DFA Ad Server Goes Global; Amazon's Big Ad Plays

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DFA Ad Server Goes Global

Updated: From its DoubleClick Fpr Advertisers blog, Google announced that its DoubleClick For Advertisers (DFA) ad server has rolled out globally. The updated platform is called DoubleClick Campaign Manager and it integrates the DoubleClick For Advertiser UI with DoubleClick Bid Manager. Some of the changes include workflow, ad formats, audience features and reporting. Google is also bringing dynamic creative (Teracent?) capabilities to its AdWords platform to help small and medium businesses, according to a post on its Inside AdWords blog. One product, Ready Image Ads, will automatically construct display ads that can then be customized based on a provided URL.

Amazon’s Big Ad Plays

Amazon is firmly planting itself in the advertising space, Wired points out, as it seeks to move from ecommerce to a tech giant. According to eMarketer, Amazon is poised to bring in around $250 million more in ad revenue than Twitter. With its vast amounts of first-party shopping data, Amazon creates interactive ad units that allow consumers to buy a product from anywhere on the Web. Read more.

User-Gen Banners

Brands are very interested in user-generated content, but getting rights to use that content has been a tricky business. Chutes, a media rights services, hopes to make it easier for companies to gain rights to content by acting as an intermediary (remember the digital “syndication” craze in the early 2000s?). The Next Web spoke to CEO and co-founder Ranvir Gujral about how Chutes facilitates this process, which is by giving a user some sort of code that serves as permission. Chutes can also turn that content into banners ads for brands. Read more.

Breaking Ad

Breaking Bad has a lesson for everyone, even advertisers. Doug Weaver points out on The Drift that some of the main pillars of advertising will at some point crumble. His optimistic side says that the industry will use its abilities to solve problems like viewability, but his cynical side points to the third-party cookie attitude of “we’ll just do something else” as evidence that the industry is fractured. He writes, “I love the innovation, the courage, the invention, the people…all of it. I just want to see it all devoted to building great businesses — and a great business — that will stand the test of time.” Read more.

Super Local

Mobile ad platform 4Info is combining location data with purchase data to power its new AdHaven Bullseye HyperLocal platform. Catalina is incorporating this new technology into its own advertising solution as well. “The ability to employ a separate creative message specific to a defined location will ultimately drive lift and loyalty for the world’s leading CPG brands while creating a powerful mobile experience for their customers,” said Catalina’s Chris Henger. Read more.

Data Investigation Heats Up

After Senator Jay Rockefeller’s investigation into data brokers stalled, he turned to data collectors to find out what information they ask for from visitors and how it’s shared. According to Adweek, the FTC is also looking into data brokers, as privacy concerns escalate. “While some consumers may not object to having their information categorized and used for marketing, before they share personal information it is important they know it may be used for purposes beyond those for which they originally provided it,” Rockefeller wrote. Read more.

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