🔊 A look at audio and video ads

Audio ads are now in beta on YouTube along with new “dynamic music lineups” of channels across music genres such as Latin, K-pop as well as lineups aimed at moods and interests like fitness. “Music lineups and audio ads make it possible to be there, at scale, whether YouTube is being watched front and center or playing as the backdrop to daily life,” YouTube wrote in a blog post this week.

YouTube’s 15-second audio ads are accompanied by an image or simple animation and include a link to the advertiser’s site. They are largely aimed at driving brand awareness and are available to advertisers now in Google Ads and Display & Video 360 on a CPM basis.

Why we care. YouTube’s scale makes its entry into digital audio advertising particularly notable. There are more than 2 billion monthly music listeners on YouTube, according to the company. Spotify, by contrast, reaches 185 million monthly users with its ad-supported product. Internet audio advertising revenue reached $2.7 billion last year, up 21% from the previous year, the IAB reported. YouTube says more than 50% of logged-in users who listen to music content in a day consume more than 10 minutes of music content on the platform.

There’s a lot of talk about consent and cookies these days, and for good reason. Privacy expectations are expanding as browsers are moving away from third-party cookies. Capturing user consent is becoming increasingly important for marketers. In this 45-minute session, learn how to authentically build trust with your customers through a focus on transparency. We dive into where to capture user consent beyond cookies, including offline and in-person, and through web forms, email subscriptions, and opt-ins.

Sign up now »

Do you skip pre-roll video ads whenever you can? Do you stay around for post-roll? Do mid-roll ads lose your attention immediately? There’s an alternative way to engage video viewing consumers in the moment, and in the context of the content they’re consuming. That’s Source Digital’s proffer anyway.

Source Digital is a viewer engagement platform that monetizes engagement and measures audiences through its Source Activate Moments (SAMs) where consumers can engage by activating what is on the screen at that exact moment.

SAMs allow advertisers, for example, to tell the viewer about the location in the video, offer an opportunity to purchase apparel worn by someone in the video, or deliver a paid advertisement about an automobile manufacturer when a vehicle is on screen. The technology allows content creators, owners, brands and retailers to establish ongoing real-time engagement with views through any device or screen. The SAMs appear embedded in the video; they don’t interrupt it as a traditional ad would.

Read more here.

An AI platform that uses over 200 billion data points has predicted the best performing colors, copy, imagery and video for 2021 advertising campaigns. Pattern89, an AI marketing tech firm, has published its 2021 Creative Forecast that predicts the details of the highest-performing advertising content, including on Facebook and Instagram.

The report also covers strategies to increase brand awareness and conversion, from copywriting to image costs in cost per click advertising. Ideal life cycles of advertisements across industries is also detailed in the report.

Why we care. One of the most interesting aspects of the report is the cost per click imagery trends. While televisions, spa environments, parks and suburbs have decreased in cost, yoga, cats and dancing — all favorites during quarantine — have increased in costs.

We’re navigating uncharted waters during this year’s holiday retail season, as new shopping behaviors spurred by COVID precautions will make this a season unlike any other. At the onset of COVID, consumers shifted their buying of necessities and other retail items online due to store closures and safety concerns. According to eMarketer, U.S. e-commerce sales will reach $794.50 billion this year, up 32.4% year-over-year (YoY). And e-commerce sales will reach 14.4% of all US retail spending this year and 19.2% by 2024. Online shopping is so strong that it will more than offset the 3.2% decline in brick-and-mortar spending this year.

Your business might be off to a strong start or have gained momentum after Prime Day, and you’re now thinking of ways to build upon that to continue your winning streak and boost your sales in the coming months. Microsoft Advertising is here to provide you with additional insights on how to advertise during this unprecedented retail holiday season.

Read more »

Join 2020 Search Engine Land Award winners Areej AbuAli and Mike King for two forward-thinking keynotes, December 8-9, only at SMX. Reflect on what’s changed — from evolving SERPs to new opportunities with A.I. — and prepare for what comes next!

Get the details here »

Quantcast, the AI-powered advertising, insights and metrics vendor, has launched Permisio, a solution aimed at helping publishers engage with consumers in a third-party cookie-free world. Part of Quantcast Choice, the consent management platform, Permisio combines transparency and privacy for consumers with authenticated identities for publishers.

When consumers visit a publisher site where Permisio is activated, they are asked to create an account using their email and to select their privacy preferences. When they re-visit the site, they will be able to access content without getting further pop-up privacy notifications. This works not because the consumer is served a cookie, but because their consent and preferences are saved to their Permisio account. Quantcast Choice recognizes those saved settings and sends a consent signal to the publisher. This does need the consumer to stay logged into Permisio.

Why we care. This is one of a number of innovations aimed at protecting consumer privacy while allowing publishers to ingest data consensually and engage with consumers.