Turn Cloud Marketing Platform Expands Mobile Advertising Features

Turn expanded last week the cross-channel capabilities of its Cloud Marketing Platform with the introduction of new mobile advertising features in Turn Campaign Suite and dedicated support for mobile advertising campaigns in the company’s industry-leading performance and optimisation algorithms.

Turn Campaign Suite enables advertisers to achieve return-on-investment through precisely executed video, display and mobile advertising. The new features announced include:

- Support for MMA Universal Mobile Ad Packages and the most common IAB mobile ad units on smartphones and tablets.
- Advanced mobile audience targeting by device attributes such as type, manufacturer, model, and operating system; title of mobile apps; content of mobile websites; connection speed and carrier by region; and geography with optional geo-fencing. All mobile user information is non-personally identifiable.
- Dedicated algorithms for mobile advertising that leverage Turn’s seven years of expertise in digital campaign optimisation.
- Access to more than 30 billion monthly global impressions from mobile apps and websites, through partnerships with leading inventory providers such as Nexage, Admeld, MobClix and AppNexus.

Pierre Naggar, Managing Director, Europe, Turn, comments: “These new mobile features are available in Europe immediately, and will provide European marketers with the tools to engage audiences locally with compelling advertising and relevant offers in their native language, right on their mobile device.”

Ernie Cormier, President and CEO, Nexage, adds: “Mobile is one of the fastest growing channels for digital campaigns and it is essential that brands and marketers have the ability to reach desired audiences through their connected devices. With the introduction of its new mobile advertising features and support, Turn is demonstrating a commitment to mobile that will enhance how they utilise real-time bidding on our exchange to deliver targeted advertising for their clients.”

Turn’s new mobile-specific capabilities enable advertisers to reach these audiences on smartphones and tablets. Using Turn Campaign Suite, advertisers can now easily create, launch, and optimise digital advertising campaigns across video, display, and mobile channels. Campaign Suite also offers analytics and reporting, giving advertisers real-time insights from all of their channels, as well as detailed and custom reporting about specific channel performance.

Bill Demas, President and CEO, Turn, concludes: “Turn Campaign Suite now enables marketers to engage customers across three digital advertising channels from one dashboard. Turn’s new mobile capabilities empower advertisers with the features necessary to deploy high-performance mobile campaigns that connect with their most active and on-the-go audiences.”

Brits’ Viewing Habits Migrate Away From TV

Around 70% of Brits are now engaging with video content outside of traditional TV, largely due to an increase in tablet usage, a study by NPD Display Search has found.

In its Global TV Replacement report, published on June 27th, it found that people across the world are increasingly using tablets, MP3 players and smartphones to watch video or TV content.

Tablet usage for viewing such content in the UK has grown by more than 300% over the last year, as less than 5% of Brits used these devices in 2011.

In comparison, 10% of Brits are now using tablets to watch video content, with the other 60% employing laptops, desktops and mobiles to do so.

Consumers in the UK and US were found to be the most likely to view videos on portable computing devices, while those in China, Indonesia, Russia and Turkey are more likely to use smartphones.

Riddhi Patel, Research Director of Consumer Insights for NPD, comments: "While the trends vary by region, it is evident that consumers around the globe are watching more video and TV content with their portable electronic devices as these provide additional means of accessing content."

Publicis’ Palestinian Investment Brings Attention to Possibilities in the Region

As you most likely know by now, Publicis Groupe announced almost two weeks ago its purchase of an equity stake in Ramallah-based Zoom Advertising, a subsidiary of Massar International, on the same day it acquired Israeli BBR Group, a network of creative agencies offering a range of advertising and communications services. This seems a rather boldly political move for such a large international company, however CEO Maurice Lévy asserts that while he hopes the acquisitions spark peace in the region, his decision is also just good business.

According to the terms of the agreement, Publicis Groupe immediately acquires 20% of Zoom and has the possibility of increasing its participation over the coming years. The transaction marks an unprecedented entry for a publicly-listed international communications group into the Palestinian market. Zoom will be renamed Publicis Zoom and will be aligned with the Publicis Worldwide global network. The acquisition remains subject to the approval of relevant authorities.

According to the Times of Israel, Publicis Zoom has 23 clients and offices in both Ramallah and Gaza. Among its clients are the Bank of Palestine, Coca-Cola, Peugeot, the Palestinian Securities Exchange and the new Palestinian-planned city of Rawabi.

So does this herald the beginning of a Palestinian digital marketing renaissance? There appears to be a chicken and egg issue regarding Palestine’s readiness for independence and the financial ability to be so -- both apparently reliant on the other.

As The Daily Beast reported in June, recent statistics out of the West Bank indicate a struggling and aid-dependent economy that is nowhere near ready for the fiscal burdens of statehood. In the first quarter of 2012 the unemployment rate in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip combined was 23.9%.

The numbers appear less bleak in certain areas, with the West Bank city of Nablus rebuilding itself over the past five years after the 2008 intifada, opening universities and reporting record low unemployment levels of 4.8%, as reported by the FT.

According to the World Bank, the West Bank economy grew at only 5.8% in 2011, down from 7.5% in 2010. Most of the growth has been subsidised by the foreign aid sector, as the Palestinian Authority's budget has “depended on more than $3bn in direct donor assistance” since mid-2007, according to the CIA. In fact, total aid is declining, and this year the Palestinian Authority will receive $600m in foreign aid, down from $1bn in 2011.

However, there has been private sector interest in the region of late, of which Publicis’ investment is only one part. Since 2008, Israeli venture capitalist Yadin Kaufmann and Palestinian software mogul Saed Nashef have raised $28.7 million for their firm, Sadara Ventures, which will exclusively fund Palestinian technology start-ups.

Bashar Masri, chairman of Zoom, said Publicis’ investment in his agency was a vote of confidence in Palestinian business, not just the nascent advertising sector: “The fact that a Palestinian company passed the rigorous due diligence procedures of a global, publicly listed company like Publicis Groupe should send a very strong message to the Palestinian private sector,” he said in a statement.

Lévy hopes this move by Publicis will spur economic growth and peace in the region: “[This] transaction is important on several levels. One key element, of course, is Publicis’ desire to serve our clients wherever they work. But the impact of this operation extends much further than that. It comes immediately after our announcement of the acquisition of BBR in Israel – symbolically, this speaks to every man’s dream of seeing peace in the Middle East and between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. Moreover, it is also a call to French and international companies to set up in the region and to contribute to creating the economic development, without which there can be no durable peace.”

AudienceScience Appoints Mike Peralta as President

AudienceScience®, a global digital marketing technology company, announced last week the appointment of Mike Peralta as president. In his role, Peralta will oversee sales, marketing and business development, with a primary focus on ensuring the successful adoption of the AudienceScience Gateway® technology platform for clients.

He will be reporting directly to Jeff Pullen, AudienceScience CEO and IAB Board Member. Peralta brings over 20 years of business experience to AudienceScience, including 12 years in the advertising technology sector. A civil engineer by training, Peralta moved into the digital media and marketing space when he joined Advertising.com in 2000. In over nine years there, he held numerous positions in strategy, sales, account management and business development. Through his support, the company grew significantly and eventually merged into AOL’s Platform A. Peralta later served in key executive roles at Tumri and Magnetic and most recently served as chief revenue officer for MediaMath.

Jeff Pullen comments: “Our industry is undergoing tremendous growth and in order to fully ensure successful execution of our strategic initiatives and company vision, we need to arm ourselves with outstanding leadership. Mike’s knowledge, experience and proven industry insight map perfectly to these goals and will greatly benefit our global client base.”

Mike Peralta adds: “AudienceScience’s vision, clients, people and potential are unmatched in the industry. It is exciting to work with a company that is laser-focused on digital marketing success across the value chain and I look forward to engaging with existing and future clients for our mutual success. AudienceScience has superior technology and a great team executing against a global strategy. I am honored to help continue the growth and innovation.”

Peralta’s announcement comes on the heels of another strategic new hire in the appointment of Rob Gratchner as vice president, privacy who is active on various industry organizations including the IAB, Digital Advertising Alliance and is the chairman of the Network Advertising Initiative.

AudienceScience currently operates in 21 countries with over 230 employees. Peralta is based in AudienceScience’s expanding New York office.