Adobe EMEA DSP Shut Out Of Google; Nanigans Sells Social Biz

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European Conflict

Google has shuttered Adobe DSP’s access to the Google Ad Manager ad exchange in Europe, citing malware fears. “There are concerns that Adobe’s DSP was recently identified as a tool used to help spread a notorious form of malvertising known as eGobbler,” Ronan Shields of Adweek reports. An Adobe Advertising Cloud exec in EMEA said that Adobe and Google are implementing preventative measures and that Adobe hopes to reactivate EMEA access to Google’s ad exchange. More.

Social Shenanigans

The digital advertising and analytics company Nanigans, one of Facebook’s oldest marketing partners, is selling off its social media advertising business. The social media ad-buying makes up about 90% of Nanigans’ overall revenue, former employees tell Business Insider, with the remainder coming from an ecommerce retargeting product that competes with tech companies like Criteo and AdRoll. “Advertisers typically spend an additional 3 to 5% of their ad budget to work with a marketing partner like Nanigans that knows the Facebook ropes,” BI reports. But Facebook has restricted third-party data and ad vendors these days, in response to the Cambridge Analytica fallout. Facebook has also developed tools on its own platform that compete with Nanigans. More.

Hard To aQuantify

Microsoft’s $6.3 billion deal acquisition of aQuantive in 2007, which was meant to counter Google’s online advertising dominance, is widely considered a bust, and was written off for the whole cost five years later. But former aQuantive execs went on to invest in and start some of Seattle’s top startup consumer apps, software and ecommerce product companies, GeekWire reports. “The crazy growth that happened there definitely helped prepare people for subsequent ventures,” said Aaron Easterly, CEO of the mobile pet service app Rover, and a former aQuantive exec. “However, I think the fact that aQuantive was always a work in progress actually mattered more.” More.

Privacy Vs. Power

YouTube isn’t the only platform pulling back on targeted advertising to kids. Apple said it will ban apps developed for children from using third-party analytics software, which undercuts their ad rates. Apple’s announcement may please privacy advocates, but opponents say it raises antitrust concerns over Apple’s unilateral power over app developers on its iOS platform, The Washington Post reports. Most mobile developers rely on ad revenue to stay afloat, and argue that choking them off will only push children toward apps meant for adults. “We thought they were going to shut down these apps that are ignoring privacy and targeting kids,” said Gerald Youngblood, developer of Tankee, a YouTube alternative for children co-developed with privacy experts. Apple is already under antitrust scrutiny in Europe for how it uses its App Store to drive Apple Music subscriptions, and in the United States regulators are examining whether Apple’s developer policies inflate app prices. More.

But Wait, There’s More