In this week’s Week in Review: Apple’s IDFA changes loom, UK ad spend set to rebound quickly, and Taboola files for an IPO.
Top Stories
Apple’s IDFA Changes to Come Into Force This Spring
Apple has said changes to it’s IDFA mobile advertising identifier, whereby apps will have to ask for explicit consent to use the IDFA on an individual basis, will come into force in “early spring”.
The change is expected to make the IDFA much less widely available to apps and media owners, assuming a large number of users will choose to opt out. As such, targeting and measurement on Apple devices is expected to become much more difficult.
Several companies have hit out at the move. Facebook’s head of ads Dan Levy this week said Apple is “trying to take the world back 10 or 20 years” with “anti-personalised advertising”. And Google this week warned that publishers will likely see a significant impact on Google ad revenues from Apple devices.
UK Ad Spend Forecast to Recover Faster Than Other Key Markets
UK ad spend will recover this year at a faster rate than other key international markets, according to the latest Advertising Association/WARC expenditure report. The report predicts that the UK ad market will grow 15.2 percent this year, outweighing last year’s decline, and comfortably ahead of expected growth in other major markets including the US (3.8 percent), Germany (9.3 percent), and China (10.3 percent).
Some of the fastest areas of growth will come from the sectors which were hardest hit last year. Cinema ad revenue is expected to grow by 228.4 percent, which is unsurprising given cinemas were closed for much of last year. But the report also predicts AVOD revenues to climb by 21.2 percent, which is impressive given that 2020 was a bumper year for streaming services.
Taboola Hints at CTV Moves in IPO Announcement
Content recommendation giant Taboola has become the latest media company to announce plans to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The company is seeking an implied $2.6 billion valuation, which would raise $545 million for the company.
Announcing the move, CEO Adam Singolda hinted that the company is exploring new avenues to push its content recommendation, including connected TVs. “Over the next 10 years I see Taboola growing to power recommendations for anything, such as eCommerce, games, applications, and I see those recommendations everywhere, on every device,” he said. “They will live on our connected TVs at home, recommending shows people love, as well as in people’s cars surfacing content they love, podcasts, and text-to-audio from the open web.”
Taboola says around $100 million of funds raised will be committed to R&D initiatives focused on AI, eCommerce, TV, and device manufacturers.
The Week in Tech
Google Backs FLoC to Replace Third-Party Cookies
Google this week effectively committed to Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), one of the tools developed in its ‘privacy sandbox’, as a replacement for third-party cookies within its Chrome Browser. Google says FLoC, an API which enables ad targeting based on users’ general interests, has proven to be 95 percent as effective as third-party cookies in terms of conversions per dollar spent. Having proven FLoC’s viability in private, Google says it will roll out FLoC for wider testing in March. Read the full story on VideoWeek.
Adform Finds 90 Percent of UK Brands Have No Cookie-Free Solution
Research from Adform this week found that 90 percent of UK brands don’t have any tested solution in place ready for when third-party cookies are no longer available on Chrome. “Marketers know this is a looming problem, but after a difficult year many haven’t prioritised efforts to find a replacement. In the UK, there is clearly scope for education and progress regarding first-party ID solutions,” said Phil Acton, country manager UK and BeNeFrance at Adform.
Unruly Launches New Self-Serve CTV Tools
Unruly this week launched a new set of self-serve tools for media owners and app developers, UnrulyX CTRL, which it says enables CTV publishers to package, price and sell their programmatic inventory. Unruly says the new toolset, powered by the UnrulyX SSP, gives publishers access to online packaging tools, real-time insights to help maximize inventory value and enhanced reporting for increased transparency.
EU Tells Big Tech to Keep Up Misinformation Monitoring
The EU has told Google, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft that it wants them to continue submitting monthly reports on their progress in combating fake news on their platforms. These reports, which have been submitted for six months, will be required for at least another six months due to the ongoing misinformation risk posed by the pandemic.
Facebook Results Beat Analysts’ Expectations
Facebook posted record revenues and profits this week in it’s end of year earning report. Revenues in Q4 $28.07 billion, while profits climbed 52 percent year-on-year to $11.22 billion.
Global Video Measurement Alliance Adds BBC Studios and Digitas to its Roster
The Global Video Measurement Alliance (GMVA), a coalition headed by Tubular Labs, has added BBC Studios, Digitas, WildBrain Spark, and Weber Shandwick to its number. The alliance aims to create and encourage adoption of new measurement standards for video.
Half of UK Consumers Plan to Start Using AVOD This Year
Fifty-six percent of UK consumers say they plan to start using ad-supported streaming services this year, as UK appetite for AVOD content grows, according to Integral Ad Science’s new “UK Streaming Wars” report.
Capital Croissance Invests in Smart AdServer
French investment group Capital Croissance announced a new investment in Smart Adserver, becoming the ad tech company’s majority shareholder. Smart says it will use the new funds to continue its international expansion and its push into CTV.
White Ops Receives SIVT MRC Accreditation
Anti-fraud specialist White Ops has become the first company to receive MRC accreditation for end-to-end coverage of sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT), covering desktop, mobile web, mobile in-app, and Connected TV.
The Week in TV
RTL Ups 2020 Guidance
European media giant RTL has increased its guidance on earnings for 2020, reporting an adjusted EBITA of around €850 million, significantly above its previous forecast of €720 million, as TV advertising performed significantly better at the end of the year than expected.
NBCU Adds WWE Network to Peacock
NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock will now be the exclusive home of WWE Network, wrestling brand WWE’s direct-to-consumer offering. The deal is reported to be worth up to $1 billion across five years. WWE Network will be available to Peacock Premium customers only, meaning it will remain an SVOD product.
Salto Reaches 200,000 Subscribers
French streaming service Salto, launched by TF1, M6 and France Télévisions, has reached 200,000 subscribers since launch according to a report from Les Echoes this week.
ViacomCBS Says Super Bowl Inventory is “Virtually Sold Out”
US broadcaster ViacomCBS has reported it has virtually sold out of inventory for its broadcast of Super Bowl 55, reporting that 30 second spots sold for up to $5.5 million.
AT&T Writes Down Pay-TV Business by $15.5 Billion
US telecoms company AT&T wrote down its premium TV business by $15.5 billion this week, further demonstrating the difficulties facing traditional TV businesses in the UK. CEO John Stankey said the write down demonstrated the importance of AT&T pivot towards streaming through HBO Max, calling the service AT&T’s “biggest and single-most important bet”.
Sky Subscriptions Close to Pre-COVID Levels
Sky’s subscriber base has nearly returned to pre-COVID levels, parent company Comcast reported this week, with Sky back up to 23.9 million paying customers across its European markets.
The Week in Publishing
Facebook News Launches in the UK
Facebook launched its dedicated news tab in the UK this week. Facebook News will surface a personalised selection of headlines to users in a dedicated news tab. Facebook announced several new content partners at launch, including Channel 4 News, Daily Mail Group, DC Thomson, Financial Times, Sky News and Telegraph Media Group.
Business Insider Revenues Grew 30 Percent Last Year
News group Business Insider saw revenues grow 30 percent last year despite the pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported this week, with the company delivering over $150 million in revenues.
Politico Europe Seeks to Grow Ad Revenues 10 Percent This Year
Following on from its second profitable year, news publisher Politico Europe is seeking to grow ad revenues by ten percent this year, according to Adweek. It hopes to do so partly through growth in its branded content offering powered by its new content studio, which accounted for eight percent of total revenue last year.
Twitter Pilots Birdwatch Fact-Checking Tool
Twitter has begun piloting its crowd-sourced fact checking tool Birdwatch, which lets users report Tweets they believe are false or misleading.
Grindr Faces $11.7 Million Norwegian Fine for Data Privacy Breach
Dating app Grindr is set to be handed an $11.7 million fine by Norway’s data protection authority over illegal passing on of user data to advertising firms.
Twitter Agrees Content Deal with NBCUniversal
Twitter has agreed a new deal with NBCUniversal, which will see the US broadcaster host more content on Twitter internationally. This content will include real-time red carpet coverage at events and sports highlights, and will cover NBCU’s global footprint.
TikTok Debuts Creator Portal
Video-sharing app TikTok has unveiled a new creator portal, a set of educational resources for creators on its platform to help them understand content creation tools, content strategy, and community guidelines.
The Week for Agencies
Two-Thirds of CMOs Plan to Boost Spend This Year
Two-thirds of global CMOs plan to boost spend and tech investment this year, according to a survey from the CMO Council, while just ten percent expect to cut spend this year.
Inclusion Group to Keep Demographic Record of UK Ad Workforce
Inclusion Group, an industry diversity alliance between the AA, ISBA and the IPA, has said it will start keeping a demographic record of the advertising workforce in the UK, in an effort to help build a more inclusive industry.
Dentsu Says Ad Spend Won’t Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels This Year
Agency group Dentsu predicted in its global ad spend forecast this week that total ad spend won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until next year. Dentsu predicts growth of 5.8 percent this year, though this is predicated on major events like the Tokyo Olympics taking place as planned.
S4 Capital Buys Low Earth Orbit
S4 Capital has continued its early spending spree this year with the acquisition of Low Earth Orbit, a communications agency. Low Earth Orbit will become a part of digital agency MediaMonks.
UK Culture Secretary Says Advertising is Crucial to Rebuilding Economy
Oliver Dowden, the UK’s culture secretary, wrote in an article for Campaign this week that advertising is “pivotal” to building back the economy. Dowden said the UK government will work to support the sector to ensure it’s well placed to thrive in the coming months.
DDB Chicago Sued Over Army Contract
New York agency Hero Group is suing DDB Chicago, claiming that the larger agency exploited it in an effort to win the US Army’s $4 billion contract. Hero Group says it agreed to help DDB Chicago win the contract in exchange for DDB promising it would hand significant amounts of work Hero’s way. But Hero Group says DDB Chicago reneged on this promise.
Publicis’ Levy Criticised Online Platforms’ Censorship
Maurice Lévy, chairman of Publicis’ supervisory board, weighed in on the debate around online platforms’ content moderation policies, saying that platforms “cannot decide who has the right to speak”. Levy suggested that Twitter waited until Donald Trump was a lame duck, having lost the election, to start enforcing their policies against him.
Hires of the Week
UM Hires Christine Villanueva as Global CSO
UM has chosen Christine Villanueva as its new global CSO. Villanueva has previously worked at Walton Isaacson and McCann.
Mihir Haria-Shah Joins Anything Is Possible
Mihir Haria-Shah, previously head of broadcast at Total Media, has joined digital and creative agency Anything Is Possible to head up their new broadcast division.
This Week on VideoWeek
Google’s Decision is In: FLoC Will Replace Third-Party Cookies, read more on VideoWeek
The Industry Reacts: Google Backs FLoC to Replace Third Party Cookies, read more on VideoWeek
Making the Most of Innovation in CTV, read more on VideoWeek
VideoWeek Research’s First Report: The Future of CTV Advertising in Europe, read more on VideoWeek
Stripping Back Heavy Ad Tech is Paying Dividends for LADbible, read more on VideoWeek
What Will Post-Privacy Media Plans Look Like? read more on VideoWeek
Ad of the Week
TikTok, #SeaShanty, VaynerMedia
