Snapchat Buys Placed; Arthur Sadoun Takes The Reins As Publicis CEO

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Well Placed

Snapchat snapped up the mobile location analytics startup Placed, which has an opt-in panel of smartphone users who allow it to track their location in return for small cash payments. “Still working independently, Placed’s goal continues to be the adoption of a common yardstick that can measure the offline effectiveness of advertising across multiple platforms and publishers,” CEO David Shim writes in a blog post announcing the news. Snapchat already has a “Snap to Store” attribution service, which tracks users who are served a brick-and-mortar brand ad and then go to a store or location within a week. Snap also bought a drone manufacturer, Ctrl Me Robotics, less than two weeks ago. “People use apps like Snapchat when they are out in the real world – not just when they are sitting behind a computer screen,” according to a Snapchat statement casting some shade at site-and search-based rivals. More at Adweek.

Maurice: The Sequel

Over Maurice Lévy’s 30-year tenure, Publicis revenue grew from $247 million to $10.9 billion. Last week, Arthur Sadoun took over as chief executive. And he takes the reins at a difficult time in the holding company’s long history, with revenue sliding, a major company reorg still unfolding and marquee clients like P&G and Coca-Cola taking their business elsewhere. Sadoun plans to create a wider “alchemy between media, creativity and tech” by snapping up tech and talent (like the recently poached Havas exec Agathe Bousquet, who’s now president of Publicis Groupe in France), he tells the Financial Times. “I take risk, I learn, I correct if it’s not good, and I scale if it’s good.” More.

Browser Power

Google’s plan to deploy built-in ad filters for its Chrome browser has raised hackles among some agencies, vendors and supply-siders. The strategy could weed out bad actors in the supply chain, but “do you feel comfortable with Google being the arbiter of what appears on a page as a user, and more importantly as a publisher?” Daniel Meehan, CEO of the publisher ad tech firm PadSquad, tells Ad Age. Apple raised the stakes further on Monday, releasing an updated Safari with blockers for ad trackers and autoplay videos. AdExchanger coverage.

I, Banker

Investment banker Jordan Edmiston Group Inc. (JEGI) has added some notable firepower to its ranks, hiring Piper Jaffray veteran Michael Hirsch to cover digital media, marketing tech, ad tech and related topics. At Piper and earlier roles, Hirsch advised on $8 billion worth of M&A and $30 billion worth of public and private offerings, including Yext, Rocket Fuel, YuMe and Bazaarvoice. “We’re looking to increase our efforts in these markets,” a JEGI spokesperson told AdExchanger.

Apple Reality

Apple has entered the world of AR gaming. At its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, the company unveiled AR software called ARKit that can superimpose digital images onto the real world, á la “Pokemon Go,” but even more realistically, Business Insider reports. Apple will also release a new app called Wingnut AR that lets users superimpose entire worlds onto flat surfaces like coffee tables. Apple hasn’t announced any plans for AR hardware in hopes of making the iPhone itself the “largest AR platform in the world,” said Apple executive Craig Federighi. More.