DIAL: Digital Innovations Awesome List (June 2020)

At Centro, we know that keeping up with the trade pubs and latest trends can be tough and time-consuming. To make that easier, we’ve compiled all the articles, reports, and other bits of awesomeness you may have missed, but should definitely read. Enjoy our latest list below!

Agency Life: COVID-19 Will Cause 4 Permanent Changes [:05]

The remote work experiment caused by COVID-19 is transforming agencies. Automation will become even more integral to agency workflows, more offices will shift to a more distributed workforce, companies will reduce their real estate holdings, and agencies will rethink the necessity and extent of business travel.

Brands Can’t Bet on Quibi Without a Pivot That Reflects Millennial Needs [:04]

Brands and advertisers are curious about ad opportunities available from new entrants in the OTT/CTV space. Mobile-only video subscription service Quibi is one of the latest providers now struggling through the streaming wars and trying to make a case to advertisers. This column, by our own Noor Naseer, shares a pulse on where Quibi must improve for brands to consider advertising on the platform.

Cable News Ad Prices Stable Amid Pandemic, Viewership Soars [:02]

The increase of COVID-19 TV news content has come with higher overall TV news viewership and slightly higher “scatter” advertising pricing for cable TV news content over the most recent three-month period. Fox News posted $17,879 for an average 30-second commercial—while MSNBC came in at $11,078 and CNN was at $10,233, according to SQAD, the TV advertising pricing data company.

OTT vs. CTV : What’s In A Name? [:03]

Over the past few years, streaming services and exploded and along with that, confusion on naming conventions. People tend to use OTT and CTV interchangeably, but that is not accurate and the IAB Tech Lab breaks down the nuances. TLDR: Use CTV to refer to a specific type of device, and OTT to refer to content.

Cookieless Web : 3 Areas To Watch In The Second Half Of 2020 [:05]

With the announcement of Chrome to block third-party cookies, there will be three key areas to monitor for a successful transition to a cookieless web: 1) the long-standing battle of the browsers, 2) the walled gardens and how they will help marketers mine customer behaviors, and 3) measurement problems.

New York Times Phasing Out All 3rd-Party Advertising Data [:02]

With third-party data being phased out of the ad ecosystem due to privacy concerns, the New York Times is building out a proprietary first-party data platform. They will begin to offer clients 45 new proprietary first-party audience segments to target ads, and plan to introduce 30 more interest segments in the second half of the year. The segments are broken up into 6 categories: age (age ranges, generation), income (HHI, investable assets, etc.), business (level, industry, retirement, etc.), demo (gender, education, marital status, etc.) and interest (fashion, etc.). Watch for more large publishers to follow suit.

Instagram To Test New Revenue Streams, Including Badges and IGTV Ads [:03]

Instagram is launching new tools that enable video creators to make money, including badges that viewers can purchase during Instagram Live videos. Badges will give viewers a way to support their favorite creatives. Once purchased, badges will appear next to the person’s name throughout the live video as they comment, helping them stand out.

Facebook Shops : The Timing Couldn’t Be Better But It’s Not A Play For Amazon [:05]

Facebook launched a new e-commerce service, primarily aimed for smaller businesses and brands, which will allow them to sell directly on Facebook. The service will be free and the business model will be paid ads.

Cross-Shopping Is On The Decline And Grocers Are Trying to Capitalize [:02]

Cross-shopping, which is when customers visit multiple stores to get the best deal, is seeing a dip in stores as people are trying to get the most out of their shopping trips. Consumers are becoming more “mission-driven” on longer, single-location shopping trips. While more people avoid shopping in multiple stores, price comparison tools are on the rise with less brand sensitivity.

The VR Winter [:06]

VR is not new. It was explored heavily in the 80s, but didn’t work because the technology at the time wasn’t there. More recently Moore’s law and the smartphone component supply chain meant that the hardware to deliver the vision was mostly there, but not enough to make really great mass-market consumer devices. We’ve had 5+ years of experimental projects and all sorts of content has been tried, and nothing other than games has really worked. Has the technology not fully caught up (ie; we need mixed reality contact lenses) or have we just not thought up what the killer experience is for widespread VR adoption?