Digital Innovations Awesome List: DIAL

The weather may be inconsistent (here in New York at least!), but our Digital Innovations team sure isn’t! We’ve got a new edition of the Digital Innovations Awesome List (DIAL). We know that keeping up with the trade pubs and the latest trends can be tough and time consuming, so we wanted to make it easier for you by compiling all the latest and greatest news in our industry. Below, you will find the articles, reports, and other bits of awesomeness you may have missed, but should definitely read. Enjoy!

Local Papers Unload on Viewability Bad Actors and ‘Garbage Inventory’

Check out these insights from the Local Media Consortium (LMC) advertising head on how local newspaper sites are confronting the challenges with viewability.

How Can Marketers Be Certain Their Mobile Ads Are Actually Getting Seen?

Informative article tackling the conversation of mobile viewability as industry folks wait for official word on viewability standards from the MRC.

Millennial Eyes Are Ripe for Mobile Political Ads, but Campaigns Aren’t Capitalizing

The countdown is on for the 2016 election. This article takes a look at the growing volume of Millennials who, for the most part, can’t be easily reached through traditional media types like TV or print. Despite the ripeness for receiving mobile ads, many political campaigns have yet to build really robust mobile strategies to engage with these potential Millennial constituents.

A More Native Play on Snapchat

The new 007 movie hyped its release with a new native ad unit, sponsored stories, within Snapchat’s Discover channel. To date, Snapchat’s ad opportunities have been less native and more traditional in feel (think ten-second video ad breaks between content), but now brands with bigger ad budgets are able to play in the promoted content realm on the platform.

How Brands, Publishers Are Tailoring Their Ads for Snapchat Discover

Whether it’s original content or repurposed content, short-form videos that are fun and engaging, with little branding, seem to be the ideal Snapchat videos.

Twitters Moves to Cut Out The Noise

In a move to lure new users, Twitter launched Moments, a new feed that contains curated content and conversations currently trending on the platform. This feature is geared toward “Twitter-lite” users, who strictly use the platform to consume content and not create it. It’s not surprising then that Twitter was quick to place ads in this new feed.

Reddit Takes Aim at BuzzFeed and Advertisers

The best of viral news sites (i.e. BuzzFeed) often get their start on Reddit. However, the site has had trouble courting advertisers due to its wonky design and notorious presence of trolls. Recently, they launched a companion site, Upvoted. It is comment free and pulls in the top content from Reddit and then builds on it. Bonus: here’s a long, yet incredibly interesting article on the state of Reddit as a whole.

‘The New York Times’ Bows VR App

Old media goes new media. The New York Times pushes into innovative territory to create engaging experiences through Google Cardboard. Immersive virtual reality editorial (and branded content) that still has the smell of dead trees? Sign us up!

A Surprising Number of Cord-Nevers

Though the projected numbers seem a bit high, Forrester’s research suggests the cord-cutting and cord-never trends aren’t slowing down, signifying the continued need for advertisers to rethink their current approach to TV and video overall.

Hulu Is Open for Programmatic Advertising

Partnering with Oracle’s DMP and LiveRail, Hulu is opening up inventory for programmatic buying, though it is slightly limited.

TiVo to TV Ratings Marketplace: How’s Free, Is Free Good Enough For You?

The move, which follows consolidation in the audience measurement industry with comScore’s merger with Rentrak and Nielsen’s efforts to expand its traditional TV ratings dominance into digital, is likely going to put some pressure on these longstanding measurement companies.