Commerce

    Even Google can’t avoid the vicious impact of COVID-19 on the ad industry. The ad giant’s net US digital ad revenue will decline by 5.3% this year to $39.6 billion, according to eMarketer, even as it projects the digital ad market as a whole to grow 1.7% to $134.7 billion. As a result, […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. TikTok Goes Boom TikTok made between $200 million and $300 million in advertising worldwide last year, and this year it’s aiming to generate $500 million in the United States alone, The Information reports. Optimistic forecasts and sales goals are far from reliable predictors of […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Setting Up Shop Shopify landed a partnership with Walmart so that merchants that use the ecommerce software can sell on Walmart’s online marketplace. It’s a logical tie-up: Walmart wants to rapidly scale the brands and SKUs in its marketplace and Shopify can offer small […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. A Global Effort The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) is partnering with the United Nations (UN) to establish measures that will help brands tackle diversity issues. The UN is urging brands to measure and publicize information about their progress and ability to sustain diversity […]

The direct-to-consumer brand revolution has been going strong for a decade, but the coronavirus pandemic has created new opportunities for B2B and wholesale manufacturers to flood the consumer market. Rastelli’s, a New Jersey-based food supplier, fortuitously started a consumer branding business last year, said director of marketing Zachary Paul. Instead of selling products through grocers […]

AdExchanger’s Social Distancing With Friends podcast now has its own channel. Subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. About two weeks ago, when this podcast was recorded with Jim Squires, VP of business and media at Instagram, Facebook’s acquisition of GIPHY and the rollout of Facebook Shops were two […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Do The Math MediaMath is pursuing strategic options, including a potential sale, Digiday reports. MediaMath has more than $500 million in debt and investments to recoup, so it’s a tough sell. Retailers such as Walmart and Target might have the balance sheets, but not […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Going Dark If you noticed your Instagram feed flooded with black squares, it was because of Blackout Tuesday, a collective protest against racism and police brutality. Started by the music industry, major retailers and brands such as Nordstrom and Madewell soon got involved, reports […]

Small businesses are under immense pressure during lockdown. “Holy cow, it’s tough,” said Sara Brook, CEO and founder of Dessert Gallery, a bake shop in Houston with 47 employees that’s still churning out cakes, cookies and pies for curbside pickup and delivery. “This is a scary time on every level, both personally and professionally,” said […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. TV Pullback Television ad revenues will drop 12% this year, according to MoffettNathanson – a loss the research firm WARC pegs at $25.5 billion. Despite a surge in viewership, with people stuck at home, advertisers have slashed budgets by more than 40%. Lowe’s, for […]

A weekly comic strip from AdExchanger that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem…

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Are You Committed? Advertisers want more flexibility in upfront deals this year. Cancellation options are a big topic, with buyers pushing for the right to cancel a higher percentage of their commitments closer to air date, agency executives tell Digiday. Advertisers also want “expansion […]

Criteo on Wednesday launched a self-serve ad platform for its retail media network. The platform connects demand from brands directly to supply from retailers across Criteo’s network, said Geoffroy Martin, EVP and GM of retail media at Criteo. Previously, brands could access Criteo’s retail media supply through a managed service. Criteo works with more than […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. The Digital Election  The 2020 campaign is happening online. Trump has recreated the appeal of his rallies on the “Trump 2020” app, which highlights programming from right-leaning news organizations. His team also hosts nightly webcasts on Facebook and Twitter. Trump’s outlandishness and media dominance […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. On Again, Office Again Agencies are starting to plan for office returns. Omnicom is developing a three-phase return strategy based on local government guidelines, Campaign reports. Phase one involves returning offices to 25% occupancy with social distancing rules in place, such as wearing masks, […]

Walmart and Target, which both reported quarterly earnings this week, underscore how American shopping habits are being reshaped. Walmart and Target both saw a double-digit increase in average cart value (16.5% and 12.5%, respectively) and a single-digit decline in the number of transactions, since people stocked up with fewer shopping trips. Older Americans also boosted […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Sign Of The Times The New York Times will remove third-party data and build a first-party data market as cookies bite the dust, Axios reports. Starting in July, the Times will offer 45 audience segments based on reader and subscriber data under categories including […]

Facebook on Tuesday launched a new commerce toolkit, called Shops, with a revamped model for how the company fits into the online shopping landscape. Shops will give every SMB, merchant and product company the ability to set up a virtual storefront across Facebook’s app properties. Unlike previous Facebook and Instagram commerce products, Shops will also […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Add To Cart Online grocery shopping is exploding. More than a third of Americans bought groceries online for the first time in the last month, and they have spent more on grocery delivery each week as lockdowns drag on, The New York Times reports. […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Cut Me Some Slack Advertisers are trying to get out of their TV deals as the pandemic timeline lengthens. Brands including GM, Pepsi, Domino’s and General Mills are trying to cancel commitments to broadcast and cable networks, threatening to upend the deal-making process, The […]

CPGs like Pepsi and Kraft-Heinz urgently need to develop ecommerce and direct-to-consumer business lines, whereas Anheuser-Busch InBev – having invested already in ecommerce – can now shift its media spend to support it. “As you’re hearing from everybody else, ecommerce has become a high-growth channel at this point,” Pepsi CEO Ramon Laguarta said Wednesday during […]

A wave of new brands and merchants are adopting Shopify’s retail technology, as consumer behavior swings during the coronavirus pandemic. Shopify said during its Q1 earnings Wednesday that the number of new stores selling on its platform grew by 62% in the second half of Q1 compared to the first half, and the number of […]

The dynamic duo of Bryan Wiener and Sarah Hofstetter is back in business. This time at the helm of the ecommerce analytics company Profitero. Wiener and Hofstetter were the CEO and president, respectively, of the agency 360i, which was acquired by Dentsu. Later, they both took up similar positions at the measurement firm Comscore, before […]

After Neuro, which manufactures natural caffeine-infused gum and mints, rebranded in February, it was gearing up to double down on retail, including at CVS pharmacies, GNC stores and Barnes & Noble locations on college campuses. Best-laid plans. COVID-19 hit the United States hard in early March. But co-founders Ryan Chen and Kent Yoshimura, who met […]

A year ago, if you overheard someone say “BOPIS is all the rage,” you could be forgiven for mistaking the reference for obscure ’90s-era slang. But nowadays, “buy online pick up in store” is as normal as, well, doing groceries. And it’s going to change retail advertising forever. Publicis Groupe forecast in 2019 that it would […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Facebook Warned  Facebook could lose its MRC accreditation. The MRC warned Facebook that it might lose its seal after failing to address concerns about inflated video ad metrics that arose in 2016 and led to an audit in 2019, The Wall Street Journal reports. […]

No company in the world is better positioned than Amazon to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic stronger. Most advertising companies suffered a painful contraction in March. But Amazon’s advertising revenue was up by about 40% in Q1 compared to the year before, accounting for most of the $3.9 billion Amazon earned in its “Other” business […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Primed For TV  Amazon beefed up its ad-supported OTT ranks with the hire of Maggie Zhang, former EVP of video research and insights at Dentsu Aegis Network. At Amazon, Zhang will develop reach and measurement products for Prime Video advertisers in a role that […]

Retail foot traffic and recessions be damned, people need to snack. That fact has boosted Mondelēz, despite the coronavirus crisis and economic downturns. And, unlike in previous recessions, Mondelēz is investing to win market share, instead of cutting spend to protect the bottom line, CEO Dirk Van de Put told investors on a quarterly earnings […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Cashing In The new hottest thing on Instagram is … giving away cash. Facebook and Google ads are a slow, expensive way to accrue followers. With cash giveaways, brands acquire hundreds or thousands of new users in one swoop. Influencers provide a list of […]