AdExchanger News for January 29, 2018

[AdExchanger | Optimizing the News] Today from AdExchanger Tuesday, January 29 Join Us [AdExchanger Awards Deadline: January 31]( - AdExchanger’s community of marketers, publishers, technology platforms, service providers and others are at the forefront of setting what’s next for the industry, and we aim to celebrate their accomplishments by recognizing excellence among all of those constituents. --------------------------------------------------------------- Today's Must Read [Brad Rencher Exits Adobe, Key Marketing Cloud Leader]( Adobe describes Rencher’s departure as an “organizational change,” but it’s unclear exactly what precipitated it – and there’s no replacement for his role as of yet. [More.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( --------------------------------------------------------------- More from AdExchanger [Polish Privacy Group Celebrates Data Protection Day With A Nastygram For RTB]( On Monday, the Panoptykon Foundation, a digital rights watchdog in Poland, filed a complaint to the Polish Data Protection Authority (Urząd Ochrony Danych Osobowych or UODO), arguing that data used by Google and other ad tech vendors violates the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) every time they run a programmatic auction or place a personalized ad. [More.]( [Marketers Must Step Back From Personalization And Automation]( One of the major themes at AdExchanger’s Industry Preview 2019 was the call for marketers to think before they do. It’s not simply a matter of not being creepy. At stake is the growing tension between consumers and corporations that are playing fast and loose with sensitive data. [More.]( [Xandr CEO Brian Lesser: AT&T’s Strategy Is 'Fundamentally Different' Than Verizon’s]( “Oath, I think, wanted to build a performance-based mobile advertising product,” Xandr CEO Brian Lesser said. “We’re starting with TV.” [More.]( [Contentsquare Raises $60 Million Series C For A Big Bet On AI]( ContentSquare is different from services like Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics which show site and app activity, but not why visitors do what they do. The “why” is ContentSquare’s differentiator, said company CEO and founder Jonathan Cherki. [More.]( [Three Investment Trends To Watch In 2019]( Last year was tough for growth, at least for legacy ad tech. But it was quite a different story in other sectors, particularly mar tech, where SaaS is the name of the game. The marketing clouds spent billions buying up mar tech platforms last year. [More.]( [Marketers Should Expect More Static In 2019]( That static comes from a world set against a backdrop of political turbulence, of intense scrutiny of political positions taken by media sellers and advertiser. Of the nature and accuracy of content, of consumer privacy, of the collection and application of data and the role of regulators. [More.]( [The Neustar Identity DMP]( [The Only DMP with Built-In Identity - Learn More]( [www.marketing.neustar]( News Round Up Amazon Vs. Williams-Sonoma A lawsuit filed by Williams-Sonoma against Amazon in December demonstrates the ecommerce platform’s ability to replicate and overwhelm rival product lines. Williams-Sonoma is relatively strong online, with ecommerce accounting for the majority of sales, and its furniture business West Elm is thought to be insulated from Amazon. But near clones of West Elm items have gotten top billing on Amazon’s owned media, Hal Singer, managing director of Econ One Research and a senior fellow at the George Washington Institute for Public Policy, writes for Forbes. Additionally, he argues Amazon has used its search knowledge to box West Elm out of Google by bidding up the price of West Elm’s strongest organic search terms. [More](. Apple’s Bushel Of Bundles Apple has reportedly considered launching a video game subscription offering, Cheddar reports. The product could incubate exclusive games for the App Store and would give developers a larger cut of revenues. But a [good deal for developers]( doesn’t guarantee traction. Most games are free to download and make money off small in-app transactions. “It’s unclear how much the subscription will cost or what kind of games Apple will offer. The service is still in the early stages of development, and Apple could ultimately decide to abandon it.” [More](. Cheddar’s report follows a string of rumors suggesting Apple is tiptoeing into content subscriptions, including a streaming TV skinny bundle and a news package. The company acquired digital subscription service Texture in 2018. Watching And Waiting A year and a half after its launch, Facebook Watch is still more watch-and-see than must-watch. After wooing publishers initially with promises of huge production budgets, Facebook is having trouble finding audiences and filling out its programming, Bloomberg reports. And the experience is cluttered with ads, including banners and pre-rolls which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously stated would not run on Watch. Facebook is a video advertising giant, doubling YouTube in total video revenue, according to eMarketer estimates. But Watch accounts for just 1% of Facebook’s video ad sales. “We just haven’t figured out how to make it a superpower of ours,” says Matthew Henick, Facebook’s head of content strategy and planning. [More](. Sorrell Just Can’t Quit WPP WPP’s feud with founder and former CEO Martin Sorrell isn’t quite settled yet. After scrutinizing expenses made by Sorrell over several years, the company asked its former chief to pay back $219,000 he owed for using company funds to purchase items for his apartment, cover travel expenses for his wife and child and go on ski trips, The Wall Street Journal reports. Sorrell paid the requested sum but WPP is still investigating additional improper spending. The media mogul is still meant to receive a deferred bonus from WPP negotiated in his exit package, but that could change if the board finds he has committed “willful gross misconduct” resulting in “material economic harm to the company.” WPP lawyers argue that his constant trash talking of the company – he described it as “a car crash in slow motion” at an October press event – and unsolicited criticisms of his successor Mark Read could jeopardize his payout. [More](. But Wait, There’s More! - [The BuzzFeed Lesson]( - Stratechery - [Google, Amazon Seek Electricity Consumption Data From Smart Homes]( - WSJ - [How Brandless Walks A Tightrope As It Rises In Online Retail]( - The Star Tribune - [Havas Acquires Majority Stake In Largest Baltic Comms Group]( - release - [Google Dealt A Blow By Walmart Withdrawal From Shopper Services]( - Bloomberg - [Facebook Prepares For Global Political Ad Tracking]( - Recode - [Amazon Is Scaling Back Video Offering, As Apple Enters Market]( - The Information - [LinkedIn Is Pulling In More Social Media Ad Buyers]( - Digiday - [Dstillery Launches Audience Studio For Agencies]( - release - [Knotch Raises $20 Million In Series B Fundin](g - release You’re Hired! - [Havas Canada Promotes Melody Adhami From COO To CEO]( - MediaPost Podcasts [The Big Story Episode 27:]( A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To France [The Big Story Episode 26:]( This Episode Brought To You By The Letters CES And PMP [The Big Story Episode 25:]( The Data Deluge At CES [The Big Story Episode 24:]( All Hail 2019! [The Big Story Episode 23:]( Closing Out The Year With OpenX And Google [The Big Story Episode 22:]( WPP’s Big Plan [The Big Story Episode 21:]( Sir Martin Sorrell’s Botanical Curiosity [The Big Story Episode 20:]( Fuel For The Holidays [The Big Story Episode 19:]( DTC Disrupts The Competition [The Big Story Episode 18:]( Thus Spoke The Electorate [The Big Story Episode 17:]( Planting Seeds In The Walled Gardens [Check out all episodes of The Big Story >>]( [AdExchanger Talks Episode 111:]( Sovrn's Walter Knapp [AdExchanger Talks Episode 110:]( eMarketer's Lauren Fisher [AdExchanger Talks Episode 109:]( Twitter's Matt Derella [AdExchanger Talks Episode 108:]( Centro's Shawn Riegsecker [AdExchanger Talks Episode 107:]( Sparrow Advisers' Ana Milicevic [AdExchanger Talks Episode 106:]( LinkedIn's Penry Price [AdExchanger Talks Episode 105:]( Vistar Media's Michael Provenzano [AdExchanger Talks Episode 104:]( GCA Advisors' Josh Wepman [AdExchanger Talks Episode 103:]( Dotdash's Neil Vogel [AdExchanger Talks Episode 102:]( Jounce Media's Chris Kane [AdExchanger Talks Episode 101:]( Unruly Media's Norm Johnston [Get More AdExchanger Talks Episodes >>]( Events [PROGRAMMATIC I/O + AdExchanger Awards](, San Francisco, April 29-30, 2019 [PROGRAMMATIC I/O](, New York, October 15-16, 2019 [Industry Preview 2020](, New York, TBD Share This Email: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [Google+]( | [Forward To A Friend]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [View in web browser]( This message was sent to {EMAIL} To ensure delivery to your inbox, [add us to your address book](. 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