Monday, April 01, 2019

Report: US SMB owners worry about another recession

While the US economy seems to be in good shape, at least according to the stock market, some small businesses aren't so sure. According to a new confidence index, a growing number of SMB owners are worried that a recession could be in the near future. >>

Thursday, March 28, 2019

Expert: What brands need to understand about blockchain

While some experts believe blockchain could be a solution to ad fraud and increased digital transparency, no everyone is sold on the technology. We asked Mark Pearlstein what brands need to know about blockchain. >>

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Reports: Tech keeping consumers connected

Technology is keeping consumers connected to brands in new ways and is informing their decisions about how they want to interact. That is a key takeaway from new Valassis research which indicates, among other findings, is that three-quarters of consumers are now using paperless/electronic discounts while shopping. >>

Monday, March 25, 2019

Top 5 tips to combat ad fraud

The rise of bots to commit ad fraud is a big problem for the digital ad space, for advertisers and publishers and also for merchants. Here are five tips to combat advertising fraud. >>

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Report indicates more brands are recession-leary

According to a new Gartner report, more businesses are talking about recession. Gartner's experts analyzed the 2018 earnings transcripts of several S&P 500 companies and they note that more businesses used words like "downturn" and "slowdown" in their reports. >>

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Instagram testing checkout option

A new release from Instagram may change how merchants and brands interact on the social platform. This week, they announced a beta test, using a select group of retailers, for what is called Instagram Checkout. >>

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Forecast: Ad spend to slow this year

While the global ad spend is expected to reach more than $616 billion this year, the growth rate is slower than last year's. That, according to a new forecast out from WARC. According to their estimates, the global ad spend will increase about 4% in 2019, that is down just over 1% from 2018 spending levels. >>

Monday, March 18, 2019

Home Improvements top refund spending list

Tax season is upon us in the US, and it looks like most consumers have plans for their tax refund this year. According to new data from Valassis, while most are planning to save their refund, about one-fifth (20%) say they'll spend it. Topping the list of spending plans: home improvements. >>

Friday, March 15, 2019

Reports: Look for fraud to increase

An update to online payment rules could increase the amounts and kinds of frauds online businesses deal with. Payment Services Directive (PSD2) is set up to better identify consumers, which should be a relief for both digital merchants and shoppers, but new data out from iovation indicates that the implementation of stricter controls in some regions will move fraudsters to regions that are not prepared for additional attacks. >>

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Location data key to improved targeting, finds report

Mobile data may be more important than many brands think. New data out from Simpli.fi underlines not only the importance of mobile phones to consumers, but to brands because consumers are spending so much of their time with smartphones in-hand. >>

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Study: Brands personalizing budget, strategy show higher performance

Personalization has been shown to improve ad performance through clicks, but one new report is tagging revenue increases to personalization. According to Monetate's Personalization Development Study brands engaging in personalization for budget and for strategy are showing higher revenue numbers. >>

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Report finds Hispanic business owners planning to expand

Hispanic business owners are more optimistic about their businesses than their counterparts. That is a key takeaway from new Bank of America data which shows that about 79% of Hispanic business owners have plans to increase their business over the next five years. >>

Friday, March 08, 2019

Study: Mobile key to auto buying process

While it should come as no surprise that advertising is helpful for the auto-buying public, it may surprise some to find that mobile is an increasingly relevant way for consumers to find those ads. That, according to new AdColony data; researchers polled American consumers and found that most believe their smartphone is "very important" to have while shopping for a new car. >>

Thursday, March 07, 2019

Study: Loyalty high in banking but could be higher

While the banking industry, as a whole, enjoys high customer loyalty, that loyalty could be grown even higher. That's a key takeaway from new data that indicates only about one-third of US customers have closed accounts after a banking problem. Researchers with the study believe that improving the overall banking experience could improve bankers' already high loyalty numbers. >>

Tuesday, March 05, 2019

Study finds more traffic fraudulent

Fraudulent traffic has been a problem for more than a decade, but one new report indicates the problem may be even larger than most brands think. According to new data out from CHEQ up to 77% of US traffic is fraudulent; not only that, but this traffic is coming from sophisticated sources which can make it hard to detect. >>