ARCHIVE FOR:

featured

  • CRM Startup Iris Mobile Builds Cross-Device Linkages Using Mobile Phone Numbers

    Chicago-based Iris Mobile provides a CRM platform that helps retail industry clients identify and personalize messaging to their customers across devices. The system works partly by taking a phone number from a customer record, and then pinging the phone associated with that number to establish a device link. Iris then tries to deliver offers most […]

  • Advertisers Need Measurement Before They’ll Invest In Connected TV And Mobile Video

    Consumers may spend a lot of time watching video on over-the-top devices and mobile, but advertisers still haven’t invested heavily in those areas. While panelists throughout Advertising Week in New York City agreed that the development of measurement techniques will help close that gap, device fragmentation complicates these initiatives. Still, connected TV makers and distributors […]

  • Home Depot And Other Retailers Shirk Mobile Ads, For Want Of Good Data

    Retailers face an uphill battle when it comes to justifying mobile ad spend. At the Shop.org Digital Summit in Seattle, some shared how they are tackling cross-device measurement and mobile attribution as more time and sales shift to mobile. “There is a study that says people spend 20% of their time on their phone, so […]

  • Admeld Band Re-Unites: Kelly Joins Millennial Media CEO Barrett

    In a reprise of their recent startup adventure, former Sociomantic CEO and Admeld exec Jason Kelly will become “President of the Company’s Managed Media” as Millennial CEO Michael Barrett looks to re-create the programmatic magic of his Admeld days which led to an eventual acquisition by Google. From today’s release (see it): “Reporting to CEO and President Michael Barrett, Kelly will […]

  • With Atlas Relaunch, Facebook Advances New Cross-Device ID Based On Logged In Users

    Facebook has done something big with the relaunch of its Atlas ad server, acquired from Microsoft 16 months ago, but that something has little to do with serving ads. Rather it’s about replacing the beleaguered cookie with a new, more reliable ad-tracking mechanism for the mobile age. The new Atlas – expected to be unveiled […]

  • Questions For MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan And Programmatic Lead Matt Spiegel

    MediaLink, long a dabbler in ad tech, has now jumped in with both feet. The strategic advisory firm tapped agency and startup veteran Matt Spiegel to ramp up its consulting work in the marketing technology area. That work will include advising marketers, publishers and tech companies on how to capitalize on the data-driven media automation […]

  • Roku: Bringing Brands, Publishers Onboard In a Cookieless, Connected TV Environment

    Roku, the first streaming player to translate Netflix to TV, has reached the 10 million-device mark. With 1,000-plus channels ranging from free to subscription (Hulu Plus, Netflix) and on-demand services (HBOGo and WatchESPN), Roku is scaling up its ad-supported vertical. Bringing publishers and brand partners onboard in a cookieless, connected TV environment comes with its own unique challenges, […]

  • Starcom MediaVest Group And Nielsen Catalina Partner At Behest Of Kellogg And Kraft

    Publicis-owned Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) and Nielsen Catalina Solutions (NCS) – a 2009 joint venture between Nielsen Research and Catalina – unveiled a two-year partnership Wednesday wherein Nielsen Catalina’s household-level purchase data will integrate directly with SMG’s optimization system TARDIIS. This deal will ideally let SMG clients swiftly access NCS data so they can better allocate […]

  • Millennial Media To Buy Nexage, Mobile SSP And Exchange, For $108M

    Millennial Media needed a good story around programmatic, and now it has one. The publicly traded mobile ad tech platform has signed an agreement to buy mobile exchange player Nexage for $107.5 million in cash and stock. The deal enhances Millennial’s credentials as an independent programmatic platform connecting advertisers with mobile supply sources, including app […]

  • The 'In-House' Trend: Can It Last?

    “Marketer’s Note” is a regular column informing marketers about the rapidly evolving, digital marketing technology ecosystem. This week it is written by Joanna O’Connell, Director of Research, AdExchanger Research.   In a recent interview with CMO Today, Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of holding company WPP Group, called the “in house” trend (i.e. marketers moving media buying – […]

  • WPP Group Supplies AppNexus With Open AdStream And A $25M Check

    AppNexus wants to rethink the publisher ad server as a holistic platform for yield management, and it’s starting with a rather old piece of technology. The company will acquire Open AdStream (OAS) from Xaxis as part of a major transaction with WPP Group that will also give the holding company a $25 million stake in […]

  • British Sky Media Brings Custom Audience-Like Targeting To TV

    When will buying a linear TV ad be as simple as executing a Facebook ad buy? Sky Media, the ad sales arm of one European broadcast and telecom giant, says it’s already happening. British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) dominates the pay-TV market in the UK, counting some 10.7 million paid subscribers a month and banking nearly […]

  • Agency Roles Are Changing As Brands Rewrite The Media Playbook

    “Marketer’s Note” is a regular column informing marketers about the rapidly evolving, digital marketing technology ecosystem. This week it is written by Joanna O’Connell, Director of Research, AdExchanger Research.   This week I released my new research report, The “6-5-3” Framework: How to Pick the Right Programmatic Media Management Model, and presented it at yesterday’s Programmatic I/O […]

  • Yo! Should Brands Pay Attention To This “Dumb, Simple” App?

    Marketers generally react to Yo, the one-touch messaging app, with bemused dismissal. Its sole function lets users ping each other with a single “Yo,” the simplicity of which has sparked no shortage of skepticism. But no one took Snapchat seriously when it surfaced, and the ephemeral photo messaging platform is now valued at a behemoth […]

  • Google Builds Out Native Ad Solutions, As Smaller Players Gain Speed

    Given the building momentum around native advertising and the growing number of publishers and startups seizing on the trend, it was only a matter of time before the 800-pound gorilla of ad technology threw its hat in the ring. While Google has yet to formally introduce its native offering, numerous AdExchanger sources with knowledge of […]

  • Twitter Rolls Out Lookalike Audiences, New Mobile Ad IDs, Targeting By Phone Number

    Twitter’s Tailored Audiences just got a little more more tailored. Advertisers can now augment their customer data using mobile advertising IDs and mobile phone numbers as a way to reach existing customers and increase audience size. In essence, the move is an extension of Twitter’s Tailored Audiences for CRM retargeting, which allows advertisers to use […]

  • Extreme Reach Hopes To Ease TV Ad Repurposing

    One of the complications of digital video and TV convergence is the arduous process of marrying the right creative with the right medium. Extreme Reach on Monday rolled out a platform promising advertisers up to a 50% reduction in that tedious workflow by enabling them to traffic creative, secure rights and measure the effects of […]

  • For Old-School Epsilon, Conversant ​Buy Will Bring Tech And New Channels

    Alliance Data Systems’ (ADS) intent to acquire Conversant (formerly ValueClick) for its Epsilon subsidiary might seem like a change in direction. R Ray Wang, principal analyst and founder at Constellation Research, described the intent to acquire as “the right move” to make Epsilon “a legit…tech company.” On a first gloss that seems like a pivot. Epsilon […]

  • Alliance Data Buys Epsilon a $2.3B Present: Conversant

    Wondering about Conversant’s future? Wonder no more, as the ad network turned ad tech company will be acquired by Alliance Data for $2.3 billion in cash and stock. Conversant (formerly known as ValueClick/Dotomi) will be folded into Alliance’s marketing services division Epsilon. Alliance hopes to close the deal by the end of the year. From the release: […]

  • Publicis Chooses Adobe To Support A Data Layer Across Its Agencies

    Publicis Groupe will make Adobe Marketing Cloud technology available to clients across its agency portfolio, the companies revealed Wednesday. Under the deal, the Paris-based holding company’s agencies will package Adobe MediaOptimizer and Adobe AudienceManager as part of a solution with the name Publicis Groupe Always-On Platform. It’s not the first time the companies have worked together on a large […]

  • Advertisers, Meet Apple Watch

    Considering Apple’s user-centric ethos, there’s a slim chance the watch’s tiny screen will ever be host to advertising in the traditional sense. It’s a move that would be “antithetical to the whole way that Apple works,” said Mark Yackanich, CEO of ad company Genesis Media.  “The question to ask ourselves is not a media-specific question, […]

  • Jump-Starting Programmatic Sales At Edmunds.com

    From a certain point of view, it’s surprising car-shopping site Edmunds.com took the plunge into programmatic selling at all. During the annual upfronts, much of its inventory sells out, including homepage placements, sponsorships, key sections and so-called “conquest” opportunities. Car manufacturers and dealerships prize the inventory because more than half of those browsing the site end […]

  • The New Rocket Fuel: Questions For CEO George John And [X+1] CEO John Nardone

    Rocket Fuel closed on its acquisition of [x+1] Friday, transforming itself from what was primarily an ad network company into a credible platform play focused on the software-as-a-service opportunity in programmatic marketing. The new Rocket Fuel has far more of the attributes of a “programmatic marketing platform” than the old one, providing clients with the […]

  • How Google Groomed YouTube For The Brand Advertising Game

    Each day, 7 million fans tune in to YouTube to see bubbly video blogger Bethany Mota make breakfast or braid her hair. The breakout video star draws tweens eager for a taste of Mota’s fashion and beauty must-haves, averaging 100 million minutes of video watched per month. She’s equally attractive to brand advertisers, clinching campaigns […]

  • What Apple’s Health Data Restrictions Mean For The Ad Industry

    Apple is laying down the law for app developers through a set of new rules, which are slated to take effect in conjunction with its long-awaited iPhone release on Monday. Apple’s alterations restrict developers’ access to data from HealthKit, its factory-installed fitness monitoring app, and third-party app extensions. The new stipulations will likely apply to the next-generation […]

  • Answering A Squirrelly Question: 'What Is PII?'

    “Marketer’s Note” is a regular column informing marketers about the rapidly evolving, digital marketing technology ecosystem. This week it is written by Lizzie Komar, Associate Analyst, AdExchanger Research.   I am thrilled to announce that AdExchanger Research’s report, “Define PII Today to Prepare for the Privacy Demands of the Future,” is available for purchase on our site, as of Wednesday. […]

  • GE Considers Native Ad Success Online And Off

    Coming from the agency world three years ago, Alexa Christon brought creative rather than media experience to her evolving role at GE, where she is now head of media innovation. And, with responsibility for GE’s US media today and an eye toward what her mega-corporation can produce globally, she’s helping to push the envelope of more […]

  • How Much Cross-Device Clout Do Facebook And Google Actually Have?

    If cross-device tracking is a room, then Facebook and Google are the elephants – except Google is the only elephant that isn’t talking. Facebook hasn’t been shy about its cross-device intentions. At the time of the Atlas acquisition in 2013, its ads product director, Gokul Rajaram, noted that Facebook’s goal is to “be able to measure […]

  • Could a Publicis-Criteo Takeover Transpire?

    It wouldn’t be the first summer weekend French agency holding company Publicis Groupe sent shock waves through the advertising ecosystem. Close to the anniversary of the infamous ad merger of equals that never quite materialized as Publicis Omnicom Group (POG), French pub Boursier reported on a rumor the holding company could be close to extending […]

  • Nordstrom’s Journey To Connect Instagram Images To Sales ROI

    Despite having close to a half million Instagram followers, upscale retailer Nordstrom knows that “likes” and “follows” are great for growing community and measuring engagement or affinity, but these actions don’t necessarily translate into hard business metrics. Retailers want to know if that showroom-grade snapshot on social actually sold a tube of lipstick. “What we’ve primarily […]