In the news:
- Spotify continues to expand their programmatic offering, acquiring MightyTV. MightyTV is an interesting acquisition it was also a platform for TV show recommendations. So it might also signal a more aggressive move into video by Spotify.
- not media, but Ikea announced a series of low priced IoT smart lights. Priced at $80 for the basic kit, this is 3-4x cheaper than comparable offerings. This feels like an Echo-effect, as more people have a smart device in their home there is increased demand for other IoT devices. Playing this all the way through, it means IoT based eCommerce strategies are going to become more important.
- Facebook copied Snapchat (again). This time extending disappearing stories across every Facebook offering. The only thing Facebook hasn’t done is integrate all of the stories where there is a shared login across apps.
- in other Facebook news, Facebook is testing ad placement within their Instant Articles offering. Detailed in a blog post here, this has the potential to be a threat to native companies like Outbrain and Sharethrough.
- positive news for digital is our very own MAGNA reports that digital ad spending will overtake TV spending globally. Interestingly, MAGNA also predicts that some small and midsized brands may be priced out of TV.
- Snapchat announced that in “limited cities” they are adding the ability to search within Stories. Announced (ironically) in a YouTube post. As this rolls out, it’s bound to unlock more video inventory and possibly brand safety issues as it could make any content potentially discoverable.
- Amazon is getting into the influencer business. With the catch being, you can only promote items that are sold on Amazon. It’s in beta now and you have to have a “large following” to be admitted into the program. If you think you have what it takes, you can sign-up here.
- Waze has partnered with Dunkin Donuts to offer the ability to order ahead from within Waze. The catch is you need to also have the Dunkin app installed. The integration is a result of Dunkin’s increased media spend on Waze.
- Google made (some) of their millions by opening self-service search advertising to all and Pinterest is now looking to head down the same path. Called Pinterest Propel, any business with a budget of at least $100 a day can now advertise on the platform.
I do want to close this week saying it’s been a tough week to summarize the news. With April Fools Day there have been more than enough “fake” product announcements. The Verge has a good summary if you missed some of the better ones.
Joshua