The 10 things in advertising you need to know today
1. Media startup NowThis is dominating Facebook and it just landed an interview with President Obama. The company, which started in 2012, built itself into a powerhouse on short videos, with overlaid text, which spread through Facebook like wildfire.
2. Following a mixed set of Q3 earnings last week, the analyst view on ad tech company Rubicon Project is decidedly sombre right now. At the heart of Rubicon Project's issues is the fact that it was slow to react to header bidding, the hottest trend in ad tech.
3. Tesla might be on the verge of a breakthrough that would change its "overpromising" reputation. Business Insider explains why he thinks Tesla could be on the verge of not underdelivering on its next and most important vehicle, the mass-market Model 3.
4. Adidas is now selling trainers made of recycled plastic from oceans. While only 7,000 are going on sale for now, Adidas has big plans for these types of shoes, and "our ultimate ambition is to eliminate virgin plastic from our supply chain," the company said, according to The Verge.
5. Advertising company MDC Partners - owner of Crispin Porter + Bogusky and 72andSunny - is exploring a potential sale, The Wall Street Journal reports. MDC Chairman said "right now the scope is to explore and evaluate our capital structure," during the company's earnings call last week.
6. Snapchat is competing for app-installation ads - one of the biggest categories of mobile advertising, AdvertisingAge reports. People familiar with the matter say the company is talking with direct-response specialists about giving them access to its ads API (application programming interface).
7. Facebook is being sued for allowing housing and job related ads that allegedly exclude "ethnic affinities." A lawsuit seeking class action status filed in California federal court last week alleges that Facebook's ad targeting options violate federal fair housing and civil rights laws.
8. Most Americans don't even know the biggest shopping day in the world - Singles' Day - exists. The holiday is China's version of Cyber Monday and is held every year in November.
9. In recent years, Black Friday has lost its lustre, and shoppers are catching on. Black Friday sales fell 12% last year and Business Insider put together seven reasons why we think it's not worth it for shoppers.
10. Snapchat invented a nifty way to charge its new smart glasses. Patents published on November 1 give us a small peek at what's under the hood of Snap's Spectacles.