More Trouble For Google; Blaming Ad Tech

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

Antitrust Allegations

Google’s headaches abroad just intensified. Several rivals of the tech giant, including OpenX and AppNexus, have asked regulators in Brussels to investigate Google’s dominance of the ad tech market. The Financial Times reports that representatives from Google’s competitors have visited the European Commission in recent months to plead their antitrust case, though no formal complaint has been filed. But experts on European competition law say that bringing a case against Google related to the ad tech market would be challenging, “as there is a dearth of data about the size and shape of the market and the extent of Google’s dominance.” Read on.

Ad Tech Takes Flack

Writing for The Guardian, Felix Salmon takes a whack at ad tech, which is apparently responsible for all deficiencies in mobile and desktop web browsing. “Ads’ thirst for bandwidth seems destined to increase relentlessly, whether or not bandwidth itself increases quickly enough to meet that need.” Read it. Publisher culpability? Nowhere in sight. Meanwhile, The Verge’s Nilay Patel pens a similar but more nuanced post, pointing to Facebook’s Instant Articles and Apple News as pushback against slow load times and bad user experiences.

Ready For Takeoff

Much-hyped ecommerce heavyweight Jet.com officially launched on Tuesday with plans to spend over $100 million on marketing over the next 12 months. Jet is a members-only online retailer that charges $49.99 per year in exchange for discounts on specific products and expanded rewards programs (similar to Costco, Jet’s profits will come from membership dues and not product margins). When you consider that Jet’s only chance for profit is a massive pool of annual subscribers, it’s no wonder marketing represents such a huge expenditure out of the gates. Read on at Ad Age. And, read AdExchanger’s earlier look at Jet.com.

Investing In Turkey

Performance marketing firm Adphorus closed a $1 million seed round of funding on Tuesday as it eyes expansion in Western Europe and emerging markets. A group of European angel investors and 500 Startups, an early-stage accelerator program, led the round. Adphorus, a Facebook Marketing Partner, is based in Istanbul. Read the release.

Adopting A New Banner Ad

Condé Nast has run its first campaign using the native, in-house unit (dubbed 23 Stories) that it launched earlier this year. The goal of 23 Stories is to give advertisers a more direct, functional relationship with the editorial team and “work across the entire asset stack.” In this case, that means eschewing digital in favor of print, as a Samsung-branded fridge is Bon Appétit’s first-ever sponsored cover. (Condé Nast’s Teen Vogue featured a sponsored cover in April.) Read more at Adweek.