Are AI systems queuing up to replace the copy desk? Don’t be so sure

Watching Nicole He’s robot interview Billie Eilish might convince you that artificial intelligence could never replace human journalists. Yet the robot’s nonsensical questions (such as “Have you ever seen the ending?”) evoked thoughtful and amusing responses from Eilish — a feat that journalists often struggle to accomplish.

After the interview, Eilish described the monotony of questions she’s usually asked. It seems that human qualities like logic and reason may act...

10 July 2020 | Automation

As Covid-19 threatens digital media, the industry must move towards semantic targeting

Despite consumers reading more online news than ever – driven by a desire for trustworthy content in these times of uncertainty – Covid-19 is posing an unparalleled threat to digital media. Advertisers utilising strict keyword blocking and adding broad coronavirus terms to their blacklists are missing out on the current traffic spike, as well as cutting off vital revenue for publishers.

Concerns about the long-term effects are rising. Following projections of £50 million in...

14 May 2020 | Advertising

Why ad agencies need to foster ‘why’ rather than ‘what’ cultures

The concept of a company culture has been around since at least the 1950s, when the psychoanalyst Dr. Elliott Jaques described the behaviour of manufacturing workers in The Changing Culture of a Factory. But it’s only in the last 10 years that the world of business truly started to think of culture as a key factor in the success or failure of a company. Now, some organisations even have chief culture officers—a gesture of how important culture has become.

There’s...

6 March 2020 | Advertising

What you really ought to know about ad-blocking users – and why they’re swerving your ads

The importance of ads for the sustainability of a free internet ecosystem cannot be stressed enough and will only grow as internet penetration increases globally. According to research global internet ad spending will increase 11.1% in 2020 to $326 billion, capturing 52% of ad spending.


The arrival of ad-blockers became a game-changer for the relationship between publishers and the online user, ultimately giving online users greater control over their online...

2 March 2020 | Advertising

Kroger launches offering focusing on more precise attribution for brands and suppliers

Retail giant Kroger has announced the launch of a new product which aims to provide brands and suppliers with more transparent sales attribution.

The new feature, from Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM), the company’s media advertising business, will mean brands can view in-store and online sales results attributed to campaigns across Kroger properties, with Kroger applying only 100% verified transactions from in-store and online customers.

For marketers hoping to...

14 February 2020 | Advertising Technology

Privacy and real-time bidding: An updated guide for adtech vendors and publishers

Until the summer of 2019, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s privacy regulator, had not been particularly pro-active in enforcing the law on data protection in respect of the use of cookies and programmatic advertising based on real-time bidding (RTB).

This all changed in June and July of this year, when the ICO published respectively a detailed report into RTB practices and an updated guidance note on the use of cookies. There are some key points...

29 November 2019 | Advertising

It’s crunch time for cookie bashers: Why we need cookies to protect the open Internet

Cookies came onto the scene in the mid 90s, and, like most millennials, they’re a little misunderstood. But this time, it’s got nothing to do with avocado toast.

For many of us, the word ‘cookie’ has become a bit of a byword for peskiness – associated with annoying ads and relentless targeting, not to mention clumsy permission-based puns (guilty as charged.) This misunderstanding has led to the ‘cookie’ becoming – well, a bit stale....

19 November 2019 | Advertising

It’s finally time to ditch the vanity metrics – and focus on these measurements instead

Today’s marketers have oceans of data at their disposal that they can use to track a nearly endless array of metrics to measure performance. Being able to eliminate assumptions and objectively evaluate campaigns is something marketers have always wanted. If they’re going to use data effectively, however, they need to acknowledge that not all metrics are created equal.

Vanity metrics are exactly what their name implies: indicators that flatter marketers rather than...

21 October 2019 | Advertising

Good news, fake news: The mediars fight for encryption – and against misinformation

According to reports, senior figures in the Trump administration held a meeting last month to consider whether to pursue legislation outlawing end-to-end encryption on US-made messaging apps.

While the ultimate outcome of the meeting is yet to be seen, it brings to light a serious question that we all - governments, consumers and businesses - need to ask ourselves: what do we lose when private messaging is truly private?

On the one hand, end-to-end encryption means that private...

15 August 2019 | Attribution

Users ‘readily recognise’ importance of advertising – but don’t disable adblockers by default

Consumer expectations remain higher than ever when it comes to advertising – or rather, the lack of it. As a result, publishers have had to resort to stronger tactics.

We notice you’re using an ad blocker, the website says, with varying degrees of politeness. We also know everyone hates ads, it continues, but unfortunately our employees do need to feed and clothe their children so we were wondering if you’d be so kind as to disable your ad blocker just for...

16 April 2019 | Advertising