Monday November 20, 2023

GroupM has partnered with Google Chrome on a global post-cookie technology readiness program. Participating GroupM clients will get access to the learning program to assess and improve their post-third-party cookie deprecation readiness in a real-life environment, using their own products and audiences. “We strongly believe advertising can and should respect people’s privacy while continuing to deliver exceptional value for consumers and advertisers,” said Christian Juhl, GroupM’s Global CEO. “Since Google publicly declared their intention to deprecate third-party cookies, we’ve been collaborating closely with the Chrome team, our clients, and other partners to ensure our clients won’t miss a beat when the transition happens.” Chrome is scheduled to complete cookie deprecation in the second half of 2024.

“The split second court opens on Monday, X Corp will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company,” posted X owner Elon Musk on Saturday. Musk was threatening to sue watchdog group Media Matters and others amid an advertising boycott, after drawing fire last week for endorsing an anti-Semitic post on X; Media Matters then published research that indicated the platform has posted ads next to pro-Nazi messages. Companies including Disney, Apple, NBCU, Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery and more suspended advertising. Media Matters President Angelo Carusone didn’t appear concerned. “Far from the free speech advocate he claims to be, Musk is a bully who threatens meritless lawsuits in an attempt to silence reporting that even he confirmed is accurate,” posted Carusone. “Musk admits the ads at issue ran alongside the pro-Nazi content we identified. If he sues us, we will win.”

To battle misleading content, YouTube is introducing updates that will inform viewers if what they see is synthetic. Creators will be required to disclose when they’ve created altered content that is realistic, including using AI tools. “This is especially important in cases where the content discusses sensitive topics, such as elections, ongoing conflicts and public health crises, or public officials,” said the company in a blog post. “Creators who consistently choose not to disclose this information may be subject to content removal, suspension from the YouTube Partner Program, or other penalties.”

Google is taking legal action against two groups of scammers, shared the company in a blog post. The first group created social media pages and ran ads that encouraged people to “download” Bard, Google’s generative AI tool that does not need to be downloaded. The ads instead led people to download malware that compromised their social media accounts. The second lawsuit targets bad actors abusing the DMCA by using bogus copyright takedowns to harm competitors.

Online chat service Omegle has shut down after 14 years amid misuse of the site, which allowed users to connect and talk with strangers, and heightened scrutiny by online safety regulators. “There can be no honest accounting of Omegle without acknowledging that some people misused it, including to commit unspeakably heinous crimes,” said founder Leif K-Brooks. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who used Omegle for positive purposes, and to everyone who contributed to the site’s success in any way. I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep fighting for you.”

Airbnb has acquired AI startup GamePlanner.AI. “AI will rapidly alter our world more than any other technology in our lifetime, but we need to ensure that it augments humanity in a positive way,” said Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky. “Airbnb is one of the more humanistic companies in technology, and I believe that, together with Adam and his team, we can develop some of the best interfaces and practical applications for AI.”

IAB Tech Lab announced the release of their Differential Privacy Guidance, a document that aims to empower the digital advertising ecosystem with the knowledge and tools needed to evaluate and harness emerging PETs effectively. “Education and confusion regarding PETs such as differential privacy are widespread in the adtech industry, and the document aims to rectify this by offering clear and practical insights,” said Miguel Morales, Director, Addressability & PETs, IAB Tech Lab. “It emphasizes the importance of differential privacy in preventing re-identification and reverse engineering of individual identity and personal data while ensuring collaborative efforts remain privacy-compliant.” Differential Privacy Guidance offers several takeaways including:
– Empowering product decision-makers by arming them with the knowledge necessary to make informed choices when considering differential privacy-backed products.
– Providing a practical understanding of where and how differential privacy can be effectively applied.
– Ensuring that resources are strategically directed towards genuinely productive use cases, thereby optimizing the use of privacy enhancing technology.

“As experts in PETs, we understand the importance of providing clear, actionable guidance on differential privacy,” said Andrei Lapets, VP, Engineering & Applied Cryptography, Magnite. “We urge publishers and advertisers to seize this opportunity to enhance their knowledge and understanding of differential privacy’s practical applications, benefits, and implementation challenges. By doing so, they can better position themselves to protect personal data, navigate the compliance landscape, and drive their businesses forward with confidence.”

acTVe has selected Amagi as the playout, distribution, and monetization partner for five of its syndicated sports channels. “We chose Amagi as our playout partner because they provide the superior technology required to deliver broadcast-level quality,” said Geoff Clark, CEO of acTVe. “Amagi’s solutions give us the flexibility to compete with major broadcasters with live sports capabilities on our channels, further enriching the viewer experience.”

Taking care of business: DISH Business announced the launch of EVOLVE M1, a Google Certified Android™ Set-Back-Box purpose-built for commercial deployments. Leveraging a user-centric feature set and more powerful hardware, the EVOLVE M1 seamlessly integrates with the existing suite of DISH Business entertainment solutions.

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Audience Express, a Comcast Advertising company, has partnered with advertising and marketing technology company Epsilon to introduce a new capability for enhancing audience-based, convergent television buying. “Through this partnership, AudienceXpress and Epsilon are providing powerful scale and in-depth data insights to empower advertisers to deliver more accurate campaign results than ever in a fragmented, dynamic TV landscape,” said Katy Loria, CRO, AudienceXpress and FreeWheel.

The average number of apps has doubled since Q4 2021, with consumers in Q3 2023 using an average of 5.4 for each smart TV, according to Inscape’s Q3 2023 TV Market Trends Report. The wide adoption of smart TVs, and the apps that live on them, is also helping fuel a fundamental change in how people consume content. According to Inscape, the third quarter, 94% of total streaming time was driven by viewers who only (64.6%) or mostly (29%) streamed on their smart TVs. Looking at the share of CTV viewing across all inputs (streaming, cable/satellite/OTA) from Q4 2021 to Q3 2023, the percentage of viewers who only stream content has increased from 45% to 54%, while the percentage who only use cable/satellite/OTA has decreased from 9% to 5%. “Marketers should really take note of these shifts,” said Ken Norcross, Vice President, Data Licensing and Strategy, VIZIO/Inscape. “With more than half of smart TV viewers not reachable by traditional cable/satellite/OTA advertising, it reinforces the fact that brands should prioritize diversification across marketing efforts and lean into data that will give them the best decision-making ability to do so.”

AI ad targeting company Dstillery unveiled a new CTV solution that applies its ID-free® technology to reach priority audiences more effectively. Dstillery’s CTV solution acknowledges the complex relationship between a brand’s audience’s online content consumption patterns and CTV genres and network which, in combination with brand keywords, helps enable Dstillery to determine the best content to drive performance on CTV. “Dstillery’s solution is altering premium CTV targeting as we know it. Advertisers can now take powerful AI-driven audience insights and apply them to CTV without using identifiers,” said Mark Jung, VP of Product at Dstillery. “It has been designed so brands can target the most pertinent CTV bid opportunities to maximize ROI.”

FreeWheel has officially certified Transmit as a server-side ad insertion software provider. The company is the first to be certified in the picture-in-picture advertising sector (the capability to serve ads within a smaller screen while other programming or content is running simultaneously on a larger screen within the same platform, whether it be the big screen, on a desktop or mobile). “As the industry continues to evolve, it’s crucial for us to collaborate with partners like Transmit who are at the forefront of driving interoperability,” said Matt Clark, VP, Strategic Partnerships, FreeWheel. “This certification acknowledges our commitment toward efforts that improve the viewer experience and the value we may collectively bring to the entire advertising ecosystem.”

Viamedia announced the launch of its managed service, the Parrot Ad Decisioning Systems (Parrot ADS). The platform enables MVPDs to seamlessly insert regionally targeted ads on linear streams to match the local ads simultaneously running on traditional cable TV systems. “Parrot ADS presents an enormous opportunity for MVPDs to effortlessly package and execute their linear inventory with connected TV (CTV) inventory, all while better serving their local communities, businesses and advertisers,” said David Solomon, CEO at Viamedia.

CPM in 3Q23 was 33% lower than a year ago, but it started to increase as the holiday season approached in September, signaling that advertisers are slower to ramp up their holiday campaigns this year, according to AdRoll’s latest State of Digital Marketing Report. The report suggest marketers will likely face a more challenging holiday shopping season this year, with holiday sales growth projections ranging from 3% to 4.6%, lower than those of previous years. And while website visitor traffic has been stable – with a moderate gain of 2% in Q3 of 2023 – to succeed this holiday season, marketers need to take advantage of the lower CPM this year to get in front of high-intent shoppers and increase website conversions. “Despite the economic headwinds in the first half of 2023, the economy mostly stabilized in Q3, yet consumers are still hesitant to spend,” said Vibhor Kapoor, President of AdRoll. “Marketers need to leverage data to segment their target audiences strategically, take advantage of low CPMs, and personalize messaging and offers to win the battle of this challenging holiday season.”

datafuelX added two new products within its M3 Platform. DemoPlus expands reach beyond data-driven linear to encompass comprehensive demographic inventory, and DemoData Insights is a subscription service offering forecasting and analytics designed to integrate with sell-side platforms and align with SaaS tools such as MediaOcean and Wide Orbit.

MEASUREMENT

Cint, which acquired Lucid in 2021, announced Lucid’s verified partner status with Amazon Ads. As a verified partner on the Amazon Ads Partner Network, Lucid Impact Measurement is dedicated to streamlining measurement of brand advertising campaigns. For global clients of Amazon Ads, a brand lift measurement solution is available within the Amazon DSP and Twitch Ad Server, powered by Lucid Impact Measurement. A brand lift study powered by Lucid Impact Measurement uses key performance indicators including awareness, ad recall, consideration, purchase intent, and favorability. “Marketers need to have access to readily available insights that they can act on quickly,” said Laura Manning, SVP Measurement at Cint. “Our collaboration with Amazon Ads is designed to help advertisers globally get statistically significant results and greater depth of insights more often.”

Clinch, creator of Flight Control, the Omnichannel Campaign Activation Platform, announced that Flight Control is now a licensed measurement enablement destination on data collaboration platform LiveRamp. “The pairing of LiveRamp’s measurement capabilities with Flight Control helps advertisers obtain a holistic understanding of campaign performance and bridge the gap between online advertising and offline action, all while maintaining a strong commitment to user privacy,” said Charel MacIntosh, Head of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, Clinch.

The National Retail Federation and CNBC announced the launch of the monthly “CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor,” powered by Affinity Solutions. The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor uses actual, real-time debit and credit card purchase data to provide more insights into retail sales activity. “The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor will provide comprehensive, granular and timely insights that measure monthly retail sales and gauge the state of the retail industry, the consumer and the broader economy,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor will modernize how retail sales are tracked and measured, and Affinity Solutions’ vast dataset of how, what and where the consumer is spending will identify how key demographics and channels are performing for the industry generally and for specific retail sectors.”

STREAMING

Ninety-two percent of employees at streaming providers at the director level and above are not fully satisfied with the third-party tools they use to measure product success, according to a report from video business intelligence and predictive analytics company NPAW. Other findings from “State of Video Product Analytics 2023” include:
– 50% of respondents prefer third-party product analytics tools for tracking video product performance and user behavior, while 26% leverage in-house tools or experts, and 24% use a combination of both.
– Only 8% of respondents are highly satisfied with the third-party product analytics tool they use to track video product performance.
– The dissatisfaction with third-party product analytics tools is mainly due to their inability to track end-user insights across all offered devices (48%), and a lack of video content monitoring capabilities (40%).
– The biggest blockers to using video product data effectively are managing data security and protection (48%) and processing vast amounts of data into actionable insights (44%). Perceived challenges vary across regions.

“In today’s fiercely competitive streaming market, the success of video products largely depends on a business’s ability to make decisions rooted in fact and driven by audience interests and behavior,” said Jordi Bartomeu, NPAW’s Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Product Analytics. “To do so, they need an analytics tool that can capture all the complexities of online video and track users across the entire customer lifecycle, helping them design user journeys that deliver increased engagement and stable growth.”

“New to me” shows are just as appealing to viewers as new releases, according to Hub’s annual “Conquering Content” survey. Sixty-four percent of viewers reported their current favorite show is an older show that’s been on for several seasons, up from 54% in 2021. When it comes to discovery, 61% of respondents said they’d be more likely to choose TV sources that make it easy to discover new shows they’d like.

Redbox has added two new FAST channels to its Free Live TV service. Mansa Mix, focused on Black culture and entertainment, and Ultimate Classic Wrestling, featuring classic wrestling matches, are now streaming through the Redbox app.

Samsung TV Plus is rolling out product update 5.2 with enhanced content discovery. Users will have a dedicated kids experience to connect consumers with ‘Best of Kids’ programming across over 20 family-safe channels, kids shows and on-demand movies. Launched in 2015, Samsung TV Plus has over 300 channels in the US.

Cynopsis Team