Marketers

Claritas acquired the CRM and identity company AcquireWeb on Tuesday, the third in a yearlong buying spree as Claritas revamps its traditional audience segment business for real-time, data-driven media. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Claritas will gain 20-30 AcquireWeb employees. In the past year Claritas has also added Geoscape, a multicultural audience […]

The analytics startup Civis was founded in 2013 with roots in political data and targeting and has since transitioned to commercial business, where advertisers are less familiar with testing messages to sway public opinion. Most big brands rely on panels or focus groups, which “have a lot of contamination” because more people self-select into groups […]

Former AppLift CEO Tim Koschella is launching a company called Kayzen to help app marketers bring their programmatic ad buying in-house. Kayzen, which came out of stealth Tuesday after several months in beta, is powered by a bidder that Koschella purchased from AppLift through a management buyout last year. It positions itself as a self-serve […]

NBCU is not getting left in the dust as competitors like Amazon, AT&T and Disney plan their direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming services. On Monday, the broadcast titan said it will launch its yet-to-be-named streaming service in early 2020. The service will provide ad-supported content to pay-TV subscribers, including 90 million Comcast-connected homes in the United States […]

There’s no rest for direct-to-consumer mattress marketers. “We’re constantly running tests,” said Scott McLeod, co-founder of DreamCloud, a mattress startup housed under Nectar Home, parent company to a growing portfolio of DTC sleep and home furnishing brands, including Nectar Sleep and ecommerce rug brand Wovenly. “We have disdain for the idea of running something without […]

The Big Story is a breezy podcast featuring a roundtable of AdExchanger editors talking about the biggest stories from the past week. It is available wherever you subscribe to podcasts. The desert sun rises in Las Vegas, emerging from the eastern horizon like a roll-up LG OLED TV. The device manufacturers – reps from TV […]

While industry executives were ogling Alexa-enabled gadgets and 8K roll-up TVs at CES on Tuesday, Martin Sorrell took the stage to talk about the future of the industry and his new holding company, S4. The former WPP CEO, joined on stage by S4’s newly minted board members, MightyHive CEO Pete Kim and MediaMonks CEO Wesley […]

If Apple has its way, privacy will be a topic of conversation at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The tech giant posted a giant billboard outside Springhill Suites Marriott Hotel in Las Vegas with a message that plays on the infamous Vegas catchphrase: “What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone.” The poster, […]

Marketing and ad tech companies are becoming more involved in creative planning and production. Ad tech vendors compete to out-optimize campaigns by even a fraction of a percent, said McKinsey partner Ed See, a leader in the consultancy’s marketing practice. “But in the past few years, the power of targeting has mostly run its course,” […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. CTV Sees Green Innovid has raised $30 million to invest in CTV ad serving and measurement products. Goldman Sachs Private Capital Investing Group led the round, bringing Innovid’s total funding to $52.6 million. Innovid has held on to its independent status, which it thinks […]

The unlikeliest folks are pushing to pass broad privacy regulations these days. On Wednesday, the Association of National Advertisers, the largest ad trade org out there, urged the Federal Trade Commission to advocate for a national privacy law that preempts the regional laws cropping up all over the country. The FTC is collecting comments in […]

Keith Weed announced Thursday that he will step down from his role as Unilever’s chief marketing and communications officer in April. Weed has worked for Unilever for more than 35 years, the last eight as Unilever’s top marketer. His departure, which he announced in a tweet, has been planned for more than a year. It […]

When Gap Inc. launched the men’s activewear label Hill City in September, it marked its first new brand in a decade, and its first-ever foray into digital-first territory. Hill City has some notable differences compared to other DTC companies – like corporate ownership and a running start with distribution in 50 Athleta stores (Gap’s activewear […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Collective Sigh Visto, the company formerly known as Collective, filed for bankruptcy protection and has reached a “stalking horse” deal to sell its assets to largest investor Zeta in a $15 million all-stock deal. The court filing gives a glimpse of just how tough […]

Digitally-native direct-to-consumer brands are super-smart performance marketers, but they also appreciate the importance of branding – and they’ve been spending big on out-of-home advertising, particularly in the New York subway system. “The MTA is very excited,” said Erica Amatori, director of marketing at Burrow, a less than two-year-old DTC customizable sofa brand headquartered in Manhattan. “They’ve […]

“On TV And Video” is a column exploring opportunities and challenges in advanced TV and video. Today’s column is written by Ramsey McGrory, chief revenue officer at Mediaocean. With The Trade Desk’s market above $5 billion (Stock: TTD) and MediaMath’s valuation topping $1 billion following its last funding round, leading traditional demand-side platforms (DSPs) are […]

Direct-to-consumer brands like Mack Weldon, Manscaped and Peloton have expanded beyond their Facebook and Instagram roots – but don’t expect them to start advertising with or selling most of their products on Amazon. Though Amazon seems like a natural expansion for ecommerce startups, reducing the impact of the world’s biggest ecom platform is a strategic […]

The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) released a study on Thursday that found an 84% drop in fraud compared to the industry average when all members in the supply chain are vigilant, badged and on the level. TAG analyzed 75 billion display and video impressions across desktop, mobile web and in-app channels to look for sophisticated […]

AdExchanger Talks is a podcast focused on data-driven marketing. Subscribe here. Jounce Media founder Chris Kane gave a popular presentation at Programmatic IO New York on the buzzy discipline of supply-path optimization (SPO). In this episode, Kane comes into the AdExchanger studio for a deep dive on SPO and the ways advertisers can use it to optimize […]

The online clothing retailer Bonobos is at the center of upheaval in US retail and ecommerce. The company was acquired by Walmart last year for $310 million and has opened 58 brick-and-mortar stores in the past seven years. Bonobos also exemplified the direct-to-consumer category in September when former CMO Micky Onvural was promoted to CEO. […]

“The Sell Sider” is a column written for the sell side of the digital media community. Today’s column is written by Alessandro De Zanche, an audience and data strategy consultant. At an event I attended a few weeks ago, there was a broadcaster with a strong digital presence and a CPG brand on stage discussing […]

After years of banging the drum about gaining more control, transparency and efficiencies from service providers, marketers are doing it themselves. Cost and speed to market are necessities for marketers struggling to drive growth, but too many third-party relationships often slow things down. “Our current situation is unproductive, unsustainable, undesirable and untenable,” ANA CEO Bob […]

The in-housing trend prompted Gartner’s first-ever Magic Quadrant report for ad tech, which was released late last week. Even if not all marketers are ready or interested in taking their media buying in-house, there’s a desire across the board for more control over their tech stack – or at least to know what the heck’s […]

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

What do an international pop group, the creator of “American Idol,” Cirque du Soleil and actor Clive Owen have in common? SAP. “Marketers in the B2B space have to realize one very simple and fundamental thing: We are all human beings,” said Alicia Tillman, SAP’s chief marketing officer. “We as B2B marketers need to speak […]

Contrary to popular belief, video did not kill the radio star. It made them a YouTube influencer. Advertisers use influencer marketing to reach consumers at a time of increased ad aversion. But the sheer volume of influencers and content on YouTube alone can be overwhelming for advertisers searching for the best fit for their brand. […]

Facebook’s Marketing Partner (FMP) program is getting a bit of a facelift with the addition of new badge categories and tools to help with measurement and creative. Hundreds of tech companies, agencies and consultants jammed into the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Wednesday to get the skinny at Facebook’s sixth global marketing partner […]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has contacted the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), requesting cooperation from the trade group and its members in a criminal investigation into US media buying practices. The ANA detailed the FBI’s probe in a statement to members and validated recent unsourced reports from The Wall Street Journal and The […]

Loyalty has never been a problem for Harry & David, an 84-year-old company that sells and delivers premium foods and gift baskets. When December rolls around, most of its customers don’t need to be reminded that it’s time to order their holiday-themed gourmet treats. The challenge is getting people to engage with the 1-800-Flowers-owned brand […]

“Data-Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media. Today’s column is written by Phil Schraeder, president and chief operating officer at GumGum. The question of who exactly bears the responsibility for ensuring brand safety has typically been a gray area, with no one […]