Search

Snapchat has released its latest offering for brands as part of its self-serve ads manager, Story Ads, which is a revamped version of its Promoted Stories feature. The function is available to brands within the app's Discover feed, and updates mean they can now choose whereabouts within the feed their branded content appears. In addition, a new auction-based pricing feature has been added to the new-look Story Ads, with Snapchat claiming that the changes will make it easier for brands to target...

The IAB's Gold Standard initiative is designed to raise standards in digital advertising by addressing three key issues facing the industry: ad fraud, brand safety and ad blocking. It does this by pulling together three existing initiatives ads.txt, JICWEBS DTSG and the Coalition for Better Advertising's Better Ad Standards respectively. IAB UK launched the Gold Standard initiative at Engage 2017 with the support of its Board members and subsequently the criteria for complying with the scheme...

To an audience of 200 advertisers, agencies, ad tech folk and media owners IAB UK CEO, Jon Mew opened the day with a quiz on how much of the ad industry is outside of London - a massive 53%. With the IAB’s focus squarely on making the future of digital advertising more sustainable, the day’s inspirational speakers offered a true representation of how we make that a reality. The smart and enlightening Tracey Follows shared her ideas of how the future of technology is actually biology. 
Spotify’s...

Facebook has announced that it will be launching its own online dating service, creating a potential new rival to app-based matchmaking services such as Tinder. Founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg revealed the news at the social network's annual F8 developers' conference in San Jose, California earlier this week, where he emphasised that users' privacy would be a priority for the new dating feature following recent data security scandals. Mr Zuckerberg told attendees: "There are 200 million...

It's great to see that digital advertising had another strong year in 2017 with the UK market enjoying year-on-year growth (just check out the latest wave of our Digital Adspend research!). But ensuring that digital's future is sustainable too - the IAB's mission - requires industry collaboration to tackle the challenges we face. Step forward the IAB Gold Standard, launched with the support of our Board in October 2017 and open to all IAB members involved in the buying and selling of digital...

Using UKOM approved comScore and data, the DMO shares insights into what the UK Population is doing online by providing a top-line snapshot of audience behaviour each quarter. UKOM has approved comScore’s multi-platform data which reports audience behaviour across desktop, tablets and smartphones. Key insights this month include: Mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) now account for 75% of all adults’ time online. Mobile’s share is up 2 percentage points since December. For the first time...

Reality TV star and Kardashian/Jenner clan member Kylie Jenner has been named the world's most valuable Instagram influencer. According to new insights from D'Marie Analytics, any sponsored social media posts that she posts could be worth around $1 million to brands, demonstrating the potential power of working with the right influencers. Frank Spadafora, chief executive officer at D'Marie Analytics, explained: "Influencer valuations move up and down like the stock market, but Kylie is...

The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are believed to be in discussions about creating a new streaming service that would potentially act as a new rival to Netflix and Amazon Prime. US-based NBC Universal is also thought to be involved in the talks, which are believed to only be in their early stages, but could see the TV-viewing landscape transformed in the future. A source explained: "All options are open, they are early conversations and no direction is firm yet. "But they know a video-on-demand...

The full year 2017 study focuses solely on affiliate networks, software as a service (SaaS) platforms and major in-house affiliate programmes, and provides additional insight around sector performance, affiliate performance, models used and mobile growth. Key highlights from the study show: Affiliate marketing spend grew 15.1% from £482 million to £554 million in 2017 In 2017, Affiliate Marketing generated £8.9 billion sales, up 9.2% year-on-year Affiliate spend on smartphone grew 49% year-on...

See the research here For the first time, IAB UK separated Affiliate Marketing from its annual Adspend report to get a more accurate and granular representation of the affiliate marketing model performance. Affiliate marketing, which differs from tradition online display advertising, is when a website owner or publisher displays an ad on its site for a brand or merchant and payment is triggered based on the ad's performance. The full year 2017 study focuses solely on affiliate networks, software...

Few, if any marketers, are measured on the amount of data they have. The vast majority have goals around winning customers, keeping them happy and generating revenue. Focusing on these goals is how they beat the competition. Competition is important. Recently I called a friend during the closing minutes of a Champions League match; I was calling from the US so I could be forgiven, surely. A supporter of neither team, my friend was nevertheless ecstatic that Liverpool were about to beat...

A host of well-known names are set to take to the Digital Upfronts spotlight as we announce the first raft of speakers. With events taking place virtually between 7-16 October, here’s a taste of what you can look forward to: Heston Blumenthal : Famed for snail porridge and reinventing the Christmas pud, celebrity chef turned podcaster Heston will be joining Audioboom as his ‘Journey to the Centre of Food’ continues. Frank Skinner : He’s best known for his stand-up, but hear how this comedy giant...

“ If you thought our institutions for learning didn’t accept people who think differently, certainly our Fortune 500 companies don’t, and we’re at a time when we really do need to think differently” Joanna Peña-Brickley, Amazon The digital divide refers to the divisions between those with and without access to the internet and various information and communication technologies (ICT) tools. As discussions on the importance of closing the digital divide have gathered pace, COVID-19 has had an...

Back in January 2010, the App Store contained just 140,000 apps, and the majority of the app-based businesses that are now household names were just ideas on dorm room walls. Fast forward a decade, we now live in a world where mobile has become the primary digital screen and 90% of smartphone users’ time is spent in the 4.3 million apps that sit in the App Store and Google Play. Despite Forrester research indicating that 90% of advertisers are looking to increase the amount they spend on in-app...

The first half of 2020 has been a wild ride to say the least, yet it feels more apt than ever to be sitting here writing about digital innovation and using digital for good. Even as lockdown restrictions have slowly eased, the global population as a whole is still very dependent on the digital connectivity we so quickly have come to rely on. Indeed, for the most part, the shift to remote working and increased connectivity has been a success. However, as with all innovations, there are always...

For years we have used third-party cookies to track consumer behaviours - from website visits to analysing clicks - to better serve advertisements to users. But the way we use and track digital behaviours are drastically changing by 2022. Earlier this year, Google announced that it will be phasing out third-party cookies on Chrome. So what does that mean for the digital ad industry? Here we set the facts straight about what the end of the third-party cookie means and how people-based marketing...

It’s fair to say that 2020 is shaping up to be a pretty strange year. If you’d told me in March that many of us would still be working from home by the time autumn rolled around, I would have a) not believed you and b) worried about the IAB’s ability to remain at the heart of this diverse and dynamic industry. Now, six months on, it is testament to the adaptability and resilience of you, our members, that we not only continue to collaborate and drive our industry forward, but that our current...

You’ve probably heard of conversational advertising. It’s often touted as a way for brands to better understand their audiences, advertisers to improve their performance, and publishers to increase revenue. Conversational advertising is not magic. But when used correctly it can become one of your most valuable tools as a brand, and one of your most valuable assets as a publisher. I’d like to discuss some of the practical ways you can make the most of conversational advertising. What is...

Gold Standard 2.0 incorporates IAB Europe’s Transparency & Consent Framework to create greater cross-industry transparency around the use of consumers’ data Unilever and COTY join IAB UK’s alliance of Gold Standard advertiser supporters, pledging only to use Gold Standard certified companies wherever possible Launching today, IAB UK’s Gold Standard 2.0 introduces more rigorous criteria, requiring certified companies to implement IAB Europe’s Transparency & Consent Framework v2.0 . By increasing...

When we launched the Gold Standard in 2017, it had one overarching aim: To help us build a sustainable future for the digital advertising industry by addressing core challenges within the ecosystem. Three years later, as we release Gold Standard 2.0, that mission still holds true. We have come a long way since we certified those first companies - thanks to the commitment of our members to embrace the core principles of the Gold Standard and drive change throughout the industry - and there are...