For new-media advertising, creativity's the key

As the advertising world increasingly gravitates toward new media, there's been a wave of creative new marketing strategies that may or may not prove successful. Many companies have been turning to the burgeoning gaming world: This summer, In Touch Media filed for a patent to incorporate "seamless ads" into video games. And Microsoft showed its interest in new forms of advertising when it purchased start-up Massive.

Other start-ups, however, are looking to follow the success of Google's AdWords by trying to give traditional Web site ads a fresh face. One of those is Right Media, which is aiming to promote a business model of online advertising as a transparent marketplace akin to a trading floor. And it might be working. Their latest concept, the Publishers Media Exchange (PMX)--announced Monday--has already attracted the attention of blogging software hub Six Apart, search site LookSmart, and social quiz site Tickle, among others. And PMX clients have access to Right Media's main offering, the Right Media Exchange, which has over 11,000 buyers and sellers participating.

Combining the hectic world of advertising with the frenetic practice of trading might seem overwhelming, but if Right Media's strategy works, the notoriously cutthroat natures of both might just cancel each other out.