program areas Digital Citizen

July 20, 2015 — Over the last several years, publishers and advertisers have continued to adopt programmatic buying and selling of digital inventory into their media strategies; however, within the complex programmatic ecosystem there has been a lack of consensus around the definition of programmatic and its associated types and formats and the size of the programmatic market in comparison with the overall internet advertising market. This study, commissioned by the IAB, seeks to estimate revenue associated with programmatic selling and buying of advertising and establish a benchmark for measuring the growth of programmatic. Read the full report, attached.

Call it something dry like "data on-boarding" or something marketable like "connectivity." Whatever it's called, Acxiom-owned LiveRamp (link is external) is doing a lot more of it than a year ago. The company currently "on-boards" or connects 20 billion consumer records representing individuals or households each month, or around 240 billion per year. That's a big leap from the 3 billion customer records it brought to the web in March 2014, up from 1.3 billion in March 2013. Those records contain consumer data generated offline, such as information from auto leads, retail transactions or banking relationships. The digitized data is used by companies who want to communicate with their current customers via email or targeted digital ads, optimize website pages or measure the impact of digital ad campaigns on offline sales. More than 200 marketing-technology platforms are integrated with the LiveRamp system -- part of Acxiom's newly-named Connectivity division -- meaning the data can be plugged into all sorts of ad targeting, email marketing, site optimization and campaign analysis tools. Acxiom reported that Connectivity revenue rose 367% to $22 million in fiscal Q4 2015. The growth is a result of more awareness of data onboarding, said James Arra, VP-strategic partnerships for LiveRamp. But it's also the May 2014 Acxiom acquisition (link is external) that has facilitated business with clients that may have been out of reach when LiveRamp was still an indie, such as highly regulated financial services firms. Full article available at http://bit.ly/1SpFtgN (link is external)

Real-time Bidding (RTB), a key component of the programmatic advertising revolution, represents a massive platform change in the way we advertise online by bringing the relevance and efficiency of search to display. RTB spend will reach 429 million GBP this year (eMarketer) as budget moves away from more traditional channels. If advertisers consider RTB for display there are a couple of tips to help get it right: Advertise to the individual not the ‘segment’ Every customer is slightly different from the next. With this in mind the traditional marketing method of grouping customers into ‘buckets’ does not always make sense. For example, consumers within the “mums” segment will be vastly different. A mother with a newborn will have hugely different needs to one who is just about to send their eldest off to university. Everyone has unique demographic traits – income levels, hobbies, family statuses, interests, etc. Grouping customers into segments relies, partly, on human perception, but driving performance is not always intuitive in the same way. RTB means targeting at the impression level as opposed to traditional media buys of large chunks of inventory. Therefore, there is a unique opportunity to target individuals – segments of one. Machine learning and the application of algorithms make this possible. In the past guesswork decided the majority of ad buys and creative execution, now, through machine learning, we can use computers to impact specific performance goals. Fresh data is key for reaching and influencing consumers While the number of data sources available for advertisers is never-ending advertisers must remember that not all data sources are created equal. The time between collecting the data and using it is an important factor. Commonly datasets used in RTB can be over a week old, this means they are stale and fail to identify the right customer at the right point in their purchase journey. Find out more at http://bit.ly/1LefbPr (link is external)

Last week during the DoubleClick Leadership Summit (link is external) (DLS), we introduced cross-device measurement across all of our DoubleClick advertiser products. Today, as the first post of our week-long DLS series, we're excited to announce that these cross-device metrics will be rolling out to all DoubleClick advertisers in the next week. Mobile continues to reshape how consumers engage on digital: they are increasingly turning to the nearest device to act on an immediate need in the moment and then seamlessly shifting their attention from screen to screen to complete their journey. With the path to purchase becoming increasingly fragmented, it’s essential marketers understand how consumers interact with their brand across all devices. When marketers have access to cross-device insights, they will also make the best decisions about how to invest their marketing dollars. With this launch, advertisers can access cross-device metrics in all buying tools within our platform -- DoubleClick Campaign Manager, DoubleClick Bid Manager, and DoubleClick Search. Full article available at http://bit.ly/1I2qppH (link is external)

The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), through its counsel, requests the following documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, related to enforcement of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), 15 U.S.C. § 6501 et seq.: All annual reports submitted to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by COPPA safe harbor programs for the reporting period of July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015 as required by the COPPA Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 312.11(d)(1), including, for illustrative purposes, reports from the following safe harbor programs: Aristotle International Inc. Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) iKeepSafe kidSafe Seal Program (kidSAFE) Privacy Vaults Online (PRIVO) True Ultimate Standards Everywhere (TRUSTe) CDD asks that if any of the requested records are stored electronically that the FTC provide the requested records to CDD in their native electronic format as required under FOIA. 5 U.S.C. § 552(f)(2). Request for Fee Waiver or News Media Fee Benefit CDD asks the FTC to waive all fees associated with this request because disclosure of the records is in the public interest or, alternatively, to limit any fees charged to CDD to reasonable duplication fees because it is a noncommercial request by a member of the news media. 5 U.S.C. §§ 552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(II), 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). CDD is entitled to a waiver of all fees associated with this request under FOIA’s public interest standard and relevant FTC regulations. 16 C.F.R. § 4.8(e). The regulations permit the FTC to waive all fees associated with a particular request when a requester demonstrates that (1) “disclosure will likely contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government” and (2) “that the request not be primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.” 16 C.F.R. §§ 4.8(e)(2)(i)-(ii). CDD’s request qualifies under both prongs of the FTC’s public interest fee waiver standard. First, disclosure of the annual reports provided to the FTC by COPPA safe harbor providers and any related correspondence will contribute significantly to the public’s understanding of the FTC’s oversight of private entities tasked with enforcing federal law. COPPA was designed to protect children’s privacy online, an issue of significant public importance that concerns parents, consumers, lawmakers, and the general public. The instant request concerns data on how actively private safe harbor providers are policing COPPA compliance by their members. Relatedly, the records will also disclose whether and how the FTC performs its oversight role with respect to the safe harbor programs.1 From the reports, the public can scrutinize both the safe harbors’ performance and the FTC’s actions in administering the safe harbor program under COPPA. Because CDD intends to publish the requested documents, the public at large will benefit from better understanding whether and how the FTC is protecting children’s privacy online. Full complaint attached.

Facebook commissioned SalesBrain, a US-based neuromarketing agency, to understand how people’s brains and physiology respond to identical stimuli viewed on a smartphone versus on a TV. The study focused on how the brain responds to 4 key areas: engagement, attention, emotion and retention. Today, people tune into content whenever and wherever they want. With viewing happening at home on a TV and on-the-go on a smartphone, marketers want to ensure that their messages are being received no matter the screen. To determine if their advertising is effective, marketers have traditionally turned to self-reported market research techniques, but those approaches have limitations. Enter neuromarketing, which according to the Neuromarketing Science & Business Association “is the systematic collection and interpretation of neurological and neurophysiological insights about individuals using different protocols allowing researchers to explore non-verbal and unconscious physiological responses to various stimuli for the purposes of market research.” Though still in its infancy as a marketing research practice, neuromarketing is giving marketers a direct view into people’s physical reactions to stimuli rather than relying solely on people’s ability to report their own feelings to that stimuli. Full article available at http://bit.ly/1KdlrGM (link is external)

Programmatic media-buying technologies are taking over the internet at a rapid pace, so much so that traditional offline media is the new frontier for the tech. Programmatic, digital out-of-home (DOOH) has been pioneered in APAC, and is now being exported around the globe. ExchangeWire charts is progress. The means of buying OOH media space using programmatic technology has been piloted in Australia for well over a year (link is external), and is about to be exported to other parts of the region; plus Europe is also on the roadmap with the launch date there imminent. The potential disruption of programmatic media trading will be discussed at next week’s ATS Singapore, during a panel session entitled ‘Joining the Dots – Why Programmatic Can Solve the Multi-Channel Conundrum’, where Vicki Lyon, Site Tour, CCO, will share her experience of rolling out the tech in Australia. Site Tour is part of a specialist consortium aimed at developing the opportunities in this space, along with IPG Mediabrands’ programmatic buying division Cadreon, plus Brandscreen, that has been running over 1,000 OOH screens that can display media traded using programmatic technologies. Site Tour, effectively an ad exchange, recently inked a contract with programmatic video advertising firm TubeMogul to allow advertisers to programmatically purchase video ads on billboards, kiosks, and elevator screens in Australia. The pairing has extended this relationship to the UK where they are imminently to launch the offering. ExchangeWire caught up with Site Tour’s Lyon (pictured) to learn more about the offering. Full article available at http://bit.ly/1UgdT9l (link is external)

The digital data “arms race” that is propelling major companies around the world to expand their data collection, consumer profiling, and online targeting capabilities illustrates how information from and about us drives the commercial (and increasingly political) marketplaces. Corporations want to know as much about us as possible—including how to influence us at any point in what they call (link is external) the “consumer journey.” Companies are significantly investing in sophisticated “data management platforms” that regularly gather and analyze our behaviors. Large amounts (link is external) of so-called first-, second-, and third-party data (information collated from their own files on us and amplified by additional files from numerous data brokers) are used to influence our online and offline experiences. Antitrust and merger regulators (link is external) have not kept up with how consumer data is being used today. It’s become a dynamic and critical factor, whose “actionabilty” (link is external) (the capacity to use our information both instantly and effectively) to influence the decision-making of both individuals and groups is crucial for competiveness. Companies are increasingly expanding their ability to effectively (link is external) track individuals and use that information (where are we online, what did we do, whom we communicate with, and what we read, buy, etc.). These practices illustrate how commercial surveillance has become a fundamental part of our lives today. But violating our privacy is just one key and disturbing dimension of this largely invisible data apparatus. Another is that data is used in new ways as part of a much more complex system that delivers influence and promotes behavioral changes. How data is used today to transform the consumer experience should be a focus of competition regulators. Merger reviews need to go beyond issues related to what price we may pay for a product to explore how data is and will be used to change our perceptions, relationships, and actions with items and brands. While advertisers and marketers have always been in the persuasion business, they’ve never before had the capabilities they have today—from neuromarketing to social media marketing to advanced data analytics used for targeting and much more. And nearly every day these companies advance the data-driven digital influence process. The very nature of contemporary media companies is all about using our information to drive consumer transactions, regardless of device and location. (See Google (link is external), Facebook (link is external), etc.). We still don’t know what the cumulative effect of all this will be, but our consumer-protection and competition regulators need to be on the cutting edge—not looking backward. Both the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission need to stay abreast of how Big Data and the techniques tethered to it change the nature of markets. The approval (link is external) of Big (link is external) Data mergers (link is external) by the DoJ and the FTC without a thorough analysis and public accounting, illustrates that it’s time to reform the process. This is on the agenda of consumer advocates, including those working together across the Atlantic.

What is Adobe Audience Manager? It’s a data management platform that helps you build unique audience profiles so you can identify your most valuable segments and use them across any digital channel. Understand your audiences: Get a complete view of your audience by combining all of your data sources in one place. Create new segments: Continually discover and organize new, valuable segments for smarter targeting and personalization. Advertise effectively: Make your ad campaigns more productive by targeting specific segments on any platform. What can Audience Manager do? 360-degree profiles: Combine information from online, offline and second- and third-party sources to create complete audience profiles. Audience activation: Conveniently target specific profiles on any content delivery platform, like content management systems and ad servers. Cross-device measurement: Identify, measure and target people as they move across screens and devices. Look a-like modeling: Identify prospects who are similar in behavior to your most valuable customers, so you can extend your reach. Read more about Adobe Audience Manager at http://adobe.ly/1Cl5hc1 (link is external)

In case you missed it, we recently released a study showing the first holistic analysis of cross-platform digital media consumption in the U.S., entitled Digital Omnivores: How Tablets, Smartphones and Connected Devices are Changing U.S. Digital Media Consumption Habits (link is external). The study brings together insights from across the comScore mobile suite of products and provides a first look at survey-based behavioral data on tablet use. In the report, we explore the increasingly fragmented digital media landscape shaped by the widespread adoption of smartphones and entry of tablets and other web-enabled connected devices. As people become increasingly connected through the use of these devices, we are witnessing the transformation of consumers into digital omnivores able to engage seamlessly with a steady stream of digital content across different platforms. Below we will share with you a few key highlights of the broader trends we’re seeing, and tomorrow I’ll be conducting a webinar that will dive deeper into this topic. Below we will share with you a few key highlights of the broader trends we’re seeing, which I also presented at a recent comScore webinar on the topic. You can find the Digital Omnivores webinar presentation here (link is external). Digital Omnivores Are a Global Phenomenon An analysis of ten selected global markets in August 2011 showed a notable percentage of Internet traffic (measured as browser-based page views) coming from non-computer devices. Singapore led among those markets with more than 7 percent of all Internet traffic in the country coming from smartphones, tablets and other connected devices. While mobile phones continue to be the main driver of non-computer traffic around the world, it is interesting to see tablets contributing a sizeable amount of traffic for a few mature technological markets. In Canada, tablets drove nearly 40 percent of all non-computer traffic. Read more at http://bit.ly/1C7wYEG (link is external)