#DigitalDip
Taking a Quick Dip Into Digital with Sarah Frohman
Committed to the consumer
How can an advertiser, a brand, or a publisher be the Romeo to a consumer Juliet? Commitment! Here are a couple of brands doing their part to win the consumer’s heart...
Yelp turns to native for help. The brand will eliminate display ads in order to cater to the consumer cry that display is too distracting.
Microsoft’s Windows 10 will employ “flow advertising” to target the consumer rather than their various devices in order to transcend the screens. The Cortana software (which is Microsoft’s version of Siri) will be improved in order to aid in this war against the devices.
To read more, visit: http://tinyurl.com/p8lz5fl , http://tinyurl.com/o9xk4wo
High standards
Appealing to the consumer isn’t a new goal (see the previous article!). However, pretty ads that are fun to play with may no longer cut it. Consumers (cough, Millennials) can be picky and demanding…here’s what they’re asking for now: an experience, not a product.
An ad should illuminate the experience a consumer can have wearing those shoes, instead of actually advertising those shoes. So yes, I am telling you that all of those call-to-action ads floating around the Internet may be a waste.
To read more, visit: http://tinyurl.com/naf3wvv
New times for the New York Times
Digital is in the driver’s seat at the NYT: 32.5% of total ad revenue was digitally driven in the second quarter (up from 26.9%). Dollar-wise, that’s $48.3 million. What does this mean? Even one of the world’s most trusted paper news sources is #DigitallyDipping!
To read more, visit: http://tinyurl.com/okfubdx
The social skinny
FACEBOOK – Killing it. The social media superpower boasts $4.04 billion in revenue ($3.83 billion coming in from ads). Aside from the big bucks, Facebook reports that it has high user engagement, likely because they are “more mobile than ever.” Actually, COO Cheryl Sandberg believes that the platform’s mobile mastery indicates that more TV dollars should shift. I can almost hear her chanting “Cut the cord! Cut the cord! Cut the cord!”
INSTAGRAM – These picture posting people report that they will earn $2.81 billion in ad sales by 2017…a number that crushes Google and Twitter. #MovingOnUp.
TWITTER – Bad news first: user growth is too slow, they need to rethink their platform in order to entice newcomers, and ad sales revenue is lagging. Now the good news: Project Lightning. This technology will curate the most popular content at any moment so that consumers can find it and absorb it with ease (this is them rethinking their platform).
To read more, visit: http://tinyurl.com/nao8ntc , http://tinyurl.com/norg2un ,
http://tinyurl.com/pwsgcze , http://tinyurl.com/nfcc6dx , http://tinyurl.com/pbypbfp
There’s always more to say about Facebook…
Even though many of us may never know what it feels like to walk down the Red Carpet, Facebook wants us to live vicariously through our favorite celebrities! It’s called Facebook Live Stream, and for now, the technology is only available to the rich and famous. But then again, do you really want to watch me walk to class in the morning or do my laundry?
To read more, visit: http://tinyurl.com/nf7243r
Have no fear for your career
It is reassuring to know that programmatic will not reach its potential without a little help from its friend, the human brain. Why? Two big reasons…
One, relationships are irreplaceable. Technology can do a lot, but there is “no substitute for human interaction,” especially when large sums of money are at stake.
Two, troubleshooting. Yes, programmatic is automated, but yes, technology is imperfect. Computers need humans to monitor the operation. Yay for employment!
To read more, visit: http://tinyurl.com/q45kpfz
Antibiotics needed!
Yahoo.com banner ads caught the flu from Flash! It took a week for anyone to notice that Yahoo was sick. But now that Yahoo is feeling healthy again, they are calling for Flash to go see a doctor. AKA, tighten up on security (not the first time we’ve heard this!).
To read more, visit: http://tinyurl.com/oqvecgm
The instability around viewability
Viewability has a few kinks to work out before it can be totally trusted.
One, there is a 2014 IAB viewability standard (70% viewable), but many publishers and agencies transact according to their own numbers in order to leverage the most revenue…this is just setting us all up to fail. Let’s redefine and agree: what is considered a viewable impression?
Two, measurement technology should be integrated into the ad server so that “discrepancies” are a thing of the past.
Three, we need cross-industry consensus on how to trade against viewable impressions. Google believes we should transact on 100% viewability, but maybe that’s trying too much, too soon?
After all of this drama, one thing is for certain: we need to see eye-to-eye (punny, right?!).
To read more, visit: http://tinyurl.com/p68noo3
Let’s talk about ad-block
Just how popular are ad-blockers? According to PageFair, American ad-block users are average compared to our international counterparts. We apply about SPF 50 ad-block lotion. China, though, doesn't tolerate those UV ad-rays; they use SPF 100. Year-on-year, there is a 41% increase in ad-block usage. That’s a $21.8 billion blow to publishers’ pockets in 2015 alone.
Luckily, ad-blocking is rampant mostly on desktop, which is good news for publishers focusing on mobile. Oh, but wait. Apple announced that with iOS9, app makers will be allowed to develop ad blocking software catered to iPhone and iPad. So nevermind. Yikes.
So, is ad-blocking ethical? Some Philosophy... Kant, Hobbes, and NBCU’s Dan Lovinger say that ad-blockers violate the social contract. The internet is “free” thanks to ads, and that is just the way it is. But, some people argue that ads are intrusive, so it is okay to violate the contract. Let’s see what they have to say when they have to pay for time spent online!
To read more, visit: http://tinyurl.com/q6ovfbw , http://tinyurl.com/oxuepso , http://tinyurl.com/n9vwgdl
Gauging engagement
Readers who rummage are not worth the impression (AKA, engagement is important). Publishers like the New York Times and Huffington Post are trying “show full article” on for size. If readers are truly engaged, then they will click and continue. This will hopefully weed out the waste and give the content to the committed!
Similarly, publishers are toying with the “progress bar.” This will arguably give readers control over the content because they can see how much they’ve read and how much more they have to go (if you have a Kindle, you know exactly what I am talking about). The hope is that readers will say, “Hey, I’m already 50% through, why not continue?”
To read more, visit: http://tinyurl.com/nfye3px , http://tinyurl.com/q7kj3jj
Interested in reading previous #DigitalDips?
June 17: https://www.smore.com/a4g7q-digitaldip
June 24: https://www.smore.com/4zysh-digitaldip
July 1: https://www.smore.com/3h18y-digitaldip
July 8: https://www.smore.com/0u6vd-digitaldip
July 15: https://www.smore.com/sxx3n-digitaldip
July 22: https://www.smore.com/k13xp-digitaldip
July 29: https://www.smore.com/3r7nb-digitaldipAugust 5: https://www.smore.com/zg5ra-digitaldip
A take on the team
Bio: Scott Schiller is the Executive Vice President, Digital Advertising Sales for NBCUniversal. Schiller has more than 30 years of marketing, sales management, start-up and media experience, having held positions at iconic worldwide entertainment brands such as: AOL, Disney, MTV Networks, Prodigy and Sony.
He is a founder and four-time board member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau and was its first vice-chairman, so you can thank him for all of those certification tests!
Schiller earned his BA in Economics from Cornell University. He has an MBA in Marketing and Finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where he created and led a class in Managing Interactive Media.
Additionally, he has been a member of the New Media Committee for Lincoln Center in New York, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
A lifelong resident of New York City (that makes him a Yankee fan); he currently lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his wife and two teenage boys. Schiller is also an avid FlyWheel / Soul Cycle enthusiast!
What did you have for breakfast today, and what does that tell us about you? I tried a new instructor at Soul Cycle that required me to work harder, so I needed some extra fuel. Protein! I had peanut butter on a whole wheat bagel (scooped and toasted, of course). (I then asked him his thoughts on almond butter). Yeah, I like almond butter! But they don't have it at Cafe Metro. Overall, it is important to have protein early in the day. Really gets your brain going. Oh, and I also had that potion you showed me (I introduced him to a green juice, that I guess he refers to as a "potion!").
If you could spend 30 minutes doing anything you wanted, what would you do? I think the best 30 minutes of every weekend is, for me, going to the ocean. I think that staring at the ocean both relaxes you and forces you to be present. It's soothing and thought-provoking as I watch how the water moves.
If we came to your house for dinner, what would you serve us? I just had a dinner party this week! I made steak and lobster. I like this combo because I think they're both special meals that scream "celebration." Also, serving lobster and steak prove that your guests are important to you. And of course, both meals taste great! Oh and BTW, I would serve tequila with that...
What would be the first question you ask the people of Antarctica? (He laughed). I don't know, I don't know much about Antarctica. I guess I would ask where they go on vacation. I hardly even know where Antarctica is...!