Just Ad'ed | April Roundup

Blueprint's "Just Ad'ed" Weekly Digest – your new go-to source for Paid advertising news.

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly newsletter, Just Ad'ed, as we bring you a concise roundup of the most relevant and impactful news stories from the world of Paid Advertising. Staying informed is crucial in the fast-changing landscape of digital marketing, and Just Ad'ed is designed to keep you in the loop without overwhelming you.

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Jump To:  April 1-5 |  April 8-12|  April 18-22  |  April 22-April 26

Money Talks: JP Morgan Chase's Chase Media Solutions 

📈What Happened? 

JP Morgan Chase launches Chase Media Solutions, the first bank-led media platform. 

🔍Why Does It Matter? 

The platform enables advertisers to reach around 80 million financial customers, leveraging transaction-based digital advertising platform Figg, which Chase acquired in 2022.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

Chase Media Solutions is aiming to revolutionize retail media networks by offering unprecedented scale and insights derived from its extensive customer base. This new platform opens new doors for advertisers. 

Deloitte's Digital AI Rebrand: Orb-ital Adventure

📈 What Happened? 

Deloitte Digital releases its global rebrand with Orb Foundry. 

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

Orb Foundry enables teams across 30 international markets to generate fully rendered 3D brand assets for various channels and campaigns.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

Marketers should take note of Deloitte's innovative rebrand, and explore the opportunities presented using Orb Foundry. 

Google Eyes Hubspot

📈 What Happened? 

Alphabet, parent company to Google, explores acquisition of Hubspot. 

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

Hubspot's market cap currently exceeds $33 billion - with Google acquisitions typically staying under $3 billion, this acquisition could be a significant move in the tech industry.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

It's important to keep an eye on the acquisition of Hubspot by Alphabet, and what that means for future deals as well as for what the future of Hubspot may look like.

Forbes' Alternate Reality: Alternate Site Leaves Advertisers in the Dark  

📈 What Happened? 

Forbes found running an alternative version of the Forbes website with ads meant for Forbes.com.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

Advertisers who expected their ads to run on Forbes.com unknowingly bought ad slots on the alternate website using content-recommendation companies. 

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

Advertisers affected by the mismatch are demanding refunds, and plan to audit their ad buys on Forbes - emphasizing the importance of accountability in advertising.  

Snapchat's Latest Snap: New Advanced Partner Program

📈 What Happened? 

Snapchat introduces the Snap Advanced Partner Program, which aims to provide qualifying agencies and partners with exclusive opportunities to collaborate closely with Snapchat. 

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

The new program offers personalized training,  dedicated resources, and additional tools to advertisers and partners. 

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

Utilizing the new Snapchat Program could enhance campaigns and drive innovation for advertisers. 

Jump To:  April 1-5 |  April 8-12|  April 18-22  |  April 22-April 26

Meta Mayhem: Advertisers Face a Glitchy System

📈 What Happened? 

Meta has faced challenges with their ad system over the past couple of months, with performance issues mainly from automated algorithms that determine ad placement and pricing.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

Marketers have noticed higher campaign costs coupled with decreased return on advertising spending (ROAS) over the past two months, and continue to wait on a formal explanation from Meta. 

⚖️ What Should We Do?

Advertisers should monitor Meta's ad system performance, and adjust strategies accordingly.

Prime Advertising: Amazon Brings on Krishan Bhatia

📈 What Happened? 

Amazon brings on former Comcast NBCUniversal executive Krishan Bhatia as the Vice President of Global Video Advertising.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

Amazon seems to be looking to ramp up its video advertising team with the hire of Bhatia, with a focus on expanding the platform's presence in streaming TV offerings. 

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

It's important to keep a watchful eye on Amazon's next moves with Bhatia, and what they could bring to the world of digital advertising.

From Spin Class to Screen Time: Peloton's Journey into Media

📈 What Happened? 

Peloton is attempting to shift away from its initial fitness brand and into a media empire. 

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

Peloton's rebrand underscores the importance of adapting to evolving trends in consumer behavior and technology.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

The brand's shift into a more media-centric company could open up new opportunities for advertisers.

Lights, Camera, Transaction: Paramount Puts VidCon on the Market

📈 What Happened? 

Paramount brings on the bank Oakland DeSilva+Phillips to explore the sale of VidCon, a live event franchise centered on the creator economy.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

The company is looking to find a strategic buyer for VidCon - Paramount has signaled a preference for a buyer aligned with its long-term vision rather than a private equity firm.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

The acquisition of VidCon is significant, as it may impact the landscape of events targeting creators and digital media.

TalkWalker Meets HootSuite: Making Social Media Smarter

📈 What Happened? 

HootSuite, a Canadian-based social media management platform, looks to acquire Talkwalker.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

The partnership aims to merge social media campaign management with analytics, using Talkwalker's Blue Silk GPT AI.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

This acquisition looks to create numerous new opportunities for advertisers using Talkwalkers AI capabilities, and HootSuite's social media management abilities.

Jump To:  April 1-5 |  April 8-12|  April 18-22  |  April 22-April 26

Palantir Pitches AI Advertising Dreams

📈 What Happened? 

Palantir pitches AIP to advertising agencies, with pricing and inventory planning, programmatic sales, and campaign optimization.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

The brand is making a strategic shift farther into commercial business with the new platform, hoping to present itself as an alternative to big tech companies like Adobe, Google, and Meta.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

It's important to keep an eye on this shift, and consider what the AI solutions offer as well as what Palantir may bring to the table with them.

Threads Threads in Ads

📈 What Happened? 

Threads, a company currently competing with X prepares to roll out advertisements on the platform sooner than expected.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

The platform informed advertising executives that ad buying on Threads could commence as early as the second half of the year, in an attempt for Meta to expand its ad real estate and revenue streams by tapping into Threads' user base. 

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

The availability of ads on Threads opens up new opportunities for advertisers to tap into later this year.

Google's Ad Intent: A New Way to Navigate the Web

📈 What Happened? 

Google's Adsense introduces a feature that allows users to choose "ad-intents" for AutoAds alongside overlap and in-page formats.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

Ad intents are meant to be intent-driven formats that place links and anchors into existing text and pages on a website related to its content.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

The ad intents may lead to increased revenue streams - however, there are concerns that the new format may redirect traffic to Google's SERP.  

CanvsAI's New Trusty Tech: AI Story Assist

📈 What Happened? 

CanvsAI introduces new feature AI Story Assist, meant to enhance high-trust AI for insights discovery.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

The new feature is meant to incorporate an executive summary overview with interactive citations and quantification of themes, topics, and emotions found in open-ended text data.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

CanvsAI is taking a transparent, high-trust approach to incorporating AI into their platform, in an effort to facilitate smoother integration of AI into insights workflows.

Amazon's New Channel: 24/7 Shopping 

📈 What Happened? 

The channel provides U.S. customers with additional opportunities to engage with interactive, shoppable content.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

The channel provides U.S. customers with additional opportunities to engage with interactive, shoppable content.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

The new development aims to leverage popular creators, celebrities, and brands to enhance the live shopping experience. This could be a key new feature for advertisers.

Jump To:  April 1-5 |  April 8-12|  April 18-22  |  April 22-April 26

Ibotta's Public Debut: Kings of Cash Back

📈 What Happened? 

Ibotta - a 2012 company that initially replaced paper coupons and expanded to run promotions for companies like Walmart and Kroger - goes public, pricing shares above targeted range at $88 each.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

The Ibotta model charges brands only for actual sales generated through promotions, providing a solution for CMOs seeking effective ROI.

⚖️ What Should We Do?

Ibotta could provide great value to advertisers, and it's important to keep an eye on the company as it continues to grow.

WPP Woes: Revenue Decline Sparks Talks of Breakup

📈 What Happened? 

WPP reports a decrease in Q1 revenues, suggesting a possibility of selling off specific units or group break off.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

The potential breakup or privatization of WPP could have significant implications for its clients, employees, and the industry at large.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

It's important to monitor WPP's development, and take note of what potential next steps could mean. 

Google's Ad Auction Confessions

📈 What Happened? 

Google admits to adjusting advertising auctions to meet revenue targets, including changing auction dynamics and increasing ad costs by up to 5% for average advertisers.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

These adjustments were made without informing advertisers, raising concerns about transparency and manipulation of Smart Bidding for profit.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

Advertisers should pay close attention to Google's ad performance and cost in light of these adjustments.

OPAL: Welocalize Launches AI Game-Changer

📈 What Happened? 

Welocalize launches OPAL Marketing, AI-enabled service delivery platform designed to revolutionize how marketing professionals handle global content creation, management, translation, and amplification.

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

The new feature is meant to incorporate an executive summary overview with interactive citations and quantification of themes, topics, and emotions found in open-ended text data.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

Evaluate the potential benefits that OPAL Marketing may offer with streamlining global content creation and localization processes.

Browsing to Buying: Reddit Introduces Dynamic Product Ads 

📈 What Happened? 

Reddit rolls out dynamic product ads,  a new shopping experience designed to support users and advertisers by promoting relevant products.  

🔍 Why Does It Matter?

The dynamic product ads aim to drive lower funnel performance by providing a streamlined path to purchase.

⚖️ What Should We Do? 

It could be beneficial to explore and evaluate the potential of Dynamic Product Ads on Reddit as a strategic addition to advertising campaigns.

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