AOL Wants To Be No. 3; Snapchat Changes Ad Pricing

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No. 3 In Ad Tech?

AOL is working hard to differentiate itself from other ad tech providers. On Friday, Business Insider cited a recent remark by CEO Tim Armstrong that “AOL believes it will soon become a credible No. 3” behind Google and Facebook. The new ideal for top platforms is the ability to provide end-to-end service, from early media planning straight through to providing post-campaign optimization insights. It remains to be seen, though, if an open platform can compete with the most prominent walled gardens. AOL has a ways to go before it can credibly put itself in that category, as it controls 0.71% of the digital ad market, compared to Facebook’s 9.07% and Google’s 31.07%.

Snappy Ads

Snapchat is switching up its ad pricing with the launch of Two Pennies, a 10-second ad format priced at 2 cents per view. The offering lives inside Snapchat Discover, the in-app news hub with content from CNN, ESPN, Vice, People and Daily Mail, among others. Though Snapchat has yet to clarify what constitutes a viewed ad, some of its partners are already sold. “I think it’s transformative,” said Daily Mail NA CEO and former BuzzFeed President Jon Steinberg, adding, “We are ready to sell that immediately.” Snapchat unveiled the offering at the Daily Mail/Elite Daily Digital Content NewFront presentation late last week. Read on via Ad Age.

Levien’s Digital Dreams

Under sales chief Meredith Levien, The New York Times is making more inventory available programmatically and prepping ad products that can live outside its walls, Lucia Moses writes for Digiday. But despite recent gains in digital, print still contributes a whopping 70% of revenue. “We want to get it right,” Levien told Digiday. “I think we’re maybe taking our time more than others are to get it right. And I think we’re pretty comfortable with where we are.” More.

In Theatres Now

Screenvision tied up with mobile engagement platform Sito Mobile to bring real-time audience targeting to the big screen. Through the partnership, a retailer advertising in theaters could serve a coupon to mobile devices in the theater. In a press release, the firm calls the project “A natural cross-screen extension for advertisers to maintain their engagement with cinema audiences after they have left the theater, with the cinema ad still fresh and top-of-mind.” MediaPost has more.

Anti-Fraud Collab

Programmatic player Digilant, once the trading desk arm of Havas, will use pre-bid fraud screening technology from Integral Ad Science. “Programmatic advertising is an increasingly critical part of all of our media campaigns. The challenge is keeping brand safety a top priority in an automated world,” said Kim Riedell, Digilant’s SVP of product and marketing. Riedell added that the partnership with Integral Ad Science signaled the firm’s steps to combat viewability and fraud. Read the press release.