The new product, Pre-Roll Insurance, launched earlier this week and it seems like it will make advertisers happy no matter what viewers do.

Based on the CAPTCHA TYPE-IN advertising product which helped put Solve Media on the map from its launch in September 2010, the pre-roll video advertising feature replaces the usual “skip ad” button that shows up a few seconds into a video internet ad with a text box. To ditch the ad and get to the content, the user has to type the company’s slogan into the text box. The advertiser feels as though he got his money’s worth because a potential customer engaged with his branding message. The internet user, however, has to decide whether to sit through an entire advertisement or type in a potentially irritating slogan.

Either way, Solve Media says in its promotional video that it’s hit on a product that addresses two major advertising concerns. First, 70 percent of YouTube users, on average, opt to “skip ad,” according to the press release. Second, even when users don’t skip, they usually multitask instead of watching the commercial.

Max Sobol, executive vice president of Solve Media, told Technically Philly that Pre-Roll Insurance addresses those concerns in two ways:

1. Promotes user choice and saves users a bunch of time (smart ad skipping)
2. Improves pre-roll advertising effectiveness & impact for advertisers (super memorable)

Solve Media learned the power of perception early on when it dropped its original name, AdCopy, because people assumed they were a copywriting outfit. It’s also not the first time they’ve drawn mixed reviews for so adeptly facilitating the interests of advertisers, as Technically Philly reported.

Solve Media is based in Center City on South Broad, though it also has offices in New York and Chicago. The company is backed by First Round Capital, New Atlantic Ventures, AOL Ventures, Bullpen Capital and a few angel investors, according to the press release.

The company is up to 35 people in total, 20 of whom are in Center City, says Sobol, “handling tech, ad ops and publisher business development.” Satellite offices in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles are all handling ad sales, he said.

Business Insider speculated as to whether the new Pre-Roll Insurance was “creepy.”

We guess it’s up to the online viewer to decide.

DEFINITE READS

• The Washington Post has an interview with former FCC chair Michael Powell, in which the agency’s recent battles with Comcast are discussed.
• The Post also reports that leaders pushing for a reform of the national broadband plan are holding strong on the notion that their movement won’t be sidetracked by the recent court ruling that ruled against the FCC having the authority to control Comcast’s bandwidth limitations. An op-ed in the New York Times argues the same point.
• The Post adds depth to the court ruling, though, noting that it may be less a clear victory for Comcast and instead the start of a battleground between the cable giant and host of companies in tangentially related arenas like Skype, Google and Microsoft.

Below, details on Comcast’s 3D taping of the Masters, Cole Hamles breaks plates for Xfinity and more.

MIGHT BE OF INTEREST

• Noted NYC venture capitalist Fred Wilson gives net neutrality a shake.
• The Comcast corporate blog goes into some interesting detail on its 3D production of the Masters.
• The Inquirer’s Joe DiStefano reports that Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and COO Stephen Burke are likely the third and second highest paid U.S. corporate executives respectively. This isn’t entirely new. Last year, Roberts was listed as the 13th best paid top chief in the world.

GIVE A GLANCE

• Oh, Cole. WalkoffWalk gives Phillies World Series MVP turned scapegoat Cole Hamles a ribbing or two for “shilling” for Comcast’s new Xfinity brand. Watch the spot below.

When there is just too much Comcast news to follow, the Comcast Roundup will be there every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST.

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

The Inqy’s DiStefano reports that Comcast submitted data yesterday to the federal government suggesting some proposals for broadband stimulus would duplicate its services and effectively subsidize competitors. The Daily Herald adds that the company says that may make those proposals ineligible. Relatedly, a series of Philadelphia proposals for that pot of money came up short.

New York Times media columnist David Carr suggests Comcast’s “likely” bid to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal is foolhardy. If it were to get through, the Inquirer’s Joe DiStefano writes on the undercurrent conversation about whether the federal government would even allow the deal to happen.

After the jump, the latest in net neutrality, video online news and ten other Comcast links to see, including video of Brian Roberts at the Web 2.0 summit.

MIGHT BE WORTH YOUR TIME

Washington Post reports that FCC has moved ahead with its net neutrality rule-making with a unanimous vote. PC Mag reports that Comcast is still calling such actions taken by the FCC to be unlawful. Last week, Comcast vice president David Cohen took to the company’s corporate blog to give their take on the tussle with the FCC.

Forbes reports that Comcast is seeking local ad dollars through an interactive TV version of the Yellow Pages.

The Philadelphia Business Journal’s Peter Key reports that Comcast’s trial of On Demand Online has increased its customer group.

Read Write Web says Comcast is sizing up to compete with Hulu and suggest that’s a mistake.

Silicon Alley Insider lists “eight things you should know about TV Everywhere,” the industry-wide, online streaming TV service for subscribes in which Comcast is playing a role.

GIVE A GLANCE

Cable Digital News says Comcast is beefing up its interactive TV platform, leading to such content making its way on as many as 50 networks by the end of next year. Light Reading reports that Comcast COO Steve Burke says advertisers can be coaxed into loving interactive advertising with the comfort of a big national network.

Broadband DSL Reports writes that Comcast and Verizon are still bickering about who carries the most HD channels. H/T Philly Tech News.

A joint press release announces that Comcast, Sprint and Clearwire are moving 4G into Chicago and Seattle, in addition to Philadelphia, as we previously reported.

Multichanel News reports that Comcast is deploying a spammer-monitoring system to seek them out before they grow in their attacks.

Last week, we reported that Comcast CEO Brian Roberts had a much trumpeted conversation with John Battelle at the Web 2.0 Summit ’09 in San Francisco. The company’s corporate blog shared the 43-minute video, which you can see below, in addition to giving a nice summary.

When there is just too much Comcast news to follow, the Comcast Roundup will be there every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST

Last week , Tara Levin came on board as our ad-sales manager, primed to find opportunities to make TP profitable, sustainable and able to continue to grow.

“I believe in the idea of entrepreneurship and that Technically Philly is a worthwhile investment of my time and energy,” she says.

Contact her at tara [at] technicallyphilly.com.

Levin will be making the rounds to talk to businesses and members of the community who are interested in partnering with us and helping make sure we’re here to cover technology, science, innovation and entrepreneurship now and in the future in Philadelphia.

We have opportunities for display advertising, sponsorship and are always looking for new ways to partner, and Levin is the one to make that happen. She’ll also allow the writing staff of Technically Philly to remain editorially independent while still creating a sustainable business.

Levin, a native of Bucks County, is a 2008 marketing graduate from the University of Pittsburgh with a certificate in international business and a semester in Australia to her name. Levin, who now lives in Old City, is also a part-time step-aerobics instructor.

“I am really looking forward to becoming an active member of this elite community and getting to see what all of our brilliant community members are up to in our city,” she says.

An example of an ad package. Click to see all of the package options.

Over the past few months we have been adding to a long list of advertising options: feed ads, display ads, event listings and job posts are all part of our offerings to regional organizations and advertisers. We admit it can get a little confusing.

To help solve the dilemma, Technically Philly has introduced our advertising packages, an easy way to create a marketing campaign that suits the exact needs of you and your organization using a multitude of advertising offerings.

Hosting an event? Get a calendar listing and a display advertisement with our Events Planner package. Want direct access to TP’s 10,000 readers? Sponsor one of our weekly features or purchase an RSS advertisement.

And that’s just the start of it. Here’s a quick look at our eight offerings which range from a $50/month donation to eye-catching full site wraps.

A quick look at all of our packages:

• Philanthropist – A $50 donation and a mention in our weekly supporters post.
• Events Planner – Get your paid event in our calendar, plus a display ad.
• Networker – A posting on our Jobs Board and a display ad. For the growing company.
• Techie – Advertise in our RSS feed.
• Regular – Sponsor one of our weekly features.
• Inside Salesman – Our ad sales team will write a 600-word feature on whatever you’d like that appears directly in our content stream, plus a display ad.
• Jetsetter – For total coverage. Full site wrap and a ton of other bonuses.
• Standard Ad Options – Cherry pick your own package.

Feel free to explore our offerings and as always, we welcome any comments or criticism.

Every Thursday morning, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

Weeks likely still remain before any more actionable steps would be taken in Comcast’s very tenuous, highly publicized possible 51 percent purchase of NBC Universal, according to the Wrap. But, Sharon Waxman reports on the site, there is a deal in principle.

But, folks there’s plenty standing in the way:

• The L.A. Times reports that Vivendi, the French company with a 20 percent stake in NBC, has veto power over any change in majority control and, without any immediate and obvious prospects left on which to spend proceeds from their cut of the deal with Comcast, may choose to hold on to its cut. The West Coast Times also reports that the company has thus far kept quiet about its board’s decision on whether to move or stay.
• Bloomberg reports that it appears Comcast leadership would, if the purchase happened, likely keep NBC’s executive team in place, including the embattled CEO Jeff Zucker, who in his reign has seen the channel go from first to fourth in national ratings and is increasingly getting heat from within the organization.
• Tactics or not, Media Memo reports that Comcast competitor and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes compared this possible deal with the failed merger between his company and AOL in the 1990s.
• Silicon Alley Insider reports that NBC staffers had concerns about seeing their health care coverage change and even worsen in comprehension if the purchase were to happen, though Comcast employees responded quickly in praising their coverage. Such a small flurry of concern does well to exemplify how much would have to go into a deal like this.
• While many of these players have since been dismissed, Forbes last week reported the existence of other potential suitors to unload NBC from its owner General Electric. H/T Philly Tech News

Even in the still very uncertain reality that this high-profile purchase were to occur, a simple majority stake by Comcast would hardly offer even the hint that NBC’s decidedly 67th ward-branded programming would take on any Philadelphia tone.

But, it could, of course, be noted that in recent years NBC has shifted the locations of its Web divisions and some MSNBC functions from Manhattan to New Jersey. While other realities were at play, the dramatic difference in real estate cost between the two surely wasn’t ignored. Philadelphia could prove an even cheaper, yet higher-profile home than the Garden State, with all the other benefits of a major city in between the government and financial capitals of the country, for any such low-profile administrative or other departments.

After the jump, more Comcast-NBC fantasizing, a large Internet security rollout and, yeesh, at least 10 other Comcast stories of note.

MIGHT BE WORTH YOUR TIME

It’s still very much a fantasy, but there’s no reason to ignore the very real benefits that Philadelphia offers both Comcast and perhaps NBC.

• The Wall Street Journal reports that the purchase would help give Comcast a sports network — coupled with NBC Sports — that could perhaps even rival industry standard-bearer ESPN.
• BusinessWeek reports that, in addition to the sports power, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is likely eying the potential of bringing more highly-sought-after video content under an authentication-required online video site, like the company’s proposed TV Everywhere.
• A Business Week blog post questions whether Comcast’s move for NBC has everything to do with insidery views of the direction of cable TV.
• The Inqy’s Joe DiStefano reports that, while Comcast stock fell following news of its courting General Electric for NBC, the bold talks make investors giddy with the thought of economy in which IPOs and financial lateral moves happen again.

Comcast news this week certainly went far beyond its potential move for NBC.

• The company’s corporate blog announced Constant Guard, but the team dedicated to proactively reaching out to customers affected by spammers, viruses and bots that has been much trumpeted by the company’s public relations unit has been largely drowned out by the noise of NBC. CNET reports on last week’s launch, and the team’s focus on tracking trends like a sudden, heavy surge in traffic from a particular IP adresss. The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that the initiative includes free security software that customers can download from Comcast, and Gigaom gives its approval.Also as part of the service, Comcast is begining in the Denver, Colo. market sending service notices to customers who may have been affected by these Web dangers. “We think we�re one of the first (and perhaps the only) ISPs in the U.S. to implement these types of measures,” said Comcast spokesman Charlie Douglas in an e-mail to Technically Philly.

GIVE A GLANCE

• The Washington Post’s tech blog has an interview with FCC Chairman Juluis Genachowski, in which he again stands firm in his net neutrality convictions, which would, among other things, stop Comcast and other ISPs from limiting the amount of broadband space users occupy.
• Multichannel News reports that the advertising placement in Comcast’s still-developing, online video streaming service TV Everywhere is very much an undecided matter.
• Cable Digital News reports that Comcast is deploying in Jacksonville, Flor. a system that inserts advertisements into its on-demand video content.
• Cable Digital News that Comcast recently purchased Chicago-area based CLEC Cimco, a mid-level business services firm.
• The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that Phillies ratings are up 25 percent on Comcast SportsNet. Damn front-runners.
• Gigaom runs a piece criticizing the necessity of Comcast’s new convergence device, designed to integrate a wireless home router, a VoIP service and other functions. H/T PTN

When there is just too much Comcast news to follow, the Comcast Roundup will be there every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST

We’ve been chronicling the plight of Razorfish for a few months now. To recap: Microsoft acquired Razorfish’s parent company in 2007 and has been looking to unload the interactive agency ever since. Razorfish, formally known as Avenue A, has offices all over the world including Center City Philadelphia.

According to the Times of London, Microsoft was in “an unholy rush” to get the deal done so it wouldn’t have to pay scheduled bonuses to Razorfish’s employees.

Details of the deal after the jump.

The software giant settled on Publicus’ $530 million deal which includes an agreement to buy “hundreds of millions” in Bing advertising. Microsoft will take a stake in Publicus as part of the deal.

• The purchase was roughly 1.5 times Razorfish’s 2008 earnings.
• $230 million was in equity and $300 million in cash.
• Publicus agrees to buy ads from Bing at a discount for five years.
• Razorfish’s management will remain unchanged
• Razorfish will retain its branding.

[h/t to Philly Tech News, paidConent, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and the Times of London]

Every Thursday morning, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup.

2009 may well be remembered as the start of the push for alternative online revenue models.

In a trial that was understandably held in Huntsville, Ala., Comcast found that viewers shown ads targeted to their tastes and demographics watched them nearly 40 percent longer than those who were fed more standard, general interest commercials, as the Associated Press reported yesterday.

According to the AP report, that means viewers can expect to see advertising in lots of new places and often beyond the traditional 30-second variety. Interactive and targeted online-like advertisements that won’t be opted-out and will appear in, say, on-demand video or channel guides.

The advertisers are coming and the coming years will bring about a more directed pitch than ever before.

After the jump, a Comcast executive ice skates his early morning away and the three other Comcast stories you ought to read.

In order of importance for your convenience.

• The Daily News has a large profile on Peter Luukko, the president of Comcast-Spectacore and the only Philadelphia executive I know who gets up before the sun rises so he can play ice hockey in Vorhees, N.J., but I assume there are others.
• Interactive TV Today reports that Comcast rolled out to triple-play customers in Oregon and parts of Washington state a Universal Caller ID service that displays the name and phone number of a caller on an operating television and computer screen. Then I can ignore telemarketers during episodes of American Idol.
• Tucked in a press release on PBS HD content (see Congressman Henry Waxman’s mustache up close!), Comcast announces its On Demand service surpassed 11 billion views.
• A corporate press release boasts that Comcast was named one of 50 best places for diverse managers to work by Diverse MBA Magazine.

When there is just too much Comcast news to follow, the Comcast Roundup will be there to fill your every Comcast desire or fantasy.

Every Thursday morning, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup.

Seventeen more cable TV networks have agreed to put their content on Comcast’s TV Everywhere, the proposed online video service that would be offered to subscribers only. That brings the total to 23, according to the Associated Press.

Though some public discourse has remained skeptical of the authentication model, Comcast has continued to move forward with its unprecedented experiment of paid content on the Web.

HBO is in that number of participants. The cable channel recently announced it will put at least 750 hours of its programming on the service scheduled to be rolled out for 5,000 trial subscribers in coming weeks, as reported by the Philadelphia Business Journal. That’s nearly as high profile as the thunder heard after CBS announced it was following suit, as reported by MediaMemo, which followed Time Warner becoming the first big fish in the pond with Comcast. Others, like Starz, added their own buzz.

Details on the security of the system aren’t yet clear, but it’s unlikely 23 networks, including major players like Time Warner, CBS and HBO would join so quickly if something wasn’t clear.

After the jump, more social media praise, a Comcast technician turns to crime and six other stories for the faithful.

In order of importance for your ease:

• TUAW reviews Comcast’s new iPhone and iPod touch mobile application, which syncs the company’s e-mail and voice mail and shows onDemand movie trailes and more.
• The Inquirer’s Bob Fernandez reports on what will be the latest iteration of Comcast’s advertising campaign featuring Shaq and Ben Stein. It’s a Starsky and Hutch spoof that you can expect to see after Aug. 3.
• Keystone Edge runs something of a recap of the ongoing battle between Verizon and Comcast in the Philadelphia region. We’ll try to forgive the Rocky lede.
• Business Week shares some business Twitter tips from Comcast ahead of another New York Times story praising the telecommunications company’s social media public relations campaign.
• Multichannel News reports that a Comcast technician in Oregon allegdly robbed a check-cashing store of $3,000, jacked a female employee with a crowbar and bailed. [Insert your punchline in the comment field below]. H/T Philly Tech News.
• MediaWeek reports that Comcast is tossing up a host of Spanish–language content in North Carolina. Cambie el programa.
• Corporate blog Comcast Voices is running big with the company’s recently introduced partnership with One Economy on the Comcast Digital Connectors program, a technology literacy program for underprivileged children. Read the press release for more, or peep the below video introduction.

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When there is just too much Comcast news to follow, the Comcast Roundup will be there to fill your every Comcast desire or fantasy.

Two high-profile, Web-based Philadelphia startups each announced more services to their products recently.

Center City-based, event-planning social network i-Meet.com announced today its partnership with PlannerNet, a service aimed at helping its nearly 10,000 member organizations to find, rate and contract for project-based labor.

That move follows a host of new add-ons to PhindMe Mobile, a mobile Web direct-to-consumer advertising company based at Drexel University’s Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship, which came earlier this month, according to a company press release.

The new service offered by i-Meet, the brainchild of 17th and Oregon’s own John Pino, is said to identify professional meeting and event skills that are available worldwide, helping to match planner experience and projects for event organizers. It’s a move Pino hinted at during an interview with Technically Philly in May.

“In this challenging, economic environment, companies are becoming more inclined to staff their events on a project by project basis,” Pino says in a company press release. “By connecting our worldwide social network to PlannerNet, we’re… delivering qualified talent”

PhindMe’s new features are more varied, ranging from native smartphone applications to Twitter functionality.

The service will be able to publish a client’s mobile Web site as a native app for the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android operating systems, a release from CEO Chuck Sacco read. Now a company’s existing blog or any other RSS feed can be easily integrated for mobile users. PhindMe additionally boasted the addition of Twitter-powered mobile pages, featuring custom Twitter feeds and remote mobile page editing. The site also announced it would now accept international payments.

If an interview we had with Sacco from April is any indication, these new features aren’t what are on his mind.

“Our future is less about cool new features and more about ensuring we have the most efficient ways to distribute our products,” Sacco told us. “Hopefully you’ll see some new distribution deals for us where we get our products into the hands of some big players and become known as the new standard for the mobile web.”