The Persistence Of Last Click; SoftBank's Spray-And-Pray Tech Investments

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The Right Touch

Why do marketers still rely on last-click attribution to measure purchases? Well, because multitouch attribution is hard. Buyers have trouble bringing together the data they get from multiple demand-side platforms, which often have duplicative insights. And walled gardens leave huge gaps in the customer journey, making it difficult to see the full picture of what might have driven a consumer to buy something. While MTA is getting more advanced, the lack of data is causing marketers to fall back on last-touch, even if they know it’s not the best proxy. “Everybody likes to throw stones at [last-touch], but very few are willing to make a change,” said Travis Lusk, VP of analytics at Integral Ad Science. More at Digiday.

Bank On It

SoftBank is reshaping global technology through its “spray and pray” approach to investing in media and technology, reports The Information (subscription paywall). The holding company announced a new $93 billion fund in May, and it’s already plowed billions into a vast range of technology, including AI, biotech, virtual reality, computer chips, robotics and satellites. “They will make mistakes and overpay, but that’s not the point,” says Benson Tam, an Asian investor and equity analyst. “[SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son] sees the whole thing as a battle zone. If he has to sacrifice some pawns, so be it. Some deals will be pawns.” China has been the source of inflated investments for many ad tech firms [AdExchanger coverage], but the Japanese SoftBank may be doing more than any source to juice the costs of global technology, whether it works or not.

Shaky Oath

While some think Oath’s glut of media and content can put it in a position to compete with Google and Facebook, others question whether two distinct corporate cultures with different management styles will be effectively rolled up in a neatly organized entity with a bow on top. Perhaps more important, notes Vanity Fair, is whether parent company Verizon can find enough quality content to satisfy its cross-platform ambitions. “If you’re, say, AT&T, you don’t have to think hard about putting HBO or CNN on your first screen,” said a media executive, referring to AT&T’s pending deal to acquire Time Warner. “The question on the Verizon side is, do you have something from this merger than you actually feel good enough about?” More.

Mic Drop

Mic laid off 25 editorial staffers on Thursday as part of a pivot to produce more video content, Business Insider reports. “Visual journalism,” or video, now makes up 75% of content consumed on the site. The digital pub began restructuring its newsroom this summer by laying off its VP of content and integrating news and video reporters onto the same team. Mic has also made recent high-profile hires from the broadcast and video space, like former Nielsen and Vevo exec Jonathan Carson and former Viacom exec Sarah Iooss. “We made these tough decisions because we believe deeply in our vision to make Mic the leader in visual journalism and we need to focus the company to deliver on our mission,” Mic CEO Chris Altchek wrote in a note to employees. More.

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