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☆ Duolingo will run its first Super Bowl ad as it expands beyond TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Duolingo is set to take its viral TikTok marketing to the Super Bowl. The language-learning app plans to run a five-second ad during the Super Bowl game on February 11, Manu Orssaud, Duolingo's chief marketing officer, told Business Insider. It won't be a national Super Bowl ad and instead target local markets regionally. The Super Bowl ad is also set to include a digital component and be "something surprising, something that hopefully will get people talking," Orssaud said. YouTube Shorts' audience skews toward men more than TikTok, and Duolingo is creating repeatable, series-driven content specifically for YouTube Shorts, Orssaud said.

Persons: Manu Orssaud, Orssaud, Reddit, Duolingo Duolingo, Duolingo, Duo, Barbie, Lily, there's Organizations: Super, Business, Warner Bros, YouTube, Brands, Adidas Locations: Germany, Japan, TikTok

☆ A top E.l.f. Beauty marketer reveals how the beauty brand uses platforms like TikTok and Roblox to develop products and drive sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Beauty is known for making viral, lower-priced makeup products and promoting them on platforms like TikTok and Roblox. Besides Roblox, E.l.f. According to Circana's 2023 Makeup Consumer report, Twitch is a small but growing platform for driving makeup sales. Larissa Jensen, VP and global beauty industry advisor at research firm Circana, said that TikTok is a major driver in driving makeup sales. Fifty-two percent of makeup wearers said TikTok influenced their makeup purchases compared to 45% of makeup wearers who said that Instagram influenced their makeup purchases.

Persons: Laurie Lam, Lam, Twitch, TikTok, TikTokers, Larissa Jensen, Instagram, Jennifer Coolidge, Mike White, Coolidge Organizations: longtime L'Oreal, Business, Bowl, TV Locations: E.l.f

☆ Google is replacing the exec who oversees its $220 billion ad business amid big privacy and AI changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Dischler has spent 15 years at Google, and was most recently leading all of Google's ad business. He is credited with steering Google through privacy changes and for overseeing new uses of technology like machine learning and artificial intelligence for its advertising business. Dischler helped spearhead Google's advertising efforts around Google's Chrome web browser phasing out third-party cookies. "Our ads business helps millions of businesses thrive and we're grateful to Jerry for his many accomplishments in this area." Before joining Google, Srinivasan worked at Amazon and IBM.

Persons: Jerry Dischler, Dischler, Google's Prabhakar Raghavan, Jerry, Vidhya Srinivasan, Srinivasan, Max, Raghavan, Srinivasan's, Shashi Thakur, nix Organizations: Google, Business, Department, YouTube, Amazon, IBM, Justice Department

☆ Instagram's crisis highlights the bigger issues the entire ad industry is facing
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AdvertisementBusiness Insider's Katie Notopoulos has a rundown on how a relatively scandal-free summer for Meta has erupted into a full-blown crisis at Instagram. And the fix for Instagram's Reels might not be simple or one Meta's willing to make. Instagram, Tyler Le/InstagramThe WSJ's report illustrates a broader issue the ad industry is grappling with. Ad spend has never fully recovered since the onset of the pandemic, meaning companies have to do more with less. AdvertisementAll of that puts the ad industry in a juxtaposition.

Persons: McDonald's, Meta, influencers, Katie Notopoulos, Instagram, Tyler Le, Lauren Johnson, Lauren, Joe Biden, Chip Somodevilla, Here's, It's, Chelsea Jia Feng, Veronica Thatcher, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: The New York Times, Wall, Meta, UBS, Business, Google, White, Philadelphia Federal Reserve, Apollo Management, Bank of America, Chelsea, Microsoft, BI, Broadcom, VMware, Amazon, Intuit, CrowdStrike, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Locations: Instagram, Washington ,, Gaza, America, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

The ad industry is in the midst of a major shakeup. This year, generative AI emerged as a tool that could potentially take advertising work to new heights , even as some staffers fear they could be replaced . This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. This is the sixth year Business Insider is recognizing rising changemakers within ad agencies. Scroll down to see 30 rising stars of Madison Avenue, listed alphabetically.

Organizations: Google, Business, Madison

☆ Here's how much advertising costs on Netflix, Max, Disney, and others right now as streaming ad prices fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Lauren Johnson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The number of ads per hour on streamers including Hulu and Disney+ also has crept up, adding to the supply. (Check out last year's list of streaming TV ad prices here .) Netflix and Disney+ also have slashed their ad prices since launch. CPMs, or cost per mille, is what advertisers pay per thousand views of their ads. A second top ad buyer estimated that streaming ad prices have come down 5% to 10% over the past year as more ad space gets rolled out.

Persons: Max, Read Organizations: Netflix, Disney, Hulu, Business, Amazon, YouTube

☆ Amazon Advertising's hiring freeze is over, and it is staffing up like crazy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Similar to its tech giant peers Meta and Google, Amazon pulled back on hiring last year, including roles for Amazon Ads — one of its fastest-growing and highest-margin business units. Amazon Ads' career page currently lists 423 open roles, up from 29 open roles in January, according to an archived version of that page. An Amazon spokesperson said that the company has continued targeted hiring as well as hiring for backfilled roles. Amazon Advertising has huge growth ambitionsMany of the open roles include positions to support newer products and initiatives within Amazon Advertising. It now has 34 roles open for software development roles like engineers working on measurement, ad tech, and data science.

Persons: Meta, Bose, that's Organizations: Amazon, Google, Carnival Cruises, Variety Locations: New York City

☆ Seeking nominations for the hottest adtech companies of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Insider is compiling its annual adtech list that honors the companies transforming digital advertising. The list focuses on public and private companies that made the biggest impact in the industry. AdvertisementAdvertisementWe're seeking nominations for Insider's annual list of the hottest adtech companies. As in previous years, we plan to publish a list of the hottest adtech companies that are driving change with publishers, agencies, retailers, and brands and solving problems in new ways. AdvertisementAdvertisementWhat we're looking forThe list will highlight public and private adtech companies.

Persons: — Organizations: Service

☆ Advertisers pumped up to 90% of their Google ad spend into its AI tool, and some are now questioning whether it's actually performing.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Performance Max also drove retailers' spend with Google's shopping ad products up 16% year-over-year, according to Tinuiti. Digital agency Arm Candy said that 45% of retailers' Google spend is handled with Performance Max. Specifically, the source said that the return on ad spend of Performance Max campaigns started slowing down this summer. Brand search campaigns are when companies buy search ads against their own brand names, like Hershey's buying "Hershey's" keywords, for example. Advertisers that like Google's AI say it helps them find new customersGoogle has tried to address advertisers' concerns about what Performance Max buys.

Persons: Max, Belardi Wong, Candy, Max proliferates, Zach Thompson, Thomas, We've, Merkle, Brendon Kraham, Brand, Google's Kraham, Calla Murphy Organizations: Google, YouTube, Max Locations: ROAS

Its "SmartListen" feature uses patented AI-powered voice control to allow users to interact with videos in real-time. Adventr founder Devo Harris was previously a Grammy award-winning producer and music executive, who worked with artists like Kanye West and John Legend. The following week, Harris uploaded the same video but added interactive buttons so users could choose which scene to watch next. 23andMe used Adventr to let its customers ask a video of a genetic counselor whether they're likely to inherit a disease their parent has, for example. In the next six to 12 months, Harris says Adventr wants to incorporate more large language models and generative AI technology to make its voice controls more sophisticated.

Persons: Adventr, Devo Harris, John Legend, Siri, Kanye, Harris, X, 23andMe, they're Organizations: Paladin, Reinventure, Ventures, YouTube, Chevy, Disney, Twitter Locations: York, Adventr, Paris

Two years ago, it started building a new tech platform called Convert, and officially launched it this year. Convert helps retailers who sell ads ensure their inventory is available to as many advertisers as possible. This provides more competition for ad slots, so retailers get a fair price for their inventory. PubMatic's technology also helps retailers sell to smaller advertisers as well. PubMatic's Convert provides a portal for those smaller advertisers to log on and manage their retail media buys.

Persons: PubMatic, Rajeev Goel PubMatic, IPG, Peter Barry Organizations: Lyft Media Locations: Spanish

☆ The New York Times quietly brought 'open programmatic' ads back to its app
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The New York Times is juicing up its ad revenue by bringing so-called open programmatic advertising back to its mobile app. Open programmatic is a methodology that lets any advertiser buy digital ads in real-time. In 2019, the Times shut down open programmatic ads from its mobile app because it wanted to focus on growing subscriptions and because those ads reportedly slowed the app's load times. The Times kept programmatic ads on its website. However, it currently allows Google, Index Exchange, PubMatic, and Magnite among others to sell programmatic ads on its desktop website according to its ads.txt file, which lists the companies publishers allow to sell programmatic ads.

Persons: We've, Matt Barash, Roland Caputo, it's, Meredith Kopit Levien Organizations: New York Times, Times, Google, Exchange Locations: Americas

☆ Walmart's ad sales division just launched an initiative to stay competitive in the retail media race
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Walmart is rolling out new educational programs to court advertisers. Rivals Amazon and Instacart already offer similar programs aimed at grabbing bigger ad budgets. A big chunk of Walmart's first courses pitch Sponsored Brands, a popular search ad format. Retailers that sell ads are expected to pocket $104 billion by 2025, according to Morgan Stanley . To stay competitive, Walmart's advertising arm Walmart Connect is launching an educational program called Walmart Connect Academy Ad Certification, to help advertisers fully understand how Walmart's ad business works and what sort of products and ad units it offers.

Persons: Morgan Stanley Organizations: Walmart, Rivals Locations: Instacart

☆ Brands endorsed by Travis Kelce, like Pfizer and Campbell's Soup, are also benefitting from Taylor Swift's halo
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Brands backing Kansas City Chiefs' player Travis Kelce, like Pfizer and Campbell's Soup, are also getting big boosts in engagement from Kelce's possible relationship with pop star Taylor Swift. Pfizer launched a campaign starring Kelce on Sept. 22 encouraging people to get the updated COVID-19 booster shot. There was a 32% increase in searches about Pfizer when that ad ran after Swift's Sept. 25 appearance, compared to before. EDO also found that Pfizer ads with Kelce drove 27% more search activity than Pfizer ads that did not feature him. Also, a Kelce-led TV ad from Experian posted on YouTube on Oct. 1 has already received more than 800,000 views, while a Kelce-less Experian TV ad promoting the same product has only accumulated 189,000 views.

Persons: Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift, Swift, Kelce's, Kelce, Jason Kelce, Marci Raible, Travis, Raible, Experian, NBCUniversal Organizations: Brands, Kansas City Chiefs, Pfizer, Campbell's, NFL, Chiefs, EDO, YouTube, State Farm, DirecTV, MetLife, New York Jets

☆ Amazon will make up to $7 billion in revenue from Prime Video ads, according to Wall Street analysts
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon's decision to start running ads within Prime Video in early 2024 could drive up to $7 billion in ad revenue, according to three new Wall Street notes. UBS isn't the only Wall Street firm betting that Amazon's Prime Video ads will drive billions. UBS expects Prime Video ads will likely have a $30-$42 CPM — the cost to reach 1,000 people. Wedbush analysts expect Amazon to charge $50 CPMs for Prime Video ads. Insider previously reported that Amazon estimates that Prime Video ads will initially reach more than 115 million US monthly users.

Persons: Wedbush, Discovery's Max Organizations: UBS, Nielsen, UBS isn't, Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros, Prime Locations: Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Australia

☆ Leaked Amazon Prime Video pitch reveals new stats to entice advertisers and compete with Netflix and Disney
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Lauren Johnson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon revealed new stats about its viewers to ad buyers to pitch Prime Video advertising, which will roll out early next year. Prime Video users can opt out of advertising by paying $2.99 more per month. The stats suggest that advertisers will be able to target younger viewers with Prime Video ads. Prime Video ads will appear in Originals content as well as licensed TV and movies, according to the document. And while Amazon hasn't shared pricing for Prime Video ads, advertisers expect them to be priced reasonably.

Persons: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Smith, Amazon, Jon Morgenstern, OTT, We're, Netflix hasn't Organizations: Amazon, Intelligence, YouTube, Netflix, Disney Locations: Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Australia, Amazon's, VaynerMedia

☆ Seeking nominations for the top adtech companies that use generative AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Insider is seeking nominations for companies building generative AI tools for advertising. These companies sell tech that help advertisers make art and copy and find new audiences. Insider is looking for nominations for a list showcasing the adtech companies that harness generative AI to help improve advertising. We're looking to highlight big and small companies that use generative AI as a basis for their solutions — doing everything from helping advertisers make art and copy, inform product placement, build new audiences to target, handle back-office tasks like invoicing, and more. While many adtech companies use AI, this list will solely focus on companies that use generative AI.

Organizations: Morning

☆ WATCH: As the retail media industry booms, experts say data collaboration and technology will be the proving ground for success for advertisers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Ashley Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Three retail media experts discuss the unique advantages and challenges of this evolving market. The conversation was part of Insider's event, "A New Era of Retail Media," which took place on Tuesday, September 19. At a recent event hosted by Insider and presented by Snowflake, retail experts shared insights into how retail media is changing the advertising industry. Argyilan added that retail media is quickly gaining in popularity because of opportunities that didn't exist in other channels previously. But retail media is providing advertisers with opportunities to get more creative than the standard ad banner featuring a product.

Persons: Lauren Johnson, Kristi Argyilan, Glen Conybeare, Erin Foxworthy, Conybeare, that's, Argyilan, Foxworthy, That's, It's, it's Organizations: Retail Media, Service, Retail, Albertsons Media, IPG Media Brands, Snowflake Inc Locations: Wall, Silicon, Snowflake

☆ Seeking nominations for the 2023 rising stars of Madison Avenue
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Insider is seeking nominations for its annual list of the rising stars of Madison Avenue. AdvertisementAdvertisementInsider is looking for nominations for our annual list of the rising stars of Madison Avenue, and we want to hear from you. Criteria and methodologyAdvertisementAdvertisementThe list will profile ad agency talent across departments at traditional agencies as well as consulting firms. We will look at factors including the nominee's role, responsibilities, and impact on their agency or firm and the industry. Submit your nominations here and include as much detail as to why your nominee deserves to be recognized.

Organizations: Madison, Morning

☆ 3 ways YouTube and Amazon are changing how brands advertise on the NFL
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Brands have to change their NFL advertising expectations on streamers like YouTube and Amazon. That's no longer the case, as platforms like YouTube and Amazon influence how some NFL ads are bought and evaluated. Here are three ways YouTube and Amazon are changing how brands advertise against the NFL. YouTube TV has over five million subscribers, its chief Neal Mohan said during a MoffettNathanson conference in May. YouTube is betting on promotions to juice YouTube TV subscribers.

Persons: YouTube —, Kasha Cacy, Neal Mohan, Jonathan Schaaf, Schaaf, Mike McHale Organizations: NFL, Brands, YouTube, Amazon, Verizon, Stagwell Media Networks, Consumers, Disney, Noble

☆ Check out the pitch deck that startup Aditude, whose tech makes it easier for publishers to sell ads, used to raise $15 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Aditude, a startup that helps publishers manage their ad businesses, raised $15 million in Series A funding. Founder and CEO Jared Siegel started Aditude in 2019 consulting for ad-supported publishers before building products for publishers. Siegel said the average publisher Aditude works with has between 700 million and 1 billion monthly ad impressions. Aditude can also recommend layouts of where publishers should place ads on pages and what size ads to sell. Here are the key slides from the pitch deck Aditude used to raise its Series A funding.

Persons: Jared Siegel, Aditude, Siegel Organizations: Aditude

☆ The Trade Desk is exerting its power in the ad industry, and some insiders fear it's becoming more like Google
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementPublisher-focused adtech firms that traditionally work with The Trade Desk, which helps advertisers buy digital ads, are now in competition with it. The Trade Desk has been aggressively building products that will undercut the business of publisher-focused adtech companies, or "supply-side platforms," according to industry insiders. The Trade Desk has not traditionally competed with SSPs, which help publishers of online content price their ad inventory and make it available to buy. "By saying this publicly, The Trade Desk is throwing down the gauntlet." He added that other ad-buying platforms besides The Trade Desk have direct deals with publishers, similar to OpenPath.

Persons: SSPs, Ari Paparo, Matt Prohaska, Will Doherty, Prohaska, Rajeev Goel, Shiv Gupta, Gupta, Desk's Doherty, Magnite, PubMatic, Adam Soroca, they're Organizations: Google, SSPs, Marketecture, Prohaska Consulting, Trade, Exchange, Microsoft, Publishers Locations: OpenPath

☆ Adtech firm The Trade Desk has a plan to reduce the cost of digital ads
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Trade Desk will start undercutting the fees publisher adtech firms tack on to digital ads. The adtech used by publishers often inaccurately prices their inventory, said a Trade Desk exec. Adtech firm The Trade Desk is about to execute a plan to lower the price advertisers pay for digital ads. The Trade Desk operates software called a "demand-side platform" that advertisers use to buy ads across the internet. While other DSPs occasionally send low-ball bids, publishers might be more willing to look at The Trade Desk's bids due to the large amount of advertisers using its platform.

Persons: SSPs, Will Doherty, Doherty, Chris Kane, Adam Soroca, aren't Organizations: Google, Jounce Media, Trade

☆ Stagwell's Mark Penn explains why he's betting on AI, and what brands get wrong about supporting social issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He said brands often botch supporting social issues because they lack a balanced worldview. Insider spoke with Penn about why he's betting on artificial intelligence, buying experiential marketing shops, and how brands should handle thorny social issues. Big brands like Bud Light and Target have been in the news after backlash for supporting social issues. How should brands handle supporting social issues? I don't think people are spending enough time or thinking about that as the fundamental change.

Persons: Mark Penn's Stagwell, —, Mark Penn's, Hillary Clinton, He's, Stagwell, Penn, Bud, We've, Johnny, latelys, — we'll Organizations: WPP, Publicis, Service, Democrat, Republican

☆ SIGN UP NOW: Experts discuss the evolving role of retail media and the challenges of brand advertising
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

On September 19, Insider is hosting "A New Era of Retail Media," a free virtual event at noon ET featuring speakers from Snowflake. Retail media experts will share skills and strategies brand owners can use to expand their advertising reach. Combining robust first-party data on shoppers, exclusive inventory, and engaging ad formats, retail media is now the third-largest digital channel in the world. Insider's virtual event, "A New Era of Retail Media'' presented by Snowflake, takes place on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, at noon ET. Speakers include:Kristi Argyilan - Senior Vice President, Albertsons Media CollectiveGlen Conybeare - Executive Lead, Retail Media, IPG MediabrandsErin Foxworthy - Industry Principal, Agencies & Advertisers, Snowflake Inc.We hope to see you there!

Persons: Snowflake, Lauren Johnson, Kristi Argyilan, IPG, Erin Foxworthy Organizations: Retail Media, Retail, Business, Service, Albertsons Media, Industry, Snowflake Inc Locations: Snowflake, Wall, Silicon

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