Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
“Alexa, I’m Out Of Bleach”
Amazon is working with top-spending CPG brands on marketing deals for its Alexa voice-activated devices, reports CNBC. “For example, Alexa may suggest to a shopper who previously bought Clorox’s Pine-Sol to consider buying its disinfecting wipes.” Amazon is also looking for ways to incorporate ad spend into certain Alexa searches. Someone asking about cleaning up a spill might be “nudged to a specific brand.” As AdExchanger previously reported, CPG giants like Clorox and Procter & Gamble are upping their spend for Amazon search, subscription generation and “Skills,” Amazon’s term for voice-activated apps, even when they don’t see much return on investment, because those companies want Amazon to default to their products when voice-based shopping gains steam. More.
Ad Tech Headcounts
Because so few ad tech companies are publicly traded, “reality checks are difficult to come by,” writes Pivotal Research Group senior analyst Brian Wieser in an investor note on Wednesday. One metric Wieser tracks as an indicator of growth or decline is the number of employees listed on LinkedIn. One of the fastest-growing categories Wieser tracks is “ad quality/brand safety,” with standouts like Integral Ad Science and DoubleVerify growing 22% year over year. Ad tech pure-play leaders like The Trade Desk (53%), Criteo (23%) and Yext (32%) kept pace as well. SSPs and video-focused advertising companies held back mar tech growth, as forerunners like Rubicon Project continue to contract and video players get squeezed out by YouTube, social platforms and multi-format ad tech.
Spotify confidentially filed for an IPO in December, Axios reports. Read it. The music streaming giant is forgoing the traditional roadshow and fundraising from investment banks in pursuit of a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. It plans to start trading shares in Q1. A direct listing from Spotify, which has been previously valued at about $15 billion, could be a sign that the digital audio industry is maturing. Bloomberg has more.
ANA + WOMMA
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) acquired the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) on Wednesday. WOMMA is the third trade group the ANA has absorbed since 2014, after taking over the Brand Activation Association and the Business Marketing Association. WOMMA will further grow the scope of ANA member services, events and professional development opportunities as it looks to expand its remit in the marketing world. “This opportunity allows us to focus more on word of mouth marketing and social media than we’ve been able to do in the past,” says ANA CEO Bob Liodice. “It’s a great boon for our members and a significant step in our evolution as a national trade organization dedicated to serving all facets of the marketing community.” MediaPost has more.
But Wait, There’s More!
- Merkle Acquires Promotions And Loyalty Solutions Provider HelloWorld – release
- Alcohol Brand Diageo Halts Snapchat Ads Over Age-Targeting Concerns – WSJ
- Tenor Tapd Media Companies To Build A Business Out Of GIFs – Axios
- Amazon took 44% Of US Ecommerce, 4% Of Overall Retail – CNBC
- Verizon And A+E Expand Programming Partnership – release
- Google Takes On Microsoft With Voice, Video Upgrades – The Information (subscription)
- Nine Percent Of Popular Sites Use Anti-Adblocking Scripts – BleepingComputer
- Purch Aims To Keep Growing Its Ad Tech Licensing Biz – Digiday
- US Army Claims Ineffective Marketing Costs Taxpayers Millions – Adweek
