From eye tracking research on how people view mobile ads to a report on which celebrity searches are most likely to be utilised for criminal activity, this week’s Figaro Digital Digest has all the latest news and research from the marketing world.
Twitter CEO Discusses ‘Clunky’ Ads And Future Changes
At the recent Dmexco ad tech conference in Cologne, Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, admitted that the social apps ad offering needs an overhaul. He explained that Twitter offers a strong differentiated business advantage, but hasn’t clearly communicated this to marketers and agencies in the past.
He said: “We haven’t focused enough on ROI,” and “We have to make sure every advertiser can see that it works.”
Eye Tracking Research Shows Ads Are Largely Ignored
It’s not news PPC advertisers want to here, but new research by AI company GumGum has found that IAB format ads are largely ignored by mobile users. In a study which utilised eye tracking, it revealed that the average person spends 1.42 seconds looking at an ad. Dynamic ads scored a little better with the average ad being viewed for 3.14 times longer.
“Old ad standards simply aren’t working because consumers are becoming ‘banner blind’,” said Phil Schraeder, President and COO of GumGum.
“They’re so savvy about these formats, they’re wilfully ignoring adverts online. It’s time for advertisers to consider new, rich media formats that are integrated into the content we see online. By making adverts fit the context of the page via in-image techniques, consumers will be more likely to engage with them – and advertisers will avoid wasting billions.”
Googling Your Favourite Celeb Could Put You In Danger
McAfee has revealed that searching for information on singers such as Craig David could lead to users being lured to click on links to malicious software on criminal websites.
The cyber-security firm has revealed that Craig David, Emeli Sande, Liam Payne, Adele and Ed Sheeran are the five most dangerous celebs to Google in the UK.
McAfee’s Vice President, Nick Viney, said:
“Having the latest hit albums, videos and movies available on our connected devices immediately is a tempting proposition.
“However, consumers need to be aware of the cyber-security risks of clicking on links that promise the latest content from celebrities, particularly when they’re offering free content.
“When searching for their favourite content online, they need to slow down and assess the links and sources that are showing up in search results. We urge people to think before they click to protect themselves from malware and cyber-security threats.”
Google AdWords Announces New Merchant Center Tools
Inside AdWords revealed this week that AdWords will soon be launching new Merchant Center tools.
Whereas previously your product data could be submitted in one primary feed, supplementary feeds will now provide flexibility and help you to modify product data from multiple sources. This will also allow users to add or overrise attributes and values in the primary feed.
For example, you can add custom labels or promotional IDs to products in the primary feed using supplementary ones.
(image: Inside AdWords)
You will also be able to take your shopping feed global. You will be able to add new countries who speak the same language to your primary feed and prices will automatically show in a user’s local currency.
You can find out more about all the new tools here.
For more news updates, guides and opinion pieces, take a look at a few more of our articles.
