1. There's a new working paper out that says online product reviews cost shoppers 12 cents for every dollar they spend, and increase the likelihood they buy inferior products. The study, which will be presented Friday at the NBER Summer Institute, says that people who rely on online reviews end up spending more money and buying lower quality items. In other words, don't believe everything you read on the internet!
2. Starting today, Facebook video creators who use songs by popular artists like Post Malone and Tove Lo can now earn 20% of in-stream ad revenue generated by those videos. Meta, Facebook's parent company, said the goal is to give "both creators and music rights holders a more sustainable way to share the value created by user-generated content." The move comes as part of an ongoing effort by Facebook to attract more professional content
creators to its platform. In recent years, the social media giant has signed deals with major publishers like BuzzFeed and Vox Media, and it has also launched a separate app for creators calledFacebook Creator. With the new revenue-sharing program, Facebook is hoping to lure even more professional talent to its site. So far, the response from creators has been positive, with many saying that they're excited to finally be able to monetize their work. And while 20% may not sound like much, it
could potentially add up to a significant sum of money for some of the most popular creators on Facebook.
3. Google's local service ads have been plagued by fake reviews, despite the tech giant's promise to "screen" and label reviews as credible. Some "spam" ads can stay up for as long as five months before Google takes action. It gets worse: Users claim that sometimes the top three LSAs have inflated ratings, which hurts the local firms doing business "by the book." As one user said, "It's like the Wild West out there." Another said, "I'm not sure
if I can trust any of these companies anymore." Google has not commented on the situation.
4. Twitch is making it easier for streamers to support their favorite charities with the launch of Twitch Charity. Twitch Charity is a built-in fundraising tool that allows streamers to pledge donations, subscriptions, and Bits (Twitch’s virtual currency) to charities of their choice. This is a great way for streamers to show their support for causes they care about, and it will also make it easier for viewers to donate to charities through
Twitch. To learn more about Twitch Charity, or to find a list of supported charities, head over to the Twitch blog.
5. If you're like most people, the term "data clean room" probably doesn't mean much to you. But if you're a marketing or data analyst, it's a phrase you're probably very familiar with. Data clean rooms are privacy-based technologies that allow companies to merge and match two or more first-party data sets in order to create a new audience or analytics segment informed by both data sets – but without ever allowing either side's personally
identifiable information to be exposed to the other. In other words, it's a way to keep your data safe and secure while still being able to reap the benefits of big data.
6. Nike, the athletic footwear and apparel giant, has split its $1 billion media account between PMG and Initiative. PMG takes North America and Initiative takes the international integrated planning and buying business, wrapping up the largest global media review the footwear brand has run in a decade. Nike did not comment on the decision, but it is sure to please both agencies. This is a win-win for all involved. Nike gets two agencies with
different strengths working on its account, and both agencies get a piece of the pie.
7. Roku Core 6 framework is designed to give advertisers better opportunities to access first-party data. The partnership with Microsoft announced in May provides access to more accurate and actionable data that will help marketers understand how consumers are streaming content on Roku devices. OneView, Roku’s ad streaming platform, also aim to make it easy to upload, activate and reach viewers beyond the company’s audiences. This shift to
first-party data is a major step forward for Roku and its advertisers.
8. As any Netflix or Hulu subscriber knows, there's nothing quite like lying on the couch and binge-watching your favorite shows. But what's the best way to enjoy this experience? Is it better to go with an ad-supported service like Hulu, or pay a little extra for an ad-free experience on Netflix? According to a new study, it doesn't really matter - U.S. consumers give both options similar rankings when it comes to value. The study,
conducted by Hub Entertainment Research, found that there is very little difference in how viewers perceive the two types of services. So whether you choose to stream with ads or without, you're still getting a great value for your money.
9.There's no need to panic just yet--the number of U.S. households with subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) subscriptions rose by two percentage points quarter-over-quarter in Q2, according to Kantar’s Entertainment on Demand Service. So what does that mean for the future of television? Well, SVOD (paid streaming without ads) reached 82.9% household penetration in the quarter, while ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) grew to 72.4%. In other words,
people are still watching a lot of TV, they're just doing it on their own terms. And who can blame them? With so many great options out there, why not choose the one that fits your needs and interests the best? It's a brave new world out there, and it's only getting more exciting by the day.
10. In what is surely the biggest settlement ever reached in a data breach case, wireless company T-Mobile has agreed to pay $350 million to customers, and $150 million to upgrade security. The class-action lawsuit stemmed from a data breach involving the theft of nearly 80 million people's information. While the monetary amount is staggering, it's little consolation for those whose personal information was stolen. But at least T-Mobile is
taking steps to improve security, so hopefully this kind of thing won't happen again.
11.Hulu's advertising policies are so confusing that even the Big Government Democrats can't figure them out. On Monday, the streamer contacted Suraj Patel, a Democratic candidate for Congress in New York City, to say that it would run the original version of his political ad after all. This reversal comes after Hulu initially rejected the ad, claiming that it didn't meet its content guidelines. Apparently, the streamer wasn't too happy with the
changes that Patel made in order to get his ad approved. So what exactly are Hulu's advertising guidelines? Does the company allow political ads? And if so, what kind of political ads does it allow? The campaign ad was originally rejected by Hulu because it was "too sensitive" for their viewers. The ad contained content about topics like abortion, gun laws and climate change. In order to get Hulu to accept the ad, the campaign substituted "democracy" for "climate change" and replaced the
footage of violent Jan. 6 insurrectionists with footage of former President Trump. This just goes to show that you can't please everyone all the time. Maybe next time they'll try harder to be less "sensitive."