Posts made in July, 2016

on Jul 18, 2016

By John McCarthy Norwegian company Opera has sold its internet business to a Chinese conglomerate headed by Qihoo 360. Having previously had a $1.2bn sale of the entire company to the group blocked by regulators, Opera has sold on a quarter of its business leaving Opera Mediaworks, Opera Apps & Games and Opera TV. The Chinese group has acquired the Opera branding and trademark leaving the remaining Norwegian entity 18 months to find a new name. Lars Boilesen, chief executive of Opera, said: “We all tried very hard to close the public offer and are naturally disappointed that we were unsuccessful. However, we believe that the Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Jul 18, 2016

By The Drum The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has today (July 18) issued formal transparency guidelines to its membership, advising brands to create chief media officer roles to oversee any “potential conflicts of interest” among their agency rosters and third-party ad tech partners. The publication of the transparency guidelines (contained in a report entitled “Media Transparency: Prescriptions, Principles, and Processes for Marketers”) follows the trade body’s report issued last month, where it found that “non-transparent business practices”, including cash rebates, were pervasive in the US media buying landscape. The ANA has also released a recommended contract template and Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Jul 18, 2016

By Laurie Fullerton While B2B marketers are juggling an onslaught of digital campaigns seeking customer connections through numerous online channels, a 40 per cent increase of brand marketers participating in trade shows/exhibitions than in previous years indicates that real-time interaction is on the rise. Co-sponsored by experience creation shop Group Delphi, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) 2016 study reveals this week that face-to-face marketing persists as a key brand and sales driver for B2B businesses. Additionally, the nationwide study suggests that 80 per cent of marketers believe that they can build or expand brand awareness in this way. “It’s no surprise Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Jul 18, 2016

By John McCarthy The German transport ministry is looking to hold self-driving cars to account and is set to legislate a mandatory black box aboard the vehicles to determine the cause of accidents. The announcement comes after a man was found to have died in a collision at the wheel of an auto piloted Tesla S model earlier this year in the US. In Germany, the government is looking to establish liability for crashes, either the driver or the AI, by installing a black box in upcoming cars, according to Reuters. The proposals come from Alexander Dobrindt, transport minister who will look to push a Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Jul 18, 2016

By Darren Woolley The fact that both Pepsico and Mondelez are developing content marketing strategies is not unexpected. Many major advertisers are facing the need to explore alternative strategies in the face of fragmented audiences in traditional media and ongoing concerns around digital advertising fraud and viewability. Content marketing is not a new strategy, in fact content is as old as advertising itself. It is just now technology and the internet have made it easier and more cost effective for brands and businesses to become publishers in their own right. This is a strategy that has previously been successfully and widely Read full story › Source: The Drum...