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LinkedIn Takes On TikTok With New Vertical Video Features https://ift.tt/tI289Dr LinkedIn is doubling down on video, its fastest growing in-app element. With video uploads increasing by 36% year-over-year, the business-to-business social platform is testing a new full-screen vertical video display for users on both mobile and web, as well as video analytics tools and enhanced video search results. LinkedIn’s recent efforts to make its platform a welcome place for B2B creators are paying off, especially around video-focused expansion. Video creation on the platform grew 100% over the last year, with 63% of B2B buyers reporting that short-form social video content helped inform buying decisions, and 80% of video viewers said video-focused influencer content was more trustworthy than other forms of B2B content. advertisement advertisement In 2024, advertisers also welcomed video updates on the platform, including the launch of AI-powered video ads, Live Events promotions with 30-second video-based sneak-peaks, and the option to run video ads alongside trusted publisher content -- a clear move toward news representation. According to Roberto Munoz, author of “LinkedIn PowerUp Playbook,” the platform has “evolved beyond networking and job hunting” to encapsulate entertaining content from brands and creators. Munoz believes that video “has the potential to cut through and build trust by putting a face behind a brand, service or product,” especially among the recent proliferation of AI-generated content. Now, the platform is launching new video features. Users will begin to see more video content in their search results, including a video carousel, as well as a profile preview feature designed to showcase a creator’s profile without forcing the users to exit a video. LinkedIn is also making efforts to provide creators with more video-specific data, announcing plans to launch a tool to track average watch times for their in-app content. Once LinkedIn officially launches its full-screen vertical video feed, it is likely that users, creators and advertisers will receive more measurement and targeting tools made specifically for video. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/csrKn1m February 4, 2025 at 02:34PM
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Outbrain Finalizes Teads $1B Merger, Changes Name https://ift.tt/fJel4nu Outbrain has completed its acquisition of Teads for approximately $900 million, consisting of $625 million in cash and 43.75 million Outbrain shares. Monday's announcement explained that the combined companies will operate under the Teads name, creating one of the largest open internet advertising companies with combined spend of $1.7 billion as of FY24 and reach of 2.2 billion consumers. The merger unites two major contextual and interest data sets, powered by AI prediction technology. As part of the deal, Outbrain bought Teads from its parent company, Altice Teads, for $1 billion, while Altice Teads will in turn take a minority stake in Outbrain -- now called Teads. David Kostman, who has been at Outbrain since 2017, will serve as chief executive officer. Jeremy Arditi and Bertrand Quesada will serve as co-presidents. Both were co-chief executive officers at Teads. advertisement advertisement The new entity from the combined companies will provide an omnichannel platform to deliver media from branding to performance across all screens such as connected television (CTV), mobile, and web. The two companies are preliminarily reporting a combined Ex-TAC Gross Profit of $623 million and adjusted EBITDA of $230 million in 2024 including $65-75 million of estimated synergies. Outbrain provided selected preliminary results for the fourth quarter, in line with previously issued guidance in Outbrain’s November 2024 earnings call, and selected preliminary results for Teads and the combined company. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority on Friday cleared the merger on Friday. It initially began probing the companies' transaction last December. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/g4P9yiU February 3, 2025 at 12:39PM
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2025: The Year Of Performance Reinvention https://ift.tt/XTcNxRF More than any other post-break return to work, I’ve always found the hard launch of the new year to be the biggest shock to the system. Perhaps it’s the ad business's pent-up need to move past the post-pandemic hangover that has resulted in a wave of big industry swings. From Holdco mergers and AI’s takeover to the “ban” of TikTok, all this swirl has left marketers trying to figure out what it all means for their day-to-day work. Though trying to compete with the news of AI robots running your household seems impossible, I believe there is one, less splashy, transformation that promises meaningful impact on the success of every modern marketing program: the return and reinvention of performance. Performance marketing has always been a core element of marketing campaigns, using highly measurable bottom-of-the-funnel channels and tactics to drive sales. Yet, in recent years, a new, more expansive model has emerged. With rising costs of pure-play awareness media, the ubiquity of video storytelling, and the growing demand for marketers to deliver a return on “every” ad dollar (ROEAS!), brands are forced to rethink their campaigns to simultaneously deliver on brand and demand. advertisement advertisement Although it may sound daunting, over the last few years this model has proven to be highly effective in social channels -- particularly for native D2C brands who have found ways to strike a seamless balance between storytelling and action. Adopting this approach requires a real paradigm shift in how brands plan, buy, measure, and optimize every campaign. It's not about short vs. long term – it’s about BOTH: The “new performance” is about going into every campaign thinking about both short and long-term impact and creating a balanced approach in messaging and media investment to drive measurable impact. It is not stage-specific; it is stage-agnostic: Gone are the days when driving awareness was enough of a measure of success. Today, every ad unit has to find a way to advance the journey, no matter if it’s the first touch or the third. Full-funnel measurement: In a world where every dollar invested has to prove impact, developing a full-funnel measurement framework that draws a line between every action and response must be priority #1. It’s not about marketing KPIs – it’s about driving profitable ACTION: This is the year when every marketer and agency needs to face the simple fact that we are all in the business of driving revenue. We are responsible for identifying and unlocking high-value actions that drive revenue, rather than focusing solely on click-through rates or video views. Our industry has weathered far greater disruptions over the past 30 years – from the commercial internet and mobile computing to our current AI obsession. Though many of these innovations had predicted the end of the ad biz, we are still standing, embracing the disruption and finding ways to drive new value for clients and brands. Here’s to a high-performing 2025! Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/g4P9yiU February 3, 2025 at 09:46AM
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Ravens QB Josh Johnson Stars In Straight Talk Wireless Ad https://ift.tt/ADWzZec Baltimore Ravens quarterback Josh Johnson appeared onscreen in a new ad for Verizon’s Straight Talk Wireless brand, which debuted just about a week after the Ravens’ playoff hopes were dashed. The spot for the Walmart-exclusive Verizon prepaid plan made its television debut during coverage of the AFC Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday on CBS, which followed the Ravens’ narrow 27-25 loss to the Bills in the Divisional Round of the playoffs the week prior.
The 30-second ad focuses on Johnson’s penchant for switching teams, tying the journeymen’s career to an appeal to switch wireless carriers. It opens on Johnson on the sidelines. As his uniform repeatedly changes color, he informs viewers that he’s played on 14 different NFL teams, more than any other player. “But I’m done with all that,” he claims. “I’m switching to Straight Talk for good,” he notes, as the brand’s promise of plans “as low as $25/month” appears onscreen. advertisement advertisement
Like Johnson, the ad won’t be making a Super Bowl appearance. But Straight Talk Wireless said it does plan to continue airing the ad across various networks through Feb. 9 (just not during broadcast of the game itself).
Straight Talk Wireless partnered with Deutsch LA and Steelhead on the campaign, which also includes support from a number of social activations – including a series of videos featuring Johnson on the brand’s Instagram page. The effort follows Straight Talk Wireless partnering with NASCAR driver Kyle Busch for a campaign centering around its “Family Dynasty Plan Sweepstakes” this past October.
During a recent earnings call with investors discussing Verizon’s Q4 earnings report, Verizon Consumer Group CEO Sowmyanarayan Sampath claimed that the company was “seeing really strong performance” from the Verizon Value portion of its business.
“I think our refreshed value brands, our value proposition, our relationship with Walmart, as well as expanded total wireless distribution, is working very well,” Sampath said, adding that the company feels comfortable pursuing a strategy to “continue to grow for net adds in this environment.”
Last year, the company refreshed both the prepaid Total Wireless brand it acquired from Tracfone in late 2021, and the Verizon brand itself.
Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/MJrqGeU February 1, 2025 at 03:21PM
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Kochava To Revise Privacy Practices To Settle Class-Action https://ift.tt/xakwcqv ![]() Mobile data broker Kochava has agreed to revise some privacy practices to settle class-action claims over the alleged sale of location data, according to court papers filed Thursday, Among other changes, the company has agreed to implement a feature aimed at blocking the sharing or use of raw location data associated with health care facilities, schools, jails and other sensitive venues. The proposed settlement terms, filed Thursday with U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, also requires the company to allow consumers to opt out of data collection by submitting “a simple web form,” and place opted-out consumers on a blacklist that Kochava says will “prevent all future ingestion, use, and/or sale” of their data. Another provision requires Kochava to ensure that any location data it collects from an app will be used “exclusively for the benefit” of that app -- unless the data was collected with consumers' express consent. advertisement advertisement The settlement calls for the company to pay attorneys' fees of up to $1.5 million, and awards of up to $17,500 for the lead plaintiffs, but doesn't otherwise provide for monetary damages. According to the court papers, the data broker told the plaintiffs that it “lacks adequate insurance coverage for the claims,” and “that its financial condition both precluded a monetary settlement and virtually guaranteed Kochava would cease to operate” if it lost the case. If finalized, the deal will resolve several lawsuits dating to 2022 and 2023 over allegations that Kochava obtained and sold precise location data that originated with mobile apps. The suits were filed soon after the Federal Trade Commission charged Kochava with acting unfairly by allegedly selling data that could expose sensitive information, such as whether people visited doctors' offices or religious institutions. Among other allegations, the FTC alleged that Kochava sells precise geolocation data as well as mobile advertising IDs -- unique, 32-character identifiers that persist, unless consumers reset them. Kochava, based in Sandpoint, Idaho, has argued that data it sells isn't personally identifiable, and that the FTC's allegations -- even if proven true -- wouldn't amount to unfair conduct. A company spokesperson said the agreement “memorializes” Kochava's filtering tool -- dubbed Privacy Block -- “as a sensible and practical tool.” “The settlement is a step in the right direction for U.S. data privacy and we look forward to continued progress in this arena,” the spokesperson stated. Kochava rolled out Privacy Block in 2022, shortly before the FTC sued. At the time, the company said the tool would filter out “health services location data.” The settlement agreement requires Kochava to filter out a broader range of data -- including locations associated with religious establishments, schools, childcare centers, homeless shelters, jails and offices providing services based on factors like LGBTQ+ status, political affiliation and religious beliefs. Kochava told Winmill in October that it had settled the class-action suits, but didn't file a proposed agreement until Thursday. The company is continuing to fight the FTC's charges. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/MJrqGeU January 31, 2025 at 04:45PM
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Amazon Hit With Privacy Lawsuit Over Location Data https://ift.tt/T8gLCfS A California resident has accused Amazon of secretly collecting sensitive geolocation data from smartphone owners who download apps that allegedly contain the company's software development kit. “Amazon developed and disseminated a software development kit ... called the Amazon Ads SDK that enables backdoor access to consumers’ devices and opens a direct data collection pipeline to Amazon and its advertising partners,” Felix Kolotinsky alleges in a class-action complaint brought Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint claims that Amazon violated California's anti-hacking law by accessing consumers' mobile computers without their permission, and violated a state restrictions on collecting metadata associated with electronic communications. Kolotinsky alleges that the Amazon Ads SDK allows the company to collect “precise and timestamped latitude and longitude geolocation coordinates from consumers’ devices,” as well as mobile identifiers (alphanumeric strings comparable to serial numbers) and device fingerprint data -- such as information about phone's models, operating systems, screen size and other details that allow companies to track people based on their phones' characteristics. advertisement advertisement “Consumers are never informed about Amazon’s SDK nor are they allowed to opt-in or opt-out of Amazon’s data collection practices -- if they even know what the Amazon Ads SDK is, let alone that it is embedded in the apps they are using,” the complaint alleges. “Amazon’s unauthorized data collection was neither incidental nor accidental,” he adds. Kolotinsky alleges in the complaint that downloaded Ookla's Speedtest app -- which allows people to test the speed of their broadband connections -- and enabled location services in order to share his location with the app. He adds that he was not informed that the app contained the Amazon Ads SDK, and didn't consent to share data with Amazon. “Prior to collecting timestamped geolocation information, unique device IDs, device fingerprint data, and information about which locations he visited, neither Amazon nor Speedtest informed or otherwise disclosed to Plaintiff that Amazon’s Ads SDK was embedded in the Speedtest app, or that if he used the Speedtest app, Amazon would collect his precise geolocation information,” he alleges. He is seeking an injunction barring Amazon from violating California laws, and monetary damages. Amazon has not yet responded to MediaPost's request for comment.
Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/rFljqzY January 30, 2025 at 04:28PM
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The Real Reason Cookie Deprecation 'Isn't A Thing' Anymore https://ift.tt/iyFaBch This is the last time you will ever see me write about cookie deprecation. Simply put, there is no such thing anymore. Cookies are here to stay. Last year, Google announced it was no longer going to deprecate third-party cookies, but instead would let the industry know when it would enable users to block cookies. The fact is, you can do that now, and you’ve been able to do that for some time. Google doesn’t really need to call attention to this functionality to be in compliance with GDPR and other privacy initiatives, and the government has zero interest in pursuing this issue anymore. They are busy with a whole host of other initiatives. Google held the keys to the car for cookies for the last five years or so, and it never did away with them. Now it can proclaim its efforts were all in honor of consumer privacy without any additional impact on its advertising business. Most day-to-day users of Chrome have their settings the way they want them, and I don’t expect much change there. For all the conversation around ad blockers, that landscape is rather stagnant and probably reached a plateau. I would also argue that the next wave of digital media has little to nothing to do with cookies, and Google understands this. The first wave of the web was browser-based. The second wave was app-based, as more traffic shifted to mobile amid the desire for companies to create one-to-one relationships with their customers. This next wave is AI-based and video-focused, and cookies are not as important going forward as context and content. This next wave of digital media circles around two functional UI changes. First, search and website traffic will be upended and replaced with generative search results and video. The former means AI will scrape, digest and synthesize data to respond to queries rather than sending users to sites to do the work on their own. The latter relates to the dramatic increase in overall traffic that is simply dedicated to video. I saw a report recently from Cisco that predicts 80% or more of total web traffic will be video-based in the next couple of years. That is a huge number that stresses the fact that traffic will be AI scouring the web and users watching video. In neither case are cookies really that necessary. This UI shift in digital means display ads are less valuable. The way brands will engage is through video, and through feeding AI the information that is most relevant. Consumers will engage in writing or voice with AI, and then they will watch video content across all the channels, and the owners of these platforms will continue to have the data that was previously based on cookie collection. This will represent another sea change in the category -- with a further tilt toward the companies that own the platforms themselves. Did Google plan all of this? Probably not. Its strategists may have read the tea leaves and predicted this change was on the horizon. They played a long game that allowed them to remain at the center of the conversation -- a brilliant strategy, in my eyes. Did they use this to their advantage? Of course. Wouldn’t you? You can’t blame them. If any one of us were in their position, we’d likely have done the same thing. Don’t you agree? Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/9S71meX January 29, 2025 at 12:53PM
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Court Strikes Down FCC Restrictions On Lead Generation https://ift.tt/azRrgnt A federal appellate court late last week struck down a Federal Communications Commission order that would have curbed companies' ability to send robotexts to consumers. The FCC order, issued in late 2023, would have required every company that robotexted or robocalled a consumer to obtain that person's consent. The order aimed to close what the agency identified as a “lead generator loophole” in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act -- a law that prohibits companies from sending robotexts or robocalls to consumers without their prior consent. The loophole identified by the FCC allowed one company to ask a consumer to receive robotexts or robocalls from numerous other companies. Former FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said at the time that the “lead generator loophole” was “a big reason why unwanted robocalls and robotexts are multiplying on our phones.” advertisement advertisement “Imagine you are shopping online,” she stated. “You give a business your number and in a single click you are also giving that business the right to sell and share your number with hundreds if not thousands of other businesses that may use it to send you robocalls and robotexts that you never asked for, do not want, and do not need. They bury it in the fine print, so you do not realize when you make that one click you are authorizing all kinds of incoming junk to your phone.” The Insurance Marketing Coalition sued in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to strike down the FCC's order, arguing it would “reduce consumer choice, drive small businesses from the market, and devastate many companies that partner with and rely on comparison shopping websites to connect with potential customers.” A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit sided against the FCC, ruling on Friday that the agency lacked authority to require companies to obtain one-on-one consent for robotexting or robocalling. “Under the 2023 Order, even if a consumer 'clearly and unmistakably' states, before receiving a robocall, that he is willing to receive telemarketing or advertising robocalls from multiple entities, the 2023 Order provides that consent cannot be given unless the consumer independently and separately consents to receive robocalls from each individual caller,” the judges wrote. “In so doing, the 2023 Order exceeds the FCC’s statutory authority.” Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/iACBnXU January 28, 2025 at 05:30PM
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Who Do Viewers Most Want To See In A Super Bowl Ad? https://ift.tt/ru80yDm A new poll finds that Taylor Swift is the top celebrity people want to see in a Super Bowl commercial and the top act they’d like to see in the game’s halftime show. Unfortunately for fans, she’s not slated to be in any Big Game ads or the halftime show although she’ll likely be at the game to root for the Kansas City Chiefs and her boyfriend Travis Kelce. It’s not huge surprise to see the wildly popular Swift ranked as the most wanted celeb for ads and halftime entertainment. advertisement advertisement What’s a little surprising is that Donald Trump ranked third (behind Snoop Dog) as a celebrity fans want to see in an ad. The nationally representative poll of 1,000-plus Super Bowl viewers was conducted by Platinum Rye Entertainment, part of Omnicom marketing agency TMA. The poll found that viewers want funny commercials (71%) followed by ads with a nostalgic feel (17%). 44% of those polled said they watch the contest “mostly for the game,” including 30% of women and 59% of men. Smaller numbers watch for the “experience” (24%), the commercials (18%) and the halftime show (14%). Three-quarters of those polled said they like the idea of “fan-generated” Super Bowl ads, which bodes well for Doritos’ decision to revive its “Crash The Super Bowl” promotion and Taco Bell’s plan to use photos of customers, taken with drive-thru cams. And a big majority said they want brand new ads in the game—85% said they prefer to see Super Bowl ads for the first time during the game while 12% said their preference was to see them initially in the days leading up to the game. That said, brands would seem to benefit from creating Super Bowl-related content outside of the game. 62% said they would be very likely or somewhat likely to engage with a brand’s Super Bowl content after the game. Asked about their Favorite spots from last year’s games, these brands made the top-10: Doritos, Budweiser, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Dunkin’, Bud Light, State Farm, T-Mobile, Nike, Lay’s. Perennial Super Bowl advertisers one and all. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/iACBnXU January 28, 2025 at 03:20PM
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X Partners With Visa for Future In-App Payments https://ift.tt/ugOAN4Z ![]() Visa is the first official partner for X's forthcoming in-app payments product, “X Money,” according to a post by X CEO Linda Yaccarino on Tuesday morning. According to Yaccarino, X Money will debut later this year. Visa's participation in the initiative is designed to allow for secure and instant funding of user's “X Wallets” via Visa Direct, the company's real-time money transfer solution. X users will also reportedly be able to connect their debit cards for peer-to-peer payments, while “instantly” transferring funds into their bank accounts directly from the social-media app, similar to Zelle or Venmo. Plans to launch X Money this year highlight X's ongoing commitment to become “an everything app,” especially with regard to in-app payment functionality. advertisement advertisement X owner Elon Musk has a notable history in online banking. The billionaire's first online banking start-up, X.com, launched in 1999 and eventually became PayPal. Not long after Musk bought Twitter in 2022, the platform's parent company X Corp secured its first licenses to enable funds transfers in the app -- allowing companies to send, receive, and transfer funds among users in New Hampshire, Michigan, and Missouri. Now, the company has these licenses in more than 40 states. In an interview, Musk likened the future of X's payment functionality to China's popular WeChat app, which billions of users in the region use to pay their bills and buy groceries, along with entertainment and social media-based activities. However, Musk and Yaccarino misinformed users who expected “X Money” to launch by the end of 2024. In October 2023, Musk informed X employees that they would soon not need a bank, stating that “it would blow my mind if we don’t have [X Money] rolled out by the end of next year.” Musk has said that New York would be a key state for the platform’s initial payments push, but X withdrew its application for a license in the state after a legal filing was made against the platform for allegedly disclosing confidential user data to the Saudi Arabian government and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s investments in X. Neither Musk or Yaccarino has announced an official launch date for X Money. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/iACBnXU January 28, 2025 at 03:20PM |
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