DIAL: Digital Innovations Awesome List (November 2018)

At Centro, we know that keeping up with the trade pubs and latest trends can be tough and time consuming—so we made it easier for you, and compiled all the articles, reports, and other bits of awesomeness you may have missed, but should definitely read. Bundle up, and enjoy the latest list below!

New York Times passes 3 million mark in paid digital subscribers [2-minute read]

Backed by a large marketing push and it’s new slogan, "The truth is worth it." The New York Times is up to over four million total subscribers, with one million subscribers to its print circulation. And its ad revenues are up compared to last year.

The Battles Programmatic Is Yet To Win in 2019 [4-minute read]

As programmatic continues to grow, its hold on the industry is being held back by three main things: transparency, viewability, and brand safety issues. According to experts, there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of transparency. However, there has been a noticeable shift in the industry, where advertisers are asking for more meaningful measurement and data.

What Advertisers Want to Know About Programmatic [3-minute read]

With an expected $46 billion dollars dedicated to programmatic buying, more marketers are seeking answers on top concerns regarding the space. AdWeek pulled together a list of top questions and answers to marketers’ most pressing curiosities, including how media can be measured, how supply strategy can be improved, and how programmatic ad spend will or should be split between RTB vs PMP deals.

First-Price Auctions Are Driving Up Ad Prices [2-minute read]

Many publishers have now shifted to a first-price auction model which has caused the price of the inventory to go up. In an agency-side test, CPMs were 59% higher in first-price than second-price auctions. From a buyer’s perspective, this price bump suggests that in first-price auctions, buyers are paying more than they should.

5 Things Marketers Must Know About Mobile In Programmatic To Survive in 2019 [3-minute read]

There are many ways you can use mobile in the programmatic world. In order to survive in 2019, this article lists the top 5 things you should know from evaluating ad formats to audience-specific considerations.

Six-Second Ads: It's All About The Context [2-minute read]

Short-form ads are increasingly making a presence as prime video placements for advertisers, driven by the new age of dwindling attention spans. However, the increase in popularity has also required advertisers to rethink video ad spots that they historically cut down from 30 seconds. While advertisers work to retool the length of these ads, they may also struggle with the fact that the efficacy of this shortened format can’t be compared to their traditional predecessors.

Ad-Supported OTT Viewers Incremental To TV [1-minute read]

The IAB released a report, Ad Receptivity and the Ad-Supported OTT Video Viewer, illustrating the demographics of OTT video viewers, the regularity with which viewers consume OTT content and how AS-OTT viewers are incremental to traditional TV consumers. The report notably distinguishes free, ad-supported OTT viewers from subscription-based viewers who don’t see ads.

Facebook: Coming To A TV Near You? [1-minute read]

Facebook is rumored to be working on a project that will include a connected TV (CTV) device. This will include a camera, be similar to Roku or an Amazon Fire Stick, and could potentially stream content from Facebook Watch.

Amazon’s Alexa Finds Its Business Model: In-Skill Purchases [1-minute read]

Amazon has revealed a business model for Alexa developers: in-skill purchases or what they are calling a “consumable.” Developers can now start selling these unlocked features/functionality, premium content, or even virtual games within skills—all of which can be purchased, used and then purchased again.

Domino’s in-house technology push has helped increase online orders [4-minute read]

But does it sell more pizza? The answer is yes! The company saw sales grow 8.3% in their third quarter when they made the decision to bring technology in-house—which got rid of silos and allowed their teams to work closely together by establishing cross-functional groups with their online, offline, research, and IT teams.

Netflix: Engineering to Improve Marketing Effectiveness [19-minute read]

A peek behind the crimson logo, this multi-part blog series by Netflix’s AdTech team shares their methods to effectively working across-departments to create, localize, manage, distribute, measure, and optimize their digital marketing and a growing library of creative assets. It's an impressive read about how they approach promoting their content through testing and personalization to drive new subscriptions and increased viewership. Part 2 is here.