07/29, 4:15pm
Replacement ads state that a site has been reported, branded with force logo
The City of London Police is taking a new approach when it comes to curbing piracy. The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) recently started replacing advertising banners on websites involved with copyright infringement, warning users that the site is known to authorities. The move is aimed at cutting off revenue streams on sites promoting intellectual property (IP) theft, even when the ads are legitimate.
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07/21, 4:23pm
Deal rumored to be worth at least $300 million, could rapidly grow Yahoo's mobile business
Yahoo could be looking for aggressive growth in its mobile platforms, as reports from Recode and TechCrunch indicate that the search company is acquiring mobile analytic and advertising startup Flurry. While official news of the deal has yet to be announced, sources say that the news is expected to come in later today.
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07/17, 11:45am
Reach extending to Fire phone on July 25th
Amazon's Mobile Ads API supports iOS devices as of today, the company has announced. The change means that developers will be able to use banner and interstitial ads from Amazon's network on iPhones and iPads, in addition to the Android and Fire OS devices already supported. Support for the Fire phone is due on July 25th, the same day that product launches.
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07/16, 7:49pm
Company is 'not satisfied,' with results, declining display ad revenue to blame
Yahoo posted its second quarter 2014 results yesterday, indicating shrinking revenues from the same quarter in the previous year. The quarter, which ended on March 31, saw a decline in revenue due to disappointing results from display ad revenue. CEO Marissa Mayer realizes that there is still work to do in some areas, as the company looks toward a "unified approach" to advertising.
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07/14, 4:06pm
Beats' Jimmy Iovine said to be important to new marketing efforts
Apple may be on the verge of completely separating from its long-time ad partner, TBWA's Media Arts Lab, says the New York Post. Citing industry rumors, the paper suggests that Apple's entire external advertising account is "up for grabs," and that Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine -- soon to become an executive at Apple, following Beats' acquisition -- will also be used to help revive Apple marketing efforts. "Apple bought Beats for a lot of reasons," comments one anonymous ad agency executive. "They think they're marketing geniuses. It is safe to assume Beats would be part of an assessment of all [Apple] partners."
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07/03, 10:39pm
Regulator recognizes game can be played for free, but it's 'severely limited'
It appears that regulators are catching onto the idea that Electronic Art's (EA) Dungeon Keeper mobile game isn't really what could be considered a "free-to-play" game. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), an independent regulator of ads in the UK, ruled this week that ads promoting the game as free-to-play must not appear in the future.
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07/03, 3:17pm
Highlights disparities in battery life
Samsung has released a new TV ad (below) for the Galaxy S5, comparing it against the iPhone in terms of battery life. iPhone owners are depicted as "wall huggers," forced to constantly hunt for outlets at spaces like airports due to only being able to go a few hours on a charge. On the other side of the coin the ad touts the S5's removable battery, and its "ultra power saving mode," which disables non-essential functions and can allow the phone to run for a full day with just 10 percent power left.
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07/01, 10:50am
Minimalist product shots dropped
Apple has started replacing the wall graphics at its retail stores, photos reveal. Until now, Apple Stores have typically used minimalist product shots set against white backgrounds. The new images feature people modeling products in different scenarios, much like Apple's recent TV ads.
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06/30, 12:17pm
Continues 'Powerful' series of Apple ads
Apple has begun airing a new TV ad for the iPhone, dubbed "Parenthood." Accordingly the spot's script features a number of scenarios in which iPhone apps help parents. Some of the highlighted titles include Withings WithBaby, MyTeeth, DRAWNIMAL, Pet Manager PRO, WeMo, and Nike+ Running.
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06/10, 1:27pm
Company recruiting from TBWA, other ad firms
Apple is not only producing its own TV ads but "madly building" an internal ad agency, according to Ad Age. The company is reportedly telling new hires that the agency will eventually have some 1,000 workers. To staff the division Apple is said to be recruiting high-profile people from the industry, including executives from long-time Apple partner TBWA, as hinted at previously by Bloomberg.
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05/30, 1:49pm
Could make iTunes more appealing to marketers
Apple is planning several changes to improve the success of iTunes Radio, according to ad buyers reached by The Information. The first is the addition locally-targeted ads, something reportedly happening later this year. The company may also begin promoting iTunes with "house ads" on its iAd network.
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05/27, 8:22pm
Agreement integrates Accuen into MoPub for further ad reach, buying
Social media company Twitter has made a move to strengthen its ad division with a $240 million agreement with Omnicom Media Group. The two-year deal will see Omnicom's programmatic ad-buying unit, Accuen, integrated with Twitter's MoPub ad exchange. Twitter had purchased MoPub in September for $350 million in a move to strengthen its advertising arm.
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05/23, 9:39am
Producer projects can be uploaded to Workbench
Apple has updated iAd Producer, the tool used to create ads for the iAd network. Version 4.2 lets advertisers generate fullscreen iPhone banners for the first time, and also upload projects to iAd Workbench, the tool used to start and manage campaigns. Other improvements are minor; the only one detailed, in fact, is the ability to reorganize folders in the Assets sidebar.
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05/21, 5:14pm
Refrigerators, thermostats, glasses could see ads served by Google in future
In a 2013 filing uncovered by the Wall Street Journal, Google stated that it could possibly be extending ad service to devices outside of smartphones and computers in the future. The letter, which covered the topic of mobile revenue disclosure, gave a hint that Google may be evolving ads to grow along with the changing definition of mobile devices.
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05/21, 11:58am
Google Glass, partnerships among cited reasons
Google has replaced Apple as the world's top brand, according to market research firm Millward Brown. In the company's latest annual Top BrandZ report, Google's brand value surged 40 percent to $158.84 billion. "Google has been extremely innovative this year with Google Glass, investments in artificial intelligence and a range of partnerships," writes Benoit Tranzer, the head of Millward Brown France. "All these activities send a very strong signal to consumers about the essence of Google."
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05/15, 6:23pm
Magazine style ads to appeal to text-based advertisors, websites
Google announced today that it is bringing a new type of ad to AdSense that plays to a better design for customers who use the service, but have so far distanced themselves from text-based ads. The magazine ads are an effort by Google to make text ads more appealing to AdSense users, who have set their preferences to display-only ads for design considerations.
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05/13, 4:19pm
Google Helpouts and illegal ad-blocking being investigated
The Competition Commission of India has launched a new probe against Google's business practices. A chain of remote technology support firms launched the complaint, alleging that the company illicitly blocked advertising it paid for on the service, and has a "vague and unclear" user safety policy leading to "abuse of dominance by Google."
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05/07, 1:54pm
Executive spent 18 years at Apple
Apple's long-time VP of worldwide corporate communications -- Katie Cotton -- is retiring, the company confirms. Cotton has worked at Apple for some 18 years; company spokesman Steve Dowling explains that she "has wanted to spend time with her children for some time now." Cotton herself says that the departure is "hard" for her, since "Apple is a part of my heart and soul."
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05/02, 12:56pm
May signal attempt to compete with Samsung
Apple has posted a new job opening for a "buzz marketing manager," notes the Houston Chronicle's Dwight Silverman. "This new Buzz Marketing role is primarily responsible for constant and compelling exposure of Apple products with high-profile users, especially those in film and television," the listing explains. This suggests that Apple wants its products seen in the hands of more celebrities, regardless of whether or not they would normally be fans.
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04/21, 12:49pm
Company says almost half of US stores powered by renewable energy
Apple today embarked on a new campaign to advertise its environmental protection efforts. The company's CEO, Tim Cook, narrates a video simply titled "Better" (below), in which he talks about initiatives such as renewable energy for datacenters, and efforts to use recyclable materials in products and reduce the amount of packaging Apple products come in. The company's VP for environmental concerns, Lisa Jackson, has meanwhile given an interview to Wired on the topic.
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04/16, 10:29am
Public assumed to be worried about Apple's prospects
Samsung decided to launch its "Next Big Thing" campaign -- parodying Apple -- in the wake of the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, according to an email trail exposed during the ongoing Apple v. Samsung patent trial. Samsung America's VP of US sales, Mike Pennington, described Jobs' death as "the best opportunity" to run a campaign targeting Apple, since people would be worried about whether Apple could continue to come up with great ideas minus Jobs' influence. "Sorry to continue to push this issue, but I have seen this far too long and I know this is our best opportunity to attack iPhone," Pennington is quoted as saying.
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04/11, 3:07pm
Internet ads exceeded TV dollars by $2.7 billion in 2013
US Internet advertising revenues for 2013 hit an all-time high of $42.8 billion, exceeding broadcast television advertising revenues of $40.1 billion. The full-year results mark the first time that Internet ad spending has eclipsed television commercial sales. Of particular note is mobile advertising -- for the third year in a row, mobile achieved triple-digit growth year-over-year, rising to $7.1 billion during 2013, a 110 percent boost from the prior year total of $3.4 billion.
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04/11, 12:36pm
Apple says move in keeping with official policies
UK-based streaming service Bloom.fm has been banned from advertising on Apple's iAd network due to it being competition with iTunes Radio, according to Bloom PR representatives. Until recently, Bloom was spending £2,000 per month on iAd spots. In rejecting the advertising, Apple is quoted as telling Bloom that it constituted "a competitive service to iTunes Radio and it is against Apple policy."
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04/09, 7:52pm
New hires won't impact existing relationships, unrelated to 2012 dispute
According to venerable industry trade magazine Ad Age, Apple is again expanding and diversifying its advertising firms and staff. The iPhone maker is said to be adding as many as four digital-advertising agencies to its roster, presumably in an effort to beef up its mobile and online advertising efforts. Apple will continue its longstanding relationship with TBWA/Media Arts Lab as its main partner, despite some now well-publicized spats in late 2012 and early 2013.
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04/08, 12:40pm
Tries to bounce back from successful Samsung efforts
The gap between Apple and Samsung's US advertising budgets narrowed during 2013, according to new data from Kantar Media. Apple's budget is said to have increased 5 percent year-over-year to $351 million. Samsung, conversely, actually cut its spending by 10 percent, but still ended spending more with a budget of $363 million. Most of Apple's cash is said to have gone toward TV commercials.
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04/07, 4:04pm
Marketing head rejected suggestions company needed scrutiny
In a series of early 2013 emails, Apple's marketing lead Phil Schiller delivered angry words to long-time Apple advertising partner TBWAChiatDay, and specifically its Apple-dedicated Media Arts Lab, according to documents exposed through the ongoing Apple v. Samsung trial. As was mentioned in court, Schiller was upset with a Wall Street Journal piece arguing that Apple had "lost its cool" to Samsung. He forwarded the story to TBWA, simply commenting that "we have a lot of work to do to turn this around."
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04/02, 9:34am
Samsung attorney claims Apple's Phil Schiller was 'obsessed'
During Monday's opening statements in the second Apple v. Samsung trial, attorney John Quinn -- representing Samsung -- revealed that Apple marketing head Phil Schiller was deeply concerned about Samsung's "Next Big Thing" ad campaign. One email from Schiller to his team specifically addressed a January 2013 Wall Street Journal story with the headline "Has Apple Lost Its Cool to Samsung?" Schiller commented that "We have a lot of work to do to turn this around."
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04/01, 3:47pm
New spots can direct people to websites, iTunes content
Apple has today significantly opened up iAd Workbench, the tool used to submit and manage iAd campaigns. Ad Age notes that Workbench is now accessible to anyone with an Apple ID, where previously accounts were restricted to registered app developers. That should expose iAd to a more Google-like advertising base, in which anyone can participate; when it was originally introduced in 2010, iAd was targeted exclusively at major corporations able to afford the then-minimum buy-in of $1 million. New ad buyers can choose to operate on a cost-per-click or cost-per-thousand impressions basis.
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03/25, 10:59am
Apple, Times still deciding when and where to return banner
Apple and the New York Times mutually agreed to pull an iPad Air ad from the Times' website yesterday after an unfortunate headline pairing, according to Advertising Age. The ad is another take on Apple's Your Verse campaign, and features a still of a scuba diver using an iPad, with the slogan "See the unique ways people are using iPad around the world." On Tuesday, though, that ad was paired alongside a headline reading "Malaysia Says Jet Went Down in Ocean."
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03/14, 9:47am
Tech could be rolled into iAd
Apple-owned Burstly has started sending out notices to customers of its SkyRocket monetization service, saying the product's publishing and SDK license agreements will end in 90 days. SkyRocket is meant to simplify advertising for developers by hooking apps into multiple ad partners, reward systems, cross-promotions, and demographic targeting. The company isn't saying why it's terminating licenses, but the reason is believed to be connected to Apple's general policy towards acquisitions, which is to shut off services to outside parties.
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03/05, 3:21pm
Breaks down another distinction of iAd
Beginning sometime this year, companies advertising via iAd will be able to use fullscreen, auto-playing interstitial video ads on the iPhone/iPod touch as well as the iPad, according to Advertising Age sources. At the moment, a person has to tap an iAd banner to get a video to play. As interstitials the videos will likely play after certain in-app actions have finished, such as reading an article or finishing a game level.
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03/03, 9:52pm
Could be playground for new campaign, effort to capture youth demographic
The advertising agency behind many of Apple's campaigns appears to have launched an official iPhone 5c Tumblr page, using the multi-media blogging space to showcase and promote the colors of Apple's iPhone 5c, called "ISee5c." While the junior of Apple's two current top phones is actually doing better than the iPhone 5 did at the same point in its history, reports have claimed that the fashionable phone is losing ground to the more advanced iPhone 5s.
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03/02, 2:25pm
Ten percent will go to non-profit charities decided by Reddit users
Reddit announced on its blog that it will be donating a portion of its 2014 advertising revenue receipts to non-profit charities at the end of the year. Users will be able to decide which charities receive funding after the company closes out its books.
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02/21, 1:00pm
Main Apple agency partners gathering under unified ownership
One of Apple's long-standing advertising partners, Rosetta, appears to have relaunched its Level Studios brand as an Apple-exclusive division. Advertising Age notes that the brand has a new website, which simply shows an Apple logo under its "Client List" section. Rosetta acquired the original Level Studios in 2010, and while the new site doesn't mention Rosetta by name, contact details point to Rosetta's offices.
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02/18, 12:53pm
Apple allegedly missing out on sales
Apple is losing out on iAd sales because the company is too "slow, cocky and downright stingy," a new Advertising Age report suggests. The assertion is attributed to Madison Avenue media buyers. One person -- GroupM's chief innovation officer, Cary Tilds -- comments that Apple doesn't have a large sales team for iAd. An anonymous executive notes that Apple doesn't even have sales targets, which may reflect the low priority iAd has.
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02/14, 4:54pm
Says 'reasonable consumer' wouldn't expect Siri to work perfectly
A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California, Claudia Wilken, has dismissed a lawsuit claiming that Apple ads for the iPhone 4S were deceptive about the capabilities of Siri. In her ruling Wilken writes that the plaintiffs' claims depended on "non-actionable puffery," and failed to show evidence of fraud. A "reasonable consumer," she says, would not expect Siri to work perfectly all the time; the plaintiffs charged that Apple gave the impression Siri could handle any request instantly.
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02/12, 5:40am
Advertising would appear for new users on empty New Tab page
Mozilla plans to add advertisements to the Firefox browser, the company announced at a recent Interactive Advertising Bureau meeting. The new advertisements will take the form of "Directory Tiles," items on a page when a user opens a new, empty tab, and will apparently only affect new users of the browser rather than those who have used it for some time.
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01/26, 2:25pm
Customers could get free travel to business locations
Online advertising could offer viewers free travel to businesses in the future, based on a recently-granted patent. The filing, titled "Transportation-aware physical advertising conversions," suggests a way for a system that can provide free or discounted transit of a customer to a physical location, in order for the customer to buy products or to try out a service.
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01/22, 11:21am
Spots based on recent 'Your Verse' commercial
Apple has begun airing two new TV ads for the iPad Air. Dubbed "Light Verse" and "Sound Verse," the spots are shortened, 30-second versions of "Your Verse," a 90-second ad that premiered last week. Intermixed with the earlier ad's content is some original imagery.
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01/20, 7:33am
Two Chrome extensions pulled under new Chrome Web Store rules
Less than one month after it introduced a number of Chrome Web Store rule changes, Google has removed two Chrome extensions from its store for spamming. Add to Feedly and Tweet This Page were both excluded from the store after complaints emerged that they were serving up unwanted advertising to their users, shortly after the extensions were sold by their original developers to another company.
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01/17, 10:53pm
Apple technology could deliver information, advertising during event
A advertising and marketing trade publication has reported that soft drink giant Coca-Cola is looking into Apple's iBeacon, a short-range Bluetooth-powered messaging technology, as part of its major sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup. The iBeacon is a small, Bluetooth Low Energy-powered device usually planted on a wall that detects smartphone proximity and, with permission, can broadcast a message or alert -- be it informational or advertising -- as a notification on the device.
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01/17, 11:48am
Ad removals up by 59 percent
Google has published its yearly report on "Busting Bad Advertising Practices," noting that ad removals have surged by 59 percent to reach 350 million in 2013. The search company suggests improvements to detection systems and growth of online advertising overall have contributed to the rise in harmful and deceptive ads.
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01/13, 1:19pm
'One Microsoft' strategy credited with shift
Microsoft has become a more trusted brand than Apple, according to a new Forrester survey. The research group polled 4,551 people, and ranked companies according to its "TRUE" criteria: trusted, remarkable, unmistakable, and essential. Microsoft was the only company to gain "trailblazer" status, with Forrester describing it as "at the forefront of brand building with a unique and distinct brand identity that sets it apart from other brands."
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01/12, 8:54pm
Facebook user claims not to have endorsed company, seeks $750
Facebook is being sued over apparent false "likes" being used in advertising on the social network. Anthony Ditirro has filed a class-action suit against Facebook in San Jose, for allegedly showing that users are endorsing products on the service to friends and acquaintances linked to the user, even if the claimed endorser did not actually "like" the associated Facebook page.
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01/10, 11:42am
Developers can create Android games with asynchronous multiplayer
The latest update to Google Play Services has started rolling out to users, including a number of small changes to the software platform. Changes to the way the mobile operating system works with Google Drive, in-app advertising, and mobile games are included in the update, along with a claimed improvement to battery life through alterations in Google Location Reporting.
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12/30, 12:13pm
Could influence direction of Apple marketing
Apple has hired Arem Duplessis to serve as a creative director at the company beginning in February, an interview reveals. Duplessis is generally unknown to the public, but has worked as the design director for The New York Times Magazine for almost 10 years. Before that, he was a design director with the magazines Spin and GQ.
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12/17, 7:19am
Video ads on Facebook will automatically play silently
Facebook will be rolling out video advertisements to the News Feed of its users this week. A statement from the social network about the new ads effectively confirms an earlier report from the Wall Street Journal, with both desktop users and mobile device owners expected to see the new advertising units with automatically-playing video on their screens in the coming days.
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12/10, 12:37pm
Hire hints at further push into streaming audio
Apple has reportedly poached an advertising executive, Michael Pallad, from Cumulus Media, unnamed sources have told Ad Age. After serving as executive VP of sales at the second-largest owner of FM radio stations, Pallad now is said to be tasked with overseeing international ad sales for Apple's iTunes Radio service.
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11/13, 3:00am
Lets developers create their own banners, offers more targets and stats
Apple's iAd Workbench, which debuted this past June, allows developers a simple way to promote their own apps through iAd with campaigns starting at just $50, and giving them tools to better target potential buyers and find out how effective the advertising is. The program, part of the developer portal iTunes Connect, has now been expanded to countries outside the US. The tool is now available in nine additional countries.
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11/03, 7:54pm
JetBlue, Delta allow passengers to use devices at takeoff
Airlines JetBlue and Delta have announced that they will be allowing passengers to use electronic devices between the departure and arrivals gates, including at takeoff, according to Bloomberg. Shortly after the FAA changed the rules governing the use of such devices in a plane, JetBlue corporate communications manager Morgan Johnson posted an image of passengers armed with smartphones to Facebook, claiming its first flight under the new policy has flown successfully.
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