Snapchat To Allow Third Parties To Buy & Create Via APIs; Small Advertisers Struggle With New Google Search Rules

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Welcome, Snapchat API

Snapchat will allow third parties to buy and create ad units via APIs for the first time, Adweek’s Chris Heine reports. Its authorized partners include video DSP TubeMogul as well as a bunch of scaled social ad vendors including Social Code, Brand Networks and Unified. Monetization head Peter Sellis said, “We … know that we cannot build custom ad-tech solutions for every big type of advertiser, for every vertical. And so these [partners] really excel in those kinds of ways.” How will the auction work? Snapchat and its partners are tight-lipped about how far automation goes (Adweek cites nothing beyond invoicing), what targeting capabilities exist and how third-party data fits into the process. Read the feature.

Fewer Ads, Fewer Winners

Smaller advertisers are struggling in the wake of changes to Google’s search results pages. In a blog post, Adobe analytics director Sid Shah says most advertisers are spending the same money on the same volume of clicks, but higher CPCs in top positions force advertisers to pay more to be seen. Meanwhile, cheaper, lower-ranking spots see fewer clicks among fewer impressions. Welcome to the mobile revolution, where the little guy loses. The winners are consumers, who are seeing less ad clutter, and Google, whose revenue has grown.

Retrograde

Many “anti-ad blockers” help publishers load ads that are undetectable by blockers onto their pages. PageFair finds fault with that approach. “Reinsertion implies showing the same ad that would have been blocked otherwise, but that fails to address the root cause of ad blocking,” PageFair CEO Sean Blanchfield tells The Wall Street Journal’s Jack Marshall. As an alternative, the company offers static “magazine-like” ads stripped of data. Welcome to the future! More.

Third Time’s A Charm

Facebook’s commerce ventures have typically sizzled and then fizzled. Its online storefronts, its shopping pages and its buy buttons have all fallen short of expectations. The next attempt will come in the form of chat-based commerce, and at least one big marketer is bullish. 1-800-Flowers President Chris McCann tells Bloomberg about his brand’s Facebook Messenger: “The majority of interactions with the bot are placing an order. The vast majority are new customers for our brand.” But honest-to-God intent data remains a hurdle, Bloomberg reports. “I don’t even know if Facebook has my home address,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. “Whereas Amazon not only has my home address, but everybody I ever sent gifts to.” More.

But Wait, There’s More!