Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.
Learning The Native Tongue
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer gave her thoughts on ad blocking during a Q&A at IAB MIXX during Advertising Week. Mayer believes ad blockers are wrong when they say their products will elevate UX and vibrancy on mobile or desktop, according to The Drum’s Stephen Lepitak. And Mayer pointed to native advertising – “We’re big believers in native” – as the publishing industry’s counterweight to ad blocking. More.
Old Dog, New Trick
Comcast debuted Watchable, a digital video hub the company has evidently been working on for some months. Though still in beta, Watchable will support viewing on multiple platforms, including web, app and over-the-top, as reported by Frank Pallota at CNN. The list of early partners is a veritable who’s-who in digital media, with companies like BuzzFeed, GoPro, Vice, Vox and The Onion. The service is entirely ad-supported, with creators getting a 70% cut. Read it.
Sun Rising In The West
In the Cold War between Madison Ave. and Silicon Valley, the tech titans are winning. Sydney Ember of The New York Times identifies Facebook’s new video measurement based off TV metrics and Google’s decision to allow first-party CRM data as examples of how tech companies are throwing more weight around. Mad Ave. is “still the heart of the business,” but that feels pretty sentimental, and NY ad tech companies lack the clout to compete with the platforms out west. Read on.
Programmatic Overhaul
Everybody knows we’re entering Programmatic 3.0, duh, but what does that actually mean? Ad Age’s Alexandra Bruell talks to Shenan Reed, president of digital for WPP’s MEC, who says market pressures and tech companies will pivot to quality inventory – as opposed to the price- and quality-reducing effects of excess inventory. Just like with print, maybe it works better if ads are sparse and strategic, as opposed to on every single page. Check it out.
You’re Hired
- BBC Worldwide Poaches Skype’s Jaclyn Lee-Joe For CMO Role – the Drum
- Ricky McClellen Joins Digilant As CTO – press release
- Liz Heron Leaves Facebook For Exec Editor Post At Huff Po – Facebook post
But Wait, There’s More!
- Twitter CEO Search: The Case For Dorsey – NYT
- Jet.com Chief Marc Lore Spills Some Numbers – NY Business Journal
- Twitter May Drop 140-Character Limit – Business Insider
- Oracle BlueKai And The Trade Desk Integrate With Are You A Human – press release
- How Brands Turn Google Searches Into Experiences – Adweek
- AffinityX Launches AudienceX – press release
- Ad Blocking: Biggest Boycott In History? – Harvard Law Blog
- IAB’s State Of Digital Video Report – press release
- Ometria Raises $2.5M To Automate Retail Campaigns – TechCrunch
- ChoiceStream Launches Revamped Self-Service Console – press release
- Ad Week Doubles As Recruitment Drive For Agencies – Digiday
