OneScreen’s ‘Questionable’ Traffic; Valassis Acquired

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

Video Fraud

Adweek’s Mike Shields continues his coverage of fraud issues in online video advertising, this time focusing on video technology company OneScreen. According to the article, the company was working with Touchstorm, which reported a slew of issues they faced before ultimately dropping the company as a vendor. OneScreen has also faced problems with Meredith and HealthiNation, which creates problems with video companies such as Tremor and Videology. “Anywhere we tried it, we couldn’t get any legitimate traffic. And we tried everything. It makes me wonder: Is there any real traffic to be bought?” said Touchstorm CEO Alison Provost. Read more. Adaptive Media acquired OneScreen seven days ago.

Marketing Acquisition

It’s not just “big data.” Big money is swirling, too. According to The Wall Street Journal, coupon circular company Valassis has agreed to be acquired by Harland Clarke Holdings Corp. for $1.3 billion. Read more (subscription). In a note to investors, BMO Capital analyst Dan Salmon sees synergies behind the purchase: “Harland Clark’s top verticals include financial services, insurance and government, while Valassis’s top clients are in consumer packaged goods, food & beverage, grocery/mass retail/pharmacy, quick-serve restaurants and telecom services.” Valassis acquired display ad network Brand.net in 2012 (read a bit more) to augment its local digital ad strategy.

Social (Ad) Sameness

As the social networks start offering similar services they could risk losing creative potential with marketers, making it easy for them to duplicate message across networks. Emerging social media sites may still be innovative from the marketers perspective as they fill niche sharing needs, as Ad Age points out. A comparison chart of the current major social companies shows just how homogenous they are becoming, but it’s always up to the user and marketer to make the most of what each site offers. Read more.

Business Data

Audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG is acquiring Link Analytics to apply the power of data to its services. “Data is everywhere, and today’s consumers are more informed and discerning regarding products and services, and this has produced a critical need for companies to understand what drives those behaviors,” said Alton Adams, a KPMG principal in management consulting and US leader for customer strategy and growth. According to the press release, LinkAnalytics offers “customer experience, large-scale social network analysis and network optimization” for businesses. Read the release.

Native Social Surge

The latest BIA/Kelsey report found that native social advertising is growing faster than social display. According to the report, native experienced a 77% increase in revenue this year, driven by social. “Display remains the most prevalent form of social advertising throughout our forecast,” said Jed Williams, VP for consulting at BIA/Kelsey. “At the same time, native advertising formats are quickly emerging as alternatives to display that can generate better engagement and performance.” Read the release.