Ad News and Views from Around the Web

Free Yahoo! WiFi in NYC; pricing discount enhancements proving successful; killing “malvertising;” creative spotlight, and more

Free WiFi in Times Square, on us
Half a million people visit New York’s Times Square every day. And for the next year or so, it will be not just America’s front porch, but also home to free WiFi, provided by Yahoo! Writes Yahoo! Buzz Marketing’s Kelly Delaney: “It’s the perfect place to bring you free WiFi service…for New Yawkers enjoying your cawfee breaks and out-of-towners enjoying the Big Apple. Fuggedaboutit!”

Pricing discounts drive improvements in Yahoo! CPA
Back in September we launched our enhanced pricing discounts. Writing in Actionable Insights, Craig Macdonald assesses the results. (Hint: It’s all good.)

How marketing and IT can work together
It’s no secret that marketers and IT often butt heads. But they need to work together if your company’s going to achieve success. Here’s how Ben Greenberg of AdWeek sees it playing out.

The psychology of search
Daniel Flamberg of iMedia Connection offers four concise insights on how to read your customers’ minds.

Keeping the door open while preventing “malvertising”
“Malvertising” is the delivery of malicious code or software via Internet advertisements. “Online advertising in the age of media fragmentation does not have to be like a box of chocolates,” writes Bennie Smith, Yahoo! VP Exchange Operations/Platform Policy on the Right Media blog. “Both advertisers and publishers should know exactly what they are going to get with every ad impression.” Here’s how Right Media and the industry are working to prevent it.

Help shape social media research
Social media used to be too cool for school, but now it’s being studied there. College profs from the University of Louisville and Murray State University are doing an in-depth study, and they want your help. To learn more and lend a helping hand to the academy, click over to Social Media Explorer.

Free YSM webinars can help you become a smarter advertiser
The calendar may say November, but now’s the time to go back to school, whether you are already a Yahoo! Search Marketing advertiser or just thinking about becoming one.

Creative spotlight: Ad Council’s “Hands do Incredible Things”
The good fellows over at Media Bistro’s Agency Spy have blogged about the Ad Council’s new PSA, encouraging people to learn CPR to help heart attack victims. Here’s the viral vid: