Digital Innovations Awesome List

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!

2016 Internet Trends Report

This annual report from KPCB partner Mary Meeker is chock-full of great insights looking at the state of the internet, and some bold media, consumer, and technology trends.

State of Digital Media 2016

LUMA Partners released its annual report packed full of market updates, how the ecosystem is evolving, and some of the top trends.

Google Now Controls 12 Percent of All Global Media Spend

Alphabet/Google, The Walt Disney Company, Comcast, Twentieth Century Fox and Facebook round out the top 5 media owners in Zenith’s “Top Thirty Global Media Owners” report. The report points out that traditional media owners — particularly newspaper and magazine publishers — struggle to keep pace. Nearly half of the 30 companies featured in the report have lost media revenue in the past year.

Saying a Third of Mobile Searches are Local, Google Brings “Promoted Pins” to Maps

Google officially announced the “next generation of local search ads,” also known as Promoted Pins for Google Maps. The new branded pins will appear on users’ maps along their route or near their destination.

Google to Expand “Store Visits” Online-to-Offline Foot Traffic Measurement

Reporting on online-to-offline store visits, available today to 1,000 of the biggest advertisers, is rolling out throughout the year to more advertisers for Google search campaigns – for no additional charge. It will eventually be an option for small advertisers as well.

A YouTube Experience Like Nothing You’ve Seen Before

The new YouTube VR app brings virtual reality experiences to the masses. Content collaborations with the NBA, Buzzfeed and Tastemade are already in place.

So Long to FBX

Facebook has been signaling this day would come for over a year (cutting partners, dedicating development resources to the native tool, announcing it generated less than 2% of the business, etc), but it’s finally here. FBX will be shutting down starting November 1. Marketers need not fret. There are still ample ways to reach audiences efficiently on the platform.

Facebook is Expanding its Video Ads

Facebook made two rather big video-related announcements: extending its video offering with in-stream ads through its audience network, and shutting down Liverail, the large video SSP it acquired less than two years ago.

For Advertisers, Amazon Video Direct Provides More Questions than Answers
With Amazon’s launch of Video Direct, the industry is curious to see what paid opportunities it brings to the marketplace and how it compares to YouTube.

Snapchat Dabbles in Direct Response

While Snapchat is still the new kid on the advertising block, the company is already starting to become one of the major players in the space. Numbers continue to spike in user growth, video views and time spent, and Snapchat is quickly moving to monetize with brand awareness video and native plays. Expect to see more tests in the direct response space.

Newfronts in the News

Over 30 media companies presented at the IAB Content Newfronts earlier this month. There was quite a bit of coverage from numerous news publications about each presentation, and a number of ad tech companies shared some insights during an IAB luncheon. Don’t miss the IAB’s 2016 Original Digital Video Consumer Study conducted in partnership with Gfk.

Seven Big Challenges Facing Healthcare Marketers

Healthcare marketers face a number of unique challenges as they look to target and reach audiences. Seven of them are highlighted in this article.