| ‘Facebook doesn’t operate with real-world metrics’: GroupM talks tough on Facebook
The biggest ad buyer in the world has some serious issues with Facebook, and it wants action. “We’re increasingly holding Facebook to account to justify the levels of investment we are putting in them,” said Robin O’Neill, managing director of digital trading for GroupM. “We continue to press them to allow us to independently verify our metrics and operate in the real world. Facebook doesn’t operate with real-world metrics. I would urge every agency to hold Facebook to account and interrogate the data that comes out from them.” A new Snapchat feature lets publishers create live stories out of users’ posts
Snap is launching a new feature that will let media companies access public posts made by Snapchat users and package them into editions centering on live events, breaking news and other topics. Ad buyers prepare for headaches after Facebook cuts off third-party data
After the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the social network decided it didn’t want to be responsible for the data that advertisers bring into its walled garden, so it eliminated Partner Categories and another Facebook-managed third-party data program. Now advertisers will have to piece together their own third-party data deals. How The Guardian overhauled its content studio to make it more efficient
Last spring, the Guardian remodeled its content studio Labs to align more closely with the rest of the newsroom, in order to make its campaign output more efficient. The goal: to remain competitive in a consistently cluttered paid content market and increase its financial contribution to the publisher on its road back into the black.  Apple doesn’t tweet, but it blanketed Twitter with ads for its iPhone XS launch
On Sept. 12, Apple had a promoted trend ($200,000 per day), a custom build for “like for reminder” ($250,000 for several days), promoted tweets in at least 12 languages (CPMs depend on budget, going from $0.50 to $8) and a hashflag and a livestream of the event. ‘Consistent and reliable’: Pluto TV is a bright spot for video programmers
Unlike its namesake planet, video streaming startup Pluto TV hasn’t been relegated to the shadows — certainly not by over-the-top news and video programmers who say the company is delivering incremental but growing revenue for them. Project Feels: How USA Today, ESPN and The New York Times are targeting ads to mood
“It’s something a lot of media planners have been trying to do for years,” Chris Wexler, svp and executive director of media and analytics at Cramer‑Krasselt. “It just depends on how rich the data set is. It’s an exciting frontier because we’re looking for people who are open to our message, and emotional state is a key part of it. The state of advertising on Instagram Stories in five charts
The rapid growth and consumption of Instagram Stories has made it hard for advertisers to ignore, even if they have reservations over whether they can match the high-end, premium content on the platform. Spending is shifting to Instagram, with brands like Smirnoff, Nike and Stella Artois starting to spend more money on the vertical video format. Here is the state of advertising on Instagram stories, in five charts. Network effect: How Shopify is the platform powering the DTC brand revolution
Shopify has relatively quietly become the core platform for the growing new class of direct-to-consumer brands threatening to upend established brands. The idea is simple: If you want to sell something, Shopify will for a monthly fee help you sell it. Merchants get store templates, analytics and ways to manage inventory. And Shopify plugs into an increasing number of platforms, including, most recently, Instagram Stories, so merchants can use those platforms to drive people from social platforms to Shopify and complete the sale.  How Chase is using Pinterest to sell home loans
Pinterest is a natural fit for Chase’s efforts to market loans for home improvement projects, because it adds a financial planning layer to DIY and home improvement projects, and acts as a nudge for customers to follow through on their plans, said Amir Ghodrati, director of market insights at App Annie. Why brands are using Amazon as an outlet store
Brands are waking up to the fact that getting in front of the consumer necessarily means selling on Amazon. J. Crew is the first to openly use the platform to offload discounted merchandise; for now, others are rolling out curated selections of inventory. For example, Nike, which didn’t comment for this story, last year confirmed it’s offering “a limited Nike product assortment” of footwear, apparel and accessories as it evaluates results. | 
