Adobe Partners with Evidon for Privacy Solutions

Evidon announced this week their new partnership with Adobe. The integration will enable Adobe clients to access Evidon’s privacy controls directly though Adobe TagManager, and help them comply with global privacy regulations across all domains, advertisements, applications, and devices. In phase I, they’ll use Evidon InForm to help consumers control their behavioral advertising preferences, including giving them a mechanism to provide their consent to be tracked for OBA—a key requirement of the ePrivacy Directive.

This partnership is significant for two reasons:

First, it will help to ensure the safe use of consumer data. By integrating privacy tools into TagManager, Adobe is now ensuring that their clients capitalise on Big Data and use those tools responsibly, with respect for consumer privacy. That not only helps them comply, but also helps to ingratiate themselves to consumers.

The Evidon privacy tag will be activated through the Adobe SiteCatalyst tag, which is ubiquitous across the internet. This makes it simple for marketers to activate privacy control, and it means privacy assurance for consumers at massive scale. It also means that, as regulations change, privacy controls adapt with them—clients will be able to modify their notice and choice solution on the fly through the tag.

Second, it brings the newest consent tools to market. Adobe clients will hopefully empower consumers and demonstrate their compliance with the ePrivacy Directive in a comprehensive way. Released this week (with a final interface coming on its heels), the Evidon “robust implied consent” solution was designed in concert with European regulators, privacy experts, businesses and consumers themselves. Evidon built it to give people an easy way to provide their consent to be tracked, consistent with regulators’ guidance on how to comply with the Directive, including clear disclosure of all tags and cookies, clear descriptions of each, and an easy way to turn tracking on or off.

PubliGroupe’s Spree7 Appoints Oliver Busch as Managing Director

PubliGroupe announced this week that Oliver Busch has been named Managing Director of Spree7 GmbH, the recently-founded special service provider for online real-time advertising. Busch will take responsibility for the expansion of the joint venture between Swiss-based PubliGroupe and the US technology provider, MediaMath.

Busch, who holds a degree in Business Administration, has extensive knowledge of the online advertising business having joined Spree7 from Parship.com, where he was responsible for the German business and European marketing. Busch has also held roles at BBDO Consulting and Scout24, and was general manager of ad pepper media Germany.

Busch comments: “The market for real-time advertising is extremely exciting, and offers many opportunities for German businesses to benefit from the expertise that Spree7 has to offer. We will use our expertise, combined with MediaMath´s world-leading technology, to secure a competitive edge with a clear agency focus.”

Spree7 aims to enhance the efficiency of agencies and advertisers online advertising space. Each ad impression is acquired on the basis of a data-based bid in real-time. The technology behind this is provided by MediaMath. The technology can be used for branding and performance targets across different channels for display, mobile, social and video inventory.

Rocket Fuel Attracts Adconion MD to Head Up DACH Operations

Rocket Fuel has brought Oliver Hülse, formerly managing director at Adconion Media Group, on board as managing director DACH.

Hülse will be responsible for the growth of Rocket Fuel in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as the company acts on the growing interest in automated online ad targeting across the region.

The appointment comes off the back of Rocket Fuel’s rapid growth in the UK and U.S. markets. The Silicon Valley firm has experienced growth in the burgeoning technology-led online advertising market.

In the DACH region, Hülse will lead the development of relationships with brand advertisers and agency networks. He will also build the Hamburg-based team and is currently recruiting for sales and account managers.

Hülse started his career in digital media sales before progressing to manage international sales and operations for digital media companies in Germany, signing eight-figure contracts for digital media campaigns across major ad networks, including Google Search.

He was appointed managing director at Adconion Media Group in 2010 and has led the company to greater levels of success, earning a place amongst the most highly-regarded personalities in the industry.

Hülse comments: “The future of digital advertising is all about trading inventory, and Rocket Fuel has some of the best artificial intelligence and data systems on the market. I am already excited by the response from companies in DACH and look forward to building a successful company in this region.”

Dominic Trigg, Managing Director Europe at Rocket Fuel, concludes: “It is a major coup for Rocket Fuel to attract Oliver to this position. He has a wealth of experience in delivering sales and international expansion and I am thrilled to appoint him to the helm of the DACH operations.”

Criteo Event Identifies Five-Point Plan For Big Data

Following an event which gathered the thoughts of advertisers, agencies, publishers and technology providers from across the world of online, Criteo this week aimed to expose the myths behind big data. Featuring presentations from Twitter, Microsoft, Google and Engine; “Exploding the myths behind big data” identified five points which companies should be thinking about online. Big data should be placed at the top of the agenda to make sense of the inordinate amounts of data that are increasingly being collected:

1. Advertisers aren’t capitalising on their own data: Contrary to accepted wisdom, the majority of sales often actually come from existing or active users (up to 70%) rather than new customers. It is therefore imperative that advertisers understand the interactions of this group of individuals.

2. The role of premium content is changing: Despite an increasingly user centric marketing world online, premium content is still important. Context will play a lesser role with a re-emphasis on the performance and returns derived by advertisers from publishers investments in rich content.

3. Advertising is the same whether in social media or on publishing sites: Whether presented as a sponsored tweet or on a publisher’s site, the principles are the same, only the executions differ. Understanding the consumer’s intent in each channel is the main requirement.

4. The importance of fostering creativity: Robin Wight, President Engine comments: “If data is the new oil, then creativity is the new drill.” Data need not be the enemy of creativity, but too much can stifle originality. Better analysis of data can improve understanding of consumer intent, which can stimulate more creative executions. Increasingly “Data scientists” or “Detectives” will be required to provide this insight, and data literacy will drive the next level of growth for creative advertising.

5. Analytics doesn’t just sit in the analytics team: The whole organisation, from the CEO downwards, needs to respond to data in real time. There is a growing talent gap for the right people to work in these roles. It needs to be at the top of the agenda for companies as data is changing the way in which we do business.

Michael Steckler, Managing Director Northern Europe & Benelux Criteo, adds: “Most of the growth online is coming from companies that are able to manage an inordinate amount of data. I see advertising following the same route – thriving in the era of big data means analysing it in ways that add value to your customers, understanding consumer intent and then delivering compelling, creative executions that transform intent into measurable action and sales. For me the event showed there is a massive opportunity for advertisers to use data not only to understand consumers online but also to provide them with creative and relevant content.”

nugg.ad Opens New Targeting Opportunities for Microsoft's Advertising’s Polish Customers

The more advertisers know about their target groups (behaviour on the site, lifestyle, product interest) the better they can adjust ads to its needs. W&V Vermarktercheck, from November 2011, valued Microsoft Advertising's targeting offer as the best on the online market. Working with the largest European targeting platform, nugg.ad, it is now extended to Predictive B.T.

A key determinant of success 'PBT'
With help, PBT advertisers can even more precisely drive offers to their target group -- based on its interests, sociodemographic data and ways of using the internet. "This targeting form allows us to issue ads precisely on those platforms where at any given time is found the target group," explains Markus Frank, Director Sales & Marketing Microsoft Advertising. "Drastically limiting the losses arising from advertisers dispersion of action."

For Microsoft Advertising this creates new opportunities, especially in display advertising. For the first time in branding campaigns it is possible to optimally consolidate three elements - brand awareness, popularity of the brand and purchase intentions. By working with nugg.ad, Microsoft Advertising may also additionally utilise the Open Targeting Platform in extensive campaigns covering a range of markets.

Developed by nugg.ad, Predictive Behavioral Targeting technology is based on cookie that are placed by nugg.ad through a users browser. In this way, it obtains information about the behavior of internet users of MSN. Compliance with the ePrivacy Directive is assured to a degree even beyond the requirements of EU law: according to nugg.ad, they are currently the only targeting technology provider holding a valid certificate for data protection, EuroPriSe, given by Landeszentrum für Datenschutz Schleswig-Holstein (Independent Centre for Data Protection of the Land Schleswig-Holstein).

"In addition to an effective solution for the premium segment of our customers and unique opportunities opening for branding companies, we offer first of all full security in terms of data protection," says Karim H. Attia, a board member nugg.ad. "Thus, Microsoft Advertising expands its targeting capabilities, offering customers more attractive advertising offers. We look forward to working with Microsoft. "

Small numbers of users visiting a particular Web site participate in a survey aimed at obtaining additional information about their interests and lifestyle. On this basis, in combination with data on user behavior on the Internet, nugg.ad predicts interests and ways of using the internet by other users. In the goal of accurately determining the target groups, from the viewpoint of advertisers, internet users are assigned to different segments, which can be combined in any way. This will allow advertisers to specify each time the user group which they actually intend to reach.

nugg.ad technology aims to enable customers of Microsoft's advertising business even more targeted campaigns, and in turn, Microsoft Advertising aims to keep to a minimum the losses caused by the dispersion of activities, and the message will actually reach the intended recipient.