Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
Ad Booking Frenzy
YouTube created an instant reserve program to allow political campaigns to lock up key slots through February 2020. Just like when your favorite band goes on sale at Ticketmaster, campaign employees stayed up until 3 am so they could book the coveted slots exactly when they were made available. Previously, campaigns would have to call up salespeople to reserve slots in advance. As WSJ reports, “A YouTube ad can … be made to appear exclusively ahead of videos viewed by people identified as left-leaning voters in Polk County, Iowa, days before the Feb. 3 caucuses.” More.
Amazon Con
Amazon had its first advertising conference in Seattle last week, according to CNBC. Called AdCon 2019, the event attracted 400 people and seems to have been pretty hush-hush, as attendance was invite only. The conference website is sparse, with just dates and location. But it’s a significant step for Amazon Advertising in that it’s an event designed to court brands, compared to a previous Amazon conference, Rev2018, meant to attract agencies. As for AdCon content, CNBC reports there were lots of case studies from DTCs like mattress manufacturer Tuft & Needle and pet food company I and love and you. There were also some tactical breakouts on topics like reaching new customers, using Amazon’s sponsored ads and best practices for different verticals. More.
Easy-Peasy Platform Squeezy
Marketers talk a big game about diversifying their advertising dollars and challenging the walled gardens. But are budgets moving? Not so much. Many brands are “stuck in strategies of convenience” that keep investments on a loop with Google and Facebook and make it hard to test the waters outside the big platforms, MediaPost writes. IgnitionOne founder and CEO Will Margiloff said digital marketers are “overlooking incremental opportunities given the ease of building effective marketing campaigns on these platforms and relatively high returns on spend.” More.
But Wait, There’s More
- Europe’s Old Universities Spin Out New Tech Companies – WSJ
- Showbiz Giants Stare Down ‘Terrifying’ Debt Problem – Hollywood Reporter
- Kantar Expands Audience Activation Offer – release
- As Third-Party Cookies Crumble, Pubs Scramble To Commercialize Data – Digiday
- Google Funds Journalism When It Faces Regulatory Threats – BuzzFeed
You’re Hired
