Retargeting Co-op; Good Consumers, Bad Data

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.

Retargeting Co-op

Fetchback’s former CEO, Chad Little, is back for more. Faithful readers know that display-ad retargeter Fetchback was acquired by GSI Commerce in 2010 (for a rumored $40 million or so) — and then GSI was acquired by eBay in 2011. Little moved on to his next entrepreneurial endeavor along the way and has announced that his new company, Adhesive.co, has raised $1.5 million. According to a press release, he’s launching a retargeting co-op (sounds a bit like Adroit’s strategy courtesy of Akamai’s pixel-free tech) and advertisers who participate can purchase retargeting campaigns at a $0.50 CPM rate. Read more.

Good Consumers, Bad Data

Speaking of Adroit, a new Adroit study shows that the group most resistant to being retargeted based on “old” data is educated and wealthy consumers. “This survey confirms for us the importance of using fresh data for all kinds of ad targeting,” says Adroit Digital General Manager Scott German. He discusses another finding about consumers: “While we’re pleased to see that the overwhelming majority of consumers do not mind being retargeted — and a large number even enjoy it — this survey demonstrates the risks that can come from hitting the same consumer for too long and failing to apply data insights to campaigns to improve performance.” Read the study here, and the press release here.

Mobile Is Hard

Mobile advertising can’t be treated like desktop advertising, which Victor Malachard of Adfonic explores in a column for VentureBeat. There are not only technological differences (cookies, screen size), but user behavior is different as well. He writes, “The means by which you reach those audiences are going to be different, and for mobile this means deep expertise in how mobile works. We simply do not believe that online specialists understand the complexity and nuances of mobile.” Read more.

Free Please

People don’t like ads, but what they really don’t like is paying for content. Flurry analyzed the app trend and discovered there has been an increase in free apps due to low demand for paid ones. While iOS users are more likely to pay for apps, it’s still not enough users to stop the trend of free apps with ads. Read more.

Unlockable Money

New startup Locket is hoping Android users are willing to let their lock screen be taken over by an ad for a small reward. The company, which has raised $500,000, is launching its app in beta today, according to TechCrunch. “What we’re trying to do is change the perception people have toward ads. On mobile, ads suck right now,” says Kim. “But our ads are different because they’re beautiful and they actually reward you for your glances. We hope users will like it.” Read more.

Can TV Go Both Ways?

Online video is a huge trend right now, but what happens to TV as online begins to dominate? Dave Morgan of Simulmedia looks at the TV-to-Web trend in a MediaPost column to answer that question. If TV providers are smart, he writes, they will innovate to keep up with the trends by doing things like offering on-demand capabilities on the Web that rival companies like Netflix and Hulu. Another advantage these companies have are complementary shows and ads, as well as networks, which really attract big advertising dollars because of the relatively stable ROI. Read more.

Earnings