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Why Toyota Loves Distracted TV Audiences Verizon Media Brings DOOH Supply To SSP, Completing Its Stack For Outdoor Screens Netflix Keeps Agencies At Arm’s Length On Its Brand Tie-In Deals The IAB Finalizes CCPA Framework As Industry Readies For More Regulators Google Will Integrate With IAB Tech Lab’s CCPA Compliance Specs By Jan. 1 Deadline GroupM Sees Highest Ad Spend Growth Rate Since 2000. Can It Last? Ad Buyers Starting To Use The Trade Desk DSP Over Google, According To Advertiser Perceptions Report Can Amazon Be King? How The Ecommerce Leader Could Surpass The Duopoly Google Exits Managed Services, Welcome News For Its Key Agency Partners

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Vizio Launches Ad Business As Ad-Supported Streaming Takes Off

by Alison Weissbrot // Posted on Tuesday, December 10th, 2019 at 4:02 pm.

Advertising is becoming an intriguing business for smart TV manufacturers, and Vizio became the latest to throw its hat in the ring Tuesday, when it launched an ad sales business that will take advantage of the 13 million smart TVs it has in American homes.

“It’s no secret that the connected TV space has been growing significantly,” said Mike O’Donnell, SVP of Vizio’s platform business. “We’re taking the opportunity to dive into the business.”

Similar to competing ad offerings from Roku and Samsung, Vizio will sell both display ads on its home screen and search page as well as video ads within its WatchFree AVOD channel, the fifth most-watched app on its platform, powered by content from Pluto TV.

Vizio will also sell inventory on behalf of other ad-supported apps on its platform at a rev-share. Currently Vizio offers about 40 SVOD and AVOD apps on its operating system.

Buyers can access Vizio’s inventory programmatically through integrations with multiple DSPs and SSPs or directly from Vizio. For programmatic buys, Vizio will tell buyers on which apps and in which genres their ads ran – information other TV software providers don’t usually offer, O’Donnell said.

“Our goal is to make it as easy to buy as possible,” he added.

Podcast: CRO David Fischer On Facebook's Plans For 2020

by Zach Rodgers // Posted on Tuesday, December 10th, 2019 at 1:36 pm.

Subscribe to AdExchanger Talks on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud or wherever you listen to podcasts.

If Mark Zuckerberg represents the core product strategy at Facebook and Sheryl Sandberg is the company’s public face, then Chief Revenue Officer David Fischer is the money guy – ringing the cash register day in and day out and (hopefully?) into the future.

That means corralling a “Dogs Playing Poker” lineup of dueling stakeholders: unruly Fortune 500 brands, angry regulators and finicky SMBs (140 million or so, with 7 million paying advertisers), not to mention Facebook’s 1.7 billion users.

This week, Fischer comes on AdExchanger Talks to discuss Facebook’s evolving product strategy, its advertising business and its priorities for 2020.

We ask Fischer: Will platforms get together to provide the cross-platform reach and frequency measurement that marketers crave? In a privacy-sensitive environment, he says the near-term answer is no.

“We’d like to provide that kind of measurement and understanding because it’s going to make marketing better,” says Fischer. “I understand why they [marketers] want it. There are some areas we’ve been able to do that. But the way that things are going, it’s going to get harder not easier. We are going to keep pushing and trying to understand measurement solutions, trying to work with industry groups and others in the space. But it’s reasonable for marketers to expect that those types of solutions that are hard now are only going to get harder to do.”

Fischer breaks down Facebook’s ad initiatives into three key areas:

1. Evangelizing Stories as an ad medium. “Because businesses are behind, it’s cheaper.”
2. Messaging.
3. Commerce. “You see something on Instagram, you want to buy it. The company that’s posting it wants to sell it to me. We’ve invested in Instagram Shopping to make it easier.” More commerce activity on Instagram inevitably creates more ad demand.

Also in this episode: Will Facebook return to ad tech?

Independent Ad Tech’s 2020 ‘Gap Year’ Will Help It Long Term

by AdExchanger // Posted on Tuesday, December 10th, 2019 at 11:03 am.

"Data-Driven Thinking" is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media.

Today’s column is written by Jay Friedman, president and partner at Goodway Group.

Some kids go straight from high school to Harvard. Others take a gap year to “find themselves,” tinker in their friend’s garage or simply explore the world. Many of those same kids arrive at college a year later more focused and well-rounded.

When the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) goes into effect Jan. 1, it will launch independent ad tech on its own type of “gap year” in which it must interpret the law’s evolving nuances and focus on innovation before it’s ready for the big day – not for college but for replacing behavioral targeting in a meaningful way.

This period of reflection and innovation will force the industry to mature significantly in ways that set it up for enduring success.

Verizon Media Brings DOOH Supply To SSP, Completing Its Stack For Outdoor Screens

by James Hercher // Posted on Tuesday, December 10th, 2019 at 9:08 am.

Verizon Media, the telco giant’s ad tech and content unit, added digital out-of-home (DOOH) supply to its SSP on Tuesday.

The SSP launch completes Verizon’s full-stack DOOH offering, having launched a DSP solution for outdoor media buys earlier this year. Verizon also has a network called Verizon Digital Signage, a collection of 3,000 interactive screens either owned by the company or that use Verizon to serve dynamic ads.

“When you have the whole stack, you can serve the whole market better,” said Iván Markman, Verizon Media’s chief business officer. He said the consolidated DOOH product allows advertisers and publishers to simultaneously integrate with Verizon’s data services, like location targeting or attribution, and to connect buyers who otherwise wouldn’t know about or be interested in DOOH supply.

Being able to uniquely package DOOH media for certain advertisers is also important because Verizon Digital Signage’s network is only in places where interactive screens have been set up, like transit hubs, shopping malls and gyms.

DOOH opportunities are often niche. One of the Verizon Digital Signage’s public supply partnerships is with retired golfer Greg Norman’s company Shark Experience, to serve ads to screens in golf carts.

The inventory is all digital, dynamic and served in real time (so none of it is static OOH signs or billboards). And Markman said the format is typically display placements, not video ads.

Hearts & Science Exec Megan Pagliuca Promoted To Bring Programmatic Thinking To Linear

by Alison Weissbrot // Posted on Tuesday, December 10th, 2019 at 9:00 am.

The linear world is going programmatic, and agencies need to start applying audience strategies to their traditional buys.

To instill that mindset at Omnicom, agency Hearts & Science said Tuesday it has elevated its Chief Data Officer Megan Pagliuca to chief data and media officer.

The title change might seem nominal, but her new purview isn’t. Pagliuca will work to evolve the agency’s sales teams, so buyers of linear and traditional inventory can use the audience strategies that originated in digital.

“There’s a lot that has to happen to move to a programmatic-first approach,” Pagliuca said.

Pagliuca has already pioneered much of that work over her past three years as chief data officer at Hearts & Science. She’s spearheaded efforts with Annalect to tackle systems integration challenges in linear, reorganized the agency to support audience planning across all channels and worked with clients to ensure programmatic thinking fits with their linear incentive models.

But that’s just laying the foundation, Pagliuca said: “It’s always in test form and not the full degree of linear transformation I’d like to see.”

In overseeing media, Pagliuca will ensure that programmatic and audience planning tactics are core to Hearts & Science’s strategy for the 2020 upfronts. Instead of buying on demos and relying on publishers and panels for data, Hearts & Science will buy on audience segments defined by its own data as well as clients’ data.

What to Watch For: 2020 Trends, Predicted by Video Advertising’s Leading Experts

by AdExchanger Content Studio // Posted on Tuesday, December 10th, 2019 at 7:00 am.

This article is sponsored by SpotX. To learn more about the future of TV and cross-screen video, read “SpotX’s Guide to 2020 Trends in Video Advertising.”

Spurred by a new wave of OTT content and subscription services, 2019 might be remembered as the year OTT and connected TV (CTV) finally achieved widespread consumer adoption.

According to eMarketer, 57.2% of the US population now watches CTV – up from 51.7% in 2017. For publishers, this shift in viewing behaviors has driven new interest in premium OTT ad inventory. Supply-side platform SpotX, for example, saw the share of ad impressions it serves through CTV increase from 15% in Q1 2018 to nearly 33% in Q1 2019.

As CTV entrenches itself as a powerful tool to reach TV audiences, the new question for 2020 will become how to get publishers and advertisers to fully embrace its potential. Ad budgets continued to lag in 2019 – exposing lingering concerns about cross-screen measurement, brand safety, and other performance-related topics. To reach its full potential in 2020, CTV will need to address these concerns to facilitate full industry buy-in.

The Falling Value Of Safari Impressions; The Rise Of Influencer TV

by AdExchanger // Posted on Tuesday, December 10th, 2019 at 12:03 am.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.

Wages Of ITP

Apple’s long-running effort to stamp out targeted ads on its services has been remarkably effective. Apple’s privacy crusade kicked off in September 2017 with the introduction of Intelligent Tracking Prevention for Safari. Now, two years later, the value of a Safari impression has dropped almost 60%, while Google Chrome ad rates have inched up, according to Rubicon Project data. “The allure of a Safari user in an auction has plummeted,” Rubicon Project CEO Michael Barrett told The Information. “There’s no easy ability to ID a user.” There’s also a shortage of location data and other identity signals that are helpful for campaign attribution. More.

Influencer TV

Quibi is trying to bring star-quality short-form programming by Hollywood heavy-hitters such as Steven Spielberg to people’s phones. But it’s leaning heavily on influencers to fill out its content roster. Quibi will leverage social media stars and their huge followings in the way that TV networks did with talk show hosts in years past, CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg told The New York Times. The streaming service will launch with programs such as “The Rachel Hollis Show,” with Instagram star Rachel Hollis, and “Sexology with Shan,” starring sex educator Shan Boodram who has a popular YouTube channel. “When we find someone we have a connection with, we tend to be loyal,” Katzenberg said. “Ellen. Oprah. Dr. Ruth. We hope that’s what Shan is going to do, what Rachel is going to do.” Quibi is betting that aggregating influencers in one place will give people a reason to pony up for the platform’s $8-per-month subscription fee. More.

CBS Joins OpenAP, Whose Members Now Represent The Majority Of National TV Revenue

by Sarah Sluis // Posted on Monday, December 9th, 2019 at 5:40 pm.

CBS joined OpenAP, the companies said Monday. The move comes less than a week after CBS’ merger with OpenAP founding member Viacom closed.

With CBS joining, OpenAP’s members together represent the majority of national TV ad spend, as well as 92% of all US audiences watching TV.

“We heard from buyers that they wanted to have the majority of revenue in OpenAP. We can now say that confidently,” said OpenAP CEO David Levy. “Adding CBS, with its network and reach, adds a huge amount of scale.”

The added scale will help the OpenAP marketplace, launched in October, gain further momentum. This quarter, more than 50 campaigns have run through its platform.

The OpenAP platform lets buyers share and find audience segments across all member networks, and then buy digital video, CTV and linear inventory against those audience needs.

“Prior to OpenAP, you had to build your audience with every network, build your campaign and execute your campaign,” Levy said “We are doing it across all the networks in one place.”

Privacy, Cookies And Personalization: Ad Tech Needs To Get Over It

by AdExchanger // Posted on Monday, December 9th, 2019 at 11:06 am.

"Data-Driven Thinking" is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media.

Today’s column is written by Dan Linton, global data privacy officer at W2O Group.

Bemoaning the impending sunsetting of the advertising cookie and decrying the supposed cognitive dissonance of consumers wanting more personalization and privacy at the same time seems to be all the rage in ad tech right now.

“GDPR doesn’t work,” “CCPA will concentrate power even more into the large platforms,” “privacy laws are a datapocolypse,” “we can’t give consumers the personalized experiences they want” – the industry seems more interested either trying to maintain the status quo or coming up with some brilliant new technology that does the exact same thing as cookies.

My friends, I am one of you, and I say this with the love of someone who’s spent his entire career in marketing and analytics: Get over it.

Magna: Marketers Are Getting Priced Out By Skyrocketing TV Ad Rates

by Alison Weissbrot // Posted on Monday, December 9th, 2019 at 8:30 am.

TV viewership is now decreasing faster than linear TV inventory prices are increasing, according to Magna’s latest forecast.

This shift is causing the TV networks’ revenues to slip.

Global linear TV ad spend was down 4% year over year to $289 billion in 2019, according to Magna. This year for the first time, TV represented less than half of total global ad sales at 48.5%.

In the United States, national TV ad sales were down 3% year over year to $42 billion, and are expected to continue declining by another 1% to 2% in 2020 as the economy slows. Even factoring incremental ad spend for the 2020 Olympics, which will total a predicted $750 million, national TV ad spend growth will be down by 1% in 2020, Magna said.

“Cyclical events in 2020 are not enough to fully stabilize national TV ad revenues,” said Vincent Letang, EVP of global market intelligence at Magna.

Linear ratings have been slipping for years, but networks have been able to stave off revenue declines by using scarcity to increase the price of their inventory. Marketers have paid that premium, since no other channel can drive reach as efficiently as linear TV.

But marketers are now getting priced out of the linear TV market – especially overseas.

“The ratings erosion is accelerating, the CPM inflation is accelerating, but the pricing is not growing quite as fast enough to offset the decline in ratings,” Letang said. “The demand is struggling to follow.”