Pandora launches mobile muted video, responsive display ads

Dive Brief: Pandora is rolling out two new ad formats to all advertisers on Jan. 19: muted video and responsive display ads, per a company press release . Both formats had previously been in beta since last summer with several brands, including Denny’s, Express, Ascent Protein and Google. During the beta test, responsive mobile display ads had a 50% increase in time spent over previous formats and 2x increases in brand favorability, awareness and message resonance. Muted video ads provided a 32% increase in listeners who spent at least 5 seconds with the ad. The success of the new […]

Medium drops ad-based business model from publishing platform

  • Medium founder and CEO Evan Williams has majorly downsized the publishing platform, laying off one-third of Medium staff and closing offices in New York and Washington, D.C., according to Business Insider. Williams is known by many for co-founding Twitter.
  • The staff reductions came in the sales and business departments rather than affecting the site’s engineering and product teams.
  • Medium seemed to stray from its original mission of creating a new online media model when it rolled out native ads and sponsored posts last fall. Williams’ move to downsize is a step back from the short-lived ad-driven model, and he wrote in a post that “[i]t’s clear that the broken system is ad-driven media on the internet. It simply doesn’t serve people. So, we are shifting our resources and attention to defining a new model for writers and creators to be rewarded, based on the value they’re creating for people.”

AOL reveals BrandBuilder to attract more ad spend

Original Pandora launches mobile muted video, responsive display adsArticle: www.businessinsider.com

  • DataPerks: In what is strictly a mobile-based ad format, AOL uses parent company Verizon to incentivize customers with a reward system that includes additional wireless plan data if they click and complete some form of engagement with an ad, such as taking a survey, downloading a coupon, or entering an email address. DataPerks will be available sometime during Q1 in the US for Verizon subscribers.
  • Player Up: Instead of traditional 15-second video pre-roll ads, Player Up utilizes a combination of mini ad formats throughout a given video. The creative can be displayed as a three to seven second ad that introduces the brand’s product or service, an overlay that sits at the bottom corner of the video, and/or be displayed once someone hits the pause button. Player Up is currently available in the US, UK, and Canada, and has already been implemented by EBay last year. By minimizing the pre-load ad time, and implemented creative that doesn’t directly impede on the viewing experience, Player Up combats the top reasons — intrusive and disruptive — consumers block ads, according to Hubspot.

Vivint Smart Home Finds 735% Sales Lift Through Native Ads

Original Article: www.mediapost.com

Native ads will become an alternative in 2017 for brands looking to stand out from others. One smart-home company got a head start in 2016, when it ran a Yahoo Native Gemini ad campaign combined with data in the beginning of the year.