Google Launches A Global Marketer Network; Mary Meeker's Latest Internet Trends Report Is Out

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As Easy As DBC

Google on Wednesday launched its DoubleClick Certified Marketing Partner program, which aims to connect marketers with a global network of digital marketing experts and services, including media management, data and technology integrations, measurement and attribution tools. The program has launched with 40 partners, each of whom apparently meets Google’s “rigorous qualification standards.” Read the blog post.

Meeker Trends

Industry analyst Mary Meeker, lately of venture capital firm KPCB, released her annual “Internet Trends” report at Recode’s Code Conference. Get it. Pulling from IAB data, Meeker claims a $22 billion growth opportunity exists in mobile advertising as marketers remain largely “over-indexed” on a time-spent basis in legacy media like TV (slide 45). Other findings? Ad blocking takes a bow courtesy of PageFair findings (slide 47), with desktop ad blocking increasing 16% YoY (to 220 million users globally) between 2009-2016, and mobile ad blocking rocketing 94% YoY (to 420 million users). And, as per Unruly, the effectiveness of video ads leaves a lot to be desired (slide 46).

Kumbaya

Tensions between Silicon Valley tech and European governments are frayed, but this is “just a taste of a coming global freakout over the power of the American tech industry,” writes tech columnist Farhad Manjoo of The New York Times. Five companies – Alphabet, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix – dominate tech, entertainment, news and retail, with ambitions across other categories as well, and each of those companies is deeply American (not just founded and headquartered in the US, but “[espousing] American values.”) The goal of creating a single tech platform and brand that operates smoothly across the globe is looking more and more like a mirage. More.

Fraud Police

Industry leaders met with members of the FBI, Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday to discuss ways to fight malvertising. The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) organized the meeting with the hope that law enforcement can piggyback on big exchange players like AppNexus and Google, which own what windows we have into fraudulent activity and, by extension, malvertising. Ad tech leaders have said fraud requires an industrywide solution [AdExchanger coverage], but individual companies are concerned about exposing (potentially damaging) data about their own platform. “We think it is high time that we come together to discuss information sharing around criminal threats,” said TAG President and CEO Mike Zaneis. More on Ad Age.

Belly Of The Beast

An article on Medium-hosted tech blog Backchannel chronicles the rollercoaster ride of a shady, Philly-based ad tech outfit that specializes in ad injection. The company went through multiple iterations, changing names from Socialreach to 500nRed to Tiller as it shed business models and brand-tarnishing accusations. It’s an interesting look at how muddled and gray the illicit ad tech sphere is. While many are based out of Tel Aviv, others are well-recognized US startups – and many of the top executives at the firm went on to important positions at Google, Facebook and Amazon. Read on.

Say ¥€$

“It’s still early days for [monetization on] Instagram,” said Carolyn Everson, Facebook’s VP of global marketing solutions, in a segment with Bloomberg TV. One anchor asked if Facebook and Instagram are considering sharing more revenue with content creators, similar to YouTube’s model. Everson says the company is, as shown by new revenue generators like Facebook Instant Articles and its video platform. That’s swell and all, but what about Instagram? In a follow-up article, Facebook indicated that most shared Instagram revenue still funnels to media companies, and less to an organic creator community (but they’re working on it). More.

Quick Fix

With little fanfare, mobile app analytics player Fiksu has been acquired. With perhaps the refrain of a sad trombone in the background, the company posted a brief blog on Wednesday with the news that it had become part of ClickDealer, a performance marketing agency nested within Noosphere, which describes itself as “an international asset management firm.” How very … opaque. Equally unclear is what the duo will do together. Said Noosphere founder and Chairman Max Polyakov of the deal: “The combination of our resources and their technology and talent is a win-win for us both – and for the industry we serve.” It’s tough out there. Fiksu raised $16.7 million since it was founded in 2008, the most recent being a $10 million Series B in 2012.

But Wait, There’s More!