Google-Admeld Approaches; Yahoo! Mulls Selling 20%; The Ad Exchange Problem

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

Google-Admeld Approval Imminent

U.S. Department of Justice scrutiny is almost over for Google’s acquisition of Admeld according to All Things D’s Peter Kafka. Approval appears imminent, says Kafka, who writes, “It’s unclear whether the DOJ will impose any restrictions on the deal. But Web ad players, reading tea leaves and DOJ body language, are betting the sale goes through unhindered.” Read the leaves.

Mulling Yahoo!

The New York Times, among others, reports that the Yahoo! “sweepstakes” may be in the home stretch as offers for 20% of the company were being fielded from private equity firms as well as a consortium which includes Microsoft. Read it. This isn’t the end game for Yahoo!. A 20% stake bought by circling opportunists is one thing – but a real strategy going forward is another. The CEO role at Yahoo! awaits its next contestant.

Needing Ad Validation

On the Ad Ops Insider blog, Ben Kneen shines a light on Adobe’s recent announcement around its Ad Validation product and, in general, ad operations’ need for a bit of ad tech know-how. Kneen outlines the challenge to-date, “For every piece of creative or ad tag that comes in, publishers have to check the ad against their spec, running down a long checklist, gobbling up hours and hours of time ensuring that the marketer’s ad is in line with what the company’s predefined limits to protect the user experience on their site. The process is important, but so arduous, that plenty of publishers only check a handful of characteristics, if they have a QA process in place at all.” Read it.

The Ad Exchange Problem

Advertising Research Foundation’s (ARF) Ted McConnell reviews the ad exchange model on Ad Age. He sees a problem with inventory transparency: “Here we sit, with a miraculous ecosystem that can’t quite do what the marketplace needs. Exchanges have no clear way for buyers to bid on inventory quality based on the criteria that mean ‘premium.’ Would you buy a cantaloupe while wearing a blindfold and gloves? Buy impressions on blind exchanges, and that’s exactly what can happen.” He wants more data flowing to the buy side. See which data points.

Mobile-First Not First

Digiday’s Jack Marshall explores “mobile-first” publishers and whether they’re making any mobile ad dough or not. Marshall cites Pandora’s recent earnings report which is showing only “half of its advertising revenues comes from mobile, suggesting it’s essentially being propped up by other channels, such as online.” Read it. Data-driven, PC-based display media is a player here as Pandora told AdExchanger.com in 2009 when the music service signed on with Admeld for yield optimization services. Read more Pandora earnings discussion on VentureBeat.

Facebook Ad Data Debacle

The Telegraph reports, “The European Commission is planning to stop the way the website ‘eavesdrops’ on its users to gather information about their political opinions, sexuality, religious beliefs – and even their whereabouts.” All of this is in hopes of subverting Facebook’s efforts to target users with more effective, while some claim “invasive”, advertising. Read it. It may look like targeting for advertising on Facebook will take a hit. But, Facebook could require its users to accept new, updated terms and conditions that gives permission to use such data – or block the user from the site. What do you think most users will do?

Display Ads Reincarnated

Andrew Weissman of venture capital firm Union Square Ventures says display advertising is dead in a post on his personal blog. He reasons, “Web display ads are not web native; therefore they do not and will not work.” But he’s hopeful with what lies ahead saying that it “feels like we are about to enter a new, maybe a golden, age of Internet advertising and monetization.” He sees a new world of display ahead – but he doesn’t quite put it that way. Read what he does say.

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