“These early indicators suggest the crisis may not be as long as anticipated,” said IAB Europe chief economist Daniel Knapp — but there are big caveats.
By most accounts, April was a terrible month for digital advertising, according to 13 publishing, ad tech executives and industry experts. Total digital display ad spending in Europe was down 38% versus the prior year, however, May's numbers indicate that "the crisis may not be as long as anticipated,” said IAB Europe chief economist Daniel Knapp. But with many businesses still teetering on the edge of collapse and high unemployment rates in many countries around the world, there are many caveats to that optimism. Read more below. While programmatic spend is returning, direct deals have lagged behind, said several publishing executives. On the platforms front, since bottoming out in early April, publishers have seen video ad dollars rebound across Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube. For Digiday+ members, in the midst of the coronavirus and economic crises with agency CFOs in charge looking for anywhere they can cut, there’s a renewed focus on diversity and inclusion at agencies. Also for Digiday+ members, keyword blocking has been an issue for publishers ever since the coronavirus outbreak began. Now, in new Digiday survey of 127 publishing execs, 43% say that coronavirus-related keyword blocking has become a problem for them. The latest episode of Digiday's The New Normal covers how people working in the media and marketing industries have a responsibility to look closely at how they are feeding into the misinformation cycle. Other things to know about Tomorrow: On our next Digiday+ talk, we'll hear from Lindsay Horrigan, global head of subscriptions and consumer marketing at Bloomberg Media, on how to grow subscription revenue, including how to manage churn once the pandemic is over. Learn more and subscribe to Digiday+ for access to this exclusive conversation. GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act are in full swing, and cookies are disappearing. In a new guide, learn how publishers and advertisers are using consent management systems to swiftly collect and record user opt-in decisions and adhere to regulations. Sponsored by OneTrust. | |
| howdy! howdy! Coronavirus Fallout | Digiday Research: Coronavirus-related keyword blocking is a problem for 43% of all publishers | Keyword blocking has been an issue for publishers ever since the coronavirus outbreak began. Even as many publishers have seen site-traffic grow, advertisers have been quick to add virus-related words to keyword blocklists, the idea being that this will avoid any fallout from their ads coming alongside articles about the virus, deaths and other issues. | | howdy! howdy! howdy! | TheScore CEO John Levy on why sports betting is going mainstream | Consuming sports and betting on them usually happen in two different places. "If you look at the traditional way sports betting has been launched in Europe and even in North America -- in the offshore and black markets -- how people bet is through betting apps," according to John Levy, CEO of theScore, a Canadian sports media company. Those apps aren't where betters get their actual score lines and injury updates; they're where gamblers turn to once they've watched the game or read about it elsewhere. His company is looking to bridge that gap. | | |