Criteo And SteelHouse Drop Their Lawsuits; Mobile Drives Digital Revenue

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Now Kiss!

Criteo and SteelHouse have dismissed their respective lawsuits. To recap: Criteo sued SteelHouse alleging click fraud, then SteelHouse countersued claiming Criteo’s accusations cost it more than 25 customers. After all that Sturm und Drang, the companies said in a release that they “provide different business solutions, based on distinct attribution and pricing methodologies.” Kumbaya continues: “Through the legal process, both companies, as well as the online marketing industry, have gained greater clarity about the companies’ respective solutions.” And they all lived happily ever after. Read the (very short) release.

Digital Revenue Rising

IAB/PricewaterhouseCoopers reported revenues grew 19% YoY in the first half of 2016, totaling $32.7 billion. A lot of that growth was thanks to mobile. “Mobile is a major driver of all digital revenue,” said IAB CMO David Doty, who noted that desktop is on the decline. Mobile ad revenue grew 89% over last year to $15.5 billion. Within the mobile category, video and search ads posted large upticks. The IAB also noted the top 10 digital ad sellers have consolidated market share, accounting for 74% of total revenue. The report didn’t call out the companies by name, but it’s pretty clear who we’re talking about. More in The Wall Street Journal.

Snapchat Staffs Up

The hiring spree at Snapchat is reminding some advertising folks of Facebook’s early days. The Venice, Calif.-based company, which many expect to go public next year, has hired more than 100 in New York and received tax breaks on a pledge to employ 400 there in years to come. According to Digiday, the platform is not only scooping up talent from places like Facebook, it’s also tapping into old media with hires like David Brinker, the former New York Post president who leads content and business development. Read on.

Left At The Altar

Gannett has dropped its plans to buy Tronc after two key investors backed out of the deal, The Wall Street Journal reports. Gannett bid on the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune publisher back in April, valuing the company at about $1 billion. After seven months of talks amid sliding print advertising revenue, Gannett’s financial situation could no longer support the deal. Print ads plunged 35% nationally this quarter, leading Gannett to cut 2% of its workforce. Gannett is now $300 million in the hole and Tronc’s stock is sliding precipitously. So much for scale. More.

Data Borders

Europe isn’t the only region focused on international user data privacy. Airbnb will store personal user data of Chinese residents on Chinese servers in response to growing regulatory pressure, Reuters reports. Airbnb will launch a new Chinese entity to oversee the management of this local data and operate under the rules that all Chinese user data will be “transferred to, stored, used and processed by Airbnb China in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations,” the company said to users in an email. The move could be lucrative for Airbnb in a region with growing competition: When Apple began using Chinese servers in 2015, it saw a fivefold increase in outbound customers the next year. More.