Turner Debuts DMP; Tapad Raises $18.5M

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TV Turning To DMPs

Turner debuted a DMP, the Turner Data Cloud, which it likens to Amazon’s targeting service. The WSJ reports that Turner wants to tap its cross-channel properties, “getting data pulled from information on folks who have shared stories via social media from CNN.com or downloaded games from Adult Swim.” Turner was careful to note that a marketer’s own data or the “services that are widely used” will be compatible. The new product aims to surface richer audience data and will use those insights to guide programming decisions.

Cross-Device Ca$h

Tapad announced $18.5 million in funding on Wednesday, bringing the cross-device platform’s total funding to $36 million. The round was led by a smorgasbord of investors – among them Blue Cloud Ventures, Avalon Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Silicon Valley Bank and others – who don’t seem bothered by the oft-cited ad tech bubble. Tapad plans to spend its cash on selling more licenses to its Device Graph and to expand its product offering, including a forthcoming linear TV measurement tool that CEO Are Traasdahl called, “a natural extension of our product road map.”

Ad Blocking Evolves

An Israeli startup called Shine could pose a threat to mobile advertising with its ad-blocking tech, Business Insider reports. Claiming it’s backed by some major wireless carriers, Shine argues that mobile ads cost users 10-15% of data plans, deplete battery life and decrease load times. But not all are worried. “Some consumers will pay or find other ways to opt out of advertising, but this will not impact this growth of mobile advertising which is set to become the majority of global digital advertising spend,” said Stephen Upstone, CEO of video ad tech firm LoopMe. Shine will white-label its offering and license it to mobile carriers, who will decide how its consumers can implement the software.

Scaling The Podcast (Or Not)

Though podcast listening in the US is growing and numbers nearly 50 million people age 13 and older per month, according to Edison Research, the pool of sponsors hasn’t diversified. The Atlantic reports that Squarespace, Stamps.com, Audible and MailChimp are podcasts’ most frequent advertisers. “I can’t imagine, especially for larger brands, that there’s going to be much advertising interest in shows other than the ones that are really big and impactful, like Serial and similar shows,” said MailChimp’s marketing director, Mark DiCristina. One deterrent is that an ad on popular podcasts can carry a $25 to $40 CPM. That’s two to three times what terrestrial radio costs.

Bots On Video

As video advertising gains share, it’s getting more attention from fraudsters. To thwart their efforts Videology has partnered with White Ops, which provides technology to identify and block online bots. One key benefit White Ops offers is the ability to “[differentiate] human vs. bot browsing even from the same compromised machine,” preventing a baby/bathwater problem. Read the release.

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App Install Boom

Opera Mediaworks reported revenues of $83.2 million for Q1 2015, a notable 162% jump since last year. The US-based mobile ad subsidiary of Opera Software attributed the spike to growing revenue in part to app-install revenue from the gaming sector. “For the rest of 2015, we will continue to focus on some key efforts such as mobile video, native advertising, premium programmatic offerings, and on growing our user acquisition and brand advertising business globally,” said CEO Mahi de Silva in blog post.

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