More EU Disapproval; Pubs Could Benefit From Ad Blocking

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EU Pluribus Unum

The EU’s top court issued some sharp statements regarding Facebook’s 15-year-old data-sharing agreement with US government agencies. The nonbinding decision from the EU’s advocate general said European “Facebook users are not informed that their personal data will be generally accessible to the US security agencies.” Stephanie Bodoni reports for Bloomberg that other tech powerhouses expressed concern though their trade group DigitalEurope (which also represents Apple, Google and Microsoft) that an EU decision to halt Facebook’s data flow would have major commercial repercussions for US companies with similar data-sharing agreements. Read on.

Ad Block Opportunity

AppNexus CEO Brian O’Kelley takes up the ad-blocking topic in a think piece for Forbes and brings it down to supply and demand economics. “If ad blocking reduces the volume of available digital impressions … advertisers will have to pay more for available inventory, potentially resulting in more revenue for some publishers.” In other words, smart pubs could benefit. Read the whole thing.

Take Your Time

The Financial Times says its time-based ads, which charge brands based on exposure time, have contributed $2.2 million over the past nine months, money that the business would otherwise have lost out on. But don’t expect all publishers to adopt the idea, writes Digiday reporter Lucia Moses. The FT is a niche publication, so it doesn’t offer scale anyway, and 85% of its ads are brand marketing, more than double the online average. Read on.

Cost Per Message

Facebook VP Andrew Bosworth revealed some of the details of the company’s plan to monetize Messenger, one of its two messaging services. The plan is to introduce an ad type the company dubs “click to message.” The product would allow businesses to place a “Message” button on Facebook ads. If a user follows up with a message or comment to the company, then it’s charged. Business Insider’s Jillian D’Onfro also cites other examples of Facebook including these “calls to action” in their marketing. More.

Safety First

The Internet of Things Security Foundation (ITSF) has been launched with industry backers that include Vodafone, BT and Intel. The organization includes more than 30 companies and is dedicated to addressing security issues in IoT products. Tony Connelly reports for The Drum that anything from baby monitors to automobiles have absorbed major PR and security setbacks recently, and convincing the public that new connected devices are safe is imperative for the emerging industry. Check it out.

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Clocking In On Instagram

The day after Instagram crossed the 400 million user mark, a study by Mavrck examined the hour-by-hour breakdown of Instagram usage based on 1.3 million posts, and how the time of day could be a tool for advertisers, according to Christopher Heine at Adweek. For instance, while there’s a very low number of posts added between 6 a.m. and noon, this period could be a marketing sweet spot. (Users are still checking their feeds, but with less competition for the ad.) The study also showed that age is an important marketing indicator, with younger people having more “influence” (i.e., followers) than their elders. Read more.

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