Snapchat Audience In Demand; Facebook Wants More Video

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Snapchat Advertisers Demand Granularity

Advertisers are clamoring for more info on Snapchat’s audience, according to a report in The Information. Today, Snapchat provides estimates on how many people engage with its “Live Story” videos. (CEO Evan Spiegel recently tweeted that a Coachella Live Story drew more than 40 million views.) It adds to that analytics on unique page views, percentage views by duration and how many people saw a branded snap within a Live Story. But that’s not granular enough, according to the buyers paying Snapchat’s steep $750,000 asking price. The ephemeral messaging firm will have to dole out more nuanced audience data if it aims to retain and please its advertising partners. Read more (subscription).

Facebook Exclusives

As Facebook vies to host more content for publishers directly, it may also be on the hunt for video. Adweek publisher sources say the social network has been “aggressively” asking for exclusivity, placing it into more direct competition with YouTube. Though Facebook has only done a limited number of video ad deals to date, its targeting capabilities are attracting marketer interest – it can target viewers with up to 94% accuracy based on age, gender and location. But YouTube remains the leading platform for driving overall video views, according to Kevin Cronin, chief of social and search at Universal McCann. Read on.

Netflix Vs. HBO

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings doesn’t mince words when it comes to traditional TV. “We’ve had 80 years of linear TV, and it’s been amazing, and in its day the fax machine was amazing,” he said. According to the New York Times, Hastings thinks Netflix’s original content production will give HBO a run for its money. “[HBO] hasn’t really had a challenge for a long time, and now they do,” he said. “It’s going to spur us both on to incredible work.” Meanwhile, linear TV executives are quietly considering limiting the programming they provide to Netflix, as the platform transforms from partner to competitor. Netflix added a record 4.9 million paid users in Q1 2015, bringing the global total to a little under 60 million.

Upfront-ocalypse

In what Ad Age is calling an “upfront Armageddon,” broadcasters fear that after decades of advertising growth, brands will follow through on “veiled or direct threats to shift money from TV to digital.” Broadcasters point to viewability, fraud and ROI that plague online, with CBS CRO David Poltrack calling digital migration “a really dangerous thing to do.” What’s more, the world’s three largest advertisers – P&G, Unilever and L’Oréal – have either recently put their agencies up for review or are rumored to be considering doing so.

Mobile Websites Fight For Eyeballs

Many websites have been boxed out of mobile by apps. But Google is tackling the problem head-on. TechCrunch reports that the company’s most recent version of Chrome “will support the new web standard for push notifications on Android and the desktop, which means websites will be able to push updates to users just like mobile apps do.” Pinterest, eBay and VICE News are among the first to do so. The technology, however, is still unpolished, and it will likely be many moons before apps lose any ground to the mobile web.