The 10 things in advertising you need to know today
1. Ad tech company The Trade Desk went public at $28.75 per share on Wednesday - a huge pop on its $18 price target. TTD closed at $30.10 per share on its first day on the Nasdaq.
2. The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green said he hopes his firm's IPO will reignite "trust" between Wall Street and ad tech. He also delved deep into his company's financials, including take-rate and its R&D budget.
3. Inside the catastrophe at Mode Media, the once $1 billion juggernaut that suddenly went bust. The company's CEO Samir Arora was known for his extravagant spending, including his use of company properties in the Hamptons and in LA.
4. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan announced a plan to invest $3 billion into research they hope will cure all diseases by the end of this century. "By investing in science today, we hope to build a future in which all of our children can build long and rewarding lives," Priscilla Chan said.
5. German ecommerce investor Rocket Internet says it's still trying to cut its losses. It expects three of its main startups to turn profitable by the end of 2017.
6. The Criteo versus SteelHouse "click fraud" lawsuit has got nastier. SteelHouse filed more documents, which allege 3.6% of Criteo's users are generating 25% of its clicks - a level it feels is so disproportionate that it is "indicative of adware, bots, click farms" or some other fraud. Criteo denies the allegation.
7. The duo who replaced all the billboards in a tube station with cats to protest advertising have just been hired by an ad agency. Wieden + Kennedy London has hired Katy Edelsten and Chloe Cordon, who were behind the "Citizens Advertising Takeover Service" (CATS).
8. Viacom slashed its dividend by 50% and said its interim CEO will leave. Viacom also said it had ended the process of seeking a minority investor for Paramount Pictures as it considers all options available to the company.
9. How 17 famous companies got their quirky names. From Pepsi to Spotify.
10. Dick's Sporting Goods has a sneaky tactic to win over Sports Authority's customers. Dick's purchased the bankrupt retailer's brand name in its bankruptcy auction and the SportsAuthority.com website now redirects to DicksSporitngGoods.com.