Custom sponsorships, iframe ad units, and tweeting calories burned

Editor's Note: What’s top of mind for media professionals? That's just one question we’re tackling as we talk with media and search planners around the country in our "Meet a Media Planner" series. Today we’re touching base with Candace Chang, a seasoned media planner turned newly minted Account Manager for Tribal Fusion in New York City. Candace entered the world of media during college when she took an internship with Carat, working on the Pfizer account. After graduation, she moved on to Ogilvy then Universal McCann and answered the call of the Verizon FiOS account for a year and a half. When we spoke to Candace, she had just moved into her current position at Tribal Fusion.

Yahoo! Ad Blog: What makes you feel most satisfied about the work you do?

Candace Chang: I really like it when I find creative, custom executions that translate into sales. In my previous job, we ran integrated sponsorships with trulia.com, apartmentguide.com, forrent.com, and apartments.com that allow people to sort by or select Verizon FiOS as an amenity they want in a home. The site then pulls all the search results for apartment listings that include FiOS capabilities, and we get to see exactly how many orders we get as a result of it.

Consumers spend an average of nearly $14B on Valentine’s Day gifts each year. Here’s a look at their buying habits and preferences.

After getting the cold shoulder during the recession, Valentine’s Day spending continues to make a comeback, increasing 5% over the past five years and 23% higher than the lowest point back in the financial doldrums of the late 2000’s. Today’s infographic shows marketers how lovestruck consumers will spend their money on the objects of their affection---which can include their pets and themselves.

Here are some highlights:

• The average Valentine’s Day consumer spends $116, with candy being the most-purchased item
• 180 million Valentine’s Day cards will be exchanged; 85% will be bought by women
• 14% of women say they’ll send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day
• Consumers spend $367 million on Valentine’s Day gifts for their pets

Whether consumers are buying for their sweeties, themselves, or Fido, the good news for marketers is that 37% of all Valentine’s Day gifts are being bought online. Jump on over to see the entire infographic.

Runaway success of the original comedy series creates first-of-its-kind ad deal for Yahoo!

It’s an original advertising deal for an original series. The U.K.-based ad agency PHD has agreed to buy all ad inventory for the second and third seasons of Yahoo!’s original comedy series “Burning Love,” which kicks off season two this Thursday, Valentine’s Day. The deal, facilitated by MediaLink, marks the first time that Yahoo! has exclusively committed all inventory for a premium program to a single agency. Yahoo! will work with PHD to determine the best placements for the agency's clients, which include HBO, Foot Locker, Safeway and Lord & Taylor.

Yahoo!'s Erin McPherson, vice president of video programming and originals, spoke to Ad Week about the success of "Burning Love," commenting "There's no question that "Burning Love" is a hit by any standard, Web or TV. Its viewer numbers are right up there with record-breaking numbers in cable." McPherson continued "We really want to develop a brand identity with young taste maker comedy. We are remaining committed to this space."

A spoof of TV reality dating shows, season one of “Burning Love” was a smash hit with both viewers and critics, and season two brings back many of the key actors, writers and producers, including Ben Stiller.

Yahoo! produces more than 50 original video programs a month, which provide advertisers a wide range of opportunities to get in front of a growing audience of video viewers (188 million in the U.S.). Research shows online video viewers engage deeply with their content and are receptive to advertising.

Ad wins the hearts and minds of viewers through a moving video narrated by Oprah and a Twitter campaign that raises donations to help returning veterans

Born in 1941, both Jeep and the USO (United Service Organizations) have built long and respected histories of supporting U.S. troops. Throughout World War 2, soldiers loved and depended on the indispensable vehicles in battle, and the USO offered programs, services and entertainment to help them when they returned from the fight.

Now Jeep and the USO have joined forces to aid today’s returning troops through a program called Operation S.A.F.E. Return (OSR). On February 4, the USO’s birthday, they ran a stirring and engaging ad on the Yahoo! homepage to build support for the program.

The ad features two strong videos—a moving tribute to the troops narrated by Oprah Winfrey that you may have seen in Jeep’s Super Bowl ad, and an overview of the many types of support for veterans provided by OSR. The ad includes a Twitter campaign that truly engages users in supporting the program. Every time a user tweets “#joinOSR,” Jeep donates $1 to the USO.

Advertising and exaggerations go together like peas in a pod---not just any pod, but a groundbreaking, springtime fresh, best pod in the universe

Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, ad agency types gotta exaggerate. They exaggerate about billings, awards won, number of staffers, the closeness of their client relationships, anything and everything, says our David T. Jones. They can’t help it; it’s part of their DNA. David even coined a new word for the syndrome: “exadgerations,” short for advertising exaggerations.

This week’s Ad Land takes an incredibly brilliant, once-in-a-lifetime, Nobel-Prize-worthy look at some over-the-top exadgerations that David probably heard around his shop. Take a flying leap of faith over to view the full cartoon, and your life will be totally transformed in ways you couldn’t imagine.

70% of marketers can’t integrate their online and offline customer data. Learn tips and best practices at our Feb. 12 webinar.

Your customers roam across a multi-channel marketplace leaving trails of online and offline information that can help you target and engage them. But according to research by Acxiom, 70% of marketers say they have little or no ability to integrate and analyze that data, and they’re leaving insights and opportunities on the table.

Learn how to tap into all your sources of customer data at our Feb. 12 webinar titled “Leverage Your Own Customer Data for Online Targeting and Offline Measurement.” Experts from Yahoo! and our partner Acxiom will share proven tips and best practices on key topics including:

• Leveraging your offline data to find our best online prospects and customers
• Measuring the impact of online activities on offline results---and vice versa
• Navigating the ever-changing privacy front

Learn how to add a phone number, location and more to your search ads at our Feb 26. webinar

Search ads are quick, brief, and to the point---that’s what makes them so powerful. But sometimes you could use a little more room to get your message across, and that’s what Ad Extensions, a feature on the Yahoo! Bing Network, is all about. It lets you add information into your search ads based on a user’s location and intent, which helps you more accurately target the right searchers.

Our free February 26 webinar features Yahoo! search experts who will share insights and best practices to help you get the most out of the three types of Ad Extensions:

• Call Extensions: Add a clickable business phone number to your mobile search ads (see graphic)
• Location Extensions: Add your address and phone number to your search ad
• Sitelink Extensions: Add up to six separate links to promote specific pages on your site

Mobile marketers should go “native” to create more engaging, personal ad experiences, says John SanGiovanni of Zumobi

Editor’s note: “Mobile Matters” is our ongoing series that features advertising industry leaders sounding off on the top issues, challenges and opportunities in the fast-moving world of mobile marketing.

In this week’s edition of “Mobile Matters” we hear from John SanGiovanni, Co-Founder and VP of Product Design at Zumobi. SanGiovanni, who once performed as a Ninja Turtle at Disney MGM Studios before getting into digital advertising, took on this question: What are three key elements of a successful mobile campaign?

Publishers and brands are just now starting to appreciate the importance of crafting deep brand experiences for mobile users, instead of just slapping a banner onto the bottom of their mobile screens. To me, this means delivering a more native experience, where a brand is woven tightly into the interface in a contextually relevant manner. Now, more than ever, the mobile app landscape is seeing an increased focus on the importance of a personally engaging user experience. Apps must be handcrafted to surprise and delight the user, and integrated advertising units must do the same, too.