Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
Smoky Eye
How did eye shadow palettes worthy of a paint studio become the most sought-after item on teen wish lists this year? Influencers, of course. A YouTube tutorial, Instagram Story and a trending topic on Twitter powered more than a million purchases in a 30-minute span for some popular beauty and makeup influencers, The New York Times reports. These influencers have a keen business sense, typically pairing with a cosmetics brand for production and distribution, and using digital lines and limited editions to keep prices high (while many DTC cosmetics startups undercut classic brands on price, since makeup is relatively inexpensive to manufacture). Ashley Frazier, a high school senior in Chicago, has about 30 palettes, according to the Times. It’s not that she wears a lot of eye shadow, she said. “I collect them because it’s visually appealing and to support the influencers that cater to me.” More.
Aubrey Ascendant
Amazon’s VP of performance advertising, Colleen Aubrey, was added to the company’s “S-team” executive suite. The inner circle of 22 executives has direct access to CEO Jeff Bezos and a hand in strategic directions at the company. With Amazon since 2005, Aubrey will guide the next chapter of Amazon’s advertising business, according to GeekWire. That said, she is not the first Amazon advertising leader to join S-team. Paul Kotas, SVP Amazon Advertising, preceded her in the club. More. Shameless plug: You can hear from Colleen Aubrey directly in a fireside discussion at AdExchanger’s upcoming Industry Preview conference.
Hungry For Something
TripAdvisor has acquired restaurant listing management company SinglePlatform for $51 million, according to an SEC filing. The purchase will expand TripAdvisor’s digital marketing suite for restaurants – the travel search and booking company has five million eateries on its platform, it said in a news release. Restaurant services and distribution are a priority for TripAdvisor, and travel booking companies in general, as Google takes on their core service with new hotel and flight tools, writes Search Engine Land. Earlier this week, TripAdvisor’s restaurant booking subsidiary, TheFork, acquired Bookatable, a direct competitor which had been owned by the Michelin Guide. But frankly, there is no getting around Google for a company like TripAdvisor. SinglePlatform’s primary use case is to help restaurants operate listings on Google and Facebook. Google also previously acquired Zagat, the Michelin Guide’s long-standing rival in dining reviews, which it sold off last year after repurposing content for its own restaurant search listings. More.
But Wait, There’s More
- FTC Faces Push To Study Ads Targeting Children – WSJ
- Story Worldwide Merges With Influencer Shop VonShine Industries – PR Week
- AWS And FOX Team Up To Reinvent Media Content Delivery – release
- US Dem Contender Sanders Proposes ‘High-Speed Internet For All’ Plan – Reuters
- FTC Issues Opinion And Order Against Cambridge Analytica – release
- McDonald’s Opens Its First Ecom And Merchandise Site – release
- Fake ‘Likes’ Remain Just A Few Dollars Away, Researchers Say – NYT
