This Week in Native Ads 3/23

It’s definitely announcement week, with OutBrain launching a new yield tool, Nativo partnering with Plista/TTD and Teads getting acquired.

Also a little announcement from Nudge: We have opened up access to our Facebook Integration, letting any marketer using Facebook for distribution to automatically optimize to Nudge metrics like scroll, attention, share, etc. It’s super neat. Watch this space, and if you’d like to be an earlier user, ping me.

Notable Stories this Week

Facebook launches header bidding on mobile.
Google is getting heat in the UK around ads surrounding offensive content, so it’s now offering advertisers more control.
eMarketer unveils updated estimates for native ad spending. Native now makes up more than 50% of display spend.
Nativo opens door to programmatic sponsored content with partnership with The Trade Desk. Plista to be the key buyer – overlaying Turbine data. Interesting! Few terms intermingled here but it sounds like their click in content, hosted within the publishers environment is where they’re partnering. This second link explains more.
Outbrain launches publisher yield tech.
AdYouLike launches S2S AI powered header bidding solution.

Deals/M&A

Teads acquired for $308m. Off the back of Unruly last year, it looks like video ad tech is starting to consolidate.
Cision looks to be going public, with a focus on MarTech. Expect acquisitions here, NewsCred/Contently probably good targets.

Campaign of the Week

Tumi on HarpersBazaar, good commence integration. Only gripe – competitor ads in the content!

Smartest Commentary

“Native’s best asset is that it works well for both performance and brand advertising.” – Yahoo UK at ShareThrough Native Summit.
“Growth of native digital display is being driven by publishers’ pursuit of higher-value and more mobile-friendly inventory, as well as by advertisers’ demands for more engaging, less intrusive ads.” – Lauren Fisher, Principal Analyst at eMarketer.

Datapoints of Note