Cross-Device Search; MySpace Addressability Grows

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

Cross-Device Search

Google is putting its cross-device first-party data to use, giving AdWords users a chance to see the effectiveness of search ads at different points in the purchase funnel. The new feature is called “Estimated Cross-Device Conversions” and it relies on Google login data to track users who use Google search, according to The Next Web. “Over time, we’ll be adding other conversion types like phone calls and store visits as well as conversions from ads on our search and display network,” Sridhar Ramaswamy, SVP for ads and commerce at Google, said on the Inside Adwords blog. And read more on The Next Web.

MySpace Addressability Grows

Specific Media’s plans for music site MySpace still aren’t clear from an ads and data perspective, but the company is claiming in a release that a rebranding of the site and additional product efforts has led to a 50% increase in website visitors, from 24 million to 36 million unique monthly visitors in a few months. Read more. The release trumpets its valuable 35-or-younger demographic, which the company says is 70% of overall traffic. If MySpace is requiring login tied to email for a good part of these users, scalable addressability of this demo could be interesting to marketers, whether on MySpace or off of it. (Facebook!)

The Business Of Social

Demandbase launched a B2B social-targeting product today, called Company-Targeted Advertising, which uses Facebook data. The data target not just at the company level, but also allows for targeting of key stakeholders. “Advertisers are missing out on a valuable opportunity to market to businesses across multiple social channels – reaching the millions of executives who are also on social sites while at work on Facebook – at the very moment when they are making important business decisions,” said Greg Ott, CMO, Demandbase. Read the release.

Loyalty Costs

Fiksu’s latest index revealed the cost to acquire a loyal customer is at a record high of $1.90, as of August, up 10 cents from July. Mobile app installs have increased 46% since last year, according to Fiksu’s analysis, which is a large part of the reason marketers are pouring so much money into mobile advertising. Companies also are ramping up their spending with Q4, meaning the big holiday rush is right around the corner. “With marketing costs at a record high, and only likely to grow as the holidays approach, now is the time for mobile marketers to hone their campaign strategies — before the real competition starts,” said Micah Adler, Fiksu CEO. Read the release, or read the analysis.

Unfair Programmatic

Sales reps could be hindering programmatic progress, The Media Kitchen’s Barry Lowenthal writes for Digiday, as those worried about losing commission impede programmatic transactions. One solution that publishers have tried is offering a tiered system, whereby the sales rep gets a smaller commission for programmatic budgets. This still leaves an incentive to stick to direct sales, but as volume increases in programmatic channels it could even out the balance. Read more.

Calls To Action

Convincing people to download your app is one thing; getting them to keep using it is something else. Facebook is giving developers a boost by adding new features to its mobile app ads. Businesses can now choose from various calls to action within its mobile app ads, such as “Book Now,” “Watch Video,” or “Shop Now.” From there, businesses can “send their existing customers directly into customized, specific locations within their apps, such as new content, sales or product promotions,” writes Facebook in a blog post. Read more.

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