Better Business Bureaus, are putting their heads together to determine the best method for improving self-regulation.  However, there are a number of privacy and consumer advocacy groups who are in favor of legislation, and they have already come together to write a proposal.

For more information on both sides of this issue, and the growing pressure for some sort of regulation on Web tracking, check out this article published this week by AdWeek.

According to this survey, ads on mail and instant messaging sites are catching the attention of Internet users, and keeping it the longest. On the other end of the spectrum, ads on social networks and homepages are holding people’s attention for less than half a minute.

A study of online display ad campaigns found that smaller ads, “half banners” (234 x 60) and rectangles (180 x 150), were more effective than larger ads like leaderboards and skyscrapers. Close to 2,400 campaigns from the past three years were included in the study, which was conducted by researcher Dynamic Logic. Read more about the findings on MediaPost.

A recent comScore study found that online display ads boosted supermarket sales of advertised goods slightly more than television ads, 9% on average. The study was conducted over a three-month period, and included a range of product categories.  For more on these findings, read Online Display Drives as Many CPG Sales as TV.