Category: Commentary

This Week in Native Ads

This Week in Native Ads 1/25

One big thing Marie Kondo is having her cultural moment, I read the book a few years ago – and subsequently went on a rampage through the house and my belongings ha. From a marketers perspective, it’s also a process worth doing, reviewing all the tools, systems, processes, partners and looking to simplify. In a world of growing spend, we’ve added more, simplifying helps everyone focus on the end result – better business outcomes. IF you haven’t caught… Continue reading

Ben Young

January 25, 2019

This Week in Native Ads

This Week in Native Ads 1/18

Before your snowy weekend here’s the latest in native and content. ❄️ One big thing Tim Cook called on the FTC to help tidy up the use of our data. “The Federal Trade Commission should establish a data-broker clearinghouse, requiring all data brokers to register, enabling consumers to track the transactions that have bundled and sold their data from place to place, and giving users the power to delete their data on demand,… Continue reading

Ben Young

January 18, 2019

This Week in Native Ads

This Week in Native Ads 1/11

We’re back! And this year an additional 5,700 brands begin adopting native and branded content (per MediaRadar data), whilst existing brands are renewing at higher rates, there’s a lot to be optimistic about. One big thing I don’t buy the post advertising narrative but Derek Thompson digs in to some of the challenges the industry is facing as it evolves in his piece: Post Advertising Future. Advertising is a healthy… Continue reading

Ben Young

January 11, 2019

This Week in Native Ads

This Week in Native Ads 12/21

Happy Holidays! This will be the final installment of the year. As you read this I will be somewhere over the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand for a decidedly summer Christmas and New Years. Looking back at the audience we’ve grown since starting this humble, passionate newsletter, I’m so grateful for the notes and the support. We’ve had 44% YOY growth with over 53,000 reads! It has been a tumultuous year in media and on a lot of cultural and… Continue reading

Ben Young

December 21, 2018

This Week in Native Ads

This Week in Native Ads 12/14

One big thing Vanity Fair wrote a thoughtful piece about how everyone’s media and publishing darlings are preparing for pain. The fall has been swift for a lot of players like Mic, Lenny Letter, and Rookie. And the pain has rippled throughout the entire industry with lots of layoffs. Part of this was the pivot to video, catalyzed by wrong metrics reported by Facebook, too much reliance on social platforms and cheap traffic. Part… Continue reading

Ben Young

December 17, 2018

This Week in Native Ads

This Week in Native Ads 12/7

Consolidation is in the air as the end of year looms and lots of data on how the native/content business is growing. Notable stories this week Native still has (plenty) of room to grow. What if all that TV money isn’t coming? A great post by Mike Shields. Facebook to cut 55% revenue share with Indian video content creators. BuzzFeed covers on of the… Continue reading

Ben Young

December 7, 2018

This Week in Native Ads

This Week in Native Ads 11/30

We made it, we survived Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday!   One big thing Reductionism. The art of reducing complexity to improve what remains.   I was chatting with some analysts this week – and they think the martech space is going to get a lot of consolidation (on the tech side). And to prepare for that.   The reason is simple. Things have gotten far too complicated, and… Continue reading

Ben Young

December 3, 2018

This Week in Native Ads

This Week in Native Ads 11/16

One big thing Brands should adopt billable hours – but link that to the outcomes they need to create this year. I.e each hour could be worth $100k in growth. The timesheet has been a staple of ad agencies for decades. The business model dictates that they need to know where every hour is going. It keeps them focused and on-track (as much as creatives hate filling them out). Brands should also adapt this same mindset. The reason being,… Continue reading

Ben Young

November 16, 2018

Commentary

Killing Wasted Spend: how to staunch the bleeding of digital dollars and reignite growth

  Imagine, for a moment, an industry outside of digital advertising where waste was as commonplace.   You turn on CNBC in the morning to watch in horror that the aluminum market managed to misplace 7 billion dollars worth of the commodity. Vanished without a trace. Or that 800 million bushels of soybeans disappeared overnight.   The Association for National Advertisers reports that only a quarter of all digital ads reach real people, and the… Continue reading

Ben Young

November 16, 2018

This Week in Native Ads

This Week in Native Ads 11/9

Welcome to all new readers who have joined this past week and a big congrats to the the winners at the Native Institute Awards. One big thing Ari Paparo’s piece on How business models change incentives in marketing technology is spot on. (CPM, usage, percentage of speed, SAAS). It’s often an underlooked decision, how you buy technology impacts the buyer and seller and can mean your incentives are at… Continue reading

Ben Young

November 9, 2018