DoubleClick's Shares Fall Sharply on Ad Concerns (Yahoo! News, August 31st)
Feeling continued pressure from an unrelenting online ad market, market-leading net ad rep, DoubleClick's stock price has suffered its fourth consecutive daily drop, finishing the month at a 52-week low. This dramatic drop is a reaction to the realisation that the online ad recovery is further away than initially expected.

Bridging the Gap Between Affiliate Programs and CPM (ClickZ, August 31st)
Though users of affiliate networks that feature 'open marketplace' features, such as CJ and FineClicks are, by now, familiar with concepts such as effective CPMs, Declan Dunn here presents a guide to testing and comparing the results of various performance-based programs against advertising that is sold on a fixed CPM-based rate.

Companies Turn to Games to Pitch Their Products (NY Times, August 30th)
Disillusioned by the limits of online ad standards such as the humble 468x60 banner, event and brand-driven advertisers are increasingly embracing the 'advergaming' format, which incorporates the creation of an online game that delivers ad advertiser's brand message seamlessly throughout the progress of the action. These change the manner by which net users receive advertising messages, since such messages are actively sought out, and spread virally.

Windows XP to Give Microsoft Boost in Streaming Ad Space (internet.com, August 30th)
Tackling AOL Time Warner for the position of leadership in the online advertising space, Microsoft has planned and/or launched several large-scale initiatives of late. Just one of those is noted within the article - that being a streaming media format/network that will take advantage of the company's popular Windows Media Player software.

McDonald's Aims to Boost New Contest With Online Effort (internet.com, August 30th)
Keen to replace the negative publicity surrounding the 'Monopoly' fraud incident, the giant of fast-food is incorporating heavy online advertising - including the placement of a rich-media space on the front page of Yahoo! - in order to promote its upcoming cash giveaway.

Disclosing the Quality is Job-One (ClickZ, August 30th)
Tom Hespos has wisely proposed here that publishers take a step back in order to gain a world-view of online advertising as it has progressed thus far, while improving their communication with merchants and advertisers in order to negotiate exchanges that are of maximum benefit to both parties.

Brand Brother Is Watching You (ClickZ, August 28th)
The ability of the internet to deliver effective branding campaigns has been largely ignored by advertisers, despite the fact that several studies have verified that both the humble banner and the IAB's larger standards (not to mention email, popunders and search engine results) are indeed effecive in branding. This article notes that since seemingly intangible factors such as value affection, brand awareness and product loyalty are measureable, it is quite possible to evaluate and quantify returns on investment following a branding campaign.

IAB Blasts Gator.com as Unfair, Deceptive (internet.com, August 28th)
The interactive advertising bureau has entered into discussions with Gator regarding their 'hijackware' software that places advertisers' popups over the top of banner ads appearing on other sites - effectively blocking the original ad while providing unfair revenue to Gator and an opportunity for firms to place ads on their competitors' sites. IAB has threatened the company with legal action if it continues this unethical practice.

Toyota Signs Up AOL, MSN For New Camry Ad Campaign (SiliconValley.com, August 27th)
With the web'a largest properties snaring an ever-growing proportion of the ad dollars available online, Toyota's decision to accompany its massive offline campaigns promoting the 2002 model Camry with buys made solely across the AOL and MSN web properties could be indicative of future media buying trends. Toyota spokespeople have claimed the attractiveness of the deal came from the two buys having the potential to reach 75% of the US online population, while both featuring cross-dimensional elements.

System for Measuring Clicks Is Under Assault (NY Times, August 27th)
Eons ago, in 1996, Wired and others promoted the web as the ultimate marketing medium - one in which advertisers could both deliver their promotional messsages and make sales directly, and one that is infinitely more accountable than traditional media. Ironically, with the novelty factor of the banner wearing off, it was this accountability that led many to wrongly presume that online advertising was ineffective. This article proposes that marketers should turn their backs on the more primitive measurements, such as the humble click-through, and instead incorporate advanced tracking and branding principles into their ROI calculations in order to properly evaluate the worth of an online campaign.

ValueClick Meets Q2 Earnings Estimates (NET-ADS, August 26th)
Continuing to out-perform most of its peers in the publicly-traded online advertising space, performance-based player ValueClick Inc has met analyst's expectations in its latest reporting period, while projecting a significant increase in revenue during the third calendar quarter of this year.

7 From Seven Featuring Keith Ferrazzi (ChannelSeven, August 24th)
ChannelSeven here explores the burgeoning advergaming market through an interview with Keith Ferrazzi, CEO of YaYa.

Branding Gone Bad (ClickZ, August 24th)
A poorly managed branding campaign can not only prove a waste of money, but can actually do more damage than good to a brand. Here, Tig Tillinghast provides a list of guidelines (based upon a targeting-style gun metaphor) to assist media buyers in avoiding pitfalls due to inadecquate research, planning and testing.

Nowhere to Go But Up (ClickZ, August 23rd)
This article may sound like a desperate plea, but there certainly is credence to the argument made by Tom Hespos. That being, direct-marketers have driven online ad rates to such ridiculously low levels, in the absense of serious branding players, that ad rates can only possibly go up from here - otherwise there will remain no quality online publications to support brand-name campaigns.

DoubleClick Joins US-EU Safe Harbor Program (BizReport, August 22nd)
Continuing a determined effort to polish its image in the eyes of privacy-minded consumers, online ad company DoubleClick has signed on the the US-EU Safe Harbor program with an agreement to protect European users' privacy.

iBEAM to Handle AtomShockwave Streaming Ads (internet.com, August 22nd)
iBEAM is quickly establishing itself as a firm leader in the streaming ad insertion business, adding AtomShockwave to its impressive list of clients (one of which is ad network DoubleClick). The product is designed to support free media streams by inserting and managing advertising content into the stream, in much the same manner as ads appear within free-to-air TV broadcasts, albeit with superior response measurement capabilities.

Coremetrics, Digital Impact Team Up (internet.com, August 22nd)
Uniting to create a complete system for planning, managing and tracking email campaigns, email marketer Digital Impact is pinning its hopes on the assumption that a deal with online intelligence firm Coremetrics will give it the talent and reach necessary to compete against mor established players in the market who fail to offer an end-to-end solution.

Be Free Continues Efforts to Shore Up Business (internet.com, August 21st)
While not suffering on quite the scale of many firms specialising in the sale of CPM and CPC-based ad inventory, Be Free, which facilitates a variety of advertising and direct-marketing transactions through its ASP model, has seen its stock price badly bruised by a market that is growing increasingly wary of internet companies who have yet to break even. As such, the firm is continuing its active effort to trim and restructure its operations - dropping one of its co-founders in the process.

Commission Junction Finds New Channel in bCentral (internet.com, August 21st)
Though this article unusually makes no mention of the fact that Microsoft recently pulled the plug on its own affiliate marketing ASP, ClickTrade, it does reveal that while losing its own ASP, bCentral has teamed up with the market-leading Commission Junction in an agreement that will see Microsoft direct both previous ClickTrade merchants and future online direct marketers to CJ as a preferred service. The financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Why Direct Response Online Still Reigns Supreme (ClickZ, August 21st)
Soon after the IAB and several other researchers and commercial firms released reports that evidence the fact that branding not only possible, but effective, online, Jim Meskauskas questions why it is that big brand advertisers have yet to embrace the web with this in mind. He finds that the agencies are partly to blame for failing to explore such research and to pass said information along to their clients, while a slow economy and the fact that the web is an ideal direct marketing medium accounts for why direct response remains the dominant transaction type.

Engage Looking to Exit Media Business (internet.com, August 20th)
In a move that could hardly have been described as unexpected, Engage has discontinued its attempt to become a player in the media business. It's media division has been subjected to several rounds of cutbacks within the past 12 months, with another 100 layoffs hitting the division upon this announcement, while Engage seeks a buyer for its core media assets. Fortunately, the company has agreed that it will abide by its privacy policy and dispose of its profile database, rather than selling it. For another commentary about this development, check out this MediaPost article.

Forrester: Industry Needs To Focus On More Than Just Branding (internet.com, August 20th)
...or, at least, on more than the mere fact that the medium is capable of being employed as a branding tool, which is common sense to most marketers, but the central subject of several big-budget studies of late nevertheless. The tangible validation provided by such studies are of value, and form a solid foundation upon which to build relationships with traditional advertisers, but as Forrester Research has rightly noted, online ad execs should also be promoting the incredible cost and workflow efficiency of the medium, as well as the value of real-time interaction, concepts such as advergaming and the improved accountability of an intensely measurable medium.

IAB Lawyers to Recommend Action Against Gator.com (internet.com, August 20th)
Determining whether or not the unquestionably unethical hijack techniques employed by the likes of Gator and eZula are actually illegal will be key to their endurance or rapid demise. As such, the IAB - members of which are high-level executives from several interactive advertising firms - is considering legal action against the firm.

AOL Creates New Unit to Boost Ad Revenues (SiliconValley.com, August 17th)
Continuing to effect its mega-merger and squeeze the greatest possible benefit from cross-media sales made throughout AOL Time Warner's many popular cable networks, magazines and web properties, the media giant has launched its Global Marketing Solutions group to lure advertisers towards its all-in-one media buying venue.

Tech Players Question IAB's Rich Media Guidelines (internet.com, August 17th)
The IAB's long-awaited release of its rich-media guidelines was greeted with yawns by many for failing to suggest anything beyond the norm, but some rich-media players such as spokespeople for Bluestreak and Eyewonder made an assault upon the recommendations for being too limiting.

Gator Chomps on Innocent Banner Ads (ZDNet News, August 17th)
A new technology - which has been lumped into the disturbingly growing pile of scumware/theftware apps that threaten publishers' revenue sources - has arisen that covers banner ads on a page with banners sold through Gator. Not only does this hit publishers and legitimate advertisers in the gut, but there remains potential for the firm to invade upon its users' privacy via tracking far more severely than the traditional ad networks that have been attacked by privacy advocates for employing cookies and bugs previously.

adMonitor's Popularity Continues to Rise in the UK (NET-ADS, August 16th)
Online advertising technology and media provider, L90, has continued to boost its high-end publisher base in signing exclusive ad serving contracts with several leading UK internet destinations.

Web Bugs Spying On Net Users (BBC News, August 16th)
This is yet another alarmist article regarding the increased use of so-called 'web bugs' online. The truth, though, is that the vast majority of cases in which these bugs are used is for no other purpose than to tally the number of times a non-graphical ad is seen.

Brand eMail (eMarketer, August 16th)
In an environment in which the branding ability of banners has been justified and promoted as a central issue to fostering an emergence of successful online advertising, Jonathan Jackson makes a point of reminding marketers of the proven strength of email as a direct-marketing and branding tool within this article.

MP3.com Will Hide Ads, For A Price (internet.com, August 16th)
In a move that could prove risky for a company that has invested a great deal of effort into attracting advertisers to its controversial service, MP3.com has offered those users who do not wish to view the sites "annoying" ads the chance to access an ad-free version by forking out a monthly subscription fee.

Study: Online Advertising to See Growth in 2002, Unlike Most Media (internet.com, August 15th)
The online advertising market has been particularly savaged of late, especially given that prior to the sudden slowdown in spending this was a medium experiencing truly explosive growth. Where many have predicted either a slight decline in spending this year, or no growth, a recent release from Myers Reports predicts 10 percent growth this year, before shooting up at rates of 12, 15 and 20 percent the three years following. If the medium is to see growth of this degree, it will surpass the growth rates of competing media by far.

Be Free Follows CJ's Lead In Addressing Affiliate Problems (internet.com, August 15th)
Addressing one of the biggest problems to plague Be Free's service and reputation, the company has initiated sweeping changes to the manner by which it reports upon merchant activity. In a new interface release dubbed 'Acclaim', merchants who have a history of underperformance or payment delays will be revealed to publishers. This follows on from trends established by FineClicks, DirectLeads and CJ.com aimed at improving margins for affiliates and the ASP at the center of the exchange.

Performance Anxiety Hits Online Ads (BusinessWeek, August 15th)
The online advertising industry has come to a crossroads recently, with advertisers looking for tangible measures of performance and publishers extolling the banner's ability to brand and influence offline or time-delayed responses. This article notes that a compromise will likely be found somewhere in the middle, as studies and alternative methods of measurement are devised to give an advertisers access to a more reliable and standard method of calculating ROI.

24/7 Media to Cut Overseas Losses (internet.com, August 14th)
Recently delisted (pending appeal) online ad firm 24/7 Media, who have been actively seeking a buyer for their lossy European division for several months, have made the decision to stop funding the division as part of their desperate cost-cutting measures that will increase the company's focus on their core North American ad market.

AOL Time Warner Wins 3-Year eBay Advertising Contract (The Industry Standard, August 14th)
AOL Time Warner has scored quite a coup in snaring an extended contract for one of the few remaining high-flying dotcoms. As part of the deal, media giant will act as a virtual ad agency, planning buys across its formidable range of properties.

Things to Do in Advertising When the Market Is Dead (ClickZ, August 14th)
It's no secret that the online advertising market is presently experiencing a lull in growth - but a lack of prosperity does not necessarily suggest that there should be a lack of activity. That is, the slowdown has created an environment that is ideal for developing new products and services, while testingn and refining existing offerings so as to improve one's position in the market when things turn for the better.

MarketWatch To Offer TV Commercials in IAB Units (internet.com, August 13th)
MarketWatch has long heralded in new publisher-side innovations in online advertising, and today's announcement is no exception. Encouraging media buyers to use existing television-ready creatives within their online campaigns, the company is to stream 30-second spots within the L-Rec ad units that appear on their site, starting with an opt-in campaign to promote American Airlines' AA.com.

Internet Portals Wrestle for Ad Dollars (MSNBC, August 12th)
As ad budgets become increasingly constraining, and a greater proportion of available online ad dollars flow to the biggest players in the market, the three giants of the net - AOL Time Warner, MSN and Yahoo! are preparing for a showdown. All three are heavily pushing their respective properties and innovative marketing products in an effort to become the undeniable leader in the space. This article concludes with the poignant, but realistic, thought that MSN or AOL may consider an acquisition of smaller player Yahoo! in order to leverage the strength of both teams agains the other.

Ad Gems Are 4Ever (eMarketer, August 11th)
This article explores yet another rich-media ad firm who is touting their 'takeover' product at brand-based advertisers. The bulk of the article consists of an interview with the company's VP of Sales Paul Ruck, formerly of AdKnowledge.

Revisiting Online Advertising in the US (eMarketer, August 10th)
This eMarketer report highlights figures presented by Jupiter Media Metrix that claim online ad revenues will climb a modest 6% in 2001, before continuing their rapid growth at an average annual rate of 22% through 2006. The article also presents details as to Jupiter's predictions for the burgeoning online promotions/coupon market, while concluding with a table comparing the 2002 growth expectations as put forth by several analysts and research firms.

Digitrends, Engage Spark Database Controversies (internet.com, August 10th)
With backer CMGI electing not to renew their $50 million funding agreement with online ad technology provider and sales rep Engage, privacy advocates are concerned that if Engage fails to attract additional third-party funding, they may be forced to liquidate their assets - including a rich cookie-driven database containing some 90 million anonymous profiles. The concern is that, while Engage's own privacy policy prohibits the firm from aligning these details with other databases that could unite surfing habits with personally-identifying information, if the database was sold, the buyer may not be bound by the same restrictions.

Defining Differences: Marketing, Advertising, Branding (ClickZ, August 10th)
When terms are used interchangeably for years, the fine lines that seperate their meanings begins to blur. Here, Tig Tillinghast attempts to reverse some confusion by defining what the terms 'advertising', 'marketing' and 'branding' originally meant, and just why it has come to pass that the terms, industries and products surrounding these have been confused.

Online Ad Outlook Called Too Generous (CNET, August 10th)
Though ad revenues are in the toilet in reality, many net ventures and reseearch outlets have been unrealistically inflating their online ad revenue predictions by ignoring the abundance of house ads, rate card discounts and other realities of the market.

Ad Value (nowEurope, August 10th)
In this inspirational story of determination and service, four Estonian residents are working to establish that nation's first online ad network and advertising consultancy business, which will be calling on technology supplied by DoubleClick in the delivery of ads to Estonia's tech-savvy users.

MSN To Boost Sales With $100 Million Program (internet.com, August 9th)
In an effort to boost awareness of its own ad inventory, related products and ad serving system, the Redmond Giant is butting heads with the web's leading ad-supported property, AOL TW, with the launch of a $100 million promotional campaign.

Case Study: Corn Syrup, Britney, the Web and Thou (Business 2.0, August 9th)
That's more like it! This article highlights the overwhelming success of an online contest-based campaign launched by Pepsi-Cola that was the company's most successful single advertising effort in its 103-year history. Not only did the campaign boost the sales of the company's central product by 5%, but it enabled Pepsi to cut costs and increase efficiency in comparison to its previous catalog-based campaigns.

The Seven Second Solution (eMarketer, August 9th)
In response to growing demand from traditional advertisers, pushes from the IAB and increased broadband penetration, rich-media streaming advertising is espected to grow rapidly during the coming years. This report puts particular emphasis on the likely acceptance of the IAB's 7-second 'Transitional' rich-media popups.

Study: More Fortune 100 Companies Advertise Online (internet.com, August 9th)
Jupiter Media Metrix has released a report noting that an impressive 81% of Fortune 100 firms are incorporating an online component into their marketing plans this year, but that their spending is not expected to increase - despite the bargain-basement rates available in this buyer's market.

Jupiter Media Metrix to Roll Out New AdRelevance (internet.com, August 9th)
The web measurement form has unleashed a new version of their AdRelevance tracking system, which is better equipped with the ability to manage issues concerning rich media, house ads and popups.

Engage to Lose CMGI Backing (internet.com, August 9th)
One of the most trouble-ridden players in online advertising, Engage has run into its biggest hurdle yet by having backer and majority-shareholder CMGI withdraw its offer to provide the firm with a $50 million emergency loan, which was intended to kick-in to see Engage through to profitability if and when needed. Engage, after making the admission that they most likely won't reach break-even this year as expected, are presently considering their options.

Online Ads to Increase in 2001, Says Jupiter Report (FT.com, August 8th)
Though the industry is clearly depressed presently, projections by Jupiter Media Metrix propose that online advertising as a whole will see slight year-over-year revenue growth in 2001, placing it above most competing media in terms of the rate of growth.

Ryan: Despite Current Woes, Online Ads Have Bright Future (internet.com, August 8th)
DoubleClick CEO Kevin Ryan has spoken up at the sixth annual Online Advertising Forum about those metrics and mindsets that have, as yet, restricted the online ad market from reaching its prime.

Ad Spending To Rebound, Digital Marketing To Soar (CyberAtlas, August 8th)
Re-mapping its projections for online advertising growth, Jupiter Media Metrix is suggesting tha though 2001 will see revenues advance just slightly, a compounded average annual growth rate of 22% should be witnessed between now and 2006. The report also suggests that pay-for-performance deals will fail to occupy a much larger proportion of the market than what ir already does, and that incentive-based promotions and email marketing will see the most dramatic growth.

DoubleClick CFO Collins To Step Down Aug. 10 (ZDNet News, August 7th)
Amid the company's admission that it will likely see revenues decline in accordance with the greater online ad market, DoubleClick's Chief Financial Officer has departed the firm to pursue other interests. He will maintain connection with the firm as a consultant to CEO Kevin Ryan on certain issues until the end of Q1 2002.

IAB Releases Rich Media Specs (internet.com, August 6th)
The Interactive Advertising Bureau, who established the voluntary standards that have guided the online advertising industry thus far have released a set of guidelines designed to standardize rich-media advertising in an effort to increase the medium's appeal to traditional marketers.

Web Publishers Must Concentrate on 'Premium' Inventory (CyberAtlas, August 7th)
Jupiter Media Metrix has suggested that publishers are overlooking the value of premium placement, and that by concentrating on reducing the quantity of ad units/page, while increasing the size, exclusivity or prestige associated with a particular spot in order to increase the rates that may be commanded for that space. Even if the majority of one's inventory remains unsold, this theory suggests that the premiums attained through the select sales will provide compensation in excess of what could be realized through selling bargain-basement ROS campaigns.

Ideas to Dispel the Gloom (ClickZ, August 6th)
Tired of hearing horror stories and pessimistic projections of online advertising's present state and near future? Then sink your teeth into this article, which outlines a few innovations that could inspire thought and inspiration within your own organization.

Web Sites Prey on Rivals' Stores (CNET News.com, August 6th)
The rise of software plugins that effectively hijack visitors while they are traversing websites (often on behalf of the sites' competitors) has causd a great deal of debate online in the affiliate marketing and e-commerce space lately, with products such as Gator, eZula and others at the center of a heated discussion. If you have yet to hear about this issue and its far-reaching consequences for the future of online law, competitive practices and advertising.

Absolut Web Campaign Says Much About Brand, More About Medium (internet.com, August 6th)
The agency representing the giant vodka brand, known for its simple, innovative print campaigns, has launched an online branding effort that makes a tongue-in-cheek statement about the perceived ineffectiveness of the small 468x60 banner space in assisting the deliverey of a brand message. The best part of the campaign, though, takes advantage of the IAB's larger standards and rich-media guidelines in the brand's first foray into the online medium.

Marketers on Marketing Metrics (E-Commerce Guide, August 3rd)
Alexis Gutzman once again delves into the world of media metrics to reflect on how well online marketers are planning for, and taking advantage of, the uniquely measurable characteristics of online advertising campaigns.

Public Service Ads are on the Rise (NY Times, August 3rd)
2000 saw the value of ad inventory domated to the public-service-based Ad Council rise across several media, with radio and the internet accounting for the largest donations.

Dot-Com Mania Posterboy TheGlobe.com Closing Site (SiliconValley.com, August 3rd)
While it's never my desire to report failures here to gloat, some high-profile cases in question represent not only educational opportunities/warnings, but a bittersweet culling of symbols of the emergence of the dotcom bubble, and its eventual devastating burst. TheGlobe, having set an historical record with massive IPO success, before becoming excessively bloated, acquiring all manner of internet content plays, and failing to find direction in the messy early days of online advertising before eventually burning out, is (whether rightly or wrongly) the ultimate symbol of a time best left in the annals of bizarre economic history.

Search No Further: Paid Placement Comes Under Fire (Marketleap, August 3rd)
With GoTo.com and Google regarded as two of the biggest success stories in the online arena, paid-placement and paid-for-inclusion models have been adopted by most of the largest search engines and directories in their efforts to achieve profitability. The increased commercialization of search results, though, has led several groups, such as Commercial Alert to accuse the form of not clearly indicating which results are ads, and which are returned via relevant objective means.

Crosswalk.com Bags Major Advertisers (internet.com, August 3rd)
Touting the results of a recent netScore study into consumer spending that saw the high-profile Christian portal beat out stalwarts Yahoo!, AOL and AltaVista in terms of the amount of money their average visitor spends online, Crosswalk has won the hearts (and marketing budgets) of several brand-name marketers, such as Time Life, the US Navy and Paramount Television.

Marketing to the Net's Future Means Marketing to Youths (CyberAtlas, August 2nd)
The teen demographic could very well be the most undervalued group on the web, when their prevalence, willingness to explore new technologies, to share knowledge virally and to influence online and offline purchasing decisions.

Peer-to-Peer Exchanges Court Advertisers (CNET News.com, August 2nd)
As if inferring their knowledge that peer-to-peer file exchange systems are most often used to illegally trade copyrighted materials was not insult enough, the add-on files that piggyback on the most popular of these downloads utilize technology that effectively stabs the web publisher in the back by, for all intents and purposes, manipulating their content in such a fashion as to turn humble text terms into commercial links for which the software developer, not the creator or publisher of the content, receives advertising revenues.

Painfully Aware (eMarketer, August 2nd)
In this week's token X10 story, eMarketer notes that although the company has reached a significant proportion of the online audience with its aggressive online ads, it's recognition may not convert into positive long-term brand awareness, indicating that the firm should make the most of the direct-sales aspect of its campaign.

Real Ads for Real People (ClickZ, August 1st)
Designing an effective online ad creative is often more about psychology than art. Rob Graham suggests that rather than trying to explain the intricacies of what your company or product is about, an ad should connect with the viewer directly by highlighting how the product will benefit that consumer. Branding elements should also be included within the creative, since in this task medium, a user will often have no time available to seek additional information from the company's site until later.

Pop Psychology (MarketingProfs, August 1st)
A brief academic analysis of likely consumer psychological reaction to popup and popunder ads that helps to reveal whether the association generated by the brand is worth the cost involved.

Cameo Lands Universal Pictures Deal (internet.com, August 1st)
Melding streaming video with a technology similar to that employed by Unicast - in which a rich ad creative is downloaded in the background while a user's net connection is idle, Cameo claims to have developed an effective delivery mechanism for video, and is testing its effectiveness by signing a distribution deal with Universal.

U.S. Airways to Market to Gay Audience Online (internet.com, August 1st)
In a deal allegedly valued in the "high six figures" range, U.S. Airways is attempting to target a group known for its high level of disposable income by partnering with leading gay resources PlanetOut.com and Gay.com.