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Apple Falls Far From the Tree
Rumor has it Apple may let publishers sell advertising directly in Apple News. This contradicts the overarching philosophy of the social web—building walled gardens has propelled Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even Snap Inc. to the top of the food chain.
Apple's rumored approach includes micropayments, which allow readers to pay for access to individual articles. News organizations have had varying levels of success with this model in the past. But Apple News publishers that provide unique content instead of generic news may be sitting on a revenue stream made of gold.
I'm more than willing to pay to access a long-form, investigative article. The quality is worth the small price to me, but time will tell if it's worth it to the masses.
More notably, Apple's approach looks like another move to strengthen its consumer-friendly, privacy-first policies. It's already blocking autoplay videos. It blocks ad trackers. Publisher-first advertising in Apple News would fit in nicely.
Hopefully the rumored approach sticks. Brands often forget the power of trust in marketing and consumer loyalty. Nowadays, there aren't many companies that I trust to take online privacy seriously, but Apple's one of them.
AdTech News And Editorial
Google’s battle with the European Union is the world’s biggest economic policy story
Europe has ruled that Google has monopoly power in the web search market and should be regulated as such. That’s a game-changer. The United States, so far, disagrees.
The Competition In Ad Tech Is Just Getting Started
Pundits have been quick to call an end of competition in digital advertising as Google and Facebook’s market shares grow. But I’m optimistic for the future of our industry as long as smaller companies continue responding to market needs.
Is Sportswriting Dead?
Earlier this week FoxSports.com announced that henceforth the site would only feature videos. Writers on the Fox Sports site are now out looking for jobs at the same time ESPN, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, and other large site writers are also out looking for jobs. How does this keep happening? The simple truth is this — online sportswriting is a broken business.
Programmatic
In programmatic, buyers sometimes don’t know what type of auction they’re bidding in
Programmatic ad buying theoretically brings full transparency to ad buys, but the nature of the system often shrouds the process. Take the seemingly simple issue of what kind of auction it is.
Internet users associate advertising with fake news
Rakuten Marketing's survey of more than 2,500 consumers globally including the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Europe found that many associate advertising with untruths. This is especially true of those in Australia and the U.K.
Future Of Advertising
Beware of the hype that surrounds voice search advertising
Brands are being told 2017 will be the year of voice search, but questions exist about whether it’s overhyped.
Google Is Experimenting With Virtual Reality Advertising
There aren't many people currently using virtual reality yet, but that doesn’t mean Google isn’t looking at how to advertise to them.
Platforms
Apple News May Let Publishers Sell Ads Their Own Way
Apple is working on a money fix for publishers that send their articles and content to its News app but so far have gotten very little in return, according to people familiar with the plans.
Snapchat has made ad skipping a feature of the app — and that poses an existential question
Easily skipping video clips or photos, including ads, within a Story is a key Snapchat feature, one that makes it much harder for marketers to stop people in their thumb-tapping tracks as they blaze through content on the app.