Here’s the last week in digital media:
GENERAL
- Pinterest is making a host of changes, phasing out “Buyable Pins” and replacing them with “Product Pins”. The change is actually more useful, as Pins will be able to include dynamic pricing and real-time stock inventory (all of this is done using markup on the retailer site). If a consumer pins of retailer products tt should now automatically include the product data. Brands can then pay to promote these pins. Pinterest is also rolling out product recommendations below pins, with the first categories to be tested being style and home decor.
- Facebook is updating the sponsored / branded content disclosure tag. The tag will change from saying “Paid” to “Paid Partnership”. At the same time, Facebook is expanding their Brands Collab Manager product (a tool to help brands find creators) to additional markets (India, Germany, Mexico, Thailand and The United Kingdom).
- YouTube is adding live event ticketing to their offering in partnership with Eventbrite and Ticketmaster. The product is US-only for now and will be available on official artists YouTube channels.
- twitter experienced a random bug during the week (and no, twitter was not hacked). twitter users started receiving random alphanumeric notifications. The issue turned out to be linked to how iOS receives and displays notifications. It’s a relief to see a bug that’s not a security issue.
- random update from Snapchat, their AR filters can now work on cats. This is just in time for National Cat Day on Oct 29th, or maybe for the perfect photo of you and a cat for Halloween?
MEASUREMENT/ATTRIBUTION
- YouTube is making some changes to the way engagement is measured on YouTube Action Ads. Engagement will now count when a user clicks or watches more than 10 seconds and a conversion will be counted if it occurs within 3 days (previously 30/30). The changes are to the default settings and it will be possible to select a longer conversion window.
CONTENT
- 26 years after it first aired, MTV reality series The Real World is coming back but this time as a Facebook Watch series. The Facebook Watch version of The Real World is expected to be tentpole programming for Facebook. Other Facebook Watch content recently confirmed at the MIPCOM tradeshow, includes a Dog Talent Show and a live game show called Confetti.
AD QUALITY
- The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) published a letter signed by six (6) Supply Side Platforms (SSP) called “Principles for a better Programmatic Marketplace“.This includes a requirement for Total Quality Assurance (TQA) – with 100% of domains and inventory scanned for fraud, safety, and malware. More SSPs are expected to sign on to this commitment in the coming months.
- In a court action filed last Tuesday, it is alleged that Facebook failed to disclose a known error in how video metrics were being reported. Facebook has responded with “the claims are without merit”. The story has broader implication than the advertiser community, with claims that publishers who pivoted to video based on data that was later found out to be wrong also being caught out.
- Facebook will start demoting posts that link to pages with stolen content or with excessive ads. This is good news for advertisers, as it should disincentivize spammers who look to use Facebook to monetize ad traffic on questionable sites.
PRIVACY, TRUST, AND SAFETY
- An update on the previously reported Bloomberg piece on the alleged infiltration of the IT supply chain with spy chips. The US Director of National Intelligence, at a recent conference speech, refuted the allegation with “We’ve seen no evidence of that” but then made the comment “be aware of supply chain threats”. For the record, the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Center has also come out saying it has seen no evidence to support Bloomberg’s claims.
- research from DuckDuckGo (a privacy-focused search engine) reveals that most Americans are not aware that Facebook owns WhatsApp or Google owns Waze. It’s interesting in the context of all of the recent privacy-scandals, as it means non-core apps operated by Google and Facebook may be more immune to consumer backlash.
Have a great week.
Joshua