Augmented reality is doing what I expected: pushing the boundaries of consumerism. To no surprise, you and other savvy advertisers are intrigued—according to eMarketer, ad spending on augmented reality will grow from $166.7 million in 2017 to more than $2.6 billion in 2022. However, like any relatively nascent technology, the waters are murky, which may be preventing you from making the most of augmented reality advertising. So, let’s clear things up:  What is Augmented Reality?  Augmented reality is an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to ov ..read more

We’ve become immune to news of Amazon disrupting long-standing industries with acquisition after acquisition—Amazon spent $1.65 billion on acquisitions in 2018, headlined by Ring and PillPack. The year before, Amazon acquired Whole Foods for $13.4 billion. Whatever way you look at it, acquisitions have a reoccurring role in Amazon’s headline show. However, their purpose spans beyond business diversification. When it comes down to it, each of Amazon’s acquisitions bolsters its advertising business. Let’s start with one of Amazon’s larger acquisitions: PillPack, which it bought fo ..read more

Since the arrival of Amazon Advertising, there’s been a misconception that it only makes sense for endemic brands, i.e., if you sell something on the platform. That’s not true. Yes, some ad types and targeting capabilities are only available to sellers, but there’s still plenty left in Amazon’s advertising tank to appeal to those who don’t, i.e., non-endemic brands. In fact, one could argue that it’s just as powerful thanks to an abundant amount of ad inventory and unrivaled audience targeting data to go with it.  Amazon Ad Inventory For better or worse, Sponsored Bran ..read more

Despite the initial success of Amazon Advertising, the online giant is adding more firepower. This time with Product Audiences, which add a layer of targeting customization you can use to target audiences based on what they’re browsing and buying on Amazon.  What Are Amazon Product Audiences? From a high level, Amazon Product Audiences let you build audiences based on shopping interactions with your brand’s products or related products sold on Amazon.com as well as from existing data sources.    Searches: Create Product Audiences based on keywords related to your prod ..read more

We live in a world dominated by Connected TV (CTV), e.g., a TV connected to the internet through built-in internet capability or through another device such as a game console. To put this popularity in perspective, over 70% of the internet-using population in the US is expected to use CTV next year—and advertisers are excited. Last year, ad requests for CTV increased by more than 1,500%. Despite the popularity, however, challenges remain, coming in the form of scaling, budget allocation, and measurement. While the market responds with more streamlined solutions, advertisers ..read more

As more brand safety concerns rise to the top of programmatic’s waters, advertisers’ cries for a safe place to advertise will grow in intensity. For the myriad of ad platforms vying for a piece of the digital advertising pie, swift measures to quell these nerves is the only reasonable response and a foregone necessity to collect market share.  As the ecosystem battles for supremacy through brand safety, Amazon and Amazon-owned properties, like the Washington Post are emerging from the pack with a series of first -and third-party brand safety measures. The State of Brand Safety If we zoom ..read more

Advertisers are turning their attention to cross-channel measurement and attribution to bridge the gap and find holistic insights into how different channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Search Ads 360 are impacting their bottom line. But despite widespread attention, even the savviest industry vets are struggling to connect the dots. Why Is Cross-Channel Advertising So Challenging? Social and digital channels don’t communicate with each other, so the total number of conversions reported by each channel can be higher than the actual amount delivered. When this happens ..read more

It doesn’t matter what you sell or where you sell it or who you sell it to—people rely on the digital world throughout their purchase journey. There’s no avoiding it. While connecting the dots between all of these digital touchpoints can be challenging and time-consuming, it should be your primary focus during 2019 and beyond. A cross-channel marketing strategy can help you get there. A Look at a Cross-Channel Shopping Journey Image Source – Survive & Thrive:  A Cross-Channel Guide for the Modern Advertiser With three months before the golf season, Sam is in the market ..read more

Since our first Instagram advertising report in 2015, Instagram’s advertising ecosystem has matured to great lengths. On the advertising front, advertisers have seen Instagram Stories (and corresponding ads) as well as Instagram Shopping support extended to more countries, including the UK and Australia. To help you grasp the ever-evolving world of Instagram, we’ve created another report—this time, we looked at results since the dawn of Instagram’s API back in November 2015 through the first half of 2018. Below, you can find a brief summary of our findings, including s ..read more

Imagine you’re given the option to buy a gift for one of two strangers using only the following information: Person A Male Single Between the ages of 24 – 53 Lives in Massachusetts Makes $75K per year Person B Male Travel enthusiast Manager at a major corporation Early tech adopter Interested in athletics, particularly tennis and golf Who do you think you could buy a better gift for? The obvious answer is Person B. Gender, location and age are important, but they don’t really reveal what makes someone tick. On the other hand, likes, hobbies, and habits provide a much more complete picture ..read more