Facebook Knowingly Profited Off Junk Ad Efficacy Estimates, Lawsuit Claims

Facebook, which along with Google accounts for around 60% of advertiser spending online, has knowingly built some of its astonishing success on incorrect data, newly unsealed court documents allege. Incidentally, this may pose a problem for a business which generates of its revenue from selling ads. In a nutshell, this class action suit, which was…

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‘Shooting,’ ‘Bomb,’ ‘Trump’: Advertisers Blacklist News Stories Online – WSJ

Like many advertisers, Fidelity Investments wants to avoid advertising online near controversial content. The Boston-based financial-services company has a lengthy blacklist of words it considers off-limits. If one of those words is in an article’s headline, Fidelity won’t place an ad there. Its list earlier this year, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, contained more…

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Why Google’s Advertising Dominance Is Drawing Antitrust Scrutiny – WSJ

Google is the dominant player in online advertising, one reason the U.S. Justice Department is laying the groundwork for potential antitrust action against the tech giant. It has a 37% share of the $130 billion U.S. digital ad market, according to research firm eMarketer, but understanding Google’s full clout requires a deeper look at the sector. Google…

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Amazon, With Little Fanfare, Emerges as an Advertising Giant – WSJ

Amazon’s options for advertising include its delivery boxes. Photo: Amazon Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.25% handles nearly half of all online sales in the U.S., giving it a popular platform and a wealth of consumer data. Now it’s on track to become the next juggernaut of online advertising, and its rise threatens to upend Silicon Valley’s…

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The Race Is On to Challenge Google-Facebook ‘Duopoly’ in Digital Advertising – WSJ

The U.S. digital ad market grew by nearly $12 billion last year, with Google and Facebook collecting 77 cents of each new dollar spent, according to eMarketer. Peter and Maria Hoey June 19, 2017 5:30 a.m. ET Facebook Inc. FB -2.59% and Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL -0.02% Google tower so far above the rest of the…

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Google to Hold Talks With Publishers Over Their GDPR Concerns – WSJ

Alphabet Inc.’s Google has agreed to meet with a group of publishers next week at four of its global offices to discuss their concerns about its preparations for Europe’s forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation, according to people familiar with the matter. Some publishers have been critical of Google’s stance on the sweeping new data-protection law…

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Who’s Watching Digital Video? A Diverse, Expanding Audience, IAB Says – WSJ

As publishers prepare to woo the advertising industry next week, the Interactive Advertising Bureau has released a new report making a case for media buyers to spend big on digital video. The study, released Thursday, touts the size, diversity and purchasing intentions of viewers of original web video and says they’re somewhat more receptive to…

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Fake-Ad Operation Used to Steal From Publishers Is Uncovered – WSJ

An ad-tech firm says it has discovered a large and sophisticated advertising-fraud operation in which fake websites and infected computers were used to scam advertisers and publishers out of upward of hundreds of thousands of dollars a day. Denmark-based Adform, identifier of the scheme, named it “Hyphbot” and estimates that it has been going on…

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Fusion Media: If You Make a Good Ad, We’ll Give You Bonus Ad Space – WSJ

Many publishers believe consumers would pay more attention to online ads if they were just better. Now Fusion Media Group is acting on that sentiment: It is trying out a new system that rewards advertisers that make the most engaging ads by giving them bonus impressions. The Univision-owned digital media company, whose 12 sites include…

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