1. Google Criticized For Sweetheart Deals With BIG Ad Tech Vendors (Business Insider)
Google has sparked the anger of small ad tech firms who complain that the company has entered a number of secret revenue-share arrangements with select ad tech vendors. While ad tech firms like Marin Software and Kenshoo receive multi-million-dollar rebates from Google each year, based on their client’s spend on search engine ads within and outside the Google platform, little-known startups are being priced out of the market.
2. Majority Advertisers Not Ready To Embrace Apple’s SKAdNetwork For IOS 14 (AdExchanger)
Advertisers and ad networks are reluctant to support Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) framework for iOS 14 devices, known as SKAdNetwork despite an impending “early spring” deadline of March 20. Apple’s own internal audit found that just 1% of advertisers are ready for SKAdNetwork to roll out, while around 6% are currently testing it. The vast majority comprising 84%, are not intending to t
est it and nearly 9% do not want to adopt it at all.
Independent ad-tech duo MediaMath and LiveIntent are teaming up for an email-based “nonID” to power programmatic media buys to further transparency in the programmatic landscape, in the absence of the third-party cookie. Media buyers that use MediaMath can rely on LiveIntent’s database of email addresses called “nonID” to better target audiences and scale their media buys.
4. Virginia Is The Second State To Pass CDPA Bill As Law (JDSupra)
Virginia becomes the second state in the nation to pass a comprehensive privacy regulation after California with Gov. Ralph Northam signing it on Tuesday. The Customer Data Protection Act (CDPA) is an act in Virginia now. In a statement, David Marsden, the state senator who originally introduced the bill, called the move “a huge step forward.”
5. Instacart Raised $265 Million In New Financing Round Aims To Scale-Up Its Promotions (MediaPost)
Online grocery shopping platform Instacart raised $265 million in a new financing round that will help accelerate its advertising and marketing services this year. “This past year ushered in a new normal, changing the way people shop for groceries and goods,” CFO Nick Giovanni said in a statement, announcing the new round gave the service a $39 billion market valuation. Instacart aims to accelerate its retailer promotion spending and corporate headcount by 50% during 2021.
On SoundCloud, it is no longer about how many streams you have – it is about how many fans are streaming you. Starting on April 1, SoundCloud will change the way it pays independent artists, becoming the first major streaming service to implement a so-called “user-centric” payment system.
7. Intel Told To Pay $2.18 Billion After Losing Patent Trial (Engadget)
Intel Corp. was told to pay VLSI Technology LLC $2.18 billion by a federal jury in Texas after losing a patent-infringement trial over technology related to chip-making, one of the largest patent-damages awards in U.S. history. Intel pledged to appeal.
