Matching Ads On Facebook; Microsoft On Do-Not-Track

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

Social Matchmaker

Facebook is letting some large advertisers match its users to their CRM databases using an email address or phone number. AdAge contrasts it to similar standard practices in the magazine industry, posing the question, do people want or expect this from Facebook? ‘”I don’t think anyone who has given an email and phone number to Facebook expected it to be used by Tide to target ads at them,” privacy policy consultant Alan Chapell tells Michael Learmonth. Read more.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Track

The uproar in the online ad industry over Microsoft’s decision to make “do not track” the default position of its latest version of the Internet Explorer browser left some observers wondering how the advertising side of the Redmond software giant viewed that move. Rik van der Kooi, corporate VP of Microsoft’s Advertising Business Group, writes in Adweek that the decision reflects a new way of thinking about how to pursue consumers in an age of increasing privacy worries: “We need a new norm. No longer should the consumers who generate the data for our industry be left out of the equation. On the contrary, they should have the option to participate in that part of the business to a greater extent than they ever have before.” Read the rest.

Track ‘N Shop

Fast Company’s Neal Ungerleider profile’s Swarm, which can track brick & mortar shoppers via their smartphones’ use of in-store wi-fi. By tracking shoppers looking at prices, stores can customers coupons in real-time as they track their movements. “Every customer we talk to, from small retailers to national chains, has the same problem. None of them actually know what’s happening in their stores in real time; we can help with that,” says Swarm EVP Ryan Denehy. Read more.

Once Again, From the Top

To bastardize a well-known saying, the market for someone to simplify the display ad tech landscape is infinite. Simpli.fi CRO James Moore takes a shot at this beloved genre with his own breakdown of the space, grouping companies under well known classifications (DSPs, SSPs/exchanges) and some less familiar ones (performance enhancement companies, anyone?) He acknowledges, “Change is inevitable and the neat buckets I have constructed for you are beginning to leak.” Read it.

RTB for Mobile

On his personal blog, Google-Admeld-er Marc Theerman takes time out to make a quick post on Facebook’s new exchange. He writes, “FBX is a a real-time bidding ad system where visitors to third-party websites are marked with a cookie, and can then be shown real-time bid ads related to their web browsing when they return to Facebook. Thats mildly interesting for desktop, but potentially game changing for mobile. More to come I am sure.”

Getting Acquired

Chris Dixon review his notes on the acquisition process for startups on his personal blog. He begins, “There is an old saying that startups are bought not sold. Clearly it is better to be in high demand and have inbound interest. But for product and tech acquisitions especially, it is often about getting the attention of the right people at the acquirer. Sometimes the right person is corp dev, other times product or business unit leads, and other times C-level management.” Read it.

Comings and Goings