Platforms

Facebook updated Dynamic Ads on Tuesday, allowing advertisers to target potential customers based on their interests and intent rather than just the specific products they’ve browsed. “We observe demographics and patterns of activity that indicate a person is really interested in a product category or a specific product and then we extrapolate from that information […]

Platforms, which are highly scalable and rely on others’ content, were supposed to have it easier than publishers. But on Wednesday, Medium laid off a third of its staff, a total of 50 people. CEO Ev Williams explained that the sponsored content model offered only “incremental improvements on the ad-driven publishing model,” in a blog post […]

Publishers like Bloomberg and The Washington Post have raced to roll out non-intrusive ad formats priced on attention and engagement metrics. The IAB’s efforts to curb disruptive ad experiences also reinvigorated the dialogue. Verizon-owned AOL is the latest to join the conversation. On Thursday, it dished up several new ad formats designed around consumer engagement […]

Like other digital publishers, Condé Nast wasn’t immune to the challenges of scaling an upstart, owned-and-operated video property in a climate dominated by YouTube and Facebook. In 2015, Condé Nast’s video hub, The Scene, struggled to hit its stride, despite owning a portfolio of popular titles that includes Vogue and Vanity Fair. That’s changed, according to Joy […]

A year ago, the rise of ad blockers put the online advertising ecosystem into an existential crisis. But not only did the ‘adpocalypse’ never materialize, many of the same stakeholders who were on the defensive now see a chance to reclaim lost ground. “People were literally saying this is the death of the web, and […]

Quick-serve restaurants don’t involve much purchase consideration. You’re either hungry for a burger, or you’re not. “For us, it’s about reaching the right person at the time they’re thinking about making a decision,” said Brandon Rhoten, VP, head of advertising, media and digital marketing at Wendy’s. That’s why, to draw attention to its Double Stack […]

Augmented reality is more than just Pokémon – but it’s got a long way to go before it’s really mainstream. “Pokemon GO created more awareness of augmented reality,” said Rachel Pasqua, North America practice lead of connected life at MEC Global. “But people in our little corner of the business have been aware of AR for […]

A few years ago, when Twitch CRO Jonathan Simpson-Bint would walk into meetings with agencies and advertisers, they’d cock a dubious eyebrow. “That many people engage on Twitch? You’ve got to be kidding.’ That was the reaction,” said Simpson-Bint, who’s been with Twitch since 2011, three years before Amazon acquired the social gaming and live […]

Pandora is increasing its bet on ad tech. The streaming music platform will bring on Eric Picard as VP of ad product management to continue building out display and video products and lead its dive into programmatic audio. Picard is a longtime ad tech executive. In 1997, he launched Bluestreak, one of the first companies […]

Kochava has spent the past year building up the Collective, its audience data co-op for in-app advertising. Last week, it picked up its first DSP partner – The Trade Desk – to carry the data. Kochava’s Collective works by gathering data from three sources: aggregated third-party providers, ad networks that pool audience behavior insights and […]