Forecast: $55 Billion Online Ad Market by 2010

Ad budgets’ shift to online is reaching an “inflections point,” after which, within five years, internet advertising will become a $55 billion global market, according to investment bank Piper Jaffray analyst Safa Rashtchy, AdWeek reports (via MarketingVox). Rashtchy says his forecast of 27 percent compound annual growth could be a conservative one. “Online is on its way to a 10 percent share [of adspend] much faster than we anticipated, and we believe we are now approaching an inflection point when spending growth could accelerate,” he wrote.

New Google AdSense Feature Irks Publishers

There, whether it’s
wanted - or not

Having officially launched its “Advertise on this site” program last month, a couple of months after rumors of the feature first emerged, Google’s link, which now appears next to all its placements on publishers using AdSense, has begun to rile up some publishers, who have effectively been opted in to the “site targeting” program that lets advertisers target specific sites, MarketingVox writes.

One problem, in the eyes of complaining publishers, is that Google is essentially taking away advertisers from them.

SkyMall Purchased by Zelnick

Wild game sampler

The eclectic SkyMall catalog, available on 88 percent of U.S. flights to travelers who want to buy items such as sumo robots and wild game samplers, is being bought by ZelnickMedia and private equity firm Spire Capital Partners from Gemstar-TV Guide, the New York Post reports. This marks the latest direct marketing acquisition for Zelnick, which purchased Time-Life Inc. in 2004 and catalog retailer Lillian Vernon. But, while Time Life and Lillian Vernon have been combined under Direct Holdings Worldwide, SkyMall will remain its own entity.

Gibson off World News Tonight, Vargas and Woodruff to Anchor

ABC News has announced that Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff will co-anchor World News Tonight, which will broadcast a live version to the West Coast each night in addition to its regular telecast for the East Coast and central states, Mediaweek writes. Vargas and Woodruff, along with Charles Gibson - currently co-host of ABC’s Good Morning America - have been co-anchoring World News Tonight since Peter Jennings’s death.

iPods, Internet Preferred Over Traditional Radio

According to Bridge Ratings research, 85 percent of 12-24 year olds surveyed turn to iPods instead of traditional radio as a preferred option for music, Billboard Radio Monitor reports. The sample audience also preferred Internet radio over AM/FM.

Imus Outdoor Ads Flaunt First Amendment

Infinity-owned WFAN has placed Imus in the Morning billboards throughout the tri-state area, which has a couple of bloggers sniping. The ads showed Imus’s irritated-as-usual headshot, alongside the phrase: First Amendment at its best. And worst.

Jeff Jarvis, of BuzzMachine, wrote that the ads are offensive. Viacom, he said, did nothing to defend Howard Stern when the FCC and Parents Television Council went after him, but that the company is now trying to “exploit the First Amendment with that half-dead fake cowpoke Imus.” He accuses Viacom of having had “the real deal” (with Stern) and of letting him go (Stern’s jump to Sirius).

Life-sized King Kong Shadows Times Square

The premiere of the latest version of King Kong brought Times Square to a standstill last night, as bystanders watched stars Adrien Brody, Jack Black, Naomi Watts, and Andy Serkis head under the shadow of the 20-foot model of the great ape, the Guardian reports. For the premiere, the film ran on 38 screens in and around Times Square. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg officially named the day King Kong Day.

NY Daily News Editor Runs Back to Chicago

New York Daily News’s number-two editor, Michael Cooke, will return to the Chicago Sun-Times after less than a year on the New York paper, Media Life reports. While it is an alleged shoe fetish on Cooke’s part that is getting the most press, circulation problems are also in evidence: the News’s circ continues to slide - down 27,000 to 688,584 in the most recent six-month period over the previous year - and rival New York Post is gaining, up to 672,731.

Tesco to Go with Frank Lowe

Come March, Tesco will leave Interpublic Group’s Lowe to join Frank Lowe when he starts his new agency, Adweek reports. Tesco is Lowe London’s largest client by revenue - spending an annual $80 million on ads - and has been with the firm for 16 years. The news comes just days after agency chairman and top Tesco executive Paul Weinberger announced that he is leaving Lowe London to join Frank Lowe at his new agency. Lowe retired from Lowe London, the agency he founded in 1981, in 2003.

Tyson Provides Mealtime Prayers on Website

Marketers have been looking for more ways to connect with spiritual Americans. Tyson Foods’ effort includes providing a free downloadable prayer booklet for mealtimes on its Web site, AdAge reports.

But Tyson’s act seems to be more than just marketing. The company’s mission statement, which it calls its core values, says the company “strives to be a faith-friendly company and to honor God,” and the company has placed 128 part-time chaplains in 78 of its plants.