“DataServ will give mobile publishers the ability to generate revenue beyond the ad impressions on their mobile sites and applications by safely and anonymously delivering data that advertising, research, behavioral, analytics, and marketing companies can use to identify new and existing audiences across devices,” reads the official word provided to MMW.

It’s a timely development. Researchers at eMarketer have noted that mobile is more common than TV now that mobile devices are used by 95 percent of the U.S. population.

“As publishers and marketers continue to hone their mobile advertising and marketing strategies, the biggest challenge is understanding the connection between offline and online, in particular mobile, and DataServ solves this in a privacy friendly way,” notes DJ.

DataServ looks to be the latest step in delivering targeted ads to audiences across devices, in a way that helps marketers identify and reach intended audiences in app environments.

“Mobile publishers are now in a unique position,” explained Josh Speyer, AerServ’s CEO. “Beyond creating great mobile content, they’re building valuable mobile audiences which marketers and even companies outside of advertising are eager to reach.”

According to AerServ, the upload and matching of records will be custom for each publisher and will tie a digital user to an email address or some other non-mobile identifiable user data point so that advertisers can direct media spend towards those users on specific devices.

“Today, most publishers are only being compensated for the actual ad placement, not the valuable user data,” Speyer added. “We’ve worked hard to develop DataServ to enable that additional revenue stream for publishers with data that already exists in many cases.”

The post AerServ’s DataServ Offers New Revenue Stream for Publishers appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Now the tools known as “Fraud Console,” will provide ad networks the same access that marketers currently enjoy for fighting mobile ad fraud.

“Marketers have been touting the benefits of the Kochava Fraud Console for the ability to rid fraudulent traffic from their ad campaigns,” according to a company statement emailed to MMW. “The fraud abatement suite has been saving them time and money, while ensuring that campaigns are clean of fraud, through the use of 11 different real-time reports.”

In sum, Fraud Console has changed the way business is done between marketers and networks. Formerly, because fraudulent activity could only be detected post-campaign, the only recourse marketers had was to negotiate make-goods with partner networks and hope for the best.

“Using these tools, marketers can now identify illegitimate traffic during a campaign flight and before paying for it,” notes Kochava.

Marketers are just beginning to explore the benefits of the Fraud Console, which includes a customizable Global Fraud Blacklist. The Blacklist excludes known fraudulent entities recognized by the Kochava algorithms that have surpassed a certain threshold.

The Fraud Console is a powerful suite that allows customers to exclude fraudulent activity during their campaigns.

“(Our) algorithms scan the breadth of Kochava accounts,” said Kochava CEO Charles Manning. “Our system records and passes billions of data points and recognizes when abnormal activity fits the definition for fraud and flags that data for review. This is where customers can take advantage of the learnings of other accounts across the ecosystem.”

“The Fraud Console creates a valuable, neutral transaction space for both marketers and networks. Everybody wants a fair playing ground,” Manning added.

The post Kochava Aids Networks with Holistic Fraud Abatement Tools appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

PulsePoint is a leading global programmatic advertising platform and it’s out with something new. MME has learned that the next generation of its content marketing platform has been launched.

“Story by PulsePoint” provides unified distribution across top social media channels, native and content discovery platforms, and premium websites — at global scale — according to the company.

The benefit? It greatly consolidates workflow as well as simplifying execution for content marketing.

“Content marketing continues to grow in importance as advertisers look for ways to differentiate themselves and connect with their core audiences in an increasingly complex media landscape,” reads the official word. “Branded content has proven successful. Consumers welcome useful or entertaining information and spend significant time with advertiser-produced media, which in turn produces higher conversion rates than traditional marketing, increases brand recognition and drives sales lift.”

What does Story by PulsePoint do? In sum, it helps marketers optimize for post-click behavior. The platform provides creative, audience, and page-level engagement metrics across channel and format and enables marketers to achieve maximum results through optimization tools that adjust campaign configurations in real time.

The addition of AI and machine learning to update algorithms and continuously improve performance is a major plus.

“Story by PulsePoint is built to help brands make meaningful connections with consumers,” said Andrew Stark, SVP of Content Solutions at PulsePoint. “Our technology focuses on engagement with content and provides actionable page-level behavior metrics to drive results and deliver successful campaigns.”

Want to see a Story by PulsePoint demo? Click here.

The post New PulsePoint Platform Offers Enhanced AI and Machine Learning appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

“The Young and The Brandless” report provides an in-depth look at the media consumption, content discovery habits, and network brand recognition capabilities of young (18-26) adults.

“Based on a comprehensive survey of over 3,100 young millennials and an analysis of screen based consumer touchpoints, the report examines how these three behaviors are linked and the impact they have on both broadcast and over the top (OTT) networks,” noted Anatomy.

Building awareness of the network brand behind programming is extremely important to both broadcast and OTT networks, but those networks are finding this increasingly difficult.

“Young millennials who watch primarily on TV sets are, on average, better than desktop and mobile viewers at connecting broadcast program brands to network brands,” suggests the report. “The cause for concern for broadcast networks is, however, that 50 percent of young millennials watch exclusively on desktop or mobile devices.”

“What is interesting is that while networks consistently indicate that the viewer is at the center of their thinking, they don’t seem to actually analyze how users truly behave,” said Gabriella Mirabelli, Anatomy CEO. “We have learned that on-air promotion is still the most effective means of building brand awareness between a broadcast network’s programming and their brand. As for OTT – outside of Netflix – there is also work to be done as their promotional efforts need to be more precise in order to be effective.”

Highlights of this report on key millennial viewership trends include:

• The most common way for young millennials to consume television content (71 percent) is OTT platforms with one in two watching entertainment exclusively on desktop or mobile devices.
• 58 percent of young millennials learn of new programming directly through friends and family or on social media and are less likely to recall advertising as a consequential factor in discovering new TV programs.
• Netflix yielded the highest brand awareness scores in comparison to other OTT platforms and broadcast networks.
• Amazon programs were only linked with Amazon 20 percent of the time and Hulu came in at just 15 percent.

You can download the complete 2017 “The Young and The Brandless” report here.

The post Broadcast Brand Awareness Lacking Among Millennial Audiences appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

That’s something Harvard researchers, in partnership with mPulse Mobile, plan to find out. Mobile health engagement leader mPulse Mobile just announced the new effort, which will be tackled in cooperation with researchers at the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School (Harvard).

The research will start with implementation of two distinct programs.

“One program will evaluate whether interactive text messaging helps new members select and visit a primary care clinician soon after enrolling,” explained mPulse Mobile in a media release. “The second program hopes to activate members with chronic conditions, such as asthma, to enroll and engage in a disease management program.”

The initiative builds on a known medical fact: of all U.S. health problems, chronic diseases are among the most preventable. Since chronic disease management accounts for 86 percent of the nation’s total healthcare costs, improvements in engagement with the Medicaid population could pay big dividends.

During the evaluation of both programs, two-way, tailored text messages will be delivered to a population of about 200,000 Gold Coast Health Plan (GCHP) Medicaid members.

While one-way, notification-based text messages have been widely used by healthcare organizations for years, research to determine the effectiveness of interactive text messaging programs tailored to targeted populations is limited. This reason, among others, was why Harvard was eager to work with mPulse Mobile to assess the solutions’ abilities to yield positive results.

“There is a major need for innovation in care delivery and how we can engage patients outside of just the office visit,” said Ateev Mehrotra, MD, MPH, and program researcher and associate professor of healthcare policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School. “I’m excited about the possibility for mPulse Mobile to engage individuals in their health using tailored and interactive text messaging to improve outcomes and lower costs.”

Part of the beauty of the program is that it will seek to make inroads into solving a real need: helping newly-insured members who may feel overwhelmed when faced with navigating the healthcare system, understanding their benefits, and identifying in-network physicians.

“We offer members targeted strategies for helping manage chronic conditions, working with them to achieve their best possible health,” said Nancy R. Wharfield, MD, the associate chief medical officer at Gold Coast Health Plan. “mPulse Mobile’s solutions are based on its deep understanding of the unique challenges health plans face in managing Medicaid and other vulnerable populations, and it’s demonstrated time and again its ability to design effective mobile engagement strategies.”

Research funding for both projects will be provided by California Health Care Foundation. CHCFs Health Innovation Fund supports innovative approaches to improving care delivery to the benefit of underserved Californians.

The post FIRST LOOK: mPulse Mobile Partners with Harvard Medical School on Texting Program for Medicaid Members appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

That’s the official word in a new report from Mobile Advertising Watch, which explains that Pandora Premium was previously available only by invitation.

The new “Sounds Like You” campaign should create some excitement, as well. Designed to “celebrate individuality, diverse musical tastes, and Pandora’s legacy of delivering truly personalized music experiences for listeners and artists, “Sounds Like You” comes to life across multiple channels including first-to-market artist and influencer programs with Pitchfork and VICE’s music channel Noisey.

Also on tap: digital ads and billboards; digital shorts directed by Academy Award winner Michel Gondry; social media activations including Snapchat lenses and geofilters; and a custom Pandora emoji on Twitter.

“Sounds Like You” was created entirely by Pandora’s in-house creative and design teams. DigitasLBi San Francisco facilitated the digital and out-of-home production, as well as media strategy.

“Many of today’s most exciting artists including Big Sean, Gorillaz, Miranda Lambert, Questlove, 2 Chainz, Amine, Bishop Briggs, Brett Eldredge, Daya, Halsey, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Lil’ Yachty, Maggie Rogers, Nicky Jam, Pitbull, Thomas Rhett and Ziggy Marley participated in the development of the campaign by sharing their musical inspirations and memories,” noted Pandora in a release to the media. “Each artist was photographed and placed next to a Pandora “P” made entirely of album art from music meaningful to them as artists and as fans.”

Those images will be featured in digital ads inviting listeners to check out curated mixtapes, as well as on billboards around the country — and hand-painted murals by MADSTEEZ in both Los Angeles and New York.

The post Pandora Rolls Out ‘Sounds Like You,’ Offers Premium via App Store, Google Play appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Major hotels see a need for charged-up marketing via digital and social channels as they work to combat threats from Airbnb, Priceline, Expedia, and other actors in the extremely competitive hotel business.

How to stay “top of mind” with consumers? More hotel marketing professionals than ever plan to increase their budgets for digital marketing and social media strategies.

Evidence for this comes from a recent SiteMinder survey. When the hospitality marketing platform queried hotel professionals worldwide “about their projected budget allocations for the next 12 months, 48 percent of respondents said they planned high spending to go toward digital marketing, while 44 percent said they intended to designate high investment in social media strategy.”

The goal among hotels is to invest in marketing campaigns that encourage customers to “book direct.”

“One reason hotel professionals are doubling down on digital marketing and social is the growing market power of accommodations upstart Airbnb,” according to eMarketer. “Hotel operators must also compete with the deep pockets of online travel agencies Priceline and Expedia, both of which spend considerable sums on consumer marketing (and cut) into hotel profits by charging commissions for customer referrals.”

Review of the top 10 U.S. accommodation websites tells the tale about challenges confronting hotels.

“Airbnb ranked as the most visited accommodation website in Q4 2016, receiving nearly 88 million visits, up 42 percent from Q4 2015,” reports eMarketer. “Priceline Group’s Booking.com came in second, with more than 82 million visits and a 24 percent growth rate, while Expedia-owned Hotels.com was fourth, with more than 65 million visits, up 25 percent year on year.”

Did any hotel chains make the top five chart? Only two: Marriott and Hilton.

The post More Cowbell! Hotels See Bigger Digital, Social Budgets as Way to Counter Competition appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

A recent ‘Think with Google’ survey conducted by Ipsos revealed that roughly seven in 10 teen smartphone users spend at least three hours per day watching video on their phones.

Smartphone time in general is big with this age cohort.

“More than half (51 percent) of teens said they spend three or more hours a day on social networks, and another 52 percent said the same about messaging apps,” reports eMarketer. “Meanwhile, roughly four in 10 respondents said they spent 3 or more hours each day playing games.”

Smartphone ownership, required for such extensive video viewing, is high among teens. Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization supporting children and media, recently released stats showing that nearly eight in 10 respondents ages 13 to 18 now own a smartphone. In fact, they’re more likely to own a smartphone than a tablet, video game console, or laptop.

Data shows that many teens like to watch Netflix (37 percent of teens’ daily time is spent viewing video content there), while cable TV accounted for 25 percent of daily viewing and YouTube accounted for 26 percent of teens’ video time.

These observations are valuable to marketers who want to reach teens on channels they frequent.

As for parents and teachers, this insight is — no doubt — not exactly earth-shattering news.

The post Teens Totally Tubing: Mobile Video Watched Three Hours Per Day appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

With consumer confidence still soaring early in this new year, it comes as no surprise that freshly published survey data from Clutch, a well known B2B ratings and reviews firm, shows that 59 percent of small business owners expect their revenue to grow in 2017.

According to a report summary from our friends at VRJournal, those rosy expectations for future revenue are leading 49 percent of small business owners to anticipate spending more on marketing and advertising.

The Clutch “2017 Small Business Digital Marketing Survey” queried 350 small business owners and managers.

“Plans to invest more in digital marketing came after reports of modest investment in 2016 More than half of respondents (68 percent) reported spending less than $100,000 on marketing in 2016, with 41 percent spending less than $10,000.”

And where will those small business owners spend their advertising dollars?

Of course, they’re looking at digital marketing options. The survey suggests they are “most eager to increase investment in paid social media (58 percent), a website (56 percent), email marketing (39 percent), and SEO (35 percent) in 2017.”

Experts interviewed pointed to SEO strategies that prioritize local searches as a key trend to watch.

To learn more, check out the full report and survey data here.

The post Feel Optimistic? 59 Percent of Small Business Owners Do, Plan to Up Spending appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

That’s something commentators and analysts have been watching vis-a-vis Facebook, whose appeal has been dwindling among young people, according to some. That’s despite the fact that it remains the most widely accessed social platform. In fact, among internet users ages 18 to 24, Facebook has a higher penetration level (79 percent) compared with Snapchat’s take (69.6 percent), notes eMarketer.

There’s data — and then there’s anecdotal evidence. More than a few have noticed that more and more of those young people profess a preference for Instagram and/or Snapchat. And that they save Facebook for posts they don’t mind their mothers seeing.

Not all the evidence is anecdotal. Some of it is downright circumstantial.

For instance, Facebook just unveiled an upgrade allowing users to post disappearing photos and videos. It’s modeled, of course, on Snapchat’s signature feature.

“It’s the latest in a series of Snapchat knockoffs by Facebook and its trio of mobile apps Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger,” reports eMarketer. “The stream of lookalike features not only signals how seriously Facebook takes the threat of Snapchat, but also the risks Snapchat faces if its key features become available—and widely used—on other platforms.”

Then there are the recently available large font Facebook posts, reserved for entries with about 35 characters. They come off as tweets — or “Facetweets” — and the numbers of such posts are growing. While Twitter enlarges font size for tweets it deems important, Facebook’s type enlargement happens for any brief post whether it’s the titillating “Rachel Maddow has Trump’s tax returns” or the tedious “I’m eating lunch now.”

Armchair analysts could surmise that Facebook intends to rule social media the way Amazon works to command the online retail space.

Real analysts agree.

“As Instagram and Facebook Messenger adopt features previously unique to Snapchat, potential new users may reconsider adding Snapchat to their social portfolio when they can post stories and play with filters on other networks,” said Jaimie Chung, a forecasting analyst at eMarketer. “This trend is especially true for younger age groups.”

Younger users are indeed a critical concern for Facebook as it maneuvers to stay ahead of social space competitors. Recent surveys have found signs of higher enthusiasm for rival platforms (including some of Facebook’s own units — like Instagram).

“A March, 2017 survey conducted by LendEdu found that more than half of college students in the U.S. said they checked their Snapchat notifications first, compared with 27 percent who checked Instagram first, and 13 percent who said the same of Facebook,” notes Chung.

Two things are certain. First, social media will remain an ever-involving sector in which users gravitate for numerous reasons providers will seek to ameliorate. Second, social media executives will continue to have the occasional nightmare — usually involving MySpace.

The post Facetweets, Disappearing Posts: Is Facebook Copying Snapchat and Twitter? appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.