Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here
Game On
Amazon is making a big push into game advertising, if recent job postings spotted by Business Insider are any indication. “We’re looking for the right hands-on engineer to work on a disruptive advertising system set to revolutionize customer acquisition for gamers,” according to the listings. “Imagine layering the strength of Amazon’s deep purchase history data with the power of machine learning to build a programmatic service that will disrupt the $100 billion-plus gaming industry!” It’s unclear if the roles are tied to Twitch, Amazon’s live game-streaming platform, but it’s a category where Amazon controls a lot of data and player engagement. The mobile acquisition space remains hot with valuations (such as Vungle’s $750 million price tag) far higher than traditional performance advertising businesses. Read on.
Make It Snappy
PopBuzz, the digital news and culture site owned by Global Media, is doubling its Snapchat programs from three to six in the next month, following an uptick in viewers and revenue. The PopBuzz Snapchat shows launched in October last year as an experimental channel for the company’s 40-person video team, Charles Ubaghs, Global’s audience development director, tells Digiday. But since Snapchat introduced 6-second unskippable ads for its Shows category in March, the content has become a revenue driver. And Snapchat shows bring other, less quantifiable brand boosters for the media company, too. “The presenters of these shows, who were previously news editors, now get stopped in the street,” Ubaghs said. “That’s how engaged the core demographic is.” More.
Vobile Goes Mobile
Vobile Group, a content rights management company, is acquiring Zefr’s copyright and channel management assets, RightsID and ChannelID, for $90 million. It’s an odd acquisition. The Zefr businesses were profitable and generated more than $40 million in the past year, whereas Vobile was unprofitable and reported $15.2 million in revenue last year. About 100 Zefr employees are moving to Vobile, leaving Zefr with a headcount of 150, Variety reports. Going forward, Zefr will focus exclusively on BrandID, its YouTube-based contextual advertising business. Vobile’s customers include global film studios, broadcasters and global entertainment companies. Like those companies, Vobile needs to improve its visibility and monetization of digital media, particularly YouTube. More.
But Wait, There’s More
- Patreon Raises $60M, Targets Global Growth And Customization Tools – TechCrunch
- The People With Power At Amazon Web Services – The Information
- Political Ad Spend To Reach $6B For 2020 Election – eMarketer
- Thoughts On The Future Of Online-To-Offline Commerce – Street Fight
- Emoji SEO Presents Opportunities For Video – Search Engine Land
- Microsoft’s Cloud Business Drives Record Sales – WSJ
You’re Hired
- Firefly Adds Execs To Spearhead Measurement And Analytics – release
- Unilog Taps Meg Guard As VP Of Customer Success – release
