WPP sues TV ad company Spot Runner for “pump-and-dump scheme”

WPP sues TV ad company Spot Runner for “pump-and-dump scheme”

Update:  Added the WPP complaint below.

Update II: Added letter from Spot Runner to employees, sent out Friday, below.

Spot Runner, the start-up Web company that lets advertisers places ads on TV, has been sued by one of its investors, WPP Group for securities fraud and breach of contract, AdAge reports.

WPP, one of the world’s largest advertising agencies, said Spot Runner’s executives aggressively promoted WPP’s investment in it to gain new investors and then sold large quantities… Continue Reading

Roundup: iPhone tethering works, AT&T prepping no-contract iPhones, IE8 arrives early and more

Roundup: iPhone tethering works, AT&T prepping no-contract iPhones, IE8 arrives early and more

Here’s the latest action:

iPhone tethering and no commitment price — Just a day after Apple’s iPhone 3.0 software event, developers have found out that tethering is in fact an option in the new OS. They were able to get it working when connected over USB, according to MacRumors. This is great, but you will undoubtedly have to pay for it when AT&T and Apple officially turn it on.

A contract-free iPhone? — Speaking of AT&T, the company is… Continue Reading

WPP is very happy about its Yahoo partnership — would be happier if it included Microsoft as well

WPP is very happy about its Yahoo partnership — would be happier if it included Microsoft as well

When I first saw that Yahoo and the advertising holding company WPP were set to announce a partnership, my immediate reaction was: Here’s the first of many Yahoo attempts to rebuff Carl Icahn’s (and to an extent, Microsoft’s) hostile takeover bid. However, it seems that WPP is actually upset that the Yahoo and Microsoft merger didn’t happen, according to The New York Times.

“Anybody who is a customer in the marketplace likes to see balance in… Continue Reading

IMMI, the ad company that listens to your every move

IMMI, the ad company that listens to your every move

Integrated Media Measurement, the Silicon Valley start-up company that wants to make advertising more efficient by following you around — tracking everything you listen to every day — has raised $25 million more from advertising giant WPP.

IMMI, as it is known, gives cellphones to volunteers, equipped with a recording device built inside to track what ads they are hearing and seeing wherever they go. It has already learned a few things, including that people who… Continue Reading

Roundup: Invidi funded by WPP, Amazon, Google and more

Roundup: Invidi funded by WPP, Amazon, Google and more

1. Invidi gets $25 million from WPP, the world’s second largest ad conglomerate
2. Amazon building out its webs services
3. Atheros Communications buys micro GPS company
4. Google may be looking at wireless spectrum in the UK
5. Tiny Pictures, a mobile photo-sharing company, adds international language support

Invidi gets $25 million from WPP, the world’s second largest ad conglomerate — Most people think of Google and Yahoo as the new online advertising giants. But WPP is moving aggressively… Continue Reading

Despite dismal record, merger fever rages — WPP to buy 24/7 Real Media

Despite dismal record, merger fever rages — WPP to buy 24/7 Real Media

Updated

Forget the historical record, which says that the majority of mergers fail financially (pick your reading from any of these articles).

The Internet advertising sector is in all-out merger mode, with new online start-ups emerging daily causing angst among the big guys, pushing big players to gobble up other big guys or the best of the smaller ones. The WPP Group, the world’s second-largest advertising company focused mostly on traditional offline ads, just announced it… Continue Reading

WPP acquires stake in VideoEgg

WPP said it has acquired a stake in VideoEgg, a San Francisco company that offers Web sites video services and a way to run advertising within those videos.

See the statement here. The size of the stake WPP received for its $3.5 million investment was undislosed. Reports simply refer to the purchase of gross assets, the value of which is $3.5 million.

VideoEgg raised $12 million in a third round of capital last year, from investors… Continue Reading