Allison Schiff is the managing editor of AdExchanger, where she covers mobile, Facebook (sorry, Meta), measurement, privacy and the app economy. Allison received her M.A. in journalism from the Dublin Institute of Technology in Ireland (her favorite place), and a B.A. in history and English from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.
Jodie McAfee, SVP of sales and marketing at Vizio-owned Inscape, likes to stay “within whispering distance” of the engineering team. “I don’t ever want to be out there promising what I can’t deliver,” said McAfee, who joined Vizio in 2015 after more than four years helping build Samsung’s ad platform. But that doesn’t stop the […]
Looking for proof that the ad tech sector is still growing? Well, you won’t find much on Inc. Magazine’s most recent revenue survey, released on Wednesday. The list, which keeps tabs on the three-year revenue growth of independent companies, was nearly devoid of ad tech startups – although there are a handful of notable exceptions. Freestar, […]
Every state in the United States, plus Washington, DC, has an attorney general tasked with regulating, investigating and enforcing against noncompliant marketing practices. They’re known colloquially as “baby FTCs” – but don’t be fooled. They’ve got teeth. “Think of state attorneys general as the top cops in their respective state; they’ve got active consumer protection agendas […]
CBS and Viacom are (finally) back together, and that will create lots of opportunity for advertisers. On Tuesday, after years of will-they-won’t-they corporate turmoil, the entertainment behemoths agreed to merge in an all-stock deal that values the combined company at around $30 billion, with $28 billion in annual revenue. The new entity will be called […]
Twitter is planning to eliminate third-party customer data sources from its ad-buying system, a shift that’s strikingly similar to the action Facebook took following Cambridge Analytica. Advertisers will still be able to use third-party data, they’ll just have to buy it themselves and Twitter reserves the right to approve the data sources. Twitter told The […]
The streaming wars are heating up, and Roku is on a tear. On Wednesday, Roku posted its best second quarter results since going public, with overall revenue up 59% year over year to $250.1 million, and 1.4 million new subscribers since last quarter. Active accounts now stand at 30.5 million. Average revenue per user was […]
If all goes according to plan, America’s two largest newspaper chains will become one by the end of the year. Earlier this week, New Media Investment Group, parent company of GateHouse Media, announced its intention to buy USA Today publisher Gannett in a deal valued at $1.4 billion. If antitrust regulators approve the merger, GateHouse […]
The news: Facebook is suing two shady developers for using Audience Network to gin up fake clicks on Facebook ads. What isn’t news: Audience Network, which advertisers use to extend their Facebook campaigns to third-party sites and apps, can be a conduit for ad fraud and fake traffic. The developers, Hong Kong-based LionMobi and Singapore-based […]
In May, during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee about the impact of data privacy and competition policy on the digital ad ecosystem, former AppNexus CEO Brian O’Kelley told lawmakers that Google and Facebook deserve to be broken up. “Let’s apply some common sense to the regulatory process just by acknowledging that consumers pay […]
It’s a cliche to say that data is fuel but, in GasBuddy’s case, that’s literally true. The GasBuddy app, which helps drivers crowdsource information about cheap fuel prices, has access to opted-in location data from more than 15 million monthly active users. Users are more than willing to share their data, because they’re receiving a utility […]
You haven’t seen any marketing for Disney+ yet, but you’re about to. Disney is on the verge of a marketing blitz for its direct-to-consumer streaming service. The campaign will kick off in late August and run across traditional, digital and Disney owned-and-operated channels leading up to the service’s planned launch date on Nov. 12. It’s […]
Real-time bidding (RTB) is a flashpoint in the debate over the future of programmatic advertising. But whether the practice of using personal data in a real-time ad auction is lurching toward its deathbed in Europe, thanks to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or whether companies will just need to update how they collect consent […]
Former Fox executive Joe Marchese is getting ready to kick the tires on some ad tech assets for his new company, Attention Capital. But first, he needs a few media brands in his portfolio. On Monday, Attention made its first acquisition, throwing in with Lupa Systems, James Murdoch’s private investment firm, for a controlling stake […]
Kroger is spending more on connected TV and it’s just a “natural evolution,” says Kendra Clune, associate media director at the grocery retailer. “Ratings are dwindling on traditional television, and where are those viewers going?” she said. “We saw that our buys were skewing older and older, and we knew we needed to capture more […]
Pinterest had a great second quarter – which is also only its second quarter as a public company – but don’t expect the sort of numbers you see from Google, Facebook or even Snapchat. “When will we be as mature as Google and Facebook? I think it’s a long road ahead,” Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann told investors […]
Lawmakers are crusading against big tech in bill after bill, and none seemingly more so than Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. At age 39, Hawley is the youngest senator in Congress, and he’s the author of numerous bills that aim to loosen large technology platforms’ grip on power. The most recent bill, called the Social Media […]
Google added a slew of new solutions, ad formats and targeting options to its automated app ad platform and to AdMob, the company said on Wednesday. And there’s a theme: Automation and machine learning are becoming increasingly central to Google’s vision for app advertising. Advertisers can use automation to be more efficient with their user […]
Device sales overall are still on the decline at Apple, but services revenue is starting to grow like gangbusters. Apple generated $11.45 billion in revenue from services during its fiscal third quarter, which ended in June, the company told investors on Tuesday. That’s a 13% year-over-year increase. Services accounted for 21% of Apple’s overall revenue, which […]
Bad news, disco fans: Advertisers will soon no longer be able to target people on Facebook based on their love of ABBA’s 1977 hit “Take a Chance on Me.” That’s just one of several thousand infrequently used targeting options Facebook is getting rid of in an effort to declutter its ad system, the company said […]
Creative automation is proving to be just the ticket as StubHub earmarks more of its marketing budget for video. Historically, StubHub has spent a lot of money successfully on lower-funnel tactics, such as paid search and retargeting, to encourage ticket sales. But there’s a lot more to performance than simply pointing in the direction of […]
Facebook is getting poked by both the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, but that doesn’t mean it’s facing two separate antitrust probes in the United States. “It would be unprecedented, not to mention duplicative, for the DOJ and the FTC to be investigating the same company for essentially the same conduct,” said […]
The Department of Justice gave final approval Friday to T-Mobile’s $26 billion merger with Sprint. The third and fourth largest carriers in the United States will soon be one. But there are some caveats that come with the DOJ’s approval, including requiring both companies to divest some spectrum and certain prepaid wireless assets to Dish […]
Twitter is super focused on direct response advertising, the company told investors Friday on its second quarter earnings call. To that end, it’s in the process of deprecating legacy formats, including carousel ads, and investing in more DR-focused ad offerings, such as its mobile app promotion (MAP) product. Twitter plans to also retire other formats […]
Facebook’s stock dipped slightly on Wednesday morning after the Federal Trade Commission formally announced its $5 billion dollar fine over privacy violations. But by the time Facebook reported its second quarter earnings after the bell, the stock had recovered and then some. Facebook is up 3.2% after beating expectations and raking in the ad revenue. […]
TikTok isn’t developed enough yet to be a fully-fledged contender for ad dollars, but it’s growing like #area51, and advertisers have finally noticed the short-form video app. Roughly 60% of the app’s 26.5 million monthly active users in the US are between 16 and 24, according to a TikTok pitch deck circulated to US ad […]
Turns out people really like those Snapchat baby face and gender swap filters. The app’s daily active users hit 203 million in Q2, up 8% year over year, and revenue was far better than expected at $388 million, a 48% increase from this time last year, according to the company’s Q2 earnings disclosure. This is […]
Slow-loading ads are still a perennial problem for publishers. Wise Publishing, a Toronto-based publisher of personal finance content with around 5 million monthly unique visitors, acquires a significant portion of its traffic through paid channels. But if an ad loads slowly and a visitor leaves, so does that monetization opportunity. “Dealing with latency is incredibly […]
Ascential, the company that owns the Cannes Lions festival and MediaLink, just bought a slice of the ad tech ecosystem with a 35% stake in marketing analytics company Jumpshot. The investment, worth $60.8 million, values Jumpshot at nearly $173 million. What does the parent company of ad land’s favorite international get together want with a […]
When private equity firm Blackstone announced its plan this week to acquire video-focused mobile ad network Vungle, multiple sources pegged the deal at $750 million – a remarkably large price tag for a company that only raised a little over $25 million. The question is, why so high? Mobile gaming is massive For one, Vungle has […]
Holding your breath on ads coming to Netflix? Time to let it out. There will be no advertising on Netflix anytime soon if ever, the company said in a letter to shareholders on Wednesday in advance of its second quarter earnings call. “We, like HBO, are advertising free. That remains a deep part of our […]
