How Videology Stumbled Into Bankruptcy; Trust Busters Vs Google

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Rewinding Videology

Videology, once the agency world’s preferred solution for online video, declared bankruptcy earlier this month after a tough few years. Digiday recounts how in the early days of digital video, Videology’s ad network model offered TV buyers an easy and scaled way to buy video across properties. But when YouTube pulled its inventory from Videology’s exchange and agencies started to buy digital video on self-serve platforms, Videology’s managed service ad network model stopped resonating with buyers. Plus, Videology’s ties to WPP, which owned a stake in the company, hurt its chances with other holding companies. “Putting all their eggs in the GroupM basket alienated them from other agency holding groups,” one former agency executive says. “You can’t be neutral. They got into bed with the biggest media buyer, which is a great strategy, but a dangerous one, too.” More.

Search And Destroy

Google’s dominance in search and digital advertising has reached the point where “analysts and venture capitalists in Silicon Valley say it’s extremely difficult for startups to get funding if their business model requires them to compete with Google for ad revenue,” according to a CBS “60 Minutes” report on the company. CBS spoke with EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, the most prominent global watchdog bringing antitrust cases against US tech giants, including a record $3.2 billion fine against Google. “Just as well as I admire some of the innovation by Google over the last decade – well, I want their illegal behavior to stop,” Vestager says. Illegal, really? “Not only do we feel it, we mean that we can prove it.” More.

The Time Is … Later

GDPR comes into effect this week, and a great many aren’t ready. “I was surprised how slowly some are moving to comply with this law,” Tiffany Morris, Lotame’s general counsel and VP of global privacy, tells Ad Age. Some businesses think GDPR requires no more than an updated opt-in pop-up and perhaps an email alert prior to May 25. Even powerhouse tech companies and large brands waited too long to produce results, sometimes leaving clients or partners insufficient time to consider their own moves. “It’s all a game of chicken with regulators,” says Johnny Ryan, head of ecosystem at the publisher solutions provider PageFair. More.

A Seller’s Market

Amazon opened the Marketplace Appstore on Monday, so for the first time sellers can purchase third-party services like pricing, promotions, inventory management and advertising through their Amazon account. The new app store could open third-party ecommerce developers to the million or so US SMBs selling on Amazon, CNET reports. Amazon has also been trying to clear the air with developers, who are wary because of its unclear policies and enforcement and increased preference for brand-direct deals. “Many developers have innovated and created applications that complement our tools and integrate with our service. We created the Marketplace Appstore to help businesses more easily discover these applications,” the company said in a statement. More.

But Wait, There’s More!