Ad fraud is a huge problem that has many different components.
While the issue of paid and often fraudulent traffic is a known one, this is typically assumed to be a tactic employed by fly-by-night scammers who set up “fake” websites to serve ads typically sold through programmatic platforms.
For years, there has existed an underground market in which individuals and companies buy and sell fake social media followers, along with fake likes and comments.
These markets are an open secret and while fake accounts obviously violate the rules of popular social platforms like Facebook and Twitter, they have persisted.
Fueled by the dramatic rise and, more recently, fall in prices of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether, the blockchain is all the buzz.
While some believe that cryptocurrencies are in a bubble the likes of which the world has never before seen, many, including major companies in a variety of industries, also believe that the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrencies has legitimate and meaningful uses that could benefit if not revolutionize the way they do business.
This past Saturday, new Open Banking rules that require big banks to share data with vetted third parties, including fintech upstarts, went into effect in the U.K.
Open Banking is more than anything else a reflection of the fact that the world is changing for big banks as regulators look to support fintech innovation.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, unless, perhaps, you’re an executive of a luxury brand.
That’s because out of all categories, luxury labels and retailers were responsible for the highest volume of discounts on Black Friday this year in the U.S.
Amazon’s unrelenting drive to take over the world continues. The latest potential target of the online retailer’s ambitions: prescription drugs.
According to reports, Amazon is exploring entering the retail pharmacy market in the U.S., a $400bn a year business that many believe is ripe for disruption. While a final decision has apparently not yet been made, it’s not too early for pharma marketers to start considering the prospect of Amazon entering this huge market.
For years, there has been much talk about the impact of fintech startups like Monzo and Atom Bank on incumbent banks but little has been done to quantify the actual effects fintechs are having on big banks.
New data from The Bank of England (BoE), published as part of its 2017 stress test of the UK banking system, however, is shedding light on this subject.
Thanks to all of the scandals and controversies that have hit online advertising in the past year, a growing number of companies are taking a closer look at their digital ad campaigns.
Some of them aren’t liking what they’re finding.
It has been coming for years. Concerned about advertisements that aren’t always distinguishable as advertisements, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been warning brands and the publishers and influencers they work with that they need to adhere to guidelines designed to ensure that consumers know the score.
Now, following another friendly reminder to influencers and brands in April, the FTC is ramping up its enforcement efforts.
For the second time in as many months, a cyberattack has made waves around the globe.
Following on the heels of last month’s WannaCry ransomware attack, a new virus dubbed Petya began spreading rapidly this week.
On Tuesday, the European Commission (EC) announced that it is levying a $2.7bn fine on search giant Google for abusing its dominant search position to illegally favor its own vertical shopping search offering, Google Shopping.
In explaining the record fine for breaking EU antitrust rules, EC Commissioner Margrethe Vestager stated:
Influencer marketing continues to grow like a weed, but that doesn’t mean that brands employing it don’t face big challenges.
Here are six inconvenient truths that brands using this increasingly popular digital marketing technique should be aware of.