[Recent Macy's ad in Yahoo Mail used PointRoll technology]
Across Corporate America, top executives often encourage competition between divisions within the same company. That can boost innovation, and drive more revenue to the bottom line.
But less common is a reported rivalry like that between Gannett's PointRoll advertising services subsidiary and the company's U.S. Community Publishing newspaper division -- one that risks siphoning ad revenue to digital competitors outside Gannett.
"The Macy's ad serves up in the Yahoo Mail account,'' Online Media's Laurie Sullivan reported last week. "The messages appearing in the advertisement change, depending on the consumer who sees it. Macy's had Yahoo build two editions: Home and Swimwear. There's also a default edition if neither works, based on information in the person's profile."
To be sure, PointRoll's working with Yahoo doesn't necessarily mean a net loss in advertising revenue to that Web portal giant, whose sites compete for ads with Gannett's network of newspaper websites. PointRoll could earn more providing the technology than the newspapers lose in ad sales to Yahoo and other rivals.
But one of my better sources tells me this business has caused a rift between Corporate and PointRoll's independent-minded management.
[Image: Media Post News]
Bob Dickey and Evan Ray are trying to prevent Pointroll from releasing this product to anyone outside of Gannett. Pointroll is also using Shoplocal's data on circulars which is even more humiliating as Shoplocal takes circular data from print product to online and uses it against the newspaper with companies like Yahoo.
ReplyDeleteThe disruption is going to happen. Why shouldn't Gannett capture that market?
ReplyDeleteHa, and I thought they are all working as a team and "opening up silos"! LOL! This is too funny!!!!!! Seems to me that PointRoll is going full steam, while Bob Dickey's team is twiddling their thumbs.
ReplyDeleteWhy, oh why, didn't corporate consider it might be giving away the store when it got into the Yahoo deal? Yet another example of corporate malfeasance, IMO. Here they siphoned off all that money for newspaper operations to buy Pointroll from Saridakis, and now they give it away virtually for free. You bet there is a rift in corporate over this one.
ReplyDeleteJim should be glad he has not been lobotomized by now.
ReplyDeleteDo these type of ads cost a lot?
ReplyDeleteOr by using these types of ads, does it kill the print revenue?
Don't worry, Bob Dickey's top sales super heroes will solve this problem. He will send out Colleen to sell more pre-prints to combat this "Internet thing".
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, Jim, you nailed it with this story. There is such a huge rift between Pointroll/Shoplocal and the rest of Gannett that it is creating an unhealthly work environment for the few of us left here leaderless.
We all know that these retailers want to go digital, but Bob Dickey refuses to let us sell any combine digital solution UNLESS it is handled by his top loyal lieutenants who handle the "top 65" clients.
The most frustrated person is the CEO of Shoplocal. Vikram Sharmin has been visiting with us and talking with us about this over and over and all that Bob Dickey and Evan Ray has done is brush him off.
Well, now we see Macy's, WalMart, Home Depot, CVS, Kohls as well as many more of our pre-print clients all using this Pointroll product on other sites. We all know that corporate does not like Pointroll, but I am glad to see that they are moving away from this sinking ship. Bob Dickey should be embarassed by this.
6:39 has a very good point. While it may seem silly to compete with yourself, it is definitely a better move than allowing another company to compete with you and put you out of business. At least this way Gannett keeps the business that will eventually be siphoned away anyhow.
ReplyDeleteThe proliferation of broadband access and Ipad like devices are the death knell for inserts. And, inserts are the lynch pin of revenue for the newspaper division. Once "The Onlines" figure this out, doomsday will be here. Yahoo, Apple, Google, Microsoft are NOT our friends.
ReplyDelete