Facebook Simplifies Mobile Signups; Krux Is Rakuten's DMP Of Choice

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The Rush On Facebook

Facebook’s latest ad offering, Lead Ads, aims to simplify the mobile signup process. The function populates data like email addresses from Facebook user profiles to increase registrations for newsletters, price estimates and follow-up calls. According to a blog post, “Advertisers may only use this information in accordance with their privacy policies, which we make available in the lead ad before people click submit. Advertisers are also restricted from reselling lead information to third parties.” Facebook is testing the format with a “small group” of businesses. Elsewhere, Facebook nabbed Yahoo’s chief cybersecurity officer, Alex Stamos, who will now act as Facebook’s chief security officer. Read Stamos’ post at Facebook.

Rakuten Cozies Up To Krux

Rakuten’s taking audience segmentation more seriously by allowing advertisers to home in on its platform insights. The firm’s marketing arm, aptly dubbed Rakuten Marketing, announced on Thursday that it will use Krux’s DMP to improve on the data it uses for personalized marketing. Rakuten Marketing’s TV and video streaming service, Viki, which it acquired in 2013, is the first Rakuten property to leverage Krux’s data. Viki will also tap into Krux’s Audience Management solution to target new audiences that resemble engaged consumer segments. Read the release.

The NYT Agency

T Brand Studio, the content marketing arm of The New York Times, anticipates doubling its profit and revenue this year from where it stood in 2014. Capital NY estimates T Brand Studio accounted for between $12 million and $15 million last year, meaning the 2015 haul could be upwards of $30 million. With ongoing campaigns of between $250,000 and $500,000 and geared toward high-end advertisers, the content marketing shop is emerging as a crucial part of the Times’ digital revenue, as evidenced by a staffing binge from 10 to 37 in the past year. But the real question is: If the Times can do it, where does that leave agencies? Read on at Capital.

Spot-On Acquisition

Spotify snapped up data analytics firm Seed Scientific for an undisclosed sum. Previously, Seed Scientific ran data analytics for Spotify competitor Beats, which Apple acquired for $3 billion last year. Fortune reporter Jonathan Vanian points out that the buy makes sense for Spotify, as it looks to increase its ad revenue amid an ever-more-crowded music streaming space. The key to this buy is data analytics that go beyond recommending artists and playlists to Spotify users. “Correlating tons of data to better tailor ads to listeners’ tastes would definitely be welcome to Spotify’s advertisers and partners,” writes Vanian. Read it.

Meeting Demand

IBM announced a new product dubbed Event Readiness on Thursday, which helps brands with surges in traffic and increases in demand. Those surges could either be anticipated (think: the holidays or special sales), or be the product of random spikes. Trey Seck, VP of client success at IBM Commerce, said the increasing marketing and commerce function of social media can also drive unexpected spikes. Event Readiness will help keep servers from crashing when running at capacity and sending customer alerts when items sell out. Ad Age has more.

Case In Point: Madonna

Live Nation SVP of Digital Media Julia Heiser joined Facebook’s David Jakubowski onstage in Cannes to discuss how people-based marketing gels with the music firm’s advertising initiatives. The core argument is that as music consumption and concert ticket purchases increasingly occur on mobile, reaching consumers across devices is the key to conversion. Heiser offered a case study in which Live Nation used Atlas’ targeting tech to promote Madonna’s 2015 “Rebel Heart” tour that resulted in a 66% increase in ticket sales tied back to mobile. As a counterpoint, not everyone buys Facebook’s pitch. Read more via the Atlas Blog.

Good Luck, Gameloft

Gameloft, a video game developer and publisher based in France, has made a series of unorthodox changes to its advertising model. The company is taking its gamers’ data and profiles, plus what it can glean from Google Play and Facebook Connect, to attract brands. Notably, the developer has also eschewed programmatic networks in favor of a highly personalized auction, which Gameloft hosts itself. The firm is also providing native ad formats, worked out through direct deals with marketers. The Drum has more.

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