Category Archives: Next to Now

Next to Now: Friday links for Sept 9.

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PODCAST ADS CREATE HALO EFFECT

While podcasts still don’t deliver the ad metrics of other digital products, evidence continues to mount that podcast advertising is effective.  A new Edison Research study commissioned by the IAB suggests that 65% of podcast fans “are more willing to consider purchasing products and services they learn about during a podcast.”

#podcasts

 

INSTAGRAM IS BIG & GROWING WITH MILLENNIALS

Four charts from eMarketer show how Instagram’s U.S. audience is substantial and growing, that more than half of US millennial internet users are “active” on Instagram, how the app is favored by college students, and how their user base trends toward higher incomes among U.S. teens.

#instagram #millennials #social

 

INSTAGRAM IS KING FOR RETAILERS

As reported in Mediapost, a new study from research company L2 suggests that Instagram is the top social platform for retailer engagement:

“’Instagram remains the king of engagement,’ with interactions that are ’10 times higher than Facebook, 54 times higher than Pinterest, and 84 times higher than Twitter.’

It also says Instagram users are considerably more open to what brands have to say on that platform, with 50% of users following brands. ‘Not all brands are benefiting equally on the platform,’ it says, ‘with the top seven brands in terms of engagement capturing 77% of total Index brand interactions over the past year.’

Further, a third of Instagram users made purchases on their phone, which makes them 70% more likely to do so than non-Instagram users.”

#instagram #retailers

 

WHY FACEBOOK LIVE IS WRONG FOR ADVERTISERS

In an article for Ad Age, Carrie So argues that Facebook Live mid-roll ads are stuck in the past: 

“Essentially, the concept strives to resurrect the 20th-century TV broadcasting model within the context of a 21st-century social network. Having just recently started testing mid-roll ads, Facebook Live wagers that viewers who log onto the site to see photos and updates from family and friends will not only want to watch live broadcasts — but will also stay tuned for the ads that scroll in the midst of the live programming.”

The two main problems: (1) mid-roll ads are easy for users to skip since it’s so easy to put down your phone during a break in the programming, and (2) there’s a distinct lack of quality control; even major publishers such as the New York Times are forced by their deals with Facebook to stream too many video hours to sustain high standards.

#facebook #streaming #video

 

AD FRAUD REPORT POINTS TO CHROME AND INTERNET EXPLORER

A recent ad fraud report cited by the Wall Street Journal suggests the most ad fraud happens with Google’s Chrome and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browsers. While both companies fault the study, it’s clear that since the two companies have the most users they also make the most attractive targets for fraudsters. While Microsoft has failed to patch security holes on IE (especially discontinued but still popular iterations), Google continues to work hard to try to stay ahead of the fraud where possible.

#adfraud #microsoft #google

 

PEW RESULTS ON AMERICAN READERSHIP

The Pew report on reading in America is out, with results in line with what we’ve seen in recent years: overall adult reading is slightly down, ebooks remain plateaued, and the core demos of America’s strongest readers remain affluent, educated women:

“In the most recent survey, those most likely to be book readers included women; young adults (those ages 18-29); [and] those with higher levels of education and higher household income . . . These patterns largely hold for overall book reading and for the different reading platforms – printed books and e-books.

“The average woman read 14 books in the past 12 months, compared with the nine books read by the average man, a statistically significant difference. The median number of books read by women was five, compared with a median of three for men, which was not statistically significant.

“Those with higher levels of education were more likely to have read multiple books than those with high school diplomas or less. The typical college graduate or someone with an advanced degree read an average of 17 books in the previous year, compared with nine for high school grads and three for those who did not graduate from high school.”

#pew #readers #demos

 

FACEBOOK’S FIRST VERTICAL VIDEO ADS

The first vertical video ads have gone live on Facebook, and the results suggest a 3x improvement in performance and efficiency. This might be simply an example of a format getting increased attention mostly because it’s new, but given how video and social consumption have moved to mobile, we do think vertical video is here to stay.

#facebook #video

 

BILLBOARDS CONTINUE TO MAKE NEWS

The New York Times reports on the continued importance of out of home advertising, even as online ads steal budgets from print and broadcast. The continued growth of digital innovation with billboards—both with creative and with user targeting—means the venerable ad platform is just as vital today as it was 100 years ago.

#outofhome

 

MOBILE APPS CONTINUE TO GROW

An article in Marketing Land points to a new report from ComScore that shows that two-thirds of all time is spent on mobile, and over half of time spent on mobile happens within apps.  But while mobile has most total user hours, desktop still is king of the conversion. When the consumer is ready to pull the trigger, s/he still heads for the desktop. Here’s Business Insider’s take on the ComScore report.

#desktop #mobile #apps

 

Ceiling photo detail (c) 2016 Martha Otis

Next to Now: Labor Day Weekend

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Whether you’re planning on watching the U.S. Open, mourning and celebrating the life of Gene Wilder, or just sitting in traffic trying to make it to the beach, there’s a lot of news to catch up on over Labor Day weekend. Read on.

 

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED AND FOX NEWS TEAM UP

In an effort to take on sports powerhouse ESPN, Sports Illustrated and Fox News have agreed to an editorial and ad sharing deal across their businesses. According to the WSJ:

“Combined properties operated by Sports Illustrated and Fox Sports brought in about 68 million unique visitors in July, which would make it the second-largest sports publisher behind ESPN, which brought in about 79 million visitors, according to digital measurement specialist comScore.

On their own, Fox Sports ranked third in the sports category in July, while Sports Illustrated came in 10th, according to comScore.”

#sports #fox #si

 

YOUTUBE GEARS UP TO GO MORE SOCIAL

As the premier video platform sees increasing competition from Facebook  and Twitter live video platforms, YouTube is looking to develop more social tools to help video creators interact with their audience. They are calling the new effort, “Backstage.” According to VentureBeat’s Harrison Weber, Backstage’s features will “live alongside the Home and Videos tabs within individual YouTube channels,” and content posted through Backstage will be included in channel subscribers’ feeds and notifications.”

#youtube #video

 

KNOW YOUR DATA

In programmatic advertising it’s vital to know what kind of data you’re using and whether it’s first, second, or third party. This ClickZ article provides a good primer on the differences and advantages of each. 

#data #programmatic

 

FORBES JOINS PODCAST ONE

After testing the podcast waters with “Women@Forbes”, the venerable business publication is going all in with podcast network Podcast One. 

#business #podcast #forbes

 

World's Fair Globe photo (c) 2016 Martha Otis

Next to Now for August 25

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IS THE FUTURE OF ADVERTISING A BOT?

Venture Beat details how messenger bots in services such as Facebook Messenger, Kik, and more are changing the nature of how we can advertise, bringing the promise of 1:1 customized marketing closer to fruition. While current messenger bots are fairly crude, more nuanced bots are in development:

“A.I. bots with advanced brains . . . will change the advertising industry — both online and offline — forever. They can create and deliver completely measurable advertising campaigns that bring together all the elements of integrated marketing: video, mash-ups, voice, music, images, photos, personalization, and mass coverage on an individual basis. They do this by automating their analysis of ‘conversation logs’ generated in the code’s back end when you interact with a bot — with your permission, of course.”

#bots #messaging

 

INSTAGRAM KEEPS UP THE PACE OF INNOVATION (OR IS THAT COPY-CATTING?)

On the heels of introducing its version Snapchat Stories, Instagram introduces a new channel called “Events” that will live within its “Explore” tab and allow for live video. Innovation or high-speed copy-catting, either way it will prove a serious entry in the live video market with Periscope and Facebook Live.

#events #streaming #video

 

IN HOLIDAY EMAIL MARKETING, IS GREEN THE NEW BLACK?

A study from Yes Lifecycle Marketing suggests that the best time to send a holiday marketing email might be December 12, 2016—a date dubbed “Green Monday.” A retail industry-created holiday like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, Green Monday  falls on the second Monday of December:

“Only 10% of retailers deployed Green Monday campaigns in 2015, according to Yes Lifecycle Marketing, indicating that competition for the inbox may be lower than more popular retail holidays such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

Green Monday saw an average email open rate of 14.5% in 2015, while open rates for Cyber Monday email campaigns has an average open rate of 12.9%. In addition, Cyber Monday open rates fell year-over-year while Green Monday open rates have increased.”

#email #holiday

 

THE STATE OF FACEBOOK (FOR MARKETERS)

eMarketer posts seven charts about the current state of Facebook: over-35-year-olds v. millennials, mobile v. desktop use, and more.

#facebook #userdata

Corn at Union Square Market photo (c) 2016 Martha Otis

Next to Now for Thursday, August 18

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ARIANNA HUFFINGTON LEAVES HUFF PO

A chain of acquisitions that started with Huffington Post being bought  by AOL, then AOL being bought by Verizon made this a likely scenario, but now it’s official: Arianna Huffington is leaving the site she founded in 2005 to concentrate on her health and wellness startup Thrive. We’ll have to see what this means for Huffington Post. While the site has moved beyond relying on the celebrity connections that Huffington brought to the table, it has also lost some of the relevance it once had.

#huffingtonpost

 

iOS 10 UPDATE LIMITS USER TRACKING

For the 14% of iPhone users who have turned on the “Limit Ad Tracking” feature on their mobile phones, the coming iOS 10 update will limit far more  of their information. This won’t stop those 14% of iPhone users from seeing ads; they’ll see just as many. But it will mean that the ads they see will be less suited to their own needs, habits, and desires.

#tracking #iphone

 

FATHERLY REACHES MILLENNIAL DADS

If you’re looking to reach millennial dads, Fatherly.com is a site to watch. They’ve been growing their audience through a strong Facebook presence but are smartly moving beyond that to build a direct connection with their audience through email. Click here for the Digiday article on Fatherly’s viral video strategy.

#dads #millennials #targeting

 

WATTPAD INTRODUCES NEW AD TOOLS

The popular user-generated writing site Wattpad is introducing a new ad product that puts ads between the chapters of select writers on the site, and sends some of the revenue toward the writers. This experiment looks like a win-win: writers will have a stake in building their audiences and book advertisers will have a clutter-free, reader-friendly environment in which to advertise. We look forward to watching this develop.

#wattpad #targeting

 

 

New York Public Library photo (c) 2016 Martha Otis

Next to Now for August 11

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Highlights of the week: New announcements from Hulu, Instagram, and Nielsen released in the high heat of summer—with changes coming to the competitive landscape of  video, social, and email marketing that are so vital to book advertising.

 

HULU UPS ITS EFFORTS

With this announcement that Time Warner has taken a 10% stake in Hulu, the major cable player takes a stake in the platform that’s a redoubt for cord-cutters everywhere. It’s a smart move by Time Warner, and provides more cash for Hulu to invest in areas that are ripe for expansion including live events and new content.

#hulu #streaming #timewarner

 

NIELSEN GETS SERIOUS ABOUT SOCIAL

This article in USA Today reveals that Nielsen is now adding Facebook to its social ranking of TV shows. While Twitter remains a major player as a second screen to TV, any mention of social has to include Facebook. This shift makes the Nielsen social rankings much more relevant.

#social #tv

 

WHAT VERIZON’S YAHOO ACQUISITION MEANS FOR EMAIL MARKETING

ClickZ has a good article on how the combination of AOL and Yahoo’s email data is a boon to marketers:

“Scale in users is great. That’s more eyeballs for ads served via AOL technology on the plethora of media properties the combined companies own.

“Scale and depth of data are even better. Verizon will have ownership of consumer data not only on phones and mobile devices; it will be able to pair that with consumer behavioral data from the media sites that AOL and Yahoo own.”

There are dangers with any merger that a confused transition can alienate customers, but Verizon’s acquisition of AOL has proceeded relatively smoothly. So this will certainly be a merger to watch for email marketers everywhere.

#email #verizon #aol #yahoo

 

WHAT INSTAGRAM’S NEW “STORIES” FUNCTION MEANS FOR SNAPCHAT

According to this insightful article from The Next Web, Instagram’s “Stories” spells trouble for Snapchat: Instagram’s bigger, better monetized, and easier to use for both consumers and advertisers. That said, there is something to Snapchat’s difficulty from a teenager’s point of view, precisely because  parents can’t figure it out. As long as the Generation Z can claim Snapchat for their own, they’re unlikely to give it up.

#instagram #snapchat

 

A PRIMER ON ATTRIBUTION

User tracking is a major part of any marketing toolkit. As tracking has gone beyond desktop cookies to reach user log ins via Google, Facebook, and email, it has become easier to track users with a greater degree of confidence in the data. Digiday has a useful primer on the state of the art of user tracking across devices.

#tracking

 

EMAIL DELIVERABILITY IS DOWN

Email marketing platform Return Path reports that fewer emails are making into consumers’ inboxes:

“In the second quarter, the average inbox placement rate was 79% in the second quarter, down from 81% in the same quarter a year ago and 82% in the third quarter of 2015.”

As email marketing grows in prominence, this is to be expected. It’s worth noting that Verso email marketing partner LiveIntent only  counts emails that are actively opened and downloaded–making a LiveIntent buy the surest way to reach consumers by email.

#email #liveintent

 

Next to Now for August 4

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The tomatoes are plentiful and perfectly ripe at the Union Square Greenmarket and the Olympics are set to start in Rio. It’s peak summertime and a terrific moment to think about great books, passionate readers, and finding new ways to connect them.

PEW DATA ON BOOK READERS

A recent Atlantic article on book readers looks at recent Pew data and finds both good news and bad: The bad news is that the number of American who opened a book last year (any book: paper, e-book, audio) declined . . . again. The good news is that the number of kids who read for pleasure has stopped declining and more American than ever are going to college. Book buyers correlation to education is very strong. It’s interesting to note that while education strongly correlates to numbers of books read, HHI above $50k a year is in the same ballpark for books read as HHI above $75k/year.

#readers #data #demos #HHI #education

 

“NOBODY OWNS THE FUTURE”

In this New York Times article on Verizon’s purchase of Yahoo, Tim Armstrong, head of Verizon’s AOL unit, points out that the long-term advertising landscape does not have to be entirely owned by Google and Facebook. The article is a good overview of why Verizon’s been on a buying spree recently, and how their purchases line up with their efforts to become a viable third option for advertisers.  It’s also good on the potential conflicts of interest and privacy concerns that could have the FCC putting breaks on any effort to combine mobile, Web, and broadband user tracking. Watch this space.

#verizon #advertising #data

 

OLYMPIC HASHTAG WRESTLING

The United States Olympic Committee has put non-sponsors on notice that only approved USOC sponsors can use the “official” hashtags #Rio2016 and #TeamUSA. This is patently ridiculous and shows how the old “lock-it-down” marketing mentality is persisting even in new open social channels. If you want to participate in crowd-sourcing your message and communicating on open social channels brands (including the USOC) have to relax their commitment to “owning” 100% of the conversation. There’s no other way to have a conversation unless you want to take the world back to the U.S.S.R.  If you want to own the message, that’s perfectly understandable, but then you have to restrict your participation to the kind of marketing channels that let you have a one-way conversation with your audience. The Olympics are theoretically an event that’s about global openness and free competition. To try to reshape your message of the event with old-fashioned legal bullying is anti-Olympic, anti-American, and bad marketing.

#soapbox #olympics #social  #Rio2016 #TeamUSA

 

HOW TO WIN BACK AD BLOCKERS

The IAB has released a study that shows how advertisers can win back the 26% of users who have turned on ad blocking. Not only are these users open to turning off ad blockers, the path to encouraging them to do so is simple to follow:

“Respondents who use ad blockers stated that the adoption of the LEAN principles (Light, Encrypted, AdChoice supported, and Non-invasive ads), which address a number of the tactics outlined above, would have the greatest influence in getting them to turn off ad blockers. For instance, results showed that men ages 18-34, who are the main ad blocking demographic on desktops, are also the group most inclined to turn off blocking if sites adhere to LEAN.”

Here’s Digiday’s detailed and helpful report on the study. The message is clear for advertisers: deliver ads that are contextually relevant, respectful of users, and fully transparent. These are principles Verso has believed in from the founding of our agency, and they remain best practices for advertising now.

#adblocking #iab

 

THE PLATFORM WARS

Instagram is feeling the heat from Snapchat. To combat the rising new social platform, Instagram has just introduced “Disappearing Stories” Now you can post an image to Instagram that will disappear after twenty-four hours, a direct crib from their competitor Snapchat. eMarketer has an article about the new program:

“’The temporary nature of Stories—on Snapchat and now Instagram—is just part of their appeal,’ said eMarketer senior analyst Cathy Boyle. ‘The way the short video clips and images are strung together chronologically over the course of a day allows users to step into the lives of their friends, a few seconds at a time. The visual and near-real-time nature of Stories makes it a compelling way for friends to connect, not to mention another way for advertisers to engage mobile users.’”

#snapchat #instagram

 

Tomatoes at the Union Square Greenmarket photo 2016 (c) Martha Otis


 

			

	
	


							


	

				

					

		
				

			Next to Now for July 28
		

		
		

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NATIVE ADVERTISING BEST PRACTICES


Smart, clever, informative native ads are one of the most exciting growth areas in advertising. Digiday walks us through the process that has brought significant improvement to Slate’s native efforts. In addition to bringing a more Slate-style voice to the content, the new native ads are more transparent about the sponsorship. This is very important point with native advertising, and it’s worth underscoring: don’t try to trick the reader, be upfront about your sponsorship and s/he will be more open to the content of what you’re saying:


“Most people spend their time trying to avoid ads, but Slate found that on its more explicitly labeled ads, the click-through rates were three times higher than the previous units (though Slate wouldn’t disclose the CTR). The publisher also contends that average time spent on the new units doubled, to 4 minutes, 15 seconds.”


 #native #slate #transparency


 


SPOTIFY INTRODUCES PROGRAMMATIC


With over 100 million users worldwide, Spotify is the leader in a battle for listeners among Pandora and Apple Music. As advertisers, we have found that Pandora’s deep sets of user data and targeting mechanisms, not to mention their flexibility on price, has made them our go-to for book advertising. But with Spotify’s latest announcement, it might be time to reconsider Spotify for book ads. As reported in Adweek:


“The music streaming service announced today it will start offering programmatic advertising for the 70 million people using the free version of its platform. The Swedish company launched private marketplaces in partnership with AppNexus, Rubicon Project and The Trade Desk for buying both 15- and 30-second audio spots.”


More good options are always better for book advertisers. We are happy to have some new ways to target the Spotify audience.


 #spotify #streaming #audio


 


HOW TO CATCH THE WAVE OF “SURGING NEWS”


The Guardian debuts a “surge news” ad product that’s similar to surge products from the New York Times and Washington Post. Given that surging news could be everything from the weather to a terrorist attack, it’s good that they are allowing advertisers to set keywords for any topics they don’t want to appear against. But for the right title, it could be a great way to be adjacent to the most relevant stories of the moment.


 #targeting #guardian


 


WIRED ON NEWSLETTERS


The long tail of the weird, the wild,  the passionate, the hand-made is alive and well on emails thanks to services like Tiny Letter. With 100% opt in subscribers and open rates greater than 70%, these are audiences advertisers should reach for niche products—and there’s non nichier than most books. In the old days of the Internet we reached this audience via blogs through channels including the Verso Reader Channels. Now we get them via emails.


 #emails


 


Hudson riverfront photo (c) 2016 Tom Thompson

			

	
	


							


	

				

					

		
				

			Next to Now for July 21
		

		
		

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PREMIUM WEBSITE ADS PERFORM BETTER


A new study from ComScore underlines that ads on premium websites—such as the New York Times, WSJ, and various imprints of Condé Nast and Hearst media—deliver better results than ads on non-premium websites. From the Wall Street Journal article on this report:


“The study, which comScore said analyzed the ad campaigns of 15 large brands across a number of advertiser categories, concluded that ads placed on DCN sites were 67% more effective than non-DCN sites. According to comScore, that difference confirmed that ‘premium sites deliver premium performance.’


“The study also found that premium publisher sites were more effective in driving so-called ‘mid-funnel brand metrics,’ which measure consumer attitudes including favorability, consideration and intent to recommend.


“’The primary driver of this increased effectiveness is the halo effect that comes from the value of the contextual environment in which these ads are seen,” the report concluded. Basically, ads perform better when they appear alongside high-quality content.”


This is a value-proposition inherent in the way ads on premium websites are priced—with CPMs often 2-3x as expensive as non-premium sites—and matches with results we see at Verso. But it’s good to have more data backing up our observations.


Here’s a link to more detail from report from AdWeek. And here’s Niemen Lab’s take on the same study. 


 #targeting #data #performance #ripepeachestastebest


 


GOOGLE ADDS NATIVE TO PROGRAMMATIC TOOLS


Google announced that it now can deliver native ads programmatically. The best performing native ads are those that are crafted in the unique voice of a particular website, and that ability is still beyond the reach of Google’s system. But adjusting headline and copy to each website’s particular style is a decent, and more affordable second option.


 #native #programmatic #google #everypeachisdifferent


 


PRIME DAY BEYOND AMAZON


Amazon’s Prime Day was discussed (and dissed) as an expression of the company’s power, which it was . . . But that doesn’t mean the news was all bad for smaller retailers who took advantage of the “deal hunting” in the communal air to up their own business. In a study of last year’s Prime Day, BloomReach found that traffic to other retailers was up 21% and conversion improved by an average of 57% as a result of Prime Day. It’s a form of the real estate adage, “location location location.” Put your business where the action is, and use the wind as it is (even if you don’t like the source of the hot air) to power your boat.


 #primeday #amazon #local #localpeaches


 


SPONSORED LOCATIONS IN POKEMON GO


You knew this was coming, right? Pokemon Go is introducing “Sponsored Locations,” a new revenue stream for Niantic, the maker of the app, and a good idea for marketers, especially if they’re a bricks and mortar retail store . . . or a company that sells its products there.


 #pokemongo #geotargeting #peacheeoto


 


THE END OF LANDSCAPE VIDEO?


After Snapchat has declared the rise of vertical video, a new report suggests square video is not only the format needed for Instagram, it’s also proving to be the best performing format for video on Facebook in several head-to-head tests:


“For the past several months, we have started shooting videos for square crop and posting videos in square crop,” said Jason Stein, founder and CEO of Laundry Service. “We are doing this because in executing the media buys for these videos, we found that view-through rate and engagement rate are much higher on square than landscape videos. This is likely due to the larger amount of real estate that a square video gets in feed.”


 #video #creative #uprightpeaches


 


CROWDSOURCED AD DELIVERY


A new company called Wrapify is allowing any car owner to let their car become a trackable, digitally connected, moving billboard. Spotify and PetCo are advertisers who have tested the technology for their own products. Here’s a link to the AdWeek story.


 #digital #outdoor #peachesforeveryone


 


Photo: Peaches from Union Sq Greenmarket (c) 2016 Martha Otis

			

	
	


							


	

				

					

		
				

			Suivant Maintenant: Bastille Day
		

		
		

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In honor of Bastille Day, the advertising news this week is centered around freedom and revolution.


 


FREE POKEMON


In a time of bitter political and racial divides, one thing is bringing Americans together this summer: Pokemon. In the many stories about Pokemon Go (It’s good for depression! It’s getting kids outside! It’s stupid!), there are several with the marketer’s take. Here’s Click Z’s article on what Pokemon Go means for local marketers. Here’s a longer piece from GeoMarketing. This Business Insider interview with Niantic CEO, John Hanke, is a very interesting insider’s view of the development of the product—and how long term vision can lead to an overnight sensation. Our take: Pokemon Go has the perfect mix of new technology and nostalgic sweetness that mix together to make a summertime hit. And like most hits of summers past, it will likely fade—especially since the AR is *very* clunky and will surely be bested soon. But it is worth enjoying a happy meme in a troubling summer, and doffing our Ash Ketchum-style baseball hats to marketers everywhere who are bringing local flavor to a nationwide trend. It’s a timeless tactic, and will continue to evolve as the hits and misses change over the years.


 #geotargeting #local #freedomtocatchemall


 


FREEDOM FROM GADGETS


A new study suggests more than half of Americans want to unplug on vacation . . . but few do. As marketers, it is incumbent on us to notice when there is a gap between what people want and what people do. Perhaps it is not a surprise that eBook sales continue to drop even as devices become more prevalent—as the AAP has noted, declining “9.7%, with eBooks now making up only 17.3% of the trade book market.” Perhaps it’s time for an industry campaign along the lines of “Declare freedom from your device.” A campaign featuring regular people in real world situations enjoying being away from the stresses and anxieties that come through a 24/7 digital life could be just the thing to promote book reading.


 #data


 


FREEDOM FROM THE CABLE BOX


Twitter is in talks with major sports leagues to obtain rights to stream their events. This could be a boon for non-cable-subscribing sports fanatics (such as your humble correspondent), and the advertisers who want to reach them for less than the astronomical ad rates major sports events command.


 #twitter #sports


 


FREE THOUGHTS ON SNAPCHAT


In AdAge, Adam Kleinberg from Traction writes about the challenges and opportunities with Snapchat advertising. As with any newish platform that has gained passionate popularity with one segment of the population, there will be backlash as the community goes beyond the core members (that is, assuming anyone over 30 will ever figure the platform out), and as ads are introduced into what was previously an ad-free environment. It strengths are almost a perfect match for its pitfalls.


 #snapchat


 


 


Photo of statue of Marquis de Lafayette (c) Martha Otis, 2016

			

	
	


							


	

				

					

		
				

			Next to Now for July 7
		

		
		

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SNAPCHAT MATURES


The Wall Street Journal reports that Snapchat is getting older—with 14% of US smartphone owners over 35 years old using the app. While they don’t use it with the same frequency and velocity we see with teenage users, the aging of the user population is a sure sign that the platform is going to give bigger rivals such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter a run for their money.


 #snapchat #social


 


SNAPCHAT GAINS MEMORIES


As part of that maturing process, Snapchat introduced “Memories”—a way to save your own Snapchats for future sharing.


 #snapchat


 


ADS ARE DEAD (LONG LIVE ADVERTISING!)


On Digiday, Copyranter asks the question “Does advertising even work anymore?” Then answers it: No! Then qualifies: Kind of. Then flips back to “No!” Then shows you how to sell to advertising-averse Millennials. See what he did there?


 #advertising #millennials


 


GOOGLE HONES ITS TARGETING DATA


With their new “My Activity” page, Google is bringing together what they know about users from Search, Mobile, Browsing and more. This has everything to do with the advertising data wars and their fight with Facebook for supremacy.


 #google #data #targeting


 


THE NEWS OF TUMBLR’S DEATH IS GREATLY EXAGERRATED


The New Republic does a deep dive into Tumblr that shows how the platform remains vital for teens (and, thus, vital for YA marketing strategy).


 #tumblr #teens #ya


 


LOCATION-BASED ADVERTISING GETS AN UPGRADE


The Village Voice looks at whether or not the new LINK NYC systems are good for the city. For sure, they’re good for advertisers in general and Google in particular. Data collected at the kiosks from browsing history will tell advertiser a lot about the demographic profile of the outdoor audience and make for the best targeting we’ve seen from outdoor advertising yet. As consumers though (and we *are* citizens as well as advertisers), it’s worth remembering the internet adage: “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” And it’s worth thinking through the “devil’s advocate” position on ad targeting if we’re to do our jobs as advertisers and citizens equally well.


 #outdoor #google #targeting


 


photo (c) Martha Otis