Machine Intelligence Takes Hold; The Next Big Programmatic Thing

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

2015: Smarter Machines

Big data: so very 2014. Next year “machine intelligence” could be the magical phrase around which a wave of startups find their footing. With a new landscape chart, Bloomberg Beta investor Shivon Zilis lays out some of the AI and “deep learning” players whose more perfect algorithms will transform sectors and perhaps start some new ones. In the ad and publishing categories, she holds up Rocket Fuel, Metamarkets, Dstillery and Outbrain, among others. Gentlemen, start your M&A engines. Survey the landscape.

Clearing The Fog

Speaking to The Drum, Quantcast marketing chief Amit Kotecha speculates on the next big thing for programmatic. As brands move away from last-touch attribution, Kotecha says cross-device attribution is on deck. “Being able to see how every user saw your ads on each of their devices and how each channel affected the other will be a big deal for the industry and is the holy grail for programmatic trading,” he said. The two main barriers to marketers adopting programmatic trading, according to Kotecha, are tech and education. Read on.

Funding Publisher Video

Woven Digital, parent company to Uproxx and Brobible, completed an $18 million Series A round. Ad Age reports that the publisher intends for its video business, Woven Studios, to make up 50% of its revenue. Woven Studios has made branded videos for MillerCoors, Sony Pictures and Electronic Arts, and CEO Scott Grimes said the studio will begin producing its own content as well. Woven also plans to invest more in tech, in order to keep up with rivals BuzzFeed, Vox and others.

Team Viewability

Data meets measurement. Nielsen plans to combine the demographic data in its Online Campaign Ratings with Moat’s analytics products. The result: Moat can now give advertiser and publisher clients access to Nielsen’s campaign measurement capabilities. It’s the first time that Moat has integrated third-party ad audience reporting, but arguably it won’t be the last. As viewability takes center stage – up there with the fraud issue – there’s more pressure on vendors to provide metrics around attention. Read more.

Driving Actions Off Facebook

Facebook is adding new call-to-action buttons for Pages, including “sign up,” “shop now,” and “book now.” Trial customer Dollar Shave Club achieved “a 2.5x higher conversion rate versus other comparable social placements aimed to drive new user acquisition,” said its director of acquisition, Brian Kim. The buttons will roll out in the US in the weeks to come, and will be available worldwide in 2015. More.