- Meta’s NewFronts Push Was All About Three Things: Reels, AI And CreatorsMeta’s NewFronts presentation on Thursday was Reely focused on AI. (Please forgive me.) But seriously, folks, Meta has three intertwined obsessions right now: short-form video, the creator economy and artificial intelligence. The event was a ... read more
- Liquid I.V. Sponsors A Formula 1 Race As DTC Brands Compete For Sports FansDigital-native brands are racing to break free of their social media roots to reach a broader base of US customers. For many brands, this means betting big on sports. Not sports gambling, mind you, but ... read more
- Omnicom Shuttering Sparks & Honey, Integrating Into OMNIThe holding company is effectively shuttering cultural intelligence consultancy Sparks & Honey and integrating its AI technology into its own AI-powered OMNI platform, MediaPost has learned. ... read more
- Instagram introduces new interactive stickers for StoriesImage: Instagram Instagram announced a handful of new features to Stories, including new interactive ways to share music, photos, and videos. The most intriguing new feature is called Reveal and, when applied, ... read more
- Microsoft overhaul treats security as ‘top priority’ after a series of failuresImage: The Verge Microsoft is making security its number one priority for every employee, following years of security issues and mounting criticisms. After a scathing report from the US Cyber Safety Review ... read more
- Biden grants automakers some flexibility on battery minerals in final EV tax credit rules
- Manor Lords is slow and frustrating, and I can’t stop playingImage: Slavic Magic The early access medieval town-builder strategy game has taken Steam by storm and rightfully so. Continue reading… ... read more
- The Verge’s 2024 graduation gift guideIllustration by Aaron Fernandez for The Verge We found all sorts of gadgets and goodies to celebrate the class of 2024, from the practical to the poignant. Continue reading… ... read more
- Rabbit, Humane, and the iPadImage: Alex Parkin / The Verge The Rabbit R1 is not good. Neither is the Humane AI Pin. Does that signal the end of the AI gadget revolution before it ever really ... read more
- Mars Express is a smart and stylish addition to the sci-fi noir canonImage: GKids Mars Express is a futuristic detective story about the autonomy of synthetic beings — which is to say, it’s the latest in a long line of sci-fi influenced by Ghost ... read more
- Nintendo DMCA takedown wipes over 8,500 Yuzu emulator copiesIllustration by Alex Castro / The Verge After slamming the Switch emulator Yuzu with a $2.4 million lawsuit that caused it to shut down, Nintendo is now taking aim at its copies. ... read more
- Spotify leaks suggest lossless audio is almost readyWe’ve been teased for long enough, Spotify. Just drop the HiFi update already. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge After years of waiting for Spotify to release the lossless audio tier ... read more
- Multibillion-dollar Apple deal looms large in Google antitrust trialIllustration: The Verge Google has not one but two Department of Justice antitrust trials this year — and the first one, over Google Search, is finally coming to a close. On Thursday, ... read more
- Ryûsuke Hamaguchi wants you to watch his new movie at least twiceCMPR In an interview with The Verge, the director explains why you need to see his new film, Evil Does Not Exist, multiple times to understand the ending. Continue reading… ... read more
- Hudson MX Completes Pitches, Sale Expected SoonInsiders say potential bidders included rival Mediaocean, as well as a consortium of agency holding companies led by Omnicom, which previously pledged to assist with Hudson MX's sale. ... read more
- Hudson MX Completes Pitches To Suitors, Sale Expected SoonInsiders say potential bidders included rival Mediaocean, as well as a consortium of agency holding companies led by Omnicom, which previously pledged to assist with Hudson MX's sale. ... read more
- Their Mother's A Mystery In Tale Of Two Sisters On 'Masterpiece'With a brand name like "Masterpiece," expectations are high when new shows imported from the U.K. arrive in America on PBS. ... read more
- How Streamers Respond To Mounting Pressure From Buyers And InvestorsHello, readers! Welcome to the 70th edition of AdExchanger’s Connected TV Roundup. If you’re still busy digesting the news of Google delaying the death of third-party cookies, the potential ban of TikTok in the US ... read more
- Business Insider Embraces Emotional Analysis To Boost Contextual TargetingTired: vanilla contextual targeting. Wired: contextual targeting that uses emotion-based signals. On Friday, Business Insider (BI) released a new targeting tool called SAGA reACT that analyzes the sentiment associated with its content alongside the emotional ... read more
- Comic: They’re STILL Here?Enjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … The post Comic: They’re STILL Here? appeared first on AdExchanger. ... read more
- Searching For The End; One Ad Spend Bubble Has Nearly PoppedHere’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Closing Time The DOJ vs. Google Search antitrust trial is approaching an end. On Thursday, both sides began presenting their closing arguments. Judge ... read more
- How CTV and DOOH are growing this political season for smaller agenciesAgencies hope connected TV and digital out-of-home will play a bigger role in upcoming elections and politics — especially for smaller media agencies that are handling many of the less visible races in the crowded ... read more
- CVS Media Exchange bets on solving the measurement gap to stand out in the retail media landscapeRetailers are either beefing up their retail media networks or launching their own, as the retail media arms race continues to heat up and Google moves very slowly toward its third-party cookie apocalypse — giving ... read more
- After years of caution, pharma advertisers are embracing influencer marketingHealthcare and pharmaceutical advertisers such as Gilead Sciences are injecting more and more of their media budgets into the creator economy. Brand advertisers in the health and pharma sector are some of the biggest-spending clients ... read more
- Publishers’ Privacy Sandbox testing enters a ‘holding pattern’ Publishers could see the writing on the wall when it came to Google’s announcement that it was delaying cookie deprecation from Chrome yet again. And while there’s a shared commitment amongst media execs to continue ... read more
- NewFronts Briefing: TikTok and Meta pitch short-form video offerings and AI tools on the final dayOn the last day of the IAB’s four-day NewFronts, social platforms like Meta and TikTok pitched their short-form video offerings to advertisers – despite the latter social media platform dealing with a tricky legal situation ... read more
- Google and DOJ attorneys begin closing antitrust argumentsLawyers for the U.S. Justice Department and Google yesterday began their closing arguments in an ongoing antitrust trial, which comes nearly nine months after it began and more than three years after being filed in ... read more
- T-Mobile’s JP Colaco on Delivering Omnichannel Addressability at ScaleIn a media landscape fraught with uncertainty as cookies crumble, could mobile fill the gap? JP Colaco thinks so. The media and ad industry veteran joined as T-Mobile Advertising Solutions‘ SVP & Chief T-Ads Officer in ... read more
- Microsoft says it did a lot for responsible AI in inaugural transparency reportIllustration: The Verge A new report from Microsoft outlines the steps the company took to release responsible AI platforms last year. In its Responsible AI Transparency Report, which mainly covers 2023, ... read more
- What a Fan Wants? The End Of 'What a Pro Wants'An AT&T ad in heavy rotation during NBA playoff games spawned intense hatred on social media this week. ... read more
- AI-Centricity: Our 'First Annual' ReportWhich is the most AI-centric of the major agency holding companies? Based on a "Media3.0" analysis of their annual reports, WPP is far and away the most dominant, followed by Stagwell. All others are also-rans. ... read more
- Conde Nast Increases Its Video Programming With New Series, FranchisesVideo drove 20 billion views last year, the publisher says. ... read more
- Apple’s earnings show that, yeah, it’s really time for some new iPadsImage: Dan Seifert / The Verge Less than a week ahead of its much-anticipated iPad hardware event, Apple shared its Q2 2024 earnings today, and the numbers paint a predictable picture for ... read more
- Ulta Pivots To Mental Health, TeensThe beauty retailer plans to give $3 million to nonprofits. ... read more
- FCC asks for more money to help telecom providers replace Huawei and ZTE gearIllustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images The Federal Communications Commission is asking for more funding to help internet service providers rip and replace equipment made by ... read more
- Seagate’s 2TB Xbox Storage Expansion Card gets its best discount yetSeagate’s speedy storage expansion cards are a necessary evil and expensive without these periodic sales. | Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge If your main gaming platform is the Xbox Series ... read more
- Kochava And FTC Appear Open To Settling Privacy BattleIn a joint motion filed this week, Kochava and the FTC told U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill that extending a pre-trial deadline by five weeks "would facilitate settlement talks." ... read more
- Virtual event: Preparing data for the AI, sponsored by SalesforceContinue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. ... read more
- When notifications remind us of things we’d rather forgetPhoto by Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via Getty Images My breaking point with promotional emails and desktop alerts finally happened a few weeks ago. I woke up at 7AM to an automated ... read more
- Amazon CEO Andy Jassy broke labor laws by saying workers are ‘better off’ without a unionIllustration by Laura Normand / The Verge Amazon CEO Andy Jassy violated labor laws when making “coercive statements” about unions during interviews conducted in 2022, a judge for the National Labor Relations ... read more
- Court Won't Revisit Instagram Victory Over PhotographersA federal appellate court has denied photographers' request for a new hearing in a battle over an Instagram tool that allows news sites to embed images from the platform. ... read more
- Snap Forges Brand-Creator Partnerships With CreatorIQ IntegrationSnapchat has partnered with creator marketing platform CreatorIQ to help brands discover Snap creators, manage partnerships and measure results on the CreatorIQ platform. ... read more
- Gannett’s Digital Ad Business Gets A Boost From Non-News PartnershipsGannett is back in growth mode. The media company experienced its fourth consecutive quarter of growth in Q1 2024. It reported its “most pronounced sequential trend improvement in nearly three years” in its earnings report ... read more
- Meta Unveils AI-Enabled Creator/Audience/Brand Matching ToolThe announcement during its NewFront presentation today, also included a new "Reminder ads on Instagram" advertising format. ... read more
- Spotify Spotlights Its Digital Video Ad Offerings At Its First NewFronts EventAt its first NewFronts event, Spotify Head of Sales Ann Piper and Global Creative Director Kay Hsu highlighted new digital video ad opportunities on the platform and discussed the steep rise in video consumption. ... read more
- After 16 years, Ecobee is shutting down support for the original smart thermostatThe Ecobee Smart Thermostat will lose its smarts on July 31st. | Image: Ecobee Ecobee is discontinuing support for the very first smart thermostat. As of July 31st, 2024, the Ecobee Smart ... read more
- FDA qualifies Apple Watch’s AFib history for use in clinical studiesPhoto by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The Apple Watch’s atrial fibrillation (AFib) history feature, which records and alerts the wearer’s relevant heart events, has been qualified to join the FDA’s Medical ... read more
- The last thing the iPad needs is a spec bumpThe iPad is kind of a computer... but kind of not. | Image: Dan Seifert / The Verge When Apple CEO Tim Cook and a bunch of his deputies take the virtual ... read more
- Microsoft made the biggest renewable energy agreement ever to fuel its AI ambitionsSatya Nadella, the executive chairman and CEO of Microsoft Corporation speaks during the “Microsoft Build: AI Day” event. | Photo by Peerapon Boonyakiat / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images Microsoft ... read more
- The highest observatory in the world just opened in ChileImage: University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO) officially opened on Tuesday after 26 years of planning and construction. Sitting 18,500 feet high on Mount Chajnantor in the Atacama ... read more
- Warrantless FBI searches of American communications drop 50 percentCath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images The FBI cut its warrantless searches of American data in half in 2023, according to a government report released on Tuesday. According ... read more
- Predicting The Future Will Matter More In CTV Ads Than Optimizing In Real TimeWhile CTV advertising will be digitally (programmatically) planned, sold, measured and optimized, the real-time-bidded and optimized component will shrink, not grow. ... read more
- Apple gives small developers more ways around its alternative app store taxImage: The Verge Apple is exempting more developers from the Core Technology Fee (CTF) it introduced in the European Union. In an update on Thursday, Apple announced that developers of free apps ... read more
- Peloton Meltdown Continues: CEO Out, Another 15% Jobs CutBarry McCarthy is leaving the company amid more losses. ... read more
- Google is getting even worse for independent sitesIllustration: The Verge An article in by HouseFresh, a site dedicated to air quality, hit a nerve in February: it outlined how independent publishers have been gradually bumped out of Google search ... read more
- Criteo Splits Out Retail Media Revenue For the First TimeCriteo has decided to show off its retail media revenue. During its earnings call Thursday morning, the company split out its retail media business for the first time. The retail media unit, which primarily consists ... read more
- Rabbit R1 review: nothing to see hereArtificial intelligence might someday make technology easier to use and even do things on your behalf. All the Rabbit R1 does right now is make me tear my hair out. Continue reading… ... read more
- Spotify’s shortform videos could spread to more parts of the appIllustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Spotify could soon bring shortform video clips to more areas of the app. A test spotted by Music Ally shows clips surfacing on playlist pages, ... read more
- New NBA Deals: Will Disney, WBD Take An Advertising Hit?: AnalystAdding NBCU into the NBA live, linear TV networks lineup could mean a 15-20% reduction in total ad dollars for Disney and Warner Bros., UBS media analyst John Hodulik says. ... read more
- Is Social Now The Largest Ad Channel — Depends On Who You Talk ToIn the case of the headline above, it's Ascential plc's WARC unit, which made that declaration this morning, supplanting search, which still is the biggest ad medium in other forecasters' books. ... read more
- Nintendo’s Orlando theme park will have Yoshi and Donkey Kong ridesImage: Universal Studios / Nintendo The Super Nintendo World area opening at Universal Studios in Orlando next year will include every attraction from the existing theme parks in Hollywood and Japan — ... read more
- How brands are using gaming personas to reach players effectivelyJordan Shlachter, head of measurement and insights, Activision Blizzard Media With 3.4 billion players actively gaming, advertisers have a unique opportunity to connect with a vast, engaged audience beyond the traditional gamers marketers might initially ... read more
- I Saw the TV Glow is a tribute to the transformative power of fandomImage: A24 A24’s I Saw the TV Glow from writer / director Jane Schoenbrun is a brilliant exploration of how people can find and lose themselves in the media they love. ... read more
- Privacy Sandbox Yellow FlagsYou could read the 99-page quarterly update from the CMA, which must approve Google Chrome’s deprecation of third-party cookies. Or you can tune into our podcast this week, where we discuss the biggest issues the ... read more
- Microsoft launches passkey support for all consumer accountsIllustration: The Verge Microsoft is fully rolling out passkey support for all consumer accounts today. After enabling them in Windows 11 last year, Microsoft account owners can also now generate passkeys across ... read more
- Tales of Kenzera’s heart-wrenching story proved tougher than its platformingImage: Surgent Studios There’s challenging combat and platforming puzzles, but the hardest part of the game is grappling with its emotional story. Continue reading… ... read more
- Nvidia makes it easier to get GeForce Now running on the Steam DeckPhoto by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Nvidia is releasing a script that simplifies getting its GeForce Now cloud gaming service up and running on Valve’s Steam Deck device. The script automatically ... read more
- Bose’s new SoundLink Max has a little handle and big soundImage: Bose Say what you will about Bose’s more ambitious swings — I appreciate that it takes them in the first place — but today, the company is releasing a new product ... read more
- Microsoft investigating VPN issues with latest Windows 11 update
- Over 400 million Google accounts have used passkeys, but our passwordless future remains elusiveGoogle may start asking users that still utilize passwords instead of their passkeys to wait 24 hours before they can access their account. | Illustration: The Verge Google is kicking off World ... read more
- Bonfire Of The Vulgar: Jeff Daniels Is 'A Man In Full'Jeff Daniels' direction for portraying a profane Atlanta real estate developer in "A Man in Full" may have been to play this guy in the most vulgar way possible. ... read more
- Is The Disclosure Of Streaming Subscriber Numbers Still A Thing?Netflix is in an unusual, strong position versus nearly all the streamers out there - it recently said it would stop releasing subscriber data. ... read more
- Kroger Teams With Yahoo DSP on Purchase-Based Audiences for BrandsNEW YORK – Kroger Precision Marketing, the grocery chain’s retail media network, is collaborating with Yahoo Advertising to offer purchase-based audiences directly in the Yahoo Demand-Side Platform (DSP), according to an announcement on Tuesday. Yahoo ... read more
- How Grocery Owner AD Will Grow Retail Media Through Omni-ChannelAs more retailers enter the space and as forecasts for its size grow, one retail operator has its own big target for making money from retail media. Stop & Shop owner Ahold Delhaize is a global ... read more
- ‘Don’t Confuse First-Party Data With Identity’: Publicis Media’s Shelby SavilleSAN JUAN, PR – Consumers divide their time spent with media among a growing variety of connected devices, channels and apps, challenging advertisers to obtain a holistic view of people’s behaviors. First-party data that comes ... read more
- Peloton announces new round of layoffs as CEO quitsAnother dark day for Peloton. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Peloton’s CEO Barry McCarthy is stepping down after announcing yet another round of layoffs, this time affecting about 15 ... read more
- Why A Challenger Laundry Brand Used AI To Make Its AdsLeaf is a UK-based challenger brand in the laundry space that sells dry laundry sheets. Not only does it need to get consumers to switch from liquid detergent, it also competes against giants like Procter ... read more
- Oracle's AI And Nashville Connection For AdvertisersOracle has big plans beyond enterprise software as it prepares to move its headquarters from Austin, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee. ... read more
- TikTok and Universal Music Group end feud with new agreementTaylor Swift’s label is returning to TikTok’s one billion-plus users. | Photo by DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images Universal Music Group has inked a “multi-dimensional” deal with TikTok that will see its ... read more
- How Shopify Learned To Love AdvertisingHey Readers, Welcome to the AdExchanger Commerce Newsletter. This week, we’re catching up with Shopify, which, in the past couple of years, quietly became one of the most important players in online advertising, despite rarely ... read more
- Why SSPs And DSPs Are Breaking The Barrier Between Supply And DemandMost of the companies in the digital marketing ecosystem have traditionally serviced either the supply or the demand side. But in the last few years, this trend has started to change. Google and Meta ... read more
- And The News Gets Nothing; Build It Blox By BloxHere’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Spelling “New” Without News Online news revenue is being throttled around the web. Google freaked out some news industry folks earlier this year ... read more
- CMO Strategies: Advertisers identify the top attributes on ad-supported streaming platformsThis is the third installment in Digiday’s multi-part series covering the top ad-supported streaming services and part of Digiday’s CMO Strategies series. In case you missed it, the first installment provided an overview of the ... read more
- In the marketing world, anime is following in the footsteps of gamingIn 2024, marketers need to be paying attention to anime. For decades, Japanese animation was viewed as a niche interest, the exclusive territory of nerds and basement-dwellers. But over the past few years, anime has ... read more
- Publishers not ready to change social media strategies as TikTok ban loomsThough the TikTok ban looks like it might actually happen sometime next year, execs from publications that have built followings and businesses on the platform aren’t concerned about what this will mean for their audience ... read more
- The DOJ makes closing arguments in Google Search antitrust trialOver the next two days, a Washington D.C. court will hear closing legal arguments from both defense and prosecution in a lawsuit alleging Google has undue control over the internet search market. It’s the ... read more
- Media Briefing: Publishers are still prepping for cookie deprecation despite Google’s delay Pressure is still on to leave third-party cookies behind Google’s announcement last week that it was delaying the removal of third-party cookies from its Chrome browser – again – came as a shock to few, ... read more
- NewFronts Day 3: Diverse-owned media companies tout their multicultural audience reach, plus a Q&A with IAB’s CEOHosted on the IAB’s mainstage, day three of the organization’s annual four-day NewFronts focused on ad tech products and media companies pitching their ability to reach multicultural audiences, such as the U.S. Hispanic and LGBTQ+ ... read more
- Research Briefing: Frequency capping matters most on streaming platformsInterested in sharing your perspectives on the media and marketing industries? Join the Digiday research panel. In this edition of the Digiday+ Research Briefing, we examine the top ad attributes marketers want from ad-supported streaming ... read more
- NBA Fans Gripe About Overexposed AT&T SpotIn the ad, Oklahoma City Thunder players Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren show how AT&T provides proactive recommendations. ... read more
- Asus won’t say if the ROG Ally’s SD card reader will ever be truly fixedThe Asus ROG Ally. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge What is Asus hiding? Two weeks ago, I told you how Asus has officially extended its warranty on the ... read more
- Omnicom Creates Scholarship In Reg Murphy's NameYou may remember Murphy as the kidnapped editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He also served on Omnicom's board for close to two decades. ... read more
- Snapchat will soon let you edit your messages after sendingEdit messages, AI Bitmoji fashion, and reminders round out the new Snapchat update. | Image: Snap Snap is launching a slew of new features in Snapchat, including the ability to edit already ... read more
- The Murderer Durst Lives On In 'The Jinx: Part 2.' But Are We Jinxed Out?If you wanted to make up a character like Robert Durst, you'd have trouble matching his actual crime spree. It's too preposterous. ... read more
- UnitedHealth CEO admits it paid $22 million ransom to BlackCatPhoto by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Health insurance provider UnitedHealth paid a multimillion-dollar ransom to hackers who broke into one of its subsidiaries, disrupting healthcare providers across the country for ... read more
- TikTok Fights Montana Attempt To Revive Statewide Ban"The TikTok ban violates the First Amendment because it shuts down a popular platform for speech," the company writes in papers filed this week with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. ... read more
- Zucker Says Bye To Bid: His Group Halts Effort To Buy 'The Telegraph'Zucker and the RedBird IMI investment group may be interested in other UK properties. ... read more
- Crunchyroll is about to get a little more expensive, just like all the other streamersImage: Crunchyroll While Crunchyroll’s monthly prices haven’t jumped in five years, Sony is getting ready to change that for subscribers in a handful of countries. Crunchyroll announced today that the prices for ... read more
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