Malware Delivered Via Ads; Pandora's Radio Ads Go In-Car

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.

When Malware Strikes

Malware was delivered to consumers via a display ad in several European countries, according to multiple reports. NBC aggregates the news and says that, according to one source, “9 percent of visitors to the malicious site through a Yahoo! ad were infected by the malware, which is about 27,000 infections per hour. The first sign of infection dates back to Dec. 30.” Romania, Great Britain and France were apparently most affected. Read more.

The New Radio

Pandora launched its first in-car ads, according to Adweek, and has signed deals with BP, Ford, State Farm and Taco Bell. Pandora has been aggressive about getting its streaming radio service into cars and is now available in nine of the top 10 selling cars. “We are now seizing the opportunity to connect advertisers with a more targeted audience than traditional radio can provide,” said Pandora’s chief marketing officer, Simon Fleming-Wood. Read more.

When Facebook Went ‘Nonsocial’

Buried in a Sunday WSJ story on Mark Zuckerberg’s evolution as a media executive is a description of his eventual embrace of “nonsocial ads” such as retargeting placements and CRM matching. “At the time, it kind of struck me as a crazy idea,” Zuckerberg said, because it seemed to depart from his early vision of enabling word-of-mouth marketing at scale. The rest is history. More.

Pin Detection

Pinterest has picked up visual search and image-recognition startup VisualGraph in a move that further points to future moves in ad monetization, Josh Constine of TechCrunch reports. As AdExchanger reported in November, Pinterest’s partnership with Getty Images (which acquired an image-recognition platform of its own in 2011) gave it access to more verifiable product data. With the number of brands active on its platform, Pinterest looks to be building an imagecentric engine of intent-fueled recommendations. Read more.

CNN Shakeup

CNN President Jeff Zucker and his platform-agnostic view may usher CNN into the digital age, a feature in Ad Age points out. One change Zucker intends to make in 2014 is to tailor videos for the Web and mobile instead of repurposing TV airings. Advertisers still need convincing, though, as some have pulled their ads from the network, citing better CPM rates from Fox and MSNBC. “We never want to give up on breaking news. But the types of programs we do offer will be broader — informational, educational, entertaining. You will see more of that next year, allowing us to broaden the audience and field to advertisers,” Zucker said. Read more.