Two of the bigger macro trends in the online ad industry of late, programmatic buying and native advertising, don’t seem to have much in common—as one is about automation and the other about custom branded content with lots of heavy lifting.
Capital New York has tweaked its pricing as it prepares to start charging for e-newsletters and news coverage today (Feb. 11), making it the latest startup to test consumers' willingness pay for news. The experiment will no doubt be closely watched as news sites, new and established, search for successful models for content that balance advertising and subscriber revenue. And while parent Allbritton Communications already has substantial experience charging for content in the D.C.
In the finals of four big reviews, BBDO has a shot at adding about $25 million to its revenue line if it runs the table—or getting burned out trying. The Omnicom Group agency is making four final presentations in five weeks. The first—for the Wells Fargo creative account, with estimated revenue of $12 million to $13 million—took place last week at the bank’s San Francisco headquarters. This week comes the Legacy anti-tobacco foundation pitch, followed next week by Papa John’s and, finally, CVS the week of March 10.
As you read this, Americans are in the process of dropping $1.9 billion on Valentine’s Day flowers—much of it going to buy the 224 million roses grown just for the amorous holiday. Surprising facts? Here’s another: While most people assume that the local flower shop is making a killing at this time of year, a good many florists are merely breaking even—or even losing money. “People don’t understand the economics of what happens to the money they spend on flowers,” said Bonnie Bank, who runs Superior Florist in midtown New York.
Over the last few years, a handful of mobile startups have emerged in what might be called the rewards-driven ad space. SessionM, Kiip and others have promised a better advertising model, providing consumers with credits for games, credit card points or brand samples in exchange for consuming ads or content. But lately, Facebook, Google and Twitter have come to dominate mobile ads, threatening the momentum of the reward programs. “There is a place for the rewards-driven model,” said a top mobile buyer. “But right now it’s not the core.
In the United States today there are more than 327 million mobile devices being used on a daily basis. According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project, an astounding 91 percent of Americans currently own cellphones, and nearly two-thirds of consumers utilize their mobile devices to access the Internet. Illustration: Adrià Fruitós The average consumer spends 127 minutes in mobile applications each day, responding to emails, browsing Facebook and searching for places nearby, according to Street Fight Insights.
Google announced a new partnership with comScore today that it said will improve its ability to tell brand marketers about their digital campaigns. Google touted a new measurement tool—available to DoubleClick advertisers and publishers—that will deliver real-time data about who is seeing ads through the platform. This real-time data would allow advertisers and publishers to tweak campaigns on the fly to make sure the marketing reaches the intended audience.
The mid-season premiere of AMC’s The Walking Dead did its usual number on the rest of the TV landscape, scaring up 15.8 million viewers and a whopping 8.2 rating in the adults 18-49 demo. Season 4 resumed Sunday night against NBC’s coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics and a special live tribute to the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ triumphant arrival in the U.S. On the premium cable front, Dead battled HBO’s killer new drama series, True Detective, and Showtime’s bibulous comedy, Shameless. While Sunday’s installment of TWD was down slightly in overall reach when compared to the Oct.
Last week, Friend2Friend shared exclusive overnight data with Adweek on the Top 10 big-game spots according to the raw number of Twitter hashtags produced in their names. While Budweiser's sentimental "Puppy Love" commercial was clearly triumphant at that juncture, social media has a way of revealing the evolution of consumers' reaction to ads over the course of several days.
PlaceIQ has raised $15 million in a Series C funding round led by investor Harmony Partners, while Iris Capital has come on board as a financier for the first time.
