Commerce

Amazon has become the indisputable number three digital ad platform, after Google and Facebook. But while the possibility of Amazon’s advertising business unseating the duopoly has been percolating, can it really surpass either Google or Facebook as an ad industry titan? The numbers are … discouraging, at least in the short term. Google is just […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Playing Chicken With TV The success of Popeyes’ recent chicken sandwich launch, which started with a runaway viral Twitter thread, manifested itself in the form of a 10.2% sales boost in its restaurants. The company let that social media wave ride out organically, pulling […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Tough Cookie Mozilla, operator of the Firefox web browser, will block the IAB’s DigiTrust ID, an anonymized, cookie-based identifier used by ad tech and media companies, Digiday reports. Firefox has single-digit share in the browser market – just 4% – but it’s a blow to […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. The Retail Wags The Dog A couple of seemingly pessimistic updates for Walmart and Target might actually demonstrate how those retailers are forming more mature strategies for taking on ecommerce … which mainly means Amazon. Target+, the store chain’s third-party marketplace – aka, an […]

PayPal raised eyebrows and bank balances in the ecommerce marketing technology space on Wednesday when it announced its $4 billion acquisition of Honey Sciences Corporation. Honey operates a shopping tool people install in browsers and apps that scrapes the web for discounts. The deal, expected to close early next year, is a home run for […]

Most agencies are myopic in their approach to Amazon. They might only focus on retail optimization or just concentrate on search. But Amazon also offers an array of opportunities across OTT, audio, social and branding, said Travis Johnson, global CEO of Amazon consultancy Podean. “What Amazon is doing is very broad, [and] nobody is thinking […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. All In Context  Integral Ad Science acquired European contextual targeting company ADmantX for an undisclosed amount. Using natural language processing and machine learning, ADmantX identifies the context of an article and whether a piece of content is positive or negative, The Wall Street Journal […]

Amazon introduced a new way for its cloud customers to buy and use third-party data with the launch of the AWS Data Exchange on Thursday. There are about 90 data companies as launch partners, including PlaceIQ, Epsilon, Acxiom and Foursquare. Unlike data marketplaces such as those operated by The Trade Desk, Oracle or LiveRamp, the […]

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

Nestlé has launched a team of media and tech experts to improve its programmatic supply and analytics. The new hybrid unit, called the Global Digital Media Center of Competencies (DCoC), consists of internal media talent and executives from Nestlé’s holding company vendors, WPP, Publicis, IPG and Dentsu. The team focuses on six core competencies: supply […]

Retail and ecommerce technology companies are forecasting a strong holiday shopping season, except for one problem: the late Thanksgiving this year means there’s one fewer week in the prime shopping period between Black Friday and Christmas. But does it matter if there are fewer days for shopping sprees this year? On the one hand, US […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Scary Vudu Walmart is considering a sale of Vudu, its on-demand service, The Information reports. On the one hand, Vudu Is Walmart’s only OTT foothold. On the other hand, Vudu isn’t much of a foothold. The inventory and audience opportunities are limited – though […]

Amazon stock dropped after the company reported a profitability decline in its quarterly earnings report on Thursday, with net income dropping from $2.9 billion in Q3 2018 to $2.1 billion this year. Amazon’s profitability slowed in the previous quarter as well, following a strong growth streak going back almost two years. And again Amazon executives […]

Watch a program on Vudu, and you’ll likely only see ads for products you can buy in a Walmart. That’s no accident. The Walmart-owned streaming platform uses the retailer’s purchasing data, which brands can use for targeting. They can also serve dynamic product ads, such as a Coke ad for one family and a Diet […]

Inmar, a tech and data services company, acquired the ad tech startup OwnerIQ on Tuesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. OwnerIQ is best-known for its second-party data exchange, where retailers can enable brands carried in stores to promote deals to known shoppers. The company also operates a DSP, which will help expand Inmar’s […]

Google is still by far the dominant player in search advertising, but Amazon is quickly stealing share as it grows in the number two spot. Amazon’s search business will grow 30% in 2019 to $7 billion, making up 13% of the total US search market, according to a forecast released Tuesday by eMarketer. That’s peanuts […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Rebate Redux Media agencies are paying settlements to clients as a result of contract audits sparked by the ANA’s 2016 transparency report, AdAge reports. Nearly 100 audits have taken place, but it’s not clear which clients or agencies are involved or if any money […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Ad Booking Frenzy YouTube created an instant reserve program to allow political campaigns to lock up key slots through February 2020. Just like when your favorite band goes on sale at Ticketmaster, campaign employees stayed up until 3 am so they could book the […]

The use of data in creative messaging has been talked about for years. But marketers are finally acting. At the ANA Masters conference in Orlando, Florida, last week, they showed how they create relevant messages and drive growth by using customer data. Marketers want data analysis to be “always-on,” instead of through formal market research […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. TikTok Snubs Campaign Ads Candidates: The world’s fastest-growing social app doesn’t want your money. “We have chosen not to allow political ads on TikTok,” VP of Global Business Solutions Blake Chandlee, writes in a post innocuously titled “Understanding our policies around paid ads.” He […]

Companies large and small have griped for years that tech giants – Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple – habitually engage in anticompetitive behavior. Regulators around the world are now paying attention. In some cases, companies proactively proffer their grievances, while in others, regulators solicit their feedback as evidence gathering in newly launched antitrust investigations. Here’s […]

Direct-to-consumer brands have just as much to learn about retail as traditional retail brands can learn from DTCs. “DTC founders make the mistake of thinking we know everything, just because we were able to scale and build our businesses faster,” said Nate Checketts, CEO and co-founder of Rhone, a men’s sports apparel startup founded in […]

Clorox’s Vivian Chang will speak at AdExchanger’s upcoming PROGRAMMATIC I/O New York conference on Oct. 15 and 16. When Clorox acquired dietary supplement maker Nutranext in 2018, it wasn’t just to gain share in the health and wellness category. Nutranext already owned ecommerce health brands, like vitamin manufacturer Stop Aging Now, so the company also became […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Rerouting Traffic Google plans to use a new internet protocol (DNS over TLS) to improve security in its Chrome browser, and internet service providers are worried. Specifically, they fear Google’s shift to a new standard could change the competitive landscape in Google’s favor. “They […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Help Us, IAB Next up for the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA): Gov. Gavin Newsom needs to sign the bill into law, and the attorney general needs to release practical guidelines. (Read AdExchanger’s coverage.) It’s all happening fast, and if you’re an ad tech […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. ViacomCBS Vs. The World ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish believes the key to winning the streaming wars is to unite ad supported products like Pluto with subscription video products. “The cool thing about streaming in the context of ViacomCBS is it unites two strategies that […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Programmatic Everything Tapad co-founders Are Traasdahl and Dag Liodden are the latest ad tech entrepreneurs to bring programmatic principles to adjacent industries. The two have raised $14 million for their new startup Crisp, which will use big data to reduce food waste, VentureBeat reports. […]

Big tech can’t swing a cat these days without hitting an antitrust investigation. Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple are all facing varying degrees of heat from the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general across the nation, the House Judiciary Committee and competition authorities around the world. It’s hard to keep track […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Cart, Meet Horse Seth Dallaire, Amazon’s global ad sales leader for the past five years, was named chief revenue officer of Instacart on Friday. Read the release. Instacart’s primary business is with grocers and retailers, who use it for online ordering and delivery. But […]

The world’s biggest technology companies have become some of the biggest ad spenders. Although other global brands continue to grow their ad spend at a moderate rate, they don’t benefit from the same incentives as internet brands, which earn as they spend. Legacy categories are hampered by an awkward dynamic: Risk losing digital consumers by […]