Operating on the assumption that most small businesses are either too impatient or don’t have the expertise to understand usage reports, Jivox has launched “Video Engagement Scores.” The scores provide SMBs with feedback on a 0-100 basis, complete with red, yellow and green zones.
Jivox, a 40-person Bay Area company, competes with Mixpo and others to …

One area that is thought to be doing comparatively well in the poor economy is coupons, both in print and online. Valpak, the blue envelope coupon company put on the market by Cox Enterprises last August, reinforced that mind-set today via opportunistic full-page ads in 10 major newspapers. In coming weeks, banner ads and radio …

Zagat, which publishes consumer reviews and guides for restaurants, nightlife, hotels and attractions, has licensed out its name and reviewer system to WellPoint. The health-care insurer will publish Zagat-branded health reviews for its WellPoint and Anthem Blue Cross customers, reports The New York Times.
The product extension for Zagat, which has local guides in major cities …

Today’s Wall Street Journal has an article titled, “Hotels Say, We’re Businesses, Too.” The article points out that “under the rules of the Government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program companies are required to adopt policies on spending, private jets, events and conferences and office parties.” This is having a disastrous impact on many destination cities. For …

BIA, which is Kelsey’s parent company, works closely with radio station groups and other traditional media players in finance, operations and strategy. Mark Fratrik has been watching Google’s efforts in radio sales (“Google Audio Ads”) from the inside. In the aftermath of the Big G’s decision to get out of the business, we talked to Fratrik to …

Yesterday, Trulia announced it was replacing Classified Ventures’ HomeFinder.com as the real estate search provider on WashingtonPost.com. Today, the paper seems to have reaffirmed its ties to CV via a new deal with CV’s HomeGain.
The deal with HomeGain provides paid leads to real estate agents, and on paper, complements the deal with Trulia, which is officially limited …

Weeks after its decision to abandon its Print Ads program, Google has done the same with its sister program for radio ads. Both programs offered ad buying capability in their respective media, through Google’s AdWords online ad platform.
The company essentially cited the …

Google announced earlier this week that it will offer a search box to mobile Web publishers to plant on their sites and share revenues from search results. This will be an extension of the existing AdSense for Mobile program.
Overall, the move really isn’t a big surprise: Google is following the same path it did online …

Hmmmm … Save money and schedule meetings with 10 or 100s of interactive local companies in one place … meet a lot of new ones. Learn from the industry’s top speakers … get some cutting-edge research from Kelsey. “Go home and tell the boss (employee or colleague) what to do, where to go, who to …

Google seems to have a growing interest in melding location with social media. This has played out in lots of ways including last week’s launch of its Latitude mobile social product. The latest move comes with today’s integration of a location signature integrated into Gmail.
Users who turn on this function will have an auto-signature note …

The Washington Post is switching its local real estate search from Classified Ventures’ HomeFinder.com to Trulia. The switch takes place in April, and is being announced just after CV’s introduction of the HomeFinder brand, which replaces the HomeScape brand.
The move from a CV product is somewhat surprising, in part because The Washington Post Co. is a …

Multiple Listing Services are generally seen as technologically backward sites restricted to Realtors. But this may change, if a new consumer-facing model takes off. Specifically, Local Matters, the social media vendor launched by MapQuest founder Perry Evans, has teamed with MRIS, the mega-MLS based in the D.C. metro area, to launch homesdatabase.com.
The fast-loading site is …

Oodle, the mega classified platform company, has raised an additional $5.6 million from its existing investors, which include Greylock Partners, Redpoint Ventures and JAFCO Ventures. The company has raised $24 million in total.
Noting that Oodle has recently signed companies such as Wal-Mart, Facebook and MySpace, CEO Craig Donato told us his VCs see a major …

Interactive television once vied with the Internet (and dedicated online services) as the best conduit for interactive content. That fell by the wayside in the mid-1990s.
Today, ITV solutions are largely limited to simpler Internet-like apps like photo collections, Yellow Pages search, customized weather, real estate and auto search, games and electronic program guides. Almost all …

Here is a recap of posts from last week, in case you missed any. Click below to read each post in full.
Yell CEO Sees Faintest Glimmer at End of Tunnel
Last week, Yell Group issued its nine-month earnings report (the company’s financial year ends March 31) and most of the news was sobering. Organic growth is …

 
Last week, Yell Group issued its nine-month earnings report (the company’s financial year ends March 31) and most of the news was sobering. Organic growth is expected to be in the negative double digits in its fourth quarter, and small-business advertisers are paralyzed by uncertainty over how long the downturn will last and how bad …

We’re now contributing to The Huffington Post, starting with an article today on how the economy is affecting SMBs. It’s truly a survival of the fittest scenario in the restaurant vertical. Read the entire post here.

Market research agency GfK just released a report confirming lots of claims that user engagement is higher on the mobile device than on the PC. This is especially true on the iPhone, where this report focused. From ReadWriteWeb:
Seeing Ads

One in ten mobile phone users in the U.S. used a location-based service such as a map, …

At ClickZ’s Online Marketing Summit in San Diego today, organizer Aaron Kahlow provided some thoughtful perspective on what’s happening with marketing. Right now, marketers are at the changing intersection of human behavior, economic conditions and the media landscape, said Kahlow.
“Targeted audiences have become communities. PR has become viral. Awareness has become customer acquisition and retention. Demographics …

Angie Hicks, the cofounder and namesake of Angie’s List, said she thinks of her company as a direct marketing machine. Speaking at ClickZ’s Online Marketing Summit in San Diego this morning, Hicks noted: “We’re direct marketers at heart. If it doesn’t perform, it’s out. We’re constantly measuring effectiveness and overall lift.”
Hicks noted that the 250-city …