Monthly Archives: January 2018

Hallelujah! Millennials Are Dead. Here Comes Generation Z

Just when I was about to open a vein over the incessant furor about how Millennials are different, unique and in need of such nonsense as influencer marketing, they’re dead. Here comes Gen Z (sheesh–will somebody brand the next round … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on Tuesday, 30 January 2018 7:01 am by | Tagged , , ,

Be The Solution

Posted on Monday, 29 January 2018 9:16 am by

We get the advertising we deserve. As marketers, we’ve put our skepticism on hold. And we’ve been taken. Programmatic buying, content marketing, influencer marketing, and native advertising are just a few of the fallacies the advertising ecosystem has foisted on … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications, digital marketing, Education, Marketing, Philosophy | Tagged , , ,

Remove Tracking Pixels, Secure Your Data

Data leakage from publisher sites results in loss of data revenue for the publisher. An unsophisticated buyer would never buy premium first-party data from the publisher, when they can buy “the same” stuff for pennies on the dollar from vendor … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on Friday, 26 January 2018 8:29 am by | Tagged , , ,

The Root of Digital Advertising B.S.

Posted on Thursday, 25 January 2018 9:41 am by

For years, Bob Hoffman has been writing about the delusion held by advertisers that people want to interact with us or our ads. I was an early adopter of that now-disproven fantasy. I bought in back in ’89-’90 when I … Continue reading →

Posted in Analysis, Data, digital marketing, fraud, Marketing, Tactics | Tagged , , ,

Digital Marketing Tips From El Al

Posted on Wednesday, 24 January 2018 8:57 am by

El Al airlines has never been bombed and only hijacked once. This in spite of being a constant target for well-funded and persistent criminals. An enviable track record. How do they do it? Isaac Yeffet, El Al’s former head of … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, digital marketing, fraud, Media, Philosophy, planning, Security, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , , ,

No Real Marketer Wants Their Budget Increased…

…properly-trained marketers focus on improving business performance. A bigger marketing budget might be a second order effect.

Aside | Posted on Wednesday, 24 January 2018 7:10 am by | Tagged , ,

Zirconium: The Holdco You’ve Never Heard Of

Posted on Tuesday, 23 January 2018 5:30 pm by

The slippery nature of online advertising gets better (or worse) all the time. The latest comes from Confiant’s CTO, Jerome Dangu. Turns out there’s a fake agency holdco of sorts, with 28 fake ad agencies under the Zirconium umbrella. They were … Continue reading →

Posted in fraud | Tagged ,

Bet Your Ads Aren’t Loading

Posted on Tuesday, 23 January 2018 8:27 am by

Back in the early aughts, I remember getting worked up about losing around 5% of the impressions I paid for. In other words, I paid for 100 ads and could only see 95 in the server logs. The usual explanation … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, digital marketing, fraud, Media | Tagged , , , , ,

Immigrants and Education

Posted on Monday, 15 January 2018 9:04 am by

“Як школа?”is something asked repeatedly of me by my grandparents growing up. The question–“how’s school?”–wasn’t just about whether I was getting A’s. Although the grade was important, the question really was “are you learning?” I found myself thinking about that … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , ,

Who’s Hurt by Facebook Changes? Look at TAC Ratio.

The Verge’s Silicon Valley editor, Casey Newton, tweeted on Thursday: So many publishers think they have audiences, when what they really have is traffic. I think we’re about to find out who has an audience. To find out who has … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on Saturday, 13 January 2018 8:01 am by | Tagged , ,