AT&T should revise or discontinue boasts in TV ads that its upcoming 5G service will be built on “America's best network,” a self-regulatory watchdog recommended.

The ads, which were part of AT&T's “Just OK is not OK” campaign, included a voiceover at the end that said the company was building 5G on “America's best network.”

The BBB National Programs' National Advertising Review Board (which decides appeals of National Advertising Division opinions) found that claim problematic, writing that the boast could convey “an unsupported message concerning superior characteristics of AT&T’s 5G network.”

The National Advertising Review Board said AT&T should either “discontinue the claim that AT&T is 'Building 5G on America’s Best Network,' or state in the body of the claim that the 'Best Network' referred to is AT&T’s 4G network.”

The appellate unit noted that the National Advertising Division decided in 2019 that AT&T could advertise its 4G network as America's “best wireless network” -- provided the company also said the boast was based on a test by Global Wireless Solutions, and disclosed a connection to the testing company. AT&T is a client of Global Wireless Solutions.

The appellate board reiterated those recommendations in its new decision.

The ruling stemmed from a challenge to AT&T ads by Verizon, which objected to several aspects of the ads, including AT&T's claim to offering the best network.

The National Advertising Division rejected some of Verizon's arguments last year, but recommended that AT&T stop saying it was “Building 5G on America's Best Network.”

Both companies then appealed to the National Advertising Review Board, which upheld the National Advertising Division's decision.

AT&T said it disagrees with the watchdog's recommendations regarding revisions to its ads, but will comply.

With in-person fundraising on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital seems a natural fit for nonprofit groups. 

But many are not buying it — only 49.4% of nonprofits have created digital experiences for donors since March 2020, according to a study by the Charities Aid Foundation of America. And that’s a problem, says Lasso Digital, a digital marketing agency. 

"While it's unquestionable that many donors have had to pull back their giving because of the pandemic, there are still donors who are ready and able to give," said Taylor Rosty, managing director for Lasso Digital, a marketing firm that specializes in serving the communication needs of non-profit organizations. 

Rosty adds: "It's just a matter of reaching them, and frankly, many nonprofits aren't prepared. They're fighting with outdated websites they don't know how to edit and trying to learn how to use social media on the fly to reach donors."

Organizations need updated, mobile-friendly web sites, a robust email communication strategy and active social media channels where donors can engage with the group, Rosty adds. 

Teresa Devine, development director at Seniors' Resource Center, agrees.

"Before, social media was viewed as a nice-to-have," she said. "Now, we are learning quickly to harness social media as a critical tool in helping us reach donors and clients as well as grow our relationship with our community partners,” Devine states.

"The winners post-COVID will be the nonprofits who were able to maintain and grow relationships with donors and right now, by definition, that has to be online,” adds Lara Jakubowski, senior consultant at La Piana Consulting. “Audiences are shifting and after COVID they will be more reliant on digital communications." 

COVID-19 lockdowns did not create a downturn in mobile platform games. In fact, mobile players continued to drive more revenue for game developers compared with previous years, according to data released Wednesday.

Overall mobile game ad revenue in 2020 grew by more than 8%, and first-day in-app purchases rose by more than 50% compared with 2019.

Unity, a platform for creating and operating real-time 3D content, released its 2021 Gaming Report, which provides insight into how gaming changed for players and developers one year into the pandemic.

With more than 2.8 billion monthly active consumers of content created or operated with Unity solutions, this report represents the largest dataset on the impact of COVID-19 on gaming. 

When asked to cite ad providers that creators and developers use, Google AdMob came in first with 41%, followed by Unity with 34%, and Facebook Audience Network with 23%. AdColony followed with 14%, Appnext with 12%, and AppBrian with 11%. The remainder -- comprised of companies like MoPub, Charboost, Appodeal, Vungle, AppLovin, InMobi and others -- came in with single-digit percentages.  

Valid ad-revenue data, sufficient reporting tools, user-level ad eCPMs, CPI data, and speed of access to intro-day data are some of the missing elements when it comes to in-app ads, according to the research.

Data and reporting tools were top concerns for game developers in 2020. While developers were not as concerned about increased player churn with ad frequency in 2020 as in previous years, they are showing more interest in holistic measurements like lower player enjoyment and store ratings.

In the majority of game genres, best practices in ad strategy and placement continue to drive engagement and extend player lifecycles year-over-year.

Overall, first-day retention rates dropped for mobile titles in 2020 compared with 2019. The drop was steeper for games without ads.

Day seven and day 30 retention rates rose year-over-year. The day-seven and day-30 retention rate numbers show that games with ads have higher long-term retention. Intelligent and thoughtful advertising is just as important this year as it was last year. according to the data.

Unity also examined the retention rates for games in similar categories with and without ads.

Overall, games with ads had stronger retention across all categories except role-playing games and simulation.

Even within each of these categories, games had intelligently implemented ads into their core game-play loops so as to not impact retention metrics, usually in the form of rewarded videos.

The data also found that for mid-range and hardcore genres, forced interstitial videos can lower long-term retention, so it is important to look for rewarded video opportunities to capture the non-payer part of mobile audiences.

An industry watchdog has reiterated its opinion that T-Mobile ads boasting about 5G service could create the impression that the new mobile broadband network is imminent.

The decision, which stems from a challenge by AT&T, centers on a TV and a radio ad.

In the TV ad, which ran last year, T-Mobile boasted that its recent merger with Sprint will result in the “best 5G network” and that the company offers the “best prices.”

A radio ad for the company also bragged that T-Mobile and Sprint were “joining forces” and “building America’s largest, most reliable 5G network.”

The National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs says the ads convey the message that the merger's benefits “will be imminently realized by consumers,” even though T-Mobile and Sprint won't fully integrate for three-to-six years.

“One of the messages that consumers could reasonably take away from the challenged television and radio commercials is that T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint will provide its customers with network performance and pricing benefits that are imminent,” the watchdog wrote.

The TV ad -- but not the radio spot -- was the subject of a similar challenge last year by Verizon. That matter also resulted in the National Advertising Division recommending revisions to the ad.

The watchdog largely reiterated that earlier decision in its new opinion, which concluded that some of T-Mobile's claims were only aspirational, but that consumers “could reasonably interpret T-Mobile’s 'best price' claim to mean that T-Mobile will guarantee that its prices will be lower than its competition in both the near and remote future.”

The organization recommended that T-Mobile “modify its aspirational message to avoid any implication that these promoted benefits resulting from the Sprint/T-Mobile merger will be imminently available to the vast number of T-Mobile customers.”

T-Mobile said it disagrees with the decision, but won't appeal because it stopped running the ads last July, according to the opinion.

It pays to know people -- and a new payment deal from the prepaid wireless provider called Visible depends on that home truth.

A unit of Verizon, Visible just launched a new ad campaign that promotes its new referral plan that could lower a user’s bill to as little as $60 a year.

The pitch goes like this: If you’re a Visible user and get a friend to use a code you provide to sign up for Visible service too, your $25 monthly bill goes down to $5 for a month. Add 12 friends over the year -- and, well, you do the math.

There’s some fine print, but not much. That $25 monthly charge assumes you and at least three others have enrolled in Visible’s Party Pay, so that all four pay $25 each for an unlimited plan. Unlike Verizon’s old Friends and Family plan, Party Pay doesn’t care if the other members are family, or are not even that friendly.

A customer knocks that cost down to $5 for a month by finding more people to sign up. It’s a little like a friendly pyramid scheme.

The ad shows a gamer explaining how the deal works, surrounded by a couple of friends working on computers as she speaks, and then several more we see remotely via other screens.

Pearl Servat, Visible’s head of brand marketing, says the campaign was meant to depict life in these pandemic times when meeting up with friends is a mix of real and remote.

And she noted, via email, that the ad came about because Visible noticed the odd way many people signed up to be members of a Party Pay foursome.

“People are finding each other on social media, and a big portion of people who are in parties together didn’t even know each other before joining the plan together,” she said. “There are even 13,000 members on aVisible subReddit  that exists for the sole reason of helping people join up for a party. So we already know that our audience is online and wanting to join up to share savings.”

Prepaid phone plans often attract users who can’t or won’t subscribe to fuller plans from Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile, possibly because they don’t use their smartphones that much, or just can’t afford it.

Because Visible uses the Verizon infrastructure, the service is pretty much the same 4G LTE and 5G service. But as some consumer websites that follow the smartphone and wireless industries point out, Visible video only streams at 480p -- fine,  but not optimal.

Also there is no physical Visible store, or a human being at the end of the phone. Customer service happens via chat and you can even activate your phone that way.

That may be off-putting -- but Servat says Visible has been way ahead on the ecommerce front, even offering an “eSIM card” so customers don’t  have to physically go out to buy one.

“We’ve been all-digital from the start -- so in a world where everyone is turning to ecommerce out of necessity, it’s something we’ve been doing, and perfecting, for almost three years,” she said.

“It’s why our launch of eSIM was so important. While other carriers offer eSIM, we’re able to leverage this innovation which allows you to set up your phone from home, in as little as 15 minutes, without going into a store in a way no other carrier can. It’s more proof that we have a built-in audience that likes being online, and that’s something we want to speak to.”

Pocket Outdoor Media, fueled by an infusion of Series B financing, has closed several acquisitions while rebranding itself as Outside, effective immediately.  

The company, which owns over 20 enthusiast publications, including Yoga Journal, Ski and Backpacker, has acquired:

• Outside Integrated Media, owner of Outside magazine and Outside Studios. 

• Outside TV, a provider of outdoor lifestyle TV and video programming via cable, satellite, and over-the-top networks.  
• Gaia GPS, a mobile mapping and navigation application for backcountry hikers. 
• Peloton, magazine title devoted to storytelling and photography about the sport of cycling. 
• athleteReg, an event registration platform serving runners, triathletes, cyclists, and skiers.  

The “reputation and relevance of the Outside brands across multiple lifestyle categories made our decision to change our company’s name a logical choice,” states Robin Thurston, CEO of Outside.

In addition, the Gaia GPS and athleteReg acquisitions “significantly boost the ways we facilitate participation,”  Thurston continues.  

The funding round, led by Sequoia Heritage, totaled $150 million and included participation from JAZZ Ventures, Zone 5 Ventures, and NEXT Ventures, according to Axios. 

The former Pocket Outdoor Media also includes titles such as VeloNews, Climbing, Rock & Ice, Gym Climber, Trail Runner, Women’s Running, Triathlete, Better Nutrition, Bicycle Retailer & Industry News and Clean Eating. It also includes Fly Fishing Film Tour, IDEA Health and Fitness Association, Muscle & Performance, NASTAR, National Park Trips and Warren Miller Entertainment.  

Thurston adds: “Everything we do is driven by a belief that a hike, run, ride or yoga practice can change your life."