Pandora's Ad Network Issues; LinkedIn's Native Products

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

Pandora’s Ad Network Issues

In Digiday, Josh McDermott reports that there’s been some shady mobile ad network business happening through the ad network connections of music service Pandora. McDermott explains, “Thousands of Pandora users recently opted in to a push notification asking them to share their smartphone calendar information. Pandora insists the push notifications were not associated with ads Pandora sold directly. Rather, they were served by an ad network used to fill Pandora’s unsold inventory.” Read it.

LinkedIn’s Native Products

LinkedIn announced a new Showcase Page option that opens up more opportunities for companies to put specific brands in a consumers newsfeed, opening up a chance for more native advertising. The tool is launching with Adobe, HP, Microsoft and Cisco as partners, allowing these companies to build standalone pages for specific brands such as Office or Adobe’s Cloud. Users will be able to follow the Showcase Pages the same way they follow company pages, and they will come with their own reporting tools. Read more.

Hearst’s Data Business

In its business category, Hearst’s focus on data services (via investments in Fitch Ratings and Black Book’s auto database, among others) has helped buoy the whole company. “Our focus is on data and analytics and software used by our customers in their day-to-day operations,” CEO Steven Swartz tells Crain’s New York. “These businesses have a very strong growth rate, as there is more and more demand by businesses to use data to make smarter decisions. And [we are] looking to acquire more.” Read more.

RTB A-Go-Go

Mobile DSP StartMeApp, which says it has a huge presence in Latin America, announced that it’s launching an RTB exchange. On the client side the company has worked with companies like Coca Cola, Skype, Audi and Fox, and on the publisher side it has worked with Rovio, Reuters, The Weather Channel and more. Read the release.

By The Local Numbers

Local advertising is slowly going digital and, according to a BIA/Kelsey study, digital will account for around 20% of local ad sales in 2013. As MediaPost points out, mobile is going to have a very high growth rate, as local mobile ads will account for 37% of total mobile ad spend this year. Although print sales will continue to decline, online newspapers should remain steady, but radio and TV won’t account for much local spend online. Read more.

Mobile Minefield

Although mobile ad revenues are increasing, not everyone is “killing it,” reports Mobile Marketer’s Chantal Tode. Velti and AT&T’s AdWorks were both shut down as a result of not generating enough revenue in mobile, says Tode — while Facebook and Google dominate the mobile channel. Julie Ask, VP and principal analyst at Forrester, feels consolidation is the future of mobile advertising, saying, “Mobile won’t be stand-alone.” Read more.

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