Twitter Second-Screen Ads; The New Google Way

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

Twitter Second-Screen Ads

As part of Advertising Week in NYC this week, Twitter will be talking up its TV products. The Wall Street Journal reports on the microblogging company’s second-screen product, Amplify: “With Amplify, networks post short video replays on Twitter in near-real time. The video is sponsored by a brand. The network and Twitter each get a cut of the ad proceeds. (Twitter declined to detail the split.)” Read more on Twitter ad plans (subscription). There’s no mention of the MoPub acquisition, though, which could also augment reach of TV ad campaigns through Twitter.

The New Google Way

Google’s forced transition of enhanced campaigns caused some advertisers to pull back, especially in retail, while others experienced better click rates and lower CPCs, according to Laurie Sullivan at MediaPost. The one sore spot for advertisers is results analysis. According to J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth, a focus on location and time of day will be more important going forward. Read more.

Video Fingerprinting

TV ads will approach one-to-one addressability if advertising company Gracenote lives up to its self-inflicted promise. The Next Web’s Paul Sawers reports on the company’s video advertising personalization tech for connected TV devices: “The so-called video fingerprinting all takes place inside the TV – so we’re not talking second screen, or third-party apps here. It goes on in the background without the user really knowing about it. It can of course fit into the bigger second screen picture.” Of course. Read more.

Sports King

Fox Sports and YouTube are teaming up to bring Burger King ads to viewers in a deal arranged during the Digital Content NewFronts. Yes, there were deals at the NewFronts! Ad Age’s Tim Peterson reports that the Fox Sports’ YouTube channel has around 69,000 subscribers, significantly less than ESPN’s, but the TV channel still has considerable reach. Fox Sports Digital’s Marla Newman says the company is “definitely exploring” the possibility of bundling TV spots with the YouTube deals. Read more. Wonder what that Fox Sports’ sales team structure looks like today? And tomorrow?

Rethinking Publishing

The New York Times’ Nick Bilton reveals Gawker Media’s latest publishing plans, known as the “Kinja” platform. Publisher Nick Denton looks to further enable the reader as reporter, as Bilton explains: “When people sign up for Kinja, they are given their own Web address on the Gawker platform — similar to a Tumblr Web site — which becomes a collection of that person’s comments on stories. Kinja will also enable readers to write headlines and summaries — comments that have graduated from college, if you will — for stories on Gawker and even from other sites.” Read more.

Cross-Platform Bedfellows

The Federal Trade Commission has let Nielsen know that even though it has acquired people-counter Arbitron for $1.3 billion, it must continue to make widely available Arbitron “Portable People Meter” service for eight years. In addition, as Variety’s Todd Spangler details, “Under the terms of the FTC’s approval, Nielsen must continue to support Project Blueprint, the cross-platform project measuring TV, radio, PC, mobile and tablet engagement that ESPN has been working on with Arbitron and comScore.” Read more.

Why Rocket

After his company’s surprisingly successful debut in the public markets, Rocket Fuel CEO George John tells the WSJ’s Money Beat blog that “Rocket Fuel’s big data use ‘really helped’ with general tech investors on the road show. ‘A lot of people were talking about big data, and a lot of them wanted to know more about the [artificial intelligence] business on top of it,’ he said.” Read more.

Agency Inefficiencies

According to an unnamed brand planning director who spoke to Digiday’s Josh Sternberg, agencies are falling behind in the digital advertising landscape and, by his account, are completely inefficient. The unnamed source tells Digiday, “I could name a very large company who are currently paying top dollar for expert community management across multiple social presences. It’s being done by a single intern with precisely zero experience.” Read more.

But Wait, There’s More!