WAIT, WHAT?!
I laughed.
When Facebook first commented on the small number of Americans who saw the Russian prompted ads at 10 million, I laughed.
I laughed again last week when Facebook upped the number of Americans who saw the ads to 126 million.
Today, Facebook testified on Capitol Hill that the number is now 150 million.
Still laughing.
Facebook, Google and Twitter are compromised. And there is a reason....a lack of seasoned media professionals.
When Facebook first announced10 Million Americans saw the ads and the dollars they took to run them i held back.
Wait, What?!
The numbers simply did not add up and any traditional media pro could have figured that out.
When Facebook upped the number to 126 million and reasoned that it was a small insignificant number I paused and laughed some more. So .... Facebook is telling its advertisers that the millions reached was not a big deal and are taking money from clients to sell insignifigant performance.
Who's crazy here?
It's just the tip of the iceberg and numbers will rise yet again. It will not end well.

Note to Facebook. Google and Twitter .... get off your high horse and hire some seasoned traditional media pros who know the business of reach and math. You simply do not have the chops nor the required foundations to go it alone.

UNPREDICTABLE CRAPSHOOT

Venture capital activity in AdTech reached $514 million in the last month across eleven funding rounds, signaling a strong foundation for 2016 as VCs begin to click open their purses.

The list of investments follows. 

My tendency is to caution VCs on the viability of many of the business models represented here.  As I click on the links to the funded sites, I find myself awash in homogenized, dull, often boring, sometimes confusing presentations of their offerings.

If a site is the face of its business, VCs need to take a hard look at their investments in businesses they are not qualified to vet.

Blippar has raised $54 million in a Series D funding led by Khazanah Nasional Berhad with participation from existing investors.

 

ZoomData has raised $25 million in a Series C round led by Goldman Sachs with participation from other investors.

 

Qubit has raised $40 million i a Series C funding led by Goldman Sachs with participation from other investors.

 

SproutSocial has raised $42 million in a Series C round led by Goldman Sachs with participation from other investors.

 

DataRobot has raised $33 million in a Series B funding led by New Enterprise Associates with participation from other investors.

 

Fuze has raised $112 million in a Series E round from Summit Partners.

 

Geofeedia has raised $17 million in a Series B funding led by Silversmith Capital Partners with participation from existing investors.

 

Hired has raised $40 million in a Series C round led by Lumia Capital with participation from other investors.

 

Snagajob has raised $100 million in a Series D funding led by Rho Acceleration with participation from other investors.

 

Curalate has raised $27.5 million in a Series C round led by New Enterprise Associates with participation from other investors.

 

YourMechanic has raised $24 million in a Series B funding led by SoftBank Capital with participation from other investors.

 WHEN THE FISH GO FISHING
 
A good way to measure the health of the ad industry is to track the number of Mergers and Acquisitions taking place.

The good folks at GM Ryan International issue a monthly round up of M&A activity in the Media, Ad-Tech and ad world.  There were twenty-four acquisitions in March, pointing to healthy industry activity.

Although low to mid-market M&A activity could be losing a bit of steam this year, as cheap bank financing tightens dictated by fed activity, private equity firms appear to be sitting on capital they raised in the last two years.

The powder is dry.  Let's see what happens during this election year.

Nielsen acquires Pointlogic.

 

Outbrain acquires Revee.

 

Clickable acquires TalkWheel.

 

Merkle acquires Comet Global Consulting.

 

Condé Nast acquires Poetica.

 

SugarCRM acquires Contastic.

 

Rakuten Marketing acquires Manifest Commerce.

 

Sprinklr acquires Postano.

 

Salesforce acquires PredictionIO.

 

Contently acquires Docalytics.

 

Google acquires Pie.

 

ClickTale acquires FlightRecorder.

 

YouTube acquires BandPage.

 

Amazon acquires Emvantage.

 

ASICS acquires RunKeeper.

 

Web.com acquires Yodle.

 

Amazon acquires NICE.

 

Everalbum acquires Pout.

 

Time Inc. acquires Viant.

 

Microsoft acquires Groove.

 

LinkedIn acquires Connectifier.

 

Merkle acquires dbg.

 

Apple acquires LegbaCore.

 

Microsoft acquires SwiftKey.

CALM AMONG MADNESS

I rarely step back from the blog table to highlight a company in the digital or analog space. But this one's a rising star.

Without beating around the bush, that company is AppNexus. Founded just three short years ago in 2007, founders Brian O'Kelley and Mike Nolet partnered to deliver a cutting edge online buying platform. The company launched the first server-side ad transactions and has been on a steep growth curve ever since.

Partnering with technology providers, ad networks, exchanges and data providers they are positioned as the ad server for the technology and data rich digital landscape that we are all challenged to understand and make it work to the marketer's benefit.

Bringing together over 150 attendees Thursday at a post AdTech event, the AppNexus "What Works" Summit successfully pulled together several panels and speakers that made AdTech seem like OnLine 101.

In a nutshell, AppNexus is the go-to company for real time ad buying in its enterprise level computing cloud. It drives the madness out of the planning/buying process.

They are truly at the nexus between the digital landscape and the cloud(s) that water and nurture it.

Bravo.

ARE COOKIES CRUMBLING?

A move towards greater regulation for privacy comes as surveys in the United States and Europe show that a majority of consumers on both sides of the Atlantic are against corporations monitoring their Internet use for marketing purposes.

According to one of the first independent surveys carried out by the University of California and University of Pennsylvania, two thirds of Americans object to targeted online ads.

A proposed amendment to an EU privacy directive states that national governments should "ensure that the storing of information, or the gaining of access to information already stored, in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user is only allowed on condition that the subscriber or user concerned has given his/her consent, having been provided with clear and comprehensive information."

The amendment, if approved, would have negative implications for the online advertising community, which relies on the placement of cookies on hard drives to enhance the relevance of online ads.

Is the US next in line for government regulation? Recent session debates at AdTech and OMMA suggest that self-regulation may not be enough to stem rising criticism against the harvesting of consumer data.

In the coming weeks, this blog will initiate a debate on platforms that may provide alternatives to government regulation. Stay tuned.

WHAT RECESSION?

If the attendance at this week's AdTech conference at the Javits Center is an indicator of the resilience and staying power of the ad business, it's full speed ahead!

Attendance at the three day event surpassed 9300, rising to almost record levels. There was no lack of exhibitors either; over 250 of them commanding eleven full aisles packed with attendees.

The keynote address by WPP's Martin Sorrell noted a strong focus by clients on costs leading to more intensive procurement sessions. This in light of a "less worse" economy he notes that in thirty three years "I have never known more clients focused on costs".

Sixty six breakout sessions and no less than seven keynotes filled three days with a variety of content.

Both attendees and exhibitors preferred the Javits Center to a more central hotel location. The tone was positive and upbeat for a recovering economy and I saw little room for improvement ... with the exception of the boxed lunches for the full conference delegates.

No less noticeable, Casale Media and a newcomer, Elephant Traffic, were the hands down winners for promotional awareness. I was especially impressed with Elephant Traffic's use of a fleet of ten Mini Coopers to provide rides to any point in Manhattan during the event.