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☆ Some advertisers were initially all-in on Netflix's ad tier, but many are now planning to buy ads on competitors like Amazon or Disney instead
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Lindsay Rittenhouse | Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But some ad buyers said they're advising clients to hold out until the price comes down. One buyer said only half of its TV advertisers initially interested in Netflix are going forward with a deal. This person is advising clients to buy Netflix ads only when prices likely dip in six to 18 months. Advertisers are also reluctant to buy Netflix ads because they're untested and competing against platforms that have proven performance, like Hulu, NBCUniversal's Peacock, HBO Max's ad tier, and Amazon, sources said. Most ad buyers think Netflix will eventually field a valuable offering but early returns are likely to be disappointing.

Snap's disastrous earnings is an indicator to some industry insiders that the digital ad market is collapsing. Snap's dismal showing in its recent earnings due to lost ad spend signified an ad market further collapsing in the face of a likely recession. And now, the ad industry is scrambling to figure out what to do in a worst-case economic scenario. "I think the digital ad market collapsed in September," one adtech exec told Insider, noting a precipitous drop that month in particular. One ad industry recruiter who is coming off of one of their busiest years in 2021 for running talent searches for ad agencies amid the Great Resignation said new opportunities have all but dried up, as many ad agencies have instituted a hiring freeze.

☆ Data-management company InfoSum has laid off staff as its tech struggles to gain traction in the US, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sources said the company had struggled to gain traction in the US and missed revenue targets. Data-management company InfoSum had a recent round of layoffs, the company confirmed. Founded in the UK in 2016, InfoSum is a software-as-a-service platform that offers companies tools to store and manage their data. Another person familiar with the matter estimated the layoffs hit 12% of Infosum's staff, or about 20 employees. The company didn't hit its revenue goal last year and these people said it was unlikely it'd hit its 2022 target either.

☆ Uber says it's on track to build a $1 billion advertising business and that in-car ads will make your rides cheaper
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Uber Ads General Manager Mark Grether said ads should maker users' journeys cheaper. Uber now offers an array of ad formats throughout the Uber and Uber Eats apps, and also on emails, cartops, and in-car tablets. The retail ads on Uber Eats can be bought via a self-service platform; Uber app ads are currently sold directly to advertisers by its sales team, though Uber eventually plans to make those ads purchasable through automation. Uber Ads General Manager Mark Grether said the addition of ads would ultimately make rides cheaper for consumers, though he declined to say by how much. He said marketers have been impressed by Uber Ads average click-through rate, which he said is 3% — above the industry average of around 0.35% for display ads .

☆ Death threats, insomnia, and near-minimum wage: A Meta customer service contractor reveals what it's like to be on the frontline of Facebook customer complaints
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A Meta customer service agent working for third-party firm Teleperformance revealed the job has become so stressful, she suffers from insomnia. Because sometimes she's powerless to help Meta users, it's tough to earn productivity bonuses, she said. She can investigate, troubleshoot, and as a last resort escalate the matter to the internal Meta team. Despite not being empowered to help, Meta customer support agents are also instructed not to use words such as "sorry" or "unfortunately," Charlotte said. *This article uses a pseudonym that was chosen by Insider, which is aware of the Meta customer service contractor's real identity.

☆ Check out the pitch deck in-game advertising company Bidstack used to raise $11 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

In-game adtech company Bidstack recently raised an $11 million post-IPO equity round. Check out the key slides from the pitch deck that helped Bidstack land its latest investment. Founded in 2015, Bidstack started as an adtech company that helped advertisers buy space on digital billboards, using programmatic technology. Bidstack posted a loss of 6.3 million pounds ($6.9 million) last year and grew revenue by 55% to 2.6 million pounds ($2.9 million). Check out the key slides from the pitch deck that helped Bidstack snag $11 million in investment.

☆ These 15 top Microsoft Advertising execs are behind the company's plan to double its ad revenue to $20 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Ryan Joe | Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft posted $10 billion in ad revenue last year and it's positioning itself to double that to $20 billion. It's signed a deal to sell ads for Netflix and is building out its Xbox ads division. But recently, Microsoft has shown signs it's regaining its advertising mojo. Microsoft posted $10 billion in ad revenue last year, and Wilk recently told Insider he plans to double that number to $20 billion, though he didn't say when. And ads are a feature in Microsoft's pending $68.7 billion deal to acquire "Call of Duty" games publisher Activision.

☆ Twitter is telling advertisers their ads mistakenly ran on profiles selling and soliciting child sexual abuse material
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter told advertisers Wednesday it had found ads on profiles linked with child sex abuse. Twitter said it had banned the accounts and told some advertisers it was supending ads on profiles. Twitter informed advertisers on Wednesday that it had discovered ads running on profiles that were soliciting or selling child sexual abuse material. Twitter told some advertisers it had suspended all ads on profiles. The company also said it had "updated its systems" in order to better detect accounts linked with child sexual abuse material and to prevent ads being served next to this content.

☆ Layoffs, lost sales, and revised business plans: How a Facebook tech glitch is wreaking havoc for advertisers around the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A technical glitch continues to ban Meta ad accounts at random. But three weeks ago, business ground to a halt when Color Crush Book's Facebook ad account was unexpectedly terminated. The founders of Color Crush Books said they're considering shifting from their digital-only model after experiencing Facebook ad account issues. The company's Meta ad account was reinstated on Tuesday after Insider contacted Meta. Silverbird's ad account was disabled in mid-August and Lorenzos shifted some of the budget to search and offline channels.

Insider asked 12 top VCs what ad and marketing tech companies excited them the most this year. Check out the 19 most promising adtech startups, and what they do that makes them unique. It hopes to raise a Series A funding round in the coming months. Emperia is currently raising its next funding round. Why it's on the list: Tech companies are being scrutinized for their wasting energy consumption, and the digital advertising industry is no exception.

Earlier this summer, Snap executives told managers they should put at least 10% of their teams on performance improvement plans. In a few weeks, Snap employees have gone from feeling relatively stable to joking that they now work at "Snapazon," a reference to the sometimes grueling, metric-heavy approach of Amazon. Snap is chopping the Snap Pixy mini drone, its accelerator program, Snap Originals, Snap Minis and its Games vertical. Other Snap workers expressed similar doubts about the company's acquisition strategy. AR likely will not be a major success story, despite Snap's leadership in the area.

☆ UK media companies are left with an estimated $100 million-plus shortfall due to an advertising blackout after the Queen's death
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Many UK media companies pulled advertising after the Queen's death and during her funeral. Analysts estimate the ad blackouts could cost media companies more than $100 million in lost revenue. Experts also said media companies could benefit from extra print sales and pent-up advertiser demand. Douglas McCabe, CEO and director of publishing and tech at Enders Analysis, estimated the lost advertising could equate to around 15 million pounds ($17 million) a day for TV companies, 2 million pounds ($2.3 million) for radio, 2 million pounds for billboard owners, and 1 million pounds ($1.1 million) for newspapers. But even when advertising returns, UK media companies remain in a tight spot due to soaring inflation and a gloomy economic outlook.

☆ 14 influential Microsoft execs powering its advertising business as it prepares to make a splash with Netflix and Xbox ads
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-31 | by ( Ryan Joe | Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft posted $10 billion in ad revenue last year and it's poised to grab a bigger share of the ad market. It's signed a deal to sell ads for Netflix and is building out its Xbox ads division. Insider identified 14 of the most influential ad execs at Microsoft that marketers should know. Microsoft is also working on a plan to place ads inside free-to-play Xbox games. And ads are a feature in Microsoft's pending $68.7 billion deal to acquire "Call of Duty" games publisher Activision.

☆ US lawmakers want to probe whether online advertising poses a national security threat
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-10 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Director of National Intelligence has been asked to assess the "foreign weaponization" of adtech data. US lawmakers have asked the Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to investigate whether "foreign weaponization" of widely available adtech data poses a national security risk, a move that has the potential to deal a major blow to the online ad industry. The ODNI and the office of Chairman of the National Intelligence Committee Rep. Adam Schiff, who filed the amendment, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. US government agencies themselves have used data from advertising auctions to track mobile phones. "Furthermore, brands — especially those with government contracts — may face a moral dilemma in funding an ecosystem that is deemed to be a threat to national security."

☆ WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell on Snapchat becoming the 'third force' to Google and Facebook
▼ + stars: | 2017-01-18 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Each year, The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas showcases the innovation and technology that is changing the world – and the way companies do business. Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, the world's largest advertising company, explained how Google — once a threat to advertising agencies — is now its biggest partner. WPP spent $5 billion of its clients' ad budgets with Google last year, $1.7 billion with Facebook, and it is seeing big growth from Snapchat. WPP spent $90 million with Snapchat in 2016 — having only projected to spend around $20 million to $30 million. Advertisers are now seeing the photo and video sharing app as a "third force" to Google and Facebook, according to Sorrell, who revealed an investor in both Snapchat and Facebook thinks Evan Spiegel's company could even "displace" Facebook in the future.

☆ How M&Ms went from a wartime treat to playing a starring role in the culture wars
▼ + stars: | 2016-03-26 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

M&Ms is making Maya Rudolph its spokesperson, sidelining its talking candy mascots. The "spokescandies" have been the face of the candy brand for almost three decades. Rudolph will be "chief of fun" at M&Ms, the brand tweeted on Monday. Right-wing commentators had previously criticized a change in shoe style that M&Ms made to one of the anthropomorphic candies last year. M&Ms is among the oldest candy brands in the US, and its talking candies are relatively recent additions.

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