Online Ad Roundup: Yahoo; Publicis; Google; Marchex; Spot Runner; Packaged-Goods; Universal Music

Yahoo Opens Access to Panama: Yahoo opened its Search Marketing Commercial API Program, which is intended to provide businesses and developers of all sizes free, open access to its Panama ad system. The program also offers companies optional fee-based services that can be customized to include varying degrees of technical support, product roadmap visibility and co-marketing services.

Publicis Eyes Further Acquisitions: Though Publicis Groupe’s $1.3 billion purchase of interactive ad shop Digitas at the end of last year represented the agency’s attempt to catch up to its larger rivals in the online advertising front, the company is considering similar acquisitions in the near future, according to Reuters’ coverage of its recent shareholders meeting. Specifically, chairman Maurice Levy said he is looking at purchases in health, technology and interactive advertising.

Google Signs Multi-Year Deal With Glam: Fashion/beauty-focused content provider Glam is teaming with Google to distribute contextually relevant text ads on its network as part of Google’s AdSense system. Google also will provide search on Glam.com and will soon feature some display ads across its network. Glam will continue to sell the majority of its own display inventory.

Marchex Adds Yahoo To Distribution System: Marchex will convert search ad listings from its pay-per-click engine, Enhance Interactive, into Yahoo Sponsored Search listings on Panama.

SpotRunner Targets Local Law Firms: Local TV ad system Spot Runner is teaming with Reed-Elsevier unit LexisNexis Martindale-Hubble to offer law firms inexpensive, customized commercials. Spot Runner will create a batch of a dozen 30-second clips, which can be edited to include law firms’ contact information for play in local markets.

Packaged Goods Ads: There is a growing sense among packaged goods marketers that search advertising should represent a significant part of their ad budgets. Kevin Kells, national industry director for package goods at Google, says: “We’ve seen exponential growth [in package-goods search buys] over the past year.” Personal care and beverages have been the fastest-growing sectors, he said, and the growth of broadband video and the ability to link search to it have been among the biggest factors attracting package-goods advertisers.

Record Labels Discover Widgets: Within a feature on how record companies are increasingly turning to widgets as branding tools, Billboard notes that Universal Music Group has created the U Music Gadget, a widget for Microsoft’s Windows Sidebar feature in the new Vista operating system. The widget lets users access their entire music and video libraries (regardless of whether they include UMG acts) directly from the desktop.

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