Senior Editor
James covers the intersection of commerce, media and advertising technology.
AUTHOR ARCHIVE FOR:
James Hercher
Articles By James
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Shopper Behavior Begins In-Store – But Brick-And-Mortars Need Tech To Harness It
A few years ago, industry observers wondered if retailers would survive in the face of ecommerce competition. Now it’s become apparent that brick-and-mortar companies have not only weathered the storm, they’ve emerged as a kind technology platform for vendors to build on. But despite numerous startups catering to retailers, there aren’t any major players like […]
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Why Live Nation Thinks Programmatic Can Take Over The Concert And Festival Scene
A year after embracing programmatic technology, Live Nation is planning another major expansion of its ad tech capabilities, this time by connecting its many online and offline properties into a holistic marketing platform. With its “Fan Connect programmatic platform,” the entertainment company is continuing its evolution into a “digital publisher” – not in the sense […]
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Site Redesigns Feed Native Opportunities
The IAB’s native advertising working group is building out recommendations that specifically address the promulgation of feeds. The group, which developed the OpenRTB 2.3 native formats, is narrowing recommendations into three categories: social feeds, news feeds and product feeds. Its focus on feeds indicates an ongoing trend in which traditional website layout, which has tended […]
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The Message Is Clear: Emoji Are Here To Stay
Messaging apps now attract just as many users as social media platforms. The combined users of Viber, WeChat, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger now outrank Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, according to recent BI Intelligence research. But marketers have struggled to tap into that audience. Emojis might be a brand’s way in. “Emojis have become for […]
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Yieldify Picks Up $11.5 Million In Funding To Convert Online Window Shoppers
Yieldify is trying to solve what CEO and co-founder Jay Radia calls “a trillion-dollar problem” – which is part of why the company has been able to attract such big-name investors. The London-based startup announced an $11.5 million Series A funding round on Thursday led by Google Ventures and SoftBank Capital. At the moment, conversions on […]
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For Global Advertisers, All Roads Lead To Mobile
IPG’s MAGNA GLOBAL and Publicis Groupe’s ZenithOptimedia released global advertising forecasts Monday, both noting that, in very distinct ways, mobile propels the world’s advertising industry. MAGNA predicted mobile will go from 30% of all digital advertising to 55% by 2019, with a 53% increase this year – crossing the symbolic $50 billion mark. ZenithOptimedia similarly […]
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Why Cyber Security Experts Are Taking Aim At Sourced Traffic
The mistaken belief that there’s an infinite supply of targetable inventory on the Internet keeps fraud viable. That’s a key takeaway from a presentation last Thursday by Videology and White Ops at Videology’s New York City office, following a partnership between the two companies in May. “Online ad spending spikes up in November and December,” […]
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Affiliate Linking And Data Collection: When Revenue Isn’t The Value
While affiliate marketing is hardly new – perhaps you’ve heard of Google and Amazon – for some publishers its real value comes from the data and optimization it enables, as opposed to the incremental revenue it generates. At least, this is what Alicia Navarro, CEO and co-founder of content monetization company Skimlinks, was led to […]
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How The Slow-Rolling HTML5 Is Outpacing Flash
Steve Jobs’ notorious open letter “Thoughts on Flash,” published in 2010, was considered the final nail in the coffin for its status as the go-to software for web and mobile development. But like the Internet’s most powerful zombie, Flash has continued to play a prominent role for developers and ad builders. HTML5, the solution listed […]
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Political Ad Tech Is Growing Up, And Growing Claws
In the insulated world of political tech, market forces are insignificant compared to the capricious political winds. Imagine, for instance, if Pepsi had to let go of a significant chunk of its engineering talent if it was outsold by Coke at the end of a four-year period. This is a practical concern for political tech […]