As you might expect, SmartRotation manages to rotate ads.  It offers the same two creative rotation options that Google does, and then also the ability to optimize on CPA.  Which means, according to Schoen, “[O]ur version optimizes to generate more money for the advertiser.”

LookSmart‘s SmartRotation is currently available to select advertisers as part of a limited beta test.  It should become accessible to everyone in about 90 days.

In the meantime, Schoen said that a demo webinar should soon take place.

Rick Bruner, the head of internet search advertising specialist DoubleClick told yesterday’s ad:tech conference in Sydney, that Vista’s inbuilt search engine, has the ability to cut out the likes of Google and Yahoo. This could be a serious problem.
Mr. Bruner went on to say; “It is too early to say whether these things are going to be an interesting development for the future or if they are just a passing fad and are going to go away,” Mr Bruner also said it was still difficult to read what impact the emergence of new operating systems, social networking and online videos would have on internet advertising.

Amateur video and blogs will become long-term investment channels for advertisers rather than being “fundamentally disruptive”.
Despite the rise of consumer generated video, professionally made entertainment will still be at the fore front for audience draw.

The ongoing question of measurement was another theme at the conference, with several speakers warning that marketers could be in danger of over-analyzing the huge amount of data that marketing on the internet creates. Until there is a way around the new Vista software, the more specific the search the better the find.