Facebook Video Retargeting; Pinterest's Self-Serve Ads

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

Facebook Video Retargeting

Facebook added some features around video ads, including retargeting users who saw a brand’s earlier videos. Only large brands need apply! “Advertisers who work with a Facebook account representative can work with us to create audiences of people who have already watched their videos. Ads can be created for those specific people, helping to move them from awareness to affinity and consideration,” says the press release.

Pinterest’s Self-Serve Ads

A new self-serve option from Pinterest lets marketers bid to display “promoted pins” on the scrapbooking platform. It’s all about the SME. Facebook is going hard after small biz, but Pinterest might be better positioned in light of the shopper intent built into its platform. “People use Pinterest when they are thinking or dreaming about the future,” said Don Faul, Pinterest’s head of operations, “They’ve declared an intent.” Read more via The Wall Street Journal.

Automation’s Problem

“Programmatic, exchange-based ad trading has been with us for close to five years now. Are you impressed yet?” Doug Weaver asks ComScore co-founder and Chairman Gian Fulgoni in this week’s installment of The Drift. For the record, Fulgoni is “very impressed by the ability of programmatic to lower transaction cost.” But! A “big issue with the exchanges … is the prevalence of non-human traffic.” Read more. Comscore bought AdXpose and its brand safety tech in 2011.

Sell Smarter

Publishers need to rethink their programmatic ad sales strategies or risk the dismemberment of sales teams, says Business Insider’s chief revenue officer, Pete Spande, writing for Digiday. Spande says, “If we’re not careful about the rollout of programmatic, we could again be headed for four, six or even eight-legged sales meetings, unhealthy internal competition, unnecessary integration teams, and lengthy and expensive re-orgs that don’t really ‘take.’” To get smart about programmatic, Spande suggests publishers invest in team training, simplify workflow and connect with others who are also struggling through the transition. Read on.

Yieldbot Raises $18M

“I’ve always believed that publishers are sitting on a gold mine of first-party data. We wanted to create a technology that would mine all that gold,” CEO Jonathan Mendez told Ad Age. Read more. And read AdExchanger’s 2012 interview with Mendez.

You’re Hired!