Platforms

Facebook won’t ever solve its content moderation problems to the satisfaction of all. Not because it’s incapable of doing so, but because free speech is the hottest of hot buttons. People want Facebook to police itself – and they don’t want Facebook acting as a censor. It’s an awkward dynamic that was on display at […]

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 […]

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. 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, […]

A couple of years ago, Amazon Kindle asked Nativex, one of its app monetization partners, to strike hypercasual game publishers from its media plan. But Nativex demonstrated that the hypercasual audience is primarily female and 25+ with a predilection for e-reading – and that Kindle campaigns have really good conversions when targeting that audience. “We’re […]

Project management software maker Basecamp does not mess with Facebook and Google. “We vote with our dollars for the world we want to see, and we don’t want to see a world ruled by a handful of companies,” said head of marketing Andy Didorosi. Basecamp avoids online consumer tracking, which is “creepy,” Didorosi said. Facebook […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Back To Work Facebook has a plan for reopening offices in July. The company will have a 25% occupancy limit, bring people back in shifts and require temperature checks, Bloomberg reports. Facebook will also limit the number of employees in meeting rooms and shut […]

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 […]

With almost two months of nationwide lockdowns under our belts and a round of quarterly earnings reports, Wall Street’s sentiment around digital media and ad tech companies is … surprisingly positive. Companies that rely on advertising are supposed to be among the most prone to recessions and market panic, since advertising is historically tied to […]

YouTube is expanding the amount of inventory it’s availing in the upfront this year through a new offering called YouTube Select, the company said Tuesday. YouTube Select grows the pool of inventory advertisers can purchase on a guaranteed upfront basis by bringing more channels into Google Preferred. The new channels, called “emerging lineups,” are organized […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Copyright Or Wrong Google’s content removal system is being gamed by bad actors to remove legitimate news stories that are damaging to companies’ and individuals’ reputations. The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act stipulates that online content aggregators aren’t responsible for copyright violations as long […]

Facebook bought GIPHY for $400 million Friday, with plans to more tightly integrate with Instagram. Axios was the first to report the deal. “By bringing Instagram and GIPHY together, we can make it easier for people to find the perfect GIFs and stickers in Stories and Direct,” Facebook said in a blog post announcing the […]

The coronavirus pandemic has led advertisers to rapidly switch directions, adjusting media buys and ad creative on the fly as the market changed overnight. “Automation feels like a necessity,” says Tara Walpert Levy, VP of agency and brand solutions at Google. “Both to try to help people capture any profitable growth they can, and to […]

“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 Meiry Vaknin, vice president of partnerships at YouAppi. With Amazon having joined the Google and Facebook duopoly as the platforms dominating digital marketing, could new or old players be preparing […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Big Mac Budgets McDonald’s is increasing its marketing spend during the pandemic to gain share as smaller restaurant chains struggle. Doubling down on spend in markets where McDonald’s handles its own operations, including the United States, Australia and Canada, is part of a three-pronged […]

Tencent had a monster start to the year, with overall ad revenue bolstered by its gaming division (natch). But it’s being super cautious about its outlook for the second quarter compared with others in the gaming space as people return to work and have less time to game their hearts out. While Activision Blizzard and […]

Kieley Taylor will speak about commerce and video opportunities on Instagram at AdExchanger’s Programmatic IO Innovation Labs, taking place virtually May 18-21. Of all the trends accelerating due to COVID-19, the uptick in ecommerce is the one most likely to stick – and Instagram is well suited to benefit, says Kieley Taylor, global VP of social […]

Engagement with games is up during the pandemic, but it’s not only because people are looking for a way to kill time. Gaming can be a therapeutic exercise, said Brian Ames, president of Activision Blizzard Media, the advertising and marketing division within gaming juggernaut Activision Blizzard, which owns Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and […]

You are reading AdExchanger Politics, our news roundup in which senior editor James Hercher tracks the latest developments in political advertising, augmenting our political marketing commentary and news coverage. Want it by email? Sign up here.   While everyone in politics is figuring out on the fly how COVID-19 will affect US elections this year, it seems already […]

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 […]

Twitter really wants a piece of the performance advertising pie. On Tuesday, Twitter said it has acquired interactive mobile ad company CrossInstall. No deal price was disclosed. All of CrossInstall’s 70 employees will be joining Twitter. CrossInstall is a mobile-only DSP focused on user acquisition with its own home-grown bidder and proprietary creative offering, including […]

Social media use is up, but advertiser demand is down – and that dynamic means brands that are spending right now can get a lot of quality reach for low prices. CPMs on social are down on average between 15% and 30% across the board, according to five media buyers that spoke with AdExchanger. Facebook […]

Pinterest would’ve had a pretty decent first quarter if it wasn’t for … the coronavirus, of course. But engagement is at an all-time high, and the immediacy of what people are searching for is changing, said Arthur Sevilla, Pinterest’s head of global vertical strategy. The shift first became noticeable in early April. “It’s gone from […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Privacy On Pause COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in the United Kingdom’s investigation of ad tech privacy practices. The country’s data protection agency paused its probe into the sector’s use of personal data due to business disruptions, TechCrunch reports. The investigation stems from a […]

There’s no traditional upfront season this year, but Facebook is still looking for its seat at the table. And it comes bearing gifts. On Friday, Facebook said it will extend its full set of native targeting capabilities to a small group of test advertisers using Facebook Reserve (previously called Facebook Showcase), its tool for buying […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. YouTube Flexes YouTube represents a quarter of all AVOD and SVOD viewership in the United States, growing 80% year over year, per Comscore. Among ad-supported services, YouTube has the highest reach and streaming hours, the company said in a blog post. Time spent watching […]

Rubicon Project is laying off 8% of its combined staff this quarter to reduce short-term costs in response to its merger and the coronavirus pandemic. Originally, Rubicon Project and Telaria expected to achieve $15 million to $20 million in cost synergies post-merger, but the coronavirus pandemic led the newly combined company to increase cost-cutting to […]

Pinterest made $272 million in Q1 this year, a 35% jump from the same period in 2019, but its net loss increased by $100 million because ad spend crumbled in March. The company “began 2020 on strong footing,” said Pinterest CFO Todd Morgenfeld during the company earnings call Tuesday, but April ad spend declined by […]

Gaming is growing like gangbusters in a socially distanced world, but it’s not immune to macroeconomic trends. Take Activision Blizzard’s mobile gaming arm, King, home to the wildly popular Candy Crush franchise. Activision Blizzard, which also owns the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft franchises, reported its Q1 earnings on Tuesday after market close. […]

Media and Games Invest (MGI), the German holding company that acquired mobile location player Verve in January, is creating a separate business unit for its ad tech assets. The new unit, announced on Tuesday, is called Verve Group, and comes along with a mini reorg. Sameer Sondhi, previously SVP and GM of global business development […]