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New Media News Every Morning

Priceline announces $100 hotel giveaway

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Priceline.com announced the launch of its $100 Giveaway program for hotel rooms. Between now and March 23rd, registered customers who book a room at any one of over 20,000 hotels participating in priceline.com’s published-price hotel reservation service will receive $100 in free bonus cash that can be put toward a Priceline Vacation Package of 4 nights or longer. The $100 Giveaway program includes hotels in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia.

To qualify for the $100, reservations at participating hotels must be made by March 23, 2008 and travel completed by April 27, 2008. Bonus cash must be applied to air & hotel vacation packages purchased by August 8, 2008, and completion of stay must occur by October 31, 2008. Name Your Own Price hotel room purchases are not eligible for the $100 bonus cash.

Originally posted on March 6, 2008 @ 4:29 am

AOL’s Quigo now among top ad networks in reach and growth

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Quigo, a part of AOL’s Platform-A advertising business, announced that its AdSonar ad network scaled significantly in the past year and is now among the top ad networks, reaching 53.8 million unique visitors in January 2008.

Significant new partnerships that have launched in the past year include: Time Inc.’s digital properties (CNNMoney.com, People.com, Time.com, SI.com, EW.com and several others), ESPN.com, TheStreet.com, CareerBuilder.com, Forbes.com, NYDailyNews.com, NYPost.com, Slate.com, Rentals.com, and many others.

In each case, Quigo’s partners have deployed customized versions of Quigo’s AdSonar platform, an auction-based, pay-per-click advertising program featuring content-targeted ad links.

Originally posted on March 6, 2008 @ 9:47 am

Freewebs launches application set to transform photo-sharing experience

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Freewebs launched a powerful new photo product with enhanced capabilities to serve the increasing use of digital pictures. The most recent addition to the site’s innovative ”Site Builder” is set to transform the photo sharing experience. Freewebs users will not only be able to create and maintain multiple albums, but they’ll be able to do it in an easier and more dynamic manner.

Freewebs.com users will now be able to make their websites more exciting by uploading countless photos, organized into multiple albums, complete with titles, captions and visitor comments. For an optimal viewing experience, Freewebs has partnered with Cooliris, Inc. to add PicLens support. This enables pictures to be viewed in a beautiful Flash-based slideshow via PicLens Lite, or a full-screen 3D environment for users who download the PicLens extension.

Originally posted on March 6, 2008 @ 4:34 am

Travelocity partners with IHG for merchant hotel connectivity platform

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travelocity.pngTravelocity and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) have implemented state-of-the-art next generation connectivity between their systems, giving Travelocity’s customers immediate and accurate access to IHG’s complete range of inventory and pricing while allowing reservations to be booked directly into IHG’s Holidex Plus reservation system.

A large majority of IHG’s 3,800 hotel properties worldwide will utilize Travelocity’s industry-leading program, allowing Travelocity customers to have access to the full range of rooms and rates offered by IHG.

Direct connectivity offers the most accurate information on reservations to every party involved. Consumers view the most current full complement of rates and room availability, while hotels receive immediate confirmation of a reservation as it is automatically filed directly into the chain’s central reservation system.

Originally posted on March 6, 2008 @ 10:24 am

DoubleClick unveils plans for new publisher solution that will expand inventory, extend reach and grow revenue

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doubleclick.pngAs new web sites continue to emerge at a rapid pace, publishers are faced with fragmentation of audience and traffic. To meet this need, DoubleClick has created a new team focused on providing technology and services dedicated to addressing media fragmentation. This team will focus on creating solutions for publishers to enable them to scale their business by growing the inventory they have available to sell through working with partner sites. The initial solution, planned to launch in the second half of 2008, will provide a new partner management platform for publishers.

To help publishers grow revenues by making it easier to aggregate and sell inventory, the new partner management solution will enable DoubleClick clients to build their own vertical networks integrated with DART for Publishers or DART Enterprise. As part of DoubleClick’s Revenue Center, the company’s comprehensive suite of solutions for media sellers, the solution will seamlessly combine tools for network management and financial reporting with a full-featured portal for partner sites, providing a powerful network management solution for premium publishers and networks.

The solution will help clients aggregate partner inventory into their existing pool. They will have the ability to determine how they want to sell each impression, either through direct sales on a premium basis, or through indirect sales channels, such as ad networks or exchanges like the DoubleClick Advertising Exchange.

Originally posted on March 5, 2008 @ 10:47 am