comScore Announces New Attribution Model; Adconion And The Ad Network

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

Lifting Attribution

Targeted challenges with display advertising, comScore announced its continuing to enhance the company’s attribution products/methodologies with the introduction of the “Smart Lift Attribution Model.” comScore’s VP of Ad Effectiveness, Anne Hunter, claims on the comScore blog, the new product “overcomes the issue of ‘last exposure’ bias, allowing for the proper allocation of display ad campaign performance to the specific publishers, data and advertising creative that generate lift.” Currently for U.S. customers only. Read more.

Vibrant CEO Steps Down

Vibrant Media co-founder Doug Stevenson will no longer be CEO as another Vibrant co-founder, Craig Gooding, “was named non-executive Chairman and will serve as strategic counsel with a focus on products and technology. CFO Jeff Babka has been promoted to COO while retaining his CFO responsibilities and is responsible for day-to-day management of the company,” according to a release. Vibrant has been thought to be considering an IPO. Read more.

Ad Network Bifurcates

According to a release, in the UK, Adconion Media Group may be positioning itself to accept brand dollars and direct response dollars in two distinct business units as the company announced “the launch of two digital distribution platforms (DDP); Adconion Direct and Joost.” (Hey DDP! Is that what Google means with its new data strategy? Anyway…) Interesting to note the machinations, once again of the ad network model as it looks to make a case for more premium, brand-oriented environments in addition to the direct response and reach of remnant. Read the release. The company announced each platform will be serviced “for brand protection through third party verification via AdXpose and Truste.”

Splitting The Data

PaidContent’s David Kaplan talks to search data provider AlmondNet and the president of its Data Division, Michael Benedek who says his company has created a new standalone company called Datonics which Benedek will head. From the upcoming release: “Datonics provides interclick, Turn, and their marketers with proprietary keyword and segment-based data to facilitate their scalable delivery of” online ads. Read more on PC. Seems like a few reasons for this move: first, given the opportunity ahead in addressable media, a separate brand focused on digital makes strategic sense; next, a new online brand could help pique interest and lure data buyers; finally, the company can perhaps reduce risk for the overall offline/online data business by “walling off” the online component.

Data Viz Newz

Making pretty pictures from data is one key in providing actionable insights to anyone working in digital media – advertisers, publishers, ad tech gurus. ReadWriteWeb’s Marshall Kirkpatrick looks at a new company called Visual.ly that he says is giving it a shot with full-serve and self-serve tools: “It appears that in the phrase data visualization, [Visual.ly] may focus more on the visualization than on the data. The gallery of infographics is beautiful. It appears heavy on color, text, fonts and design – more than being heavy on graphs or more complex ways of communicating deeply nuanced insights into information. That’s what some other competitors focus on.” Read more.

M&A Good News

In his team’s latest research report, JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth tells investors acquisition activity in the Internet sector is looking good. He writes in his new report, “Larger Internet players are increasingly choosing to buy versus build new products or technologies in order to quickly gain exposure to new growth opportunities; Tech giants Apple, Google, and Microsoft currently have roughly $100B in cash and marketable securities on their balance sheets combined; Given Apple and Google’s history and philosophy towards dividends/buybacks, we expect them to continue to deploy their cash towards M&A to take advantage of the growing digital economy; We expect Mobile, Display, Social, and eCommerce technologies to be the primary targets of M&A in the space.”

Creative On The Agency

On DIGIDAY Daily Brian Morrissey has culled the recent tweets of AKQA chief creative officer Rei Inamoto and has asked him to explain himself, in so many words. For instance, Morrissey asks about the future of the agency and Inamoto sees product potential: “I’d like to merge communications and product innovation and find an engagement platform for the audience to be attracted to. I don’t think there’s going to be one thing the agencies will provide.” Read more from the Creative.

Breathing The DMP

In a detailed article, Adotas’ Gavin Dunaway takes a good long look at the Turn DMP and learns from Turn GM Philip Smolin, among other things, “Publishers have realized that allowing audience buying doesn’t necessarily mean the loss of control.” Dunaway notes the Turn DMP’s “open” mantra and writes, “One of the reasons Turn calls the DMP an open ecosystem is that there’s haggle room – big league clients with sway over pricing can negotiate with data vendors over cost.” Read more.

Mobile CTR Viz

eMarketer extracts data from a recent MediaMind report showing how mobile CTR is better than PC-based CTR as well as vertical breakdown. No indication on how fat fingers may also play into mobile CTR, but you mobile sellers can get some good-looking eMarketer graphics for your PowerPoint presentation right here. Shhh… don’t tell anyone. You know CTR still matters, right? Here, have another piece of can-dayyyy…

Research