Digital Transformation – How Imperative for Companies

You know the value of technology in your business, but have you fully integrated into the digital world? Have you undergone the digital transformation that’s necessary to exist and thrive in the 21st century?

What is Digital Transformation All About?

Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, radically transforming the way you operate and deliver value to customers. It is also a cultural change that ensures that organizations are always challenging the current conditions while simultaneously experimenting with new ideas and getting comfortable with breaking down and rebuilding business structures.

In essence, digital transformation requires becoming comfortable with change. Change is to be expected; being comfortable with change requires some effort.

Digital transformation is a process that applies digital technologies to change the business’s existing practices and services; creating new practices to meet the evolving market and customer expectations. It’s a complete overhauling of the way businesses are managed and operated, and how value is delivered to customers.

Deloitte defines “digital transformation” as becoming a digital enterprise. Here organizations use technology to continuously evolve all aspects of their business models. It is an ever-moving process with no clear boundaries, where the enterprise analyzes the changing customer needs and applies technology to improve the end-user experiences, including customers and employees.

Is Digital Transformation Imperative for Companies?

Digital transformation is imperative for companies to remain competitive in their respective fields. It allows the industries to evolve by improving the way they operate, helping them to meet the ever-changing market and user expectations. Digital transformation is not just making heavy investments in emerging technologies. According to a study by Bain & Company, only 8% of companies had achieved their business goals by sheer investments in digital technologies. What they’re missing is the change in the organizational thought process and how the companies apply them to meet their business outcome. It’s not just the digital footprint, but also the mindset that goes along with it.

Consider the reasons why companies like Amazon, Netflix, Uber Eats, and Uber are household names and their users are ready to discuss, recommend, and share information about them on social media. What prompted customers to act as their key partners in bringing in new business? These companies are successful in delivering personalized products and services to their customers efficiently and in a way that grabs their customers’ (and prospective customers’ attention).

These organizations have learned how to adapt quickly to supply chain disruptions, time to market pressures, and rapidly changing customer expectations are critical factors.

Data is the modern-day ‘currency’ and data monetization should be the end goal for every business. Companies must be able to harness this data judiciously to leverage insights and continue to grow.

Tech-savvy customers expect personalized services and look to companies to attain the agility to meet their needs, like customer engagement and experiences by reducing the friction between the business and the customer. Leaning in on digital assets and a digital approach to doing business is the way to make this happen.

It is an essential part of the business in attaining ROI and profitability.

Digital Transformation Framework

The digital transformation framework is the blueprint that guides an organization to travel through times of turbulence toward set business goals. Creating a framework to assist an organization succeeds in digital transformation keeps the organization on track and on deadline. Digital transformation may radically alter the status quo of a business and the framework helps organizations to look back to measure changes and mitigate challenges. There are established change management models for the business to gauge its impact.

An ideal digital transformation framework should include factors like:

Customer experience
Operational agility
Culture and leadership
Workforce enablement
Digital technology integration

Digital transformation must balance key management forces like strategy, structure, systems, skills, shared values, style, and staff. Just two of the vital factors in a digital transformation include training people, and adopting new technology, with companies maintaining a balance between them. If you focus too intently on a new tool (system), you might overlook the need for additional employee training (skills, staff).

How Do Companies Transform Digitally?

Organizations need to consider a variety of drivers when involved in a digital transformation. These include developing a digital twin, addressing privacy and culture, establishing augmented intelligence, and managing digital products.

Digital Twin

Virtual representation of a real-time project, systems, or entities is called a digital twin. It is an encapsulated software object or model that mirrors a unique physical object, process, or organization. Manufacturing (Ford Motors), Healthcare (GE- Health), Energy (GE Wind Farm), Smart Cities (Singapore & Shanghai), etc., have been using digital twin to change the way we create, use, and optimize physical spaces and processes. It aids organizations in the effective management of facilities and assets to improve customer experience.

Privacy Concerns

Both customers and employees insist on privacy and data safety, without which, it is difficult to win their loyalty and trust. There is no guarantee for data breaches and leaking sensitive data related to people and their financial activities in this digital age but ensuring data privacy is the first major step in the digital transformation process. There is a lot that organizations can do to mitigate potential risks.

Adapting Culture

While organizations seek to redefine the way they work to create, deliver, and capture value by investing in digital technologies, they need to develop a value system around digitizing and communicate it effectively to employees. With company values in place, organizations can hire and train employees to align with these values and expected behaviors.

Augmented Intelligence

Augmented Intelligence, a subsection of artificial intelligence, helps to enhance human intelligence digitally, collecting and presenting data in a way that allows people to augment their knowledge. Zara and Amazon are some of the examples that embraced this technology. Augmented reality can be used for showrooms and online purchases. It shows alternative outfits to the pieces delivered and entices customers to make repeat purchases.

Digital Product Management

Digital product management is shifting companies’ focus from projects to products by designing products that enhance the customer experience which can be delivered through digital channels. Apple Watch, for example, monitors the health of the wearer.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed Digital Transformation?

4.7 million people were working remotely from home before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, as per the US Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was up by 1% or 0.8 million from 2015. In contrast, by the end of 2020, 88% of the organizations all over the world encouraged their employees to work from home as the virus started to spread at exponential rates.

Companies that have invested in augmented intelligence, IoT, and cloud technologies made the best use of technology during this health emergency. Tools like Google Suite, Office 365, Box, and Slack played a critical role in enabling a swift move to work-from-home.

Digital transformation as a process has not only facilitated startups, enterprises, and multinational companies all over the world but also helped people to work, shop, play, entertain and be entertained online throughout the period worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. It reduced the persistent layers between the customers and companies to minimize the tension in this process. While the digitally matured companies like Amazon, Walmart, Netflix, and several others have quickly adapted to the emerging socio-economic and cultural shifts to meet their customer expectations, others made a beginning in this direction. The pandemic has taught the companies to balance between the employees’ health and customer expectations.

What are the key trends in Digital Transformation in 2021?

Customer Data Platforms (CDP)

Companies are producing massive data. Their ability to harness this data to gain insights into customer behavior is crucial when they have a wide range of product lines, marketing channels, and customers. CDP acts as a single source of customer information to create more personal and relatable marketing campaigns. An Oracle-sponsored study observed companies that use CDPs enjoy 2.5% more in customer lifetime value than those that don’t.

Ensured Cybersecurity

Companies that focused heavily on digital infrastructure building without paying any attention to cybersecurity have faced severe blows. Research firm Gartner had predicted that by 2020 60% of digital businesses would suffer major service failures due to the inability of security teams to manage digital risk. The prediction came true as there were 445 million cyberattacks in 2020 and cybersecurity will be one of the key digital transformation trends for 2021.

Multi-cloud architecture

Innovations in cloud technologies helped companies to adopt multi-cloud architecture to distribute applications and workloads within an organization. Companies are adopting a multi-cloud strategy for reasons like resilience, data residency requirement, and disaster recovery. Organizations must learn ways for cloud management and automation solutions to manage their multiple cloud environments.

Democratization of AI

The democratizing of AI is making AI accessible to every organization and employees within an organization. AI-based tools can be used to identify patterns, make decisions, predict, learn, and improve. The perfect example of AI integration can be seen in health care. Tech enthusiasts believe that the application of AI in health care has revolutionized the industry. It is one of the most important digital transformation trends for 2021.

QR Codes and Digital payments

Scanning a QR code to order food and make digital payments without any human involvement in consumer transactions is an important trend for the year 2021. While the COVID-19 induced social distancing compelled online retailers, cafes, and restaurants to come up with solutions to promote digital transactions, 2021 will continue this process and expand it to people and businesses worldwide to access the digital economy.

Automation

Automation and digital transformation go hand-in-hand, and one doesn’t exist without the other. Automated alerts for companies on due dates for software license renewal and project cycle will increase efficiency and delivery of projects on time. Hyperautomation will be a key technology trend in 2021, which is an integrated use of technologies like machine learning, robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, low code, and more. Businesses might also move toward cloud-centric automation solutions for better scalability and reduced cost of ownership.

5G

The adoption of 5G services will accelerate digital transformation in many ways; it opens up various opportunities like enhanced capabilities to deliver content, services, and interactions in unimaginable ways, with great speed. It also facilitates speedy and faster telecom services with lower latency and higher density. It is capable of redefining business models and operations by drastically improving services. Automated vehicles, IoT in smart city infrastructure, and traffic management, IoT in industrial automation are some of the best examples that demonstrate the abilities of 5G services.

Data Analytics

While data fuels modern-day business, it is important to apply analytics to extract useful information from the processed raw data to foster decision-making and organizational productivity. Data analytics find answers to complex problems by predicting consumer behavior, streamlining supply chain processes, optimizing sales pipelines, etc. By 2022, 90% of corporate strategies will explicitly mention information as a critical enterprise asset and analytics as an essential competency.

Conclusion

Digital transformation is not without challenges with constraints on budget, access to technology, and cultural cues in its way. Organizations need to be very strategic in selecting the right technology that suits their business. Instead of building the entire infrastructure, enterprises and startups are hiring these services out and building them from the bottom up. But the fact remains very clear that digital transformation is imperative for companies to survive in this digital age. To read more informative articles, visit our blog here!

Indira Srinivasan

I started my career as a program producer for women and children in AIR FM Radio as a freelancer and progressed for the past 27 years serving academia, industry, and research as faculty, communicator, author, and writer for digital media platforms. I have spent my past 8 years as Science Communicator, writing articles and blogs on social media platforms. I am an ardent book and music lover and fond of singing Indian classical music. My research interests are on ethnography and I love to write on topics including but not limited to climate change, environment, culture, and at present digital monetization.

Digital Monetization Update – April 7, 2022

1. GroupM Benchmarks AI-Enabled Ad Spending At $370B (MediaPost) According to a new proprietary projection provided by GroupM, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled media will account for $370 billion in ad spending this year, representing the majority of all ad sales. By 2032, AI-enabled media ad spending is expected to exceed $1.3 trillion, accounting for more than 90% of all ad spending. 2. Ad-Tech Firms Struggle To Stand Out As Creator Economy Booms (AdWeek) As the creative economy grows, more firms are searching for creators to help them promote their products. In fact, the percentage of marketers adopting influencer marketing is expected to climb to 72.5% in 2022, up from 55.4% in 2019. However, not all creator marketing platforms are the same. 3. Twitter Tests 3 New Ad Formats For Users And Advertisers (MediaPost) Twitter is testing three new ad types to simplify and improve the efficacy of its advertising suite. Twitter expects that the new formats will provide advertisers more creative and inventive alternatives while giving consumers a more engaging experience. Pilot testing has started for Interactive Text, Product Explorer, and Collection Ads. 4. Tech Leaders Get Nightmares With Europe’s New Digital Rules (Axios) Tech CEOs fear that Europe’s new competition laws for Big Tech firms would make their services less secure and splintered. Last month, European authorities reached a near-final agreement on the Digital Markets Act, compelling Google, Apple, Meta, and Amazon to reorganize their operations after being labeled “gatekeepers.” 5. Bloomberg Looks To Subscription Revenue For Stability Not Ads (AdExchanger) Since instituting a paywall three and a half years ago, Bloomberg’s subscription base has grown to almost 370,000, with nearly 100,000 signing up in 2021 alone. That was enough to increase the publisher’s subscription income by 58% in 2021 over 2020. Bloomberg’s subscription revenue is currently in the nine figures. 6. MailChimp Was Breached And Hundreds Of Accounts Accessed (TechCrunch) Mailchimp, the world’s largest email marketing provider, has revealed a data breach after rogue hackers accessed an internal corporate tool to obtain access to client accounts. According to the organization, hackers visited around 300 Mailchimp accounts and successfully extracted audience data from 102 of them. 7. iHeartMedia Building New NFT Network For Podcasts (Axios) According to officials, iHeartMedia, the parent company of iHeartRadio, is investing several hundred thousand dollars in acquiring the rights to about a dozen NFTs in order to launch a new NFT-based podcast network. It is one of the first big media brands to launch a podcast slate of characters and voices from various NFT collections. 8. Dropbox Shop Launches In Open Beta To Sell Digital Content (TechCrunch) Dropbox Shop is now in open beta, bringing fresh upgrades to the platform as well as tipping possibilities. You may now personalize your shop and URLs, as well as integrate HTML codes. Last year, Dropbox Shop went into private testing, allowing users to create product listings for digital content.
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Digital Monetization Update – March 31, 2022

1. Tumblr Expands Tip Jar Feature To Enable Blog-Level Tipping (TechCrunch) Tumblr is adding blog-level tipping to its tip jar feature in its iOS and web apps. The firm launched its tip jar function, which allows users to put tips on postings. Users will be able to leave tips on blogs as part of this extension. The extension will help creators by allowing tipping at the blog level without attaching the tip to a single post. 2. Bonsai Raises $21M To Scale Embedded Commerce Solution (MediaPost) Bonsai, the Toronto-based ecommerce platform used by BuzzFeed, Vox Media, Refinery 29, and others, announced a $21 million Series A round headed by Framework Venture Partners, also located in Toronto. The financial proceeds will be used to strengthen existing product capabilities and explore new verticals. 3. Brands And Creators’ Hope Rises With Instagram’s Chronological Feed (AdAge) Instagram’s new chronological feed is giving the Meta-owned app’s creators and brands fresh hope. And the chronological feed, which allows users to view all posts from accounts they follow rather than just those chosen by an algorithm, might lead to more real-time promotion on Instagram during key events like the Oscars. 4. Google Intros New Tools As Retailers Eye Cookieless Future (AdExchanger) On Monday, Google introduced a new suite of shopper marketing tools. Google also revealed that Smart Shopping campaigns, which are linked to a merchant’s inventory catalog, will be incorporated into its new Performance Max offering by the end of the year. A slew of new features is aimed at increasing Google’s shopper conversion rate. 5. Ad Industry’s Attempt To Rewrite The Identity Narrative (DigiDay) The future of ad tech remains a scrappy work in progress until there is a clearer date on the demise of granular tracking. The industry is speeding toward a time when marketers will have to rely on methods to do what third-party cookies could not. More advertisers are now enlisting the help of agencies to negotiate third-party data transactions. 6. Apple Now Allows ‘Reader’ Apps To Add Link To Their Own Sites (Variety) Digital media providers with “reader” apps in Apple’s App Store, such as Netflix and Spotify, will now be able to include links in their iOS apps to let customers sign up for and manage accounts on the firms’ own websites. Apple has revised its App Store standards to allow makers of reader apps to seek access to the “External Link Account Entitlement.” 7. Facebook Small Advertisers Win Class-Action Status In Fraud Suit (AdAge) A judge widened the pool of plaintiffs in a case accusing Facebook of overstating its ad viewership to include more than 2 million small ad buyers. A San Francisco federal court ruled that the complaint can proceed as a class action on behalf of small company owners and people who bought ads on Facebook or Instagram since August 15, 2014. 8. InMobi Launches Meson Reshaping Mobile Mediation Market (AdTechDaily) InMobi, a major provider of content, monetization, and marketing solutions launched Meson, an independent SaaS mediation platform designed to allow publishers white label it as an in-house solution. Publishers will now completely own and manage their data, control every part of their monetization, user experience, and user acquisition links.
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Digital Monetization Update – March 24, 2022

1. Meta Consolidates ML-Powered Ad Offerings Into One Portfolio (AdExchanger) Meta is consolidating all of its automated ad offerings under one roof. Meta refers to its new suite as Meta Advantage, which is actually a home for Meta’s existing automated tools, such as lookalike expansion, automated app advertisements, and automatic placements, as well as a potential home for more automated goods in development. 2. Apple Announces New Podcasts Connect Creator Features (TechCrunch) Apple Podcasts is introducing new features to encourage podcasters to charge listeners for premium subscriptions. Uploading MP3 files as subscriber-only audio and personalized subscription banners are among the features. One of those features will show podcasters how many people follow them on Apple Podcasts in their own analytics dashboard. 3. Nielsen Rejects $9B Acquisition Offer From Private Equity Group (AdAge) Nielsen rejected a private equity consortium’s takeover deal, stating that it “significantly” undervalued the firm. The plan valued the firm at $25.40 per share, which the company said does not “adequately compensate shareholders for Nielsen’s growth prospects.” Windacre Partnership, company’s major shareholder, backed the offer’s rejection. 4. Microsoft, Okta Investigates Attacks By Lapsus$ Hacking Group (Engadget) Microsoft and Okta, an identity authentication firm, are both looking into potential attacks carried out by the South American hacking organization Lapsus$. The group claims to have stolen source code from a server for Bing, Cortana, and internal Microsoft projects. Lapsus$ uploaded a torrent containing 37GB of source code for around 250 projects. 5. Everyone Wants Less To Mean More Now In Ad Tech (DigiDay) When it comes to programmatic advertising, the ad business aims to make a little go a long way. GroupM and The Trade Desk are at the front of this shift. Both have recently revived efforts to assist marketers in purchasing more premium ad space. Pubmatic is following in the footsteps of Omnicom, Havas, Unilever, Diageo, and Nestle, to mention a few. 6. NBCU Sets New Ad Tech Partners (Axios) NBCU has been one of the more outspoken legacy media firms in its efforts to modify how television viewership is measured and how advertising is purchased and sold against it. On Tuesday, NBCUniversal announced an extended partnership with iSpot.tv as well as a slew of new ad tech measurement partners. 7. Get More Customer Engagement With Google’s Business Messages (AdWeek) It is time to talk to the search giant about one’s local marketing strategy. Customer loyalty must be nurtured, retained, and earned via exceptional customer service. There is also a significant victory for marketers. Customers that are loyal to a firm generate greater money. Offering excellent customer service is one approach to earn client loyalty. 8. Xandr Partners With LiveIntent For New Data & Identity Offerings (RapidTV) LiveIntent and Xandr are bringing new data and identity services to market by expanding their partnership from server-side platform (SSP) partners to cooperation across data and identity. The partnership will allow both to help brands reach premium audiences throughout the open web, and drive growth through a new email-identity-based channel.
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Digital Monetization Update – March 17, 2022

1. 4A’s Advising Members To Deal With Unethical Tech Players (DigiDay) The great majority of digital display advertising will be executed next year, accounting for 91% of revenue. That implies audits, as marketers want reassurance that a media dollar spent is a dollar invested in an industry where ‘accountability’ is a near-constant catchphrase from every given conference stage. 2. Pubfinity Has Big Cookieless Plans For In-Game Ads (AdExchanger) Pubfinity Founder and CEO Sam Kaufmann identified an opportunity to support in-game advertising when Microsoft decided to cease its ad monetization SDK for games in its app store in 2020. He decided to create Pubfinity as an SSP for game creators like himself who were unable to monetize their non-cookie-based Windows programs. 3. Google Buys Micro LED Startup Raxium To Make AR Displays (TheInformation) Google has agreed to buy Raxium, a five-year-old startup that creates small light-emitting diodes for screens used in augmented and mixed reality devices. Google intends to possess more of the physical components required to make such gadgets. It has spent more than a decade developing its own headgear, with limited success. 4. Meta Will Add Parental Supervision Features To Instagram (AdAge) Meta has announced additional parental monitoring options on Instagram. The new tools are part of a larger effort to safeguard teens. This pledge came after a whistleblower testified in October that Facebook has placed business over the well-being of its users, particularly teenagers. 5. Google Analytics To Stop Logging IP Addresses (AdExchanger) Google Analytics will undergo significant adjustments. All analytics users will migrate to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), which supports both online and app data collecting and has built-in privacy safeguards, as well as a slew of Google-wide connections, including metrics and capabilities connected to YouTube, Search, and the Google Cloud Platform. 6. Russia Bans Instagram, Taking 80M Users Offline (TheVerge) Russia’s promised ban on Instagram is now into effect, making it unavailable to a majority of the country’s population. The government had announced plans to ban Instagram, in reaction to Meta’s decision to allow Facebook and Instagram users in various countries to call for violence against Russian soldiers during the nation’s invasion of Ukraine. 7. War Makes Social Media An Ethical Minefield (Axios) Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is posing new challenges for social media policymakers, not just in terms of limiting the spread of misinformation, but also in dealing with vivid pictures of bloodshed. War heightens the human need to share powerful photos, but it also leaves users with difficult choices and hazards in the social media desert. 8. Amazon Wins EU Approval For Its $8.45B MGM Deal (Engadget) Amazon won unconditional approval from the European Union for its plan to buy the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie company for $8.45 billion. The EU Commission’s antitrust regulators decided that the firms had low overlap and that the combination would not significantly diminish competition in the theatrical picture and audio-visual content markets.
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Digital Monetization Update – March 10, 2022

1. Amazon Suspends Access To Prime Video For Customers In Russia (Variety) Amazon has joined the growing list of companies that have halted operations in Russia as a result of the country’s aggressive aggression on Ukraine. Given “the ongoing situation in Russia and Ukraine,” the eCommerce giant announced that consumers in Russia would no longer be able to access Prime Video. 2. Gannet Spoofed Advertisers For Nine Months (MediaPost) Gannett, the publisher of USA Today and many other news media sites, gave false information to advertisers for nine months, misrepresenting where billions of adverts were displayed. Advertisers assumed they were purchasing an ad on one Gannett site, but they were actually purchasing space on another. 3. Twitter Adds New Shopping Features Amid Social ECommerce Push (TechCrunch) Twitter is testing a new way to show tweets that link to eCommerce product pages, such as those on a Shopify store. The firm is experimenting with tweets that contain a large “Store” button and incorporate product data right into the tweet itself, including the product name, shop name, and product pricing, using a new Twitter card format. 4. LimeWire To Make Comeback As An NFT Marketplace (Bloomberg) A pair of serial entrepreneurs from Austria have purchased the rights to the defunct music network LimeWire, with ambitions to rebrand it for the next generation of internet users by selling NFTs tied to music, material, and artwork. LimeWire, one of the first web-based music consumption platforms known for illegal downloads, was shut down in 2010. 5. Twitter To Launch Tor Service For More Secure & Private Tweeting (TheVerge) Twitter is introducing a Tor onion service version of its site, optimizing it for the privacy-protecting and censorship-eluding network. Software engineer Alec Muffett shared the news on Twitter calling it “possibly the most important and long-awaited tweet that I’ve ever composed.” Tor has also been added to Twitter’s list of supported browsers. 6. Britain To Force Big Tech To Combat Online Scams (Reuters) After appeals from regulators and consumer groups for a tougher crackdown on scams, the UK will force Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other online platforms to block paid-for false ads. The proposed law on combating online harms would force huge platforms to tighten their security against those who steal personal data or breach into bank accounts. 7. Google To Acquire Cyber Defense Company Mandiant For $5.4B (MediaPost) Google intends to buy Mandiant, a cyber protection and response firm, in an all-cash deal for $5.4 billion. The deal will address the current cybersecurity concerns that companies face. The integration will help firms to detect and respond quickly to threats, as well as analyze and automate threat information to ensure that their assets are protected. 8. Amazon To Secure Unconditional EU Approval For $8.5B MGM Buy (Reuters) According to sources familiar with the case, Amazon is anticipated to gain unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM, a move that would increase competition with streaming competitors Netflix and Disney+. The merger would also help Amazon’s video streaming service by enticing customers to sign up for Amazon Prime.
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Digital Monetization Update – March 3, 2022

1. Ad Sector Urges Congress Not To Ban ‘Surveillance Advertising’ (MediaPost) The Interactive Advertising Bureau and other ad industry groups are asking Congress to oppose a bill that would ban most kinds of online behavioral targeting. The letter came on the same day the House members convened a hearing on a suite of bills aimed at tech companies, including the “Banning Surveillance Advertising Act,” proposed earlier this year. 2. Biden Calls For Children’s Online Privacy Protections (WSJ) In an effort to address what the White House calls a national mental health crisis, President Biden pressed Congress to pass new internet privacy safeguards for minors. According to a White House fact sheet, the president urges Congress to ban excessive data collecting on children and young people and targeted advertising intended against them. 3. BBC Studios Signs Content Deal With India’s Largest AVOD Service (Variety) BBC Studios, the BBC’s commercial arm, has signed a content contract with MX Player, India’s largest AVOD provider with a strong presence in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, and Pakistan. MX Player has 300 million monthly active users worldwide and has surpassed the one billion download mark. 4. Video Advertising Can Work For Pharma & Healthcare Brands (AdExchanger) The digital revolution of the pharma industry has boosted media spending on video. Vertical and video spending in the healthcare and pharma industries are predicted to rise by 11% and 19% year on year, respectively. Due to altering media consumption patterns, media buyers are testing various combinations to maintain exposure and engage key audiences. 5. Netflix Acquires Next Games To Build ‘World Class Games’ (TheVerge) Netflix has made a bid to purchase Next Games, the Finnish studio behind the mobile puzzle RPG Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales. The acquisition comes at a time when Netflix is integrating a mobile gaming service into its core subscription service. Netflix Games was released last year on iOS and Android, and it comprises a handful of mobile games. 6. iSpot Acquires Tunity, Analyzes Habits Of Out Of Home Audience (Variety) iSpot, the measurement company that figures prominently in NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia’s plans to offer alternatives to Nielsen in the sector’s looming “upfront” marketplace, may acquire Tunity, an analytics company that analyzes consumer viewing habits in public locations across the country, including restaurants, offices, bars, and hotels. 7. Facebook Shuts Down Its College Student-Only Social Network (Engadget) On March 10th, Meta will shut down Facebook’s Campus trial project. Facebook claimed in a message that college groups were the “best way” to support students. After the deadline, it will remove Campus profiles, posts, and other material. One may download the data before then, and Facebook will propose comparable school groups to assist the transfer. 8. CNN To Launch Its Streaming Service CNN+ This Spring (Reuters) CNN said that it will launch CNN+, a news and entertainment streaming service, in the spring at a subsidized membership price of $2.99 per month. CNN will give the special pricing to customers who join up during the first four weeks, taking on known rivals in the highly competitive market of streaming programming.
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Digital Monetization Update – February 24, 2022

1. Meta Doubles Down On Reels To Help Creators Monetize (AdAge) Meta’s Reels is getting a boost. Creators may now earn up to 55% of ad income from banner ads – a semi-transparent overlay at the bottom of a reel, and sticker ads – static images placed anywhere in the video. The rest of the money will go to Meta, which is similar to Facebook’s in-stream ad program in terms of revenue split. 2. Twitch Creates New Program To Pay Streamers More Reliably (TheVerge) Twitch is launching a new program called the Ad Incentive Program, which will give streamers a guaranteed minimum amount of ad income each month. Twitch will notify qualified affiliate or partner broadcasters of varied compensation based on the number of advertisements aired per hour and total hours streamed. 3. Skype Allows 911 Calls From Computers To Its Users In The US (TheVerge) Skype customers in the US can now make 911 calls from their home computers, and the company’s software can also reveal their location with emergency personnel if necessary. The United States is the newest country to receive Skype emergency service calling; earlier it was only accessible in Australia, Denmark, Finland, and the United Kingdom. 4. iHeartMedia Use Veritone’s Synthetic Voices To Translate Podcasts (Variety) iHeartMedia will use Veritone’s synthetic-voice technology to translate and produce podcasts in other languages to expand its podcast business beyond English-speaking listeners. Initially, iHeart hopes to employ Veritone’s artificial-intelligence technology to translate the iHeartPodcast Network’s most popular podcasts into Spanish. 5. Google Lets Cloud Users Identify Idle Workloads To Reduce Emissions (Axios) Google will provide new tools to assist its Cloud users conserve energy and cut emissions by allowing them to regulate energy usage from idle projects. The Carbon Sense suite was introduced by Google. It is a set of tools aimed at assisting businesses in quantifying, reporting, and reducing their emissions. 6. Netflix Will Invest $45M In French And European Movies (TheWrap) Netflix will invest €40 million ($45 million) each year on French and European films over a three-year period with France’s film guilds. The deal is a first between a global streamer and the French film industry. Approximately 4% of Netflix’s yearly income in France will now go toward supporting films created in France and Europe. 7. Meta To Build An AI-Powered Universal Speech Translator (Engadget) Mark Zuckerberg disclosed that Meta’s research division is working on a universal speech translation system that might improve users’ interactions with AI within the company’s digital universe. He said Facebook has worked hard to build technology that allows more people to use the internet and these efforts will extend to the Metaverse. 8. LinkedIn Announces Launch Of Its Own Podcast Network (TechCrunch) LinkedIn is expanding its podcasting efforts by launching a podcast network that will include in-house shows from the LinkedIn News team and programs from industry experts. The shows are aimed towards a professional audience. LinkedIn’s other offerings, like newsletters, live events, videos, and articles, are all linked to the podcast network.
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Digital Monetization Update – February 17, 2022

1. Google Has New Publisher Program For Post-Cookie Era (AdAge) In the post-cookie era, Google is launching Encrypted Signals for Publishers that allows websites to interact with online advertising identifiers in Google’s ad platform. Encrypted IDs, according to ad tech experts, might be a lifeline for publishers in programmatic advertising, which is how sites serve ads to users who do identify themselves. 2. Google Plans Privacy Changes, Promises Not To Be Disruptive (TheHill) To protect user privacy, Google has announced that it would begin deleting ad trackers from its Android operating system. The suggested changes include ultimately eliminating advertising ID, a unique identifier provided to each Android device that allows marketers to create customized profiles and offer targeted adverts. 3. Spotify Acquires Two Podcast Tech Firms Chartable And Podsights (TheVerge) Spotify has announced the acquisition of Chartable and Podsights, two of the most well-known podcast marketing and ad attribution firms. Podcasters and networks may utilize Podsights and Chartable to insert tags in their broadcasts that monitor who listened, if they heard an ad, and whether they took action after hearing it. 4. Twitter Lets Developers Add Labels To Bot Accounts (TechCrunch) Twitter announced a new label that would allow the service’s “good bots” to identify themselves. While the term “bot” has a bad connotation, Twitter observed that there were good bots that automatically sent out vital information. These “good bot” labels are now available to all automated account owners. 5. Discovery+ Ad-Lite Option To Launch In The UK And Ireland (CampaignUK) Following the introduction of the service in the United States, Discovery UK has announced an “Ad-lite” option for users in the United Kingdom and Ireland on its Discovery+ platform. The company claims to be the first subscription video-on-demand service in the UK, offering a lower membership rate in exchange for “limited” ad exposure. 6. India’s Biggest Short Video Platform: MX TakaTak Merge With Moj (Variety) MX TakaTak of Times Internet and Moj of ShareChat are merging to create India’s largest short-form video platform, in a country where TikTok remains banned. MX TakaTak-united Moj’s platform will have 100 million creators, over 300 million monthly active users, and nearly 250 billion monthly video views. The deal is worth $900 million in cash and stock. 7. Russia To Impose Advertising Ban On Foreign Tech Firms (Reuters) Russia warned it would begin enforcing advertising bans on huge international tech firms that do not have formal representation in the country by March, as Moscow seeks tighter control over the internet. Since July 2021, international social media firms with more than 500,000 daily users have been required by Russian law to open offices in Russia. 8. Canada Uses Emergency Act To Rein In ‘Freedom Convoy’ Crowdfunds (Engadget) After weeks of occupation paralyzing the nation’s capital, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked Canada’s Emergencies Act in response to the “Freedom Convoy” rallies. Trudeau said he will utilize the Act to quell the protests in many ways, including expanding Canada’s money-laundering rules to cover crowdfunding sites and bitcoin transactions.
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Digital Monetization Update – February 10, 2022

1. Tumblr Launches New Monetization Feature To Help Bloggers (TechCrunch) Tumblr Tips is Tumblr’s second effort at monetization, allowing bloggers to accept one-time payments from their fans. Tipping is available on the web, iOS, and Android; but Tumblr will not use Apple or Google’s own billing systems to allow mobile tips, and creators will not be charged additional fees of 30%. 2. Youth Spend More Time With Online Video, Gaming, Social Media (MediaPost) According to a new Hub Entertainment Research, young media consumers continue to spend more time with online video, gaming, and social media and less time with traditional screen-based TV shows and movies. Gaming (25%), online videos (19%), and social media (13%) account for nearly 60% of “screen-based leisure time” for 13- to 24-year-old viewers. 3. Peach Acquires Advalidation To Empower Online Publishers (AdTechDaily) Advalidation, a SaaS platform focused on enhancing ad experience and compliance, has been acquired by Peach, a global leader in video advertising workflow and delivery. It is a strategic effort to give online publishers and media owners more control over their ad workflows. 4. Yahoo’s Future As Private Company Backed By 900M Users (MediaPost) Yahoo’s content is available to more than 900 million global users monthly throughout Yahoo’s network of companies, providing it with a unique perspective on first-party data through products like search, connected television (CTV), and email. Last year, Yahoo’s demand-side platform (DSP) grew by 64% and supply-side platform grew by 40%. 5. Twitter Advancing The Conversation On Social Media (AdAge) Twitter is reimagining public conversation to be more healthy, useful, and accessible to all. It is adding the feature of proactive prompts, which will make users think twice about the language they use or read the articles they are posting carefully before sharing them. It is also removing misinformation from Twitter using labeled tweets. 6. WarnerMedia, Discovery Get US Nod To Create New Media Giant (TheVerge) According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia has cleared an antitrust assessment by US government agencies. Once finalized, the merged company will be one of the largest media conglomerates in the US, combining Warner Bros.’ TV and film holdings with Discovery’s vast library of TV programs. 7. Gaming Is Antitrust Regulator’s Blind Spot (Axios) Gaming has become one of the world’s major media industries, but it has yet to endure the scrutiny that other tech sectors do over how its business methods harm competition, customers, or workers. The biggest video game firms are devouring the competition quicker than ever before, despite substantial opposition from antitrust regulators. 8. Meta’s Stock Slide Highlights Tech Antitrust Bill Criteria (Bloomberg) Meta’s sliding stock price looked to provide it a silver lining, exempting it from the harsh antitrust sanctions under consideration in the US House of Representatives. On Tuesday, Meta was valued at $599 billion, following a stock price drop that began when the firm announced that its flagship app’s daily active users had dropped for the first time.
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Digital Monetization Update – February 3, 2022

1. Google Ad Revenue Surges 33% In 2021 Q4 (MediaPost) In the fourth quarter of 2021, Google’s overall ad revenue increased by 33% to $61.2 billion, above analysts’ expectations by 4%. Search advertising increased by 35% to $43 billion, and Google’s YouTube increased by 25% to $8.6 billion. YouTube’s ad dollar increases in the quarter eclipsed Netflix’s $7.7 billion in subscription revenue. 2. Meta Shares Plunge 20% As It Feels Heat From Apple And TikTok (AdAge) Apple’s recent privacy reforms and competition from firms like TikTok, might start to wear on Meta’s ad platform. Meta’s ad revenue in the first quarter of this year will be between $27 billion and $29 billion, representing a 3% to 11% growth year over year. In after-hours trading, Meta shares fell more than 20% due to the bleak forecast. 3. Gaming Companies Are Merging With Ad Tech For Real Reasons (AdExchanger) In the year 2021, there was tremendous consolidation in the ad tech industry. The combination of gaming companies with ad tech platforms is one especially noticeable little trend that is gaining traction. The objective behind the change is to replace old cookie-based technology with first-party data, which is the future of advertising. 4. Spotify Declares Itself To Be A Creator Company Now (TheVerge) Spotify announced its quarterly numbers at a particularly difficult period for the firm. Its monthly active users increased by 18% year on year to 406 million, while paid customers increased to 180 million. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek aspires to achieve 50 million creators who will profit from the platform. 5. Regulators Find Europe’s Ad Tech Industry Acted Unlawfully (Engadget) Data protection experts from throughout the European Union have determined that Europe’s ad tech business has been functioning unlawfully for years. The judgment, issued by Belgium’s APD (.PDF) and backed by authorities throughout the EU, determined that the industry’s underpinning system breached a number of GDPR standards. 6. NortonLifeLock Launches Feature To Protect Social Media Accounts (MediaPost) Norton LifeLock, a software and cybersecurity firm, announced a new feature to help users better safeguard their social media accounts against harmful attacks. In 2021, the number of people on social media has risen to 4.48 billion, accounting for more than half of the world’s population (56.8%). As the user increases, so will the number of threats. 7. Big Tech Boycotts Tend To Be Short-Lived (Axios) Boycotts of tech services have become increasingly common as political division and dissatisfaction with misinformation have grown. However, evidence shows that boycotts and the media attention they generate are usually short-lived. Even the most virulent boycotts have little influence beyond a single news cycle on Big Tech giants.
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