Amazon Is The Most-Trusted Retail Brand According To New Study

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Written by H.B. Duran

Consumers are loyal to Amazon because they see the company as emotionally appealing, a new study finds.

The a.network Brand Trust Index Retail Report by marketing technology developer Soulmates.ai asserts that consumer perception can be measured through a combination of emotional and scientific means.

Decoding Consumer Trust

Soulmates.ai determined the top 10 US retailers by sales revenue and presented 4,054 US consumers with a variety of emotion-based statements designed to measure levels of trust and the underlying reasons. Instead of simply asking whether a consumer trusts a brand or not, respondents were asked to rank how they agreed with statements such as, “[Brand’s] creativity is what makes them a good brand” or “[Brand] is only interested in making money.”

This “read between the lines” approach to brand trust was developed for a.BTI by Galen Buckwalter, Ph.D., chief science advisor at Soulmates.ai and the psychometrician behind eHarmony’s matchmaking technology.

“The process of what I went through in developing a measure of brand trust was exactly the same one I would go through if I were developing a measure of openness in people or honesty,” Dr. Buckwalter told AListDaily.

The a.network Brand Trust Index (a.BTI) defines trust along three key dimensions: Brand Loyalty, Brand Reliance and Emotional Appeal.

Loyalty is earned through shared values and similarities with a consumer and a perceived service competence. Reliance is perceived when a brand consistently meets expectations, which may include social responsibility, honesty, consistent success and innovation. Emotional Appeal, meanwhile, is earned when a brand engages consumers on a social level or gives them something to aspire to.

For this study, survey responses were analyzed and assigned a number in each key dimension. Based on those results, an overall trust score was assigned to each brand.

Rely On Amazon, Aspire To Costco

Out of the 10 retailers in this study, approximately 30 percent of respondents selected Amazon as their most trusted brand. Amazon scored 96 for reliance, 98 in terms of loyalty and 99 overall, 25 points higher than Costco, the next most-trusted brand in the study.

Best Buy, Target and Kohl’s rounded out the top five brands in the a.BTI findings with trust scores of 66, 66 and 63 respectively.

At 60, Apple was one the most polarizing brand in the study, Soulmates.ai said, which is why the brand comes in at the center of the list. Consumers ranked the brand as very high or very low in terms of trust.

Dollar General came in last in terms of consumer trust with an overall score of just 24 but scored higher in individual factors with low-income respondents.

Soulmates.ai found that similar brands can be perceived very differently. For example, Costco scored 73 points in Emotional Appeal compared to Sam’s Club at 57.

Trust Is Like A Cake

“Trust is a very complicated issue [but] can be customizable in terms of how it is relevant to brands,” Soulmates.ai director of analytics and data products Johanna Tam told AListDaily. “Different components of trust are important and that varies across demographics.”

Scoring brand perception varies across demographics like income, gender, political affiliation and age group, Tam noted. “For college students, service competence may not be as important as honesty.”

Brands wanting to shape their image will need to decide which individual trust dimensions are most important.

“For different industries, trust is like baking a cake. You’re going to need eggs, butter, sugar and flour but how much? It depends on what kind of cake you want to make. The idea is that all of these components are important but they have different weights [depending on a brand’s goal].”

Pom Wonderful ‘Impaled By A Dolphin’ Spot Pokes Fun At Big Pharma

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Pom Wonderful produced a video spot that pokes fun at the pharmaceutical industry by claiming that pomegranate juice helped a man impaled by a dolphin.

“Impaled by a Dolphin and Better Than Ever” tells the story of Jeff Kowalczyk, a fictional man that was impaled by a dolphin but saw it as a wake-up call to get healthy. Prior to the “accident,” Jeff claims he was overweight and didn’t exercise, but something like [a dolphin sticking out of your chest] puts things into perspective.

Focusing on health benefits, this campaign marks Pom Wonderful’s largest digital spend to date, with a multimillion-dollar media plan. According to the company, the spots will be shown in contextually relevant TV shows like The Doctors and Dr. Oz, online sites such as WebMD and on screens in doctors’ offices across the country.

The “Impaled By a Dolphin” ad is presented in the style of a pharmaceutical commercial, down to the subtitle disclaimers, upbeat music and generic activities that somehow represent living with an ailment but being able to ignore it thanks to the cure being marketed.

Jeff is shown going about his daily life as if nothing happened, working, making dinner and riding his bike—all with a live dolphin sticking out of his body.

“These spots poke fun at mundane pharmaceutical industry advertisements and use humor to talk about what people typically want to avoid—what they should do after a health scare,” Pom Wonderful said in a press release.

In addition to using tongue-in-cheek humor to sell its juice, “Impaled by a Dolphin” may also be a playful jab at deceptive health marketing. Last week, the US Supreme court refused to review a court ruling that found Pom Wonderful guilty of making deceptive health claims. Claims included marketing pomegranate juice as being able to treat, prevent or reduce the risk of heart disease, prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction.

Despite the Supreme Court’s denial, Pom Wonderful’s dolphin spot links its pomegranate juice to health benefits such as verbal memory performance, brain activity and maintaining post-exercise arm strength, as claimed by two preliminary studies mentioned at the end. Links and details about the studies were not released in the ad or its video description.

Netflix Hosts Never Nude Meet-Up For ‘Arrested Development’ Season 5

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Netflix hosted an Arrested Development-themed meet-up in Austin over the weekend that included the show’s famous stair car and a get together for “never nudes.”

Fans gathered at the Texas State Capitol and a parking lot on Brazos Street Saturday to join other Arrested Development fans in “never nude” attire—that is, jean cutoff shorts and not much else. The show’s famous stair car also made an appearance as part of a nationwide tour.

On the show, Dr. Tobias Fünke (David Cross) eases his phobia of being naked by wearing jean cutoff shorts at all times, even in the shower. His insistence on wearing cutoffs became one of the most memorable aspects of Arrested Development.

Fans were joined by marketing staff that “blue themselves,” paying homage to Tobias’ frequent attempts to join The Blue Man Group by covering themselves in blue paint.

Arrested Development Season 5 debuts on Netflix May 29 with a plot that revolves around politics. As Lindsay campaigns for office, the entire Bluth family is campaigning to award itself “Family of the Year.” The marketing campaign includes a website where fans can stay up to date on the stair car tour, view the show’s character bios and download images to create their own promotional materials.

Those to visit the stair car and never nude meet-ups are given promotional items for the Bluth Family of the Year campaign that include stickers, hats, posters and of course, photo ops. The nationwide faux campaign tour runs through New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle through May 20.

Netflix previously used experiential marketing for Arrested Development when it aired season 4 in 2013. To promote the show’s comeback after seven years, a replica of the Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana stand was installed in Times Square, complete with an employee in a banana costume.

In addition to giving away real frozen bananas, the campaign invited fans to show up dressed as never nudes, offering six free months of Netflix to the first eight dozen attendees who did.

Netflix released a newly edited version of season 4 called “Fateful Consequences” and has hosted a number of 24-hour contests over Twitter and Instagram under the hashtag #UltimateBluthMaster. For Mother’s Day, the official Arrested Development account asked fans to share photos of dance partners dressed alike to pay homage to the show’s running Mother Boy joke. Additional challenges will be posted every day through May 19, with winners receiving a trophy that looks like a frozen banana.

Mother’s Day Marketing Gets Sentimental; Spending Expected To Reach $23.1B

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Brands have answered the call to celebrate Mother’s Day this year with messages ranging from sentimental to silly.

Spending on Mother’s Day is expected to reach $23.1 billion in the US this year, a slight drop from 2017’s record $23.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). According to NRF’s annual survey, 86 percent of Americans will celebrate Mother’s Day this year and spend an average of $180 per person.

Finding The Words

Sometimes it’s hard to say how you feel, or you want to say it just right. That’s why Americans turn to the $3.6 billion greeting card industry for occasions like Mother’s Day—something Hallmark is taking full advantage of with its marketing campaign.

Hallmark teamed up with actress Julie Bowen (Modern Family) to surprise moms with a giant greeting card on the street. When opened, the card reveals a handwritten message from the recipient, who reads it aloud.

Bowen also provided voice over for a TV spot called “When You Care Enough To Put It Into Words.”

American Greetings asked its Facebook followers what they do just like their mothers. Answers ranged from having the same handwriting to spaghetti night crying at commercials. The brand illustrated some of these answers with a YouTube video called “Just Like My Mom” using colorful props and upbeat music.

Different Kinds Of Moms

For Mother’s Day, Teleflora produced a series of videos called “Love Makes A Mom.” The three-video series highlights different kinds of mother figures including a half-sister that steps in, a lesbian couple and a mother of a child with Down Syndrome.

Australian shopping center brand Stockland created a video called “Those Who Mum” that highlights mother figures in all their forms. The Stockland website also produced an editorial series that highlights several mothers from the region—telling each Australian woman’s story in detail.

Being a mom means putting herself above the needs of her family, and that can be reflected in how she looks.

Planet Fitness commissioned a study to support its “Judgement Free Zone” mantra that celebrates the “mom bod” —the female equivalent to a “dad bod” that often reflects the toll of physical and emotional stress after having children. The survey found that 79 percent of women feel stronger after having kids and 59 percent of respondents believe that women with “mom bods” are comfortable in their own skin.

Speaking of feeling comfortable, American mothers find it difficult to find a private place to breastfeed in public. Zappos teamed up with Mamava to install private rooms around New York and enlisted the help of comedienne Dena Blizzard to spread awareness.

Taste The Love

According to the National Restaurant Association, 34 percent of American families plan to dine out for Mother’s Day. Meanwhile, another 34 percent plan to have a home-cooked meal this holiday.

The National Cattleman’s Beef Association is highlighting moms that work on cattle farms on itshttps://www.thehoth.com/google-keyword-planner Facebook page and the hashtag #RealRanchMoms. The “Beef. It’s Whats For Dinner” brand is also sharing recipes and digital greeting cards to share with the carnivorous mothers in your life.

Carvel is offering ice cream cakes printed with custom designs drawn and/or colored by family members. The legacy ice cream brand teamed up with influencer Kelly Mindell, who designed and helped promote exclusive Carvel cake templates for Mother’s Day.

Cisco Pulls YouTube Ads Indefinitely

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Less than a month after Procter and Gamble made a wary return to Google’s flagship video platform, technology giant Cisco citing brand safety concerns, has announced that it is pulling all of its advertisements from YouTube until further notice.

“Cisco has adopted the most rigorous industry standards to help ensure our online advertising does not accidentally end up in the wrong place, such as on a streaming video with sensitive content or a site that does not align with the values of our brand,” Cisco CMO Karen Walker stated in the announcement.

According to Cisco, YouTube does not meet those standards, which blamed such platforms for not updating their algorithms quickly enough to accommodate for changing “sensitive issues in the media.”

“We are working closely with all of our media partners to ensure that Cisco’s online advertising meets our stringent standards,” Walker added. “We only advertise where those standards are met and where we can ensure inappropriate content is not shared.”

For Cisco, which claims to have 62,000 advertising partners, enforcement of these aforementioned strict standards is of utmost importance in keeping its brand relevant. Despite its strong concerns, Cisco does not assert what exactly its standards are, or how exactly YouTube fails to meet them.

“At Cisco, we would rather not wait for something bad to happen,” Walker writes.

An earlier version of the announcement called out YouTube specifically, as it “did not meet our brand guidelines,” though Cisco revised the post and removed the line after a conversation with Google representatives, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“While Google and Facebook have made some strides to combat the issue, at this time we have pulled all online advertising from YouTube until the platform has met our standards,” the original post read.

This news comes during an identity crisis for YouTube, which is having difficulties weighing its responsibilities toward its advertisers and its commitment to taking care of its creators, who drive users to see its ads.

“We are committed to making sure that YouTube remains a vibrant community with strong systems to remove violative content and we look forward to providing you with more information on how those systems are performing and improving over time,” the company reassured its creators in a blog post last month.

Burger King’s ‘Promposal’ Created Over $260K Earned Media Value

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Burger King asked Wendy’s to prom over Twitter and garnered attention that would have otherwise cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in marketing spend.

On Wednesday, a Burger King restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts changed its sign, playfully asking the neighboring Wendy’s restaurant to prom. The official Burger King account posted a photo on Twitter and waited for a response as social media reacted with supportive messages.

Wendy’s responded within the hour, accepting in the brand’s trademark sarcastic tone. “Ok, but don’t get handsy and we have to be home by 10,” wrote Wendy’s.

Burger King changed its sign to say “She said yes!” and posted a picture with a rose inside a burger box—its own fast food corsiage.

To measure user engagement with Burger King’s “promposal”, we calculated the earned media value from Burger King’s initial request, Wendy’s acceptance tweet and Burger King’s response on Twitter from May 9-10.

“Earned media” is the value of engagements a brand receives across channels as a result of their marketing efforts. To help quantify what the value of those engagements is worth, Ayzenberg Group established the Ayzenberg Earned Media Value Index (AEMVI) and assigned a quantifiable dollar amount for marketing gains a brand receives from a campaign or individual engagement that includes social media networks and similar digital properties.

(Editor’s note: AListDaily is the publishing arm of Ayzenberg Group. To read the updated AEMVI report reflecting the rapid changes in social, click here.)

Based on the latest AEMVI rates for Twitter interactions, Burger King’s “promposal” earned a total of $260,696 in earned media value. This figure was based on values assigned to likes, comments and retweets.

Like a prom king and queen, Burger King and Wendy’s shared the spotlight—in this case, the earned media value—when Wendy’s accepted. Wendy’s quote retweet earned a majority of the earned media value: $113,133.54 in likes, $5,610 in comments and $121,391.97 in retweets for a total of $240,135.51.

Burger King and Wendy’s haven’t always gotten along on Twitter. In October, Burger King promoted user tweets that complained when Wendy’s took spicy nuggets off the menu.

For now, the two brands are playing nice for prom season, to which Moon Pie responded, “I knew I should have asked sooner.”

TickX Appoints Paul Kirwin To CMO, And Other Hires

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This week: executive shakeups as TickX and Katz Media Group bring on a chief marketing officers, Industrial Light and Magic promotes a vice president of marketing, Gold’s Gym elevates a new marketing leader and others.

Paul Kirwin Joins TickX As CMO

UK-based event discovery platform TickX has appointed Paul Kirwin as its first-ever chief marketing officer, ahead of its planned expansion into the continental European market.

“We couldn’t be happier that Paul has joined the TickX team,” said Steve Pearce, TickX CEO. “Marketing will play a key role in taking TickX to the next level as we target rapid international expansion in the coming months and we’re pleased to have hired one of the best marketing professionals in the country to help achieve our goals.”

Kirwin joins the company from PureGym, where he created and led the startup’s marketing team for six years.

ILM Promotes Gretchen Libby To Vice President Of Marketing And Production

Industrial Light and Magic has appointed Gretchen Libby to the role of vice president of marketing and production, overseeing client marketing and strategic relationships.

“Gretchen is a key member of our executive team and has been instrumental in numerous strategic initiatives in recent years, from marketing the studio to our global expansion,” said Lynwen Brennan, Lucasfilm’s general manager. “She brings depth of production understanding that is prized within the company and continues to be invaluable to our clients.”

Libby has been with ILM for over 20 years, first as a production manager in 1997.

Katz Media Group Appoints Stacey Lynn Schulman CMO

Stacey Lynn Schulman has been promoted to chief marketing officer of Katz Media Group, set to lead the company’s insights team and strategy.

“Stacey is a well-respected, thought-leader that brings an incredible amount of enthusiasm, vision and insights to our industry. She has her pulse on the ever-changing media landscape and is always ahead of the game when it comes to consumer and media trends,” said Mark Gray, CEO of Katz Media Group. “As Chief Marketing Officer, Stacey will help us solidify Katz’s position as the pre-eminent local media solution provider for national brands.”

Schulman first joined the company in 2014 as executive vice president of strategy, analytics and research.

Pinnacle Hires Promotes Peter Lyle To Executive Vice President Of Marketing

Appending “executive” to his title, Peter Lyle is now executive vice president of sales and marketing for Pinnacle Climate Technologies.

“Peter’s focus, passion, and results orientation will serve him well with these additional, new responsibilities,” Ron Ten Berge, Pinnacle’s CEO, stated. “Peter has continuously demonstrated a customer and consumer-first orientation, built strong customer relationships, and has delivered consistent business growth year over year.  Peter will now be leading the global sales and marketing strategy.”

Lyle has been with Pinnacle for eight years, most recently as vice president of international sales.

The Rest Of The C-Suite

Editor’s Note: Our weekly careers post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, May 11. Have a new hire tip? We’re looking for senior executive role changes in marketing and media. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.

Allegro Hires Michael Schwartz As Chief Marketing Officer

Commodity management software provider Allegro Development Corporation has appointed Michael Schwartz to the role of chief marketing officer.

“Michael has a proven track record of success, and I’m extremely excited to have him join the Allegro family,” said Frank Brienzi, CEO of Allegro. “His extensive leadership experience in the ETRM and CTRM software market makes him a strong addition to Allegro’s executive team; and I look forward to working with him to continue furthering our global marketing initiatives.”

Schwartz joins Allegro from Eka Software Solutions, where he served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

Gold’s Gym Promotes Dave Reiseman To CMO

Dave Reiseman is rising in the Gold’s Gym hierarchy, achieving the level of chief marketing officer.

“Dave has been one of the Gold’s Gym brand’s biggest champions for many years and brings exceptional leadership skills, passion and creative vision to the role,” said Gold’s CEO Brandon Bean. “He has been instrumental in bringing the new Gold’s Gym Experience to life and creating a high-energy, service-driven marketing department that’s focused on growing our business and supporting our team members, franchisees and members around the world.”

Reiseman has been with the Gold’s Gym marketing team for 15 years, most recently as vice president of marketing and brand communications.

Akeneo Hires Christel Billault As Vice President Of Marketing

Product information management solutions provider Akeneo has appointed Christel Grizaut Billault vice president of marketing, seeking to assist the company expand in Europe and North America.

Billault joins the company from Acronis, where she held a series of senior marketing roles.

Ryanair Elevates Chiara Ravara To Head Sales And Marketing

Budget airline Ryanair has appointed Chiara Ravara head of sales and marketing, a promotion from her prior role of senior sales and marketing manager.

“We are pleased to promote Chiara Ravara to Head of Sales and Marketing as she brings considerable experience and industry knowledge to this key role,” said Ryanair’s marketing operations director, Matthias Wenk. “Chiara will spearhead the efforts of the Sales and Marketing team as we continue to roll out our latest ‘Always Getting Better’ customer experience improvement program, and grow traffic, routes and tourism across Europe.”

Ravara has been with the airline since 2014, joining from Italian firm Aviareps.

Nicole McInnes Joins OVO As CMO

After six months as Woolies’ marketing director, Nicole McInnes has joined OVO as its first-ever chief marketing officer.

“I’ve known Nicole for many years. It was her experience inspiring consumers on behalf of digital native companies that were pioneering machine learning algorithms that convinced me she was right for OVO,” said Matt Jones, the company’s CEO. “I’ve been after her to join since this business was just a concept. I have never met a marketer who matches commercial acumen and analysis with creative passion the way Nicole does, which is exactly what we were looking for in a CMO.”

McInnes ran Woolies’ e-commerce marketing during her tenure there, experience she will bring to OVO’s digital business.

Superior Communications Appoints Scott Shanks CMO

Retail and supply chain solutions provider Superior Communications has promoted Scott Shanks to CMO, a newly created position.

“Scott’s industry experience and retail background has been influential in maintaining our strong financial, operational and logistical scale while enhancing our service offering to better support all channels, customers and suppliers,” said Jeff Banks, Superior’s president and CEO. “We are excited to have Scott as part of the Superior leadership team and look forward to his continued contribution to the business.”

Joining Superior in 2015, Shanks was previously senior vice president of indirect distribution.

Globe North America Re-Hires Eric Tomlinson To Marketing Director

Clothing brand Globe has brought Eric Tomlinson back into the fold as marketing director, where he will manage the brand’s North American marketing initiatives.

“Eric is a multi-dimensional talent, that brings years of industry experience back to Globe and we’re stoked to have him driving our marketing efforts here in North America,” said Gary Valentine, Globe North America’s COO and president.

Tomlinson returns to the surfwear brand after a two-year hiatus at Surfline/Wavetrak, where he served as executive producer of content partnerships.

Dick Clark Productions Promotes Three Marketing Executives

Rika Camizianos, Magdalena Mango and Michael Nieporent are all rising up the Dick Clark marketing executive ladder, each receiving promotions. Camizianos has been elevated to vice president of creative content and post production, Mango to vice president of brand strategy and integrated marketing and Magdalena too vice president of brand, marketing and digital strategy.

Kevin Mallon Joins Echelon As Marketing Director

Echelon Investment Partners has created the role of director of marketing, tapping Kavin Mallon for the position.

“We are thrilled to have Kevin join our growing and talented team to bring our unique offering to the institutional investor community for the first time,” said Charles Britton, founder and CEO of Echelon. “Kevin is an accomplished business development professional with a demonstrated track record of working directly with emerging managers to help plan and execute an effective marketing strategy.”

Mallon most recently served as marketing director for Old Hill Partners.

JMH Premium Promotes Laura Guthrie To Director Of Marketing

Flavor solutions provider JMH Premium has promoted a handful of female executive leaders, including Laura Guthrie. She assumes her new title of director of marketing after leading a substantive rebranding effort last year.

“Her excellent work on installing our new Sales CRM Sales Management tool has been particularly effective in the support of our sales process restructure,” said Kevin Dulin, CEO of JMH Premium.

Guthrie joined the company in June of 2017.

Xometry Appoints Two New Marketing Vice Presidents

Aaron Lichtig and Danny Chang have joined manufacturing platform Xometry as vice president of growth marketing and vice president of relationship marketing, respectively.

“Aaron brings deep digital and growth experience from Google and P&G, and Danny has tremendous marketplace expertise, including his GM role at eBay Motors,” said Bill Cronin, Xometry’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. “Both will be key leaders in helping Xometry continue to exceed our business objectives while building strong customer and partner relationships.”

Lichtig joins the company from Partnership for a Healthier America, and Chang, prior to consulting with Xometry for several months, led product marketing for CEB Inc’s technology, government and events businesses.

Old Republic Promotes Lorna Mello To Senior Vice President of Sales And Marketing

Lorna Mello has earned a “senior” prefix to her previous title of vice president of sales and marketing, where she will oversee the company’s efforts to better align its sales and marketing objectives with its overall business strategy.

FracTEL Names Adam Hoffmann Chief Marketing Officer

Telecommunications company FracTEL has appointed Adam Hoffmann as CMO to lead the firm’s company and product marketing initiatives.

“Adam’s mission is to leverage FracTEL’s incredible infrastructure, identify our next generation of product solutions, and implement marketing strategies that showcase the unique ways we partner with our clients to drive success,” said Michael Crown, the company’s president. “The addition of Adam to our team truly demonstrates our continued evolution and commitment to excellence.”

Previously, Hoffmann served as a marketing consultant, assisting FracTEL in its own marketing efforts throughout 2017.

Henry Drummer Joins Bank Of Ireland As CMO

Bank of Ireland has appointed Henry Drummer as chief marketing officer, the firm’s first.

“Henry brings a wealth of marketing experience in consumer, digital and business-to-business marketing,” said Francesca McDonagh, Bank of Ireland’s group CEO. “Leading a Group marketing team, he will drive the development of a strong brand for Bank of Ireland, shaping and delivering a differentiated position for the Bank in the markets in which it operates.”

Prior to joining Bank of Ireland, Drummer served as group marketing director for consumer and business at Eir, leading the company’s rebranding project.

Mobvista Taps Ramon Zhu As AI Vice President

China-based adtech firm Mobvista is expanding its artificial intelligence team, appointing Ramon Zhu as vice president of AI and machine learning.

“With so much of the online economy dependent on advertising, digital marketing is always looking for new and better ways to serve the right ads to the right consumers. That’s why ad tech companies are at the forefront of developments in AI and smart algorithms,” said Mobvista’s Founder and CEO, Robin Duan. “With Ramon on board, I believe Mobvista will continue to be one of the leaders in this race, and both our business and our customers’ campaigns will hugely benefit from his expertise.”

Zhu was the cofounder of GoSo.cn, China’s answer to Google after the search engine withdrew from the country in 2010.

Thea Beckman Signs With Fusion Bank As Content Director

Legal-cannabis financier Fusion Bank has hired Thea Beckman as its content director, leading both the company’s public-facing content and marketing production.

“I’m extremely excited about the work I will be doing with Fusion Bank, especially since this organization is blazing fresh trails,” said Beckman. “We have a real chance here to change the face of the legal cannabis industry, not only for the licensed businesses that are struggling against federal prohibition but also for the patients and researchers.”

Beckman joins Fusion Bank from WorldClass Brand Management, an internet markeitng and e-business consulting firm.

Job Vacancies 

Events Producer AList Pasadena, CA
VP, Marketing Disney New York, NY
Director, Social & Influencer Marketing AT&T El Segundo, CA
VP, Product Marketing  Salesforce San Francisco, CA
Director, Product Marketing  Adobe San Jose, CA
VP, Strategy Manager JPMorgan Chase New York, NY

Make sure to check back for updates on our jobs page.

Report: Mobile Ad Fraud Doubled In Q1 2018

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Though progress is being made in the fight against online ad fraud, less can be said for anti-fraud efforts on mobile platforms. According to mobile-measurement firm Adjust, rates of mobile fraud in Q1 2018 have almost doubled from a year ago.

According to the company’s research, which covered 3.4 billion app installs of a sample size of 20,000 different apps over the course of four months, at least 7 percent of paid app installs are fraudulent. The number could well be higher, given the possibility of fraudsters using schemes the company is unable to detect.

“Naturally, the fraud rates we see in active rejections only show the level of fraud prevented for advertisers who actually chose to protect themselves,” said Andreas Nauman, Adjust’s fraud specialist, in a statement to VentureBeat. “Yet the aggregate amount of preventable fraud is significantly higher. The number of unreported cases of advertisers being victims of mobile ad fraud is undoubtedly a much high number.”

Mobile developers may be losing out beyond just their advertising budgets, however. According to Adjust’s information, in-app purchases experience an even more significant amount of fraud than user acquisition, and with long-lasting consequences.

“Adjust figures suggest that 30 percent of attempted IAP spends on iOS are fake,” the report reads. “There’s a real chance that the marketing team could misidentify those users as valuable. This could mean that the company invests in a traffic source that provides a number of in-app cheaters or even creates a user persona that matches the personality of cheaters.”

Not only does app fraud harm advertisers’ bottom lines, it can also impact their user data. A fraudulent install or purchase doesn’t just mean wasted spend, but can result in strategic marketing decisions that can bring in even more fraud.

According to Adjust, it’s the responsibility of all players in the mobile advertising space to fight for better fraud-prevention tools.

“Although it’s advertisers who bear the brunt of fraud, poor quality attribution or technical difficulties, eradicating ad fraud is a challenge the whole industry should come together to solve,” the report reads.

IAB Advertising Revenue Report: Mobile Video Won Big In 2017

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The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), have released their 22nd annual internet advertising revenue report, revealing the overall trends of the industry, demonstrating continual unchecked growth of the mobile space.

“Consumers are increasingly spending a tremendous amount of time with interactive screens and content–from mobile to desktop and audio to OTT–and brands are in lockstep with a growing commitment to digital ad buys,” said Randall Rothenberg, the IAB’s president and CEO. “Mobile captured more than half of the total digital ad spend last year and we can easily expect that share to continue to climb.”

Digital advertising revenues in the US totaled $88 billion for the full year of 2017, an increase by 21.4 percent over the full year of 2016. For the first time in the report’s 22-year history, digital ad revenue has surpassed the combined ad revenue for broadcast and cable television combined.

Mobile advertising revenue continued to grow, totaling $49.9 billion on 2017, an increase of 36.2 percent. The format now makes up 56.7 percent of all internet advertising revenue, though its growth rate is beginning to plateau.

The IAB attributes this growth in part to the lowering of risk to joining the advertising field, with self-service platforms allowing small- and medium-sized businesses to enter the space as well.

“Digital advertising’s evolution has greatly democratized the ability for all businesses, regardless of size and budget, to target audiences based upon geographies (location), demographics, psychographics, and behavior,” the report reads.

Digital video saw significant gains in revenue over 2017, especially on mobile, increasing by 54 percent from 2016. In 2017, mobile video spending passed desktop spending for the first time, hitting $6.2 billion, over desktop’s $5.7 billion.

“Smartphones and tablets have become indispensable tools in the hands of consumers, from the moment they wake up to right before they go to sleep,” said Anna Bager, executive vice president of industry initiatives for the IAB. “A double-digit uptick in spend on mobile video is a testament to both the pull of mobile and consumer’s never-ending demand for sight, sound, and motion—even while on the go.”

Mobile digital video seems to be shouldering mobile search out of its way, with the latter’s share of total ad spending dropping from 46 percent in 2016 to 44 percent in 2017.

Social Media News: Secret DMs, Musical Ads And Snap Ad Shake-Ups

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This week in social media news, Twitter tests encryption, Snapchat drops licensing fees, Instagram adds more action and YouTube presses play on Vevo ads.

Twitter: Secret Codes, Silly Quotes

Encrypted direct messages (DM) may soon become an option for Twitter users, TechCrunch reported on Monday. An eagle-eyed Twitter user spotted a test template for encrypted DMs in the back-end code of the Android version. Although Twitter did not officially confirm the feature, the company’s CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted a link to the TechCrunch article with a “shushing face” emoji.

In the wake of Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, Twitter and other sites are bumping privacy to the top of their lists of things to fix. Last week, Twitter found a bug that left passwords available for internal viewing. Although the company claims no one misused the information, Twitter encouraged everyone to change their passwords immediately.

On a lighter note, Twitter code also reveals the ability to quote tweets with a GIF. The yet-to-be announced feature was spotted by the same computer science student, Jane Manchun Wong.

Snapchat: Discover Your Own Fees Now

Publishers featured on Snapchat Discover channels will no longer be paid upfront licensing fees, making ad revenue their sole source of income on the app.

Snap, Inc. initially paid these fees as an incentive for publishers to create daily and weekly content on the platform. Now the incentive is for media partners to sell advertising, as publishers now share ad revenue from Snapchat Discover.

YouTube:Turning up The Music Ads

Google’s video sharing site has a complicated relationship with the music industry, but a new deal may help change that—at least when it comes to selling ads.

YouTube has penned a deal with Vevo, the music video joint venture between Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. Under the new agreement, YouTube will be able to sell Vevo clips directly to advertisers—previously available only to Vevo’s sales team.

During its NewFronts pitch, YouTube announced that it will now sell Vevo clips as part of its “Google Preferred” tier.

Instagram: More Talk, More Action

Instagram introduced call to action buttons to select business profiles last week that allow users to book appointments, make reservations and make purchases without leaving the app. On Tuesday, additional companies added action buttons including Fandango, Acuity, ChowNow and several others.

The company reported that more than 150 million users have conversations with brands each month using Instagram Direct. On Tuesday, Instagram announced changes to the Direct inbox designed to help brands reply in a timely manner and keep messages organized.

A new feature called “quick replies” will be tested in the coming weeks that allows businesses to respond to frequently asked questions