Amazon Is Creating Ripples In The Digital Market With The Announcement Of Its Identifier.
Discarding the third-party cookie by Google is the hot topic of discussion in the technology market. By this move, Google is trying to benefit its publisher services and DSP. However, this has created a void in the market, and Amazon is all set to fill this void.
To make sure that the void is sealed the eCommerce giant is meeting various leading companies to discuss and plan techniques that will help them track the customer journey over the internet using Amazon’s advertising ecosystem. It has been found that three prominent companies are already in discussion with Amazon regarding this. Therefore, one can soon expect to have an identifier by Amazon. However, the timeline has not yet been shared by the tech giant.
There are several open identifiers available in the market like Live Ramp and Trade Desk. However, Google has made it clear that they will not be supported any longer. On the other hand, the new identifier launched by Amazon will be limited to its ecosystem. It could be a concern for many advertisers. However, they must understand that it is time to choose a side and decide which boat they will be sailing.
“They are thinking about it more in terms of Google’s ‘ppid,’ where it’s siloed to a particular network of O&O sites,”. “It would be more as a means to inform their DSP of frequency and attribution while maintaining an identity silo.” The statement was released by one of the companies which is in talks with Amazon regarding its new identifier.
Even though the date for the launch of the identifier is yet not released, it has created a wave of commotion in the advertising industry. It is reported that Amazon is working vigorously to make things possible. However, its priority is to make the security non-penetrable. When compared to Google, Amazon is a small fish in the advertising industry. Therefore, such a bold step was not expected by Amazon as there is so much to invest before Amazon can eat the fruits of success. According to a spokesperson the identifier will be operative following Amazon’s opt-out policies, privacy notice and interest-based ads.
However, it is a speculation that once things are in motion, it can turn the tables around and end the monopoly of Google in the field of advertising. It is not just a speculation, but after monitoring last year results of a survey conducted by the Advertisers Perception, it was found that Amazon’s DSP ranked first among other DSP’s.
It will not only help Amazon to set a firm foot in the field of digital advertising but will also help in boosting its APS business.
APS was always going to be a differentiator for them, An identifier’s kind of a door opening to push this more,”
#MightyHive, commerce practice director, Nicholas Seo.
As stated above, the identifier can create a new era where advertisers have to choose or invest more money in their advertising strategy.
According to a source of the company, in talks with Amazon about its new identifier stated:
“I do wonder if the buy-side is ultimately just going to have to settle for a set of further fragmented buys than what they do today”.
However, there are no executives available who can give a clear perspective of this new identifier and answer the queries of an individual. Yet it has been said that the identifier will be only available to those who will fulfil the requirements of Amazon.
Google is yet to work on the fundamentals of Publishers Provided ID, and it is in an experimental stage. It is important to note that PPI has played a crucial role in deals made in the private marketplace.
However, the ability of Amazon to map the transactions has given him a better hand with a stronger DSP. It is sure going to give Amazon an upper hand.
“As advertisers look to navigate the future, they are going to continue to look to partners in the near term who can do 1-to-1, both targeting and measurement, the measurement front, the partners that have that closed-loop look are going to become increasingly important”.
#Lauren Fisher, Advertiser Perceptions, EVP of business intelligence at the research firm.
A Step Towards Innovation In Media Planning By Kochava
Some of the top brands in the industry has always dominated the media market. Brands like Facebook and Google has always been the first preference of advertisers. However, there are several other vendors in the market which provides a more effective advertisement and marketing on their platforms through advance technical tools and innovative approach. In several matters, these providers are more capable of delivering efficient services compared to the overhyped ones.
However, to work efficiently, they all need a diverse database which helps them in their decision making. On several occasions, advertisers end up paying huge amount of money to test campaigns which are often of no use to them. They even fall in traps of vendors who do not perform well and ultimately end up failing the advertising campaigns or even businesses. It becomes difficult for them to integrate the advertisement campaigns with the new tools available in the market.
Therefore, Kochava media index presented the advertisers with a perfect solution. The solution will help them look for the perfect vendors for their advertisement. It will work worldwide and will help in creating an unbiased standard in the media industry. It will develop a transparent and robust methodology which will help marketers research for the ad vendors and will also ensure that vendors to anticipate the potential buyers. All this has become possible due to the acquisition of the largest research database; Thalamus.
The Kochava index is highly useful as it holds the data of almost 500k buyers/marketers and around 50k ad vendors. The information that it provides about them includes:
- Mobile data
- Alexa traffic
- Pricing model
- Site data
- Location of the inventory
- Creatives run by vendors
The data provided by the index is transparent to the viewers, and it helps marketers make better decisions based on their research conducted using the information. The index also highlights the top-performing assets and media partners which can be utilized, to craft better strategy while developing a campaign.
Vendors get the flexibility of researching the data by applying the desired filters. These filters can be utilized based on the following factors:
- Media channels
- Geolocation
- Key performance indicators
- Filters for the inventory
The ranking of the vendors is created based on the data they provide, available data on Kochava and the reviews they have.
Kochava media index is determined to create a more informative and transparent ecosystem for the marketers by continuously updating and evolving its platform.
Fundo- Google’s Latest Innovation To Monetize Your Video Events
Google has innovated a supreme way to help SMEs, to help them in monetizing their video events. It is an amazing option for video creators to make money through Google Fundo. Now, they can create a video event, set a date for its launch and sell tickets online.
Isn’t that amazing?
Let us understand; what is Fundo?
An online application from Google, enabling its users to create video events online, and sell tickets to the interested audiences. It is an all-in-one application that doesn’t need any external downloads. Google Fundo will do everything for you!
Here we have the feature that will be available with the application:
- You can do a one-on-one chat + Photo
- Arrange Meet and Greet
- Create Workshops
The audience will be provided with a search option. The audience will be able to search the event through the search option or the events link can also be shared to people via multiple sources. Sharing link features can also be used to publicize your event features.
Who can earn money from the videos?
According to the announcement made by Fundo:
“In addition to YouTube creators and their fans, we’re seeing authors, fitness instructors, business and lifestyle consultants and others use Fundo to find new ways to connect.”
However, it seems that large music concerts can’t be organized, on the platform. Since the website has limitations, and only three types of events to be created on the website.
According to a frequently asked question ,
“…please note each event has a limited number of tickets…”
One-on-One Chat + Photos
The feature allows the video creators to initiate a one-on-one interaction session with fans and admirers. The + Photo feature works as the Photo Booth, built into the website. The user can use different frames and props available in the options. It created to make your conversations fun!
You can use this feature to take pictures with your favorite celebrities and YouTube stars and add them to your collection.
Google Fundo features, Meet and Greets!
The feature is similar to a one-on-one chat feature which we discussed above. However, this feature takes place between the YouTube video creators and their audiences. The no. of users that can join in is kept limited!
As per Google:
“As a fan, you’ll have a variety of experiences to choose from. Join the Q&A with… channel members in a group Meet & Greet…”
Fundo Workshops
The feature is a very useful one, especially for small businesses, like restaurants. They can create the videos portraying their cooking techniques and teach people how to cook new recipes. It will help them in developing a following for their restaurant, and gaining new customers.
Other options for promotions could relate to the real estate selling/purchasing techniques, stock market trading or technical tutorials which can be taught online through these channels.
How safe is Fundo?
When it is related to business, the first thing that comes to our mind is the security of our database. Therefore, Fundo assures you that no uninvited guests will be allowed to your party. That is the reason it will have the option for one ticket per person.
It is a product of Google, and they are famous for their advancement in the field of technology.
According to Fundo:
“Safety is a top priority. Because Fundo is checking everyone’s ticket, there’s no risk of uninvited guests. We also have reporting and flagging features to curtail abuse.”
Well, the application looks promising and could be a big success in the digital market as people feel connected with their YouTube stars. Also, it could be an efficient way for the creators to attract more audiences to their channels and get to know their audiences better!
Let us know in the comment section; who is your favorite YouTube content creator?
Analyzing The Advertisement Spend Of The Upcoming IPL 2020
Due to the COVID widespread, the Indian Premier League is all set to take place in Dubai. The teams have arrived, the practice session has begun, and the schedule for the matches has gone public.
However, this year the matches will be played in empty stadiums. Also, this IPL season has seen several turnarounds related to the sponsorships. Finally, everything is settled, and the matches are going to start on September 19, 2020.
It is the first world series that is happening in 2020. Even the Olympics, scheduled to be played in Tokyo, Japan this year has been postponed, till the year 2021. IPL is a series filled with excitement and enthusiasm. People who are locked down in their houses will finally have some in-house entertainment.
Though, what is there for the advertisers? How stadiums with no audience will affect the overall earnings and viewership of this premier league?
According to research conducted by Duff and Phelp, there is going to be an approximate increase of 13.5% INR in terms of value.
Ashish Bhasin, CEO APAC and Chairman India, Dentsu Aegis Network says:
“Sport used to be largely male-dominated in viewership but IPL managed to change that. The tournament made its viewership a lot more family inclusive. I can not think of any other Indian TV property which is so universal and cuts across age groups, genders, and geographies.”
However, IPL has always been a great success. In the year of 2019, the Indian premier league was worth 47,500 crores (the US $6.8 billion). Value of IPL in 2018 was 41,800 crores (the US $ 6.3 billion). Therefore, if compared in terms of evaluation, it has shown an appreciable increase in the consecutive years.
Expenditure On Advertisement: Projected value and Profit Generators (Investors)
In 2019, it was reported that the official broadcaster of IPL Star India generated an approximate worth of 2,000 crores which was somewhere equivalent to the amount fetched in the year 2018(18,000-20,000 crore). However, according to Mohit Joshi, Managing Director at Havas Media Group, Star India is going to see an increase of at least 20%(29,000 – 3,000 crore). One of the major reasons for this would be the increase in the in-house viewership leading to an increase in the TRP of the channel.
In the year 2019, Advertising agencies have seen a bad phase. The reasons being the slowdown in the economy, and the introduction of New Tariff order by TRAI. Therefore, the Indian Premier League season 2020 is looking promising.
“I estimate the growth of IPL to be around 10-12% this year,” Ashish Bhasin.
Rubeena Singh, CEO, iProspect India shared her views and provided a breakdown of expenditure on advertisement in digital media and TV during this IPL season 2020. According to the breakdown provided by her, there will be an overall amount spent on the advertisement will be 3,000 – 3,300 crores.
- TV – 2,300 – 2,500 core.
- Digital – 800 – 1000 crore.
According to the calculations by Rebecca Noronha, Senior Manager – Media, Gozoop and Rikki Agrawal, Co-founder, Chief Business & Operating Officer at Blink Digital the advertisement expenditure is going to rise on an approximate 30-40% during this IPL season.
Sujay Kar– Group Director and Lead – Commerce, VMLY&R SEA, and India are placing his bets on digital media platforms. According to him, “Digital is expected to see the highest growth as the top Media platform, as Mobile content consumption for Sports and Entertainment is on a rise”.
The Duff and Phelps report has listed IPL among the world top ten sports leagues. Numerous brands are trying to associate themselves with the Indian Premier League, either they want to be on the Jersey of the players by providing sponsorship or sponsor a team.
There is a big list of spenders for this year’s IPL season. Some of the players listed below:
- FMCG
- BFSI
- Fantasy Cricket
- Telecom
- Mobile Handset manufacturers
- Automobile
- E-commerce
- Food Delivery apps.
Even some of the biggest brands do not want to miss this golden opportunity. These brands include:
- Oppo
- PhonePe
- Coca Cola
- Amazon
- Flipkart
- Samsung
- Vivo
- Dream 11
- Byju’s
Even the new automobile industry names like Kia and MG Motors are determined to enter the race of sponsors.
The Media Carriers
According to the reports shared by BARC India, In the year 2019, Star India viewership reached 462 mn, during the IPL season. There was an approximate 12% increase in the viewership since the year 2018. The Star India aired the Indian Premier League, in eight different languages and 24 channels were on display.
Hotstar recorded a record-breaking reach of 300 mn views. The highest one-day viewership record on the platform was 18.6 mn, on the final day ( Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians).
According to Bhasin, the medium of viewing will not matter, and both digital and TV will get an equal response. He also stated: “For those 40 days, it is hard for any other programming to compete with at the same time slot as the IPL because of its impact. It has almost become a part of our culture.”
Bhasin further says, “ground activities and OOH are equally important at times like this. Depending upon the product and the category, using various media and giving a consistent message across them is going to be fruitful for brands”.
According to Mr Joshi, there is always more viewership and reach related to the television. Therefore it is best for massive brands. However, the brands with a particular niche, digital/OTT platforms like Hotstar are the best.
Noronho explains “Surprisingly, this year, new emerging ad channels like ShareChat (the Indic language-based social network) have released a Cricket-special brand integration. Advertisers who have their audience present in Tier II and Tier III cities would consider leveraging this medium.”
Upcoming Trends/Innovation in IPL 2020
IPL has always been a trendsetter for the market, generating new ideas for advertisement and providing creative content for the content creators.
This year “Star Sports has launched a regional sports channel to give regional flavour to local audiences, innovation in terms of match scheduling strategy – big matches on weekends. Super Sunday matches will be telecasted on movie channels and other regional channels to reach a mass audience” an observation by Joshi.
Some of the interesting ways of advertising your products could be mini-games, Social feeds, distribution of coupons, Watch and win can provide a successful engagement ratio with the audience.
Advice From The Experts
- Schedule your campaigns with perfection and according to the current trends.
- Don’t spend all your money on targeting the audience. Try to put your money on different parts of a campaign, this will generate more results. Play smart!
- Mobile phones are the best option for Leverage Section Targeting.
- Make sure that your advertisement covers regional ads. Understanding the customer’s geography is an important step in digital marketing strategy.
- Make sure your content fits for all screen sizes, especially the small ones.
- Moment marketing is important. You have to stay updated with the recent trends, social media buzz, live commentary and all the other factors which can help you stay updated on and keep you creative. You have to increase your reach, reduce duplication, limit frequency, learn and optimize.
Mr. Bhasin still recalls his favorite IPL campaign to be “Har Ek friend zaroori hota hai.” The campaign helped in establishing a new market trend which made people realize the importance of telecom in bringing people together.
Further, Bhasin concludes, “Put a consistent message to the consumers, holistically. Don’t get tied up with one medium and make sure that you supplement your television and digital activity along with other activities.”
Apple In-app Purchase Policy – Understanding The Pros & Cons.
What is Apple’s new in-app purchase policy & how does it affect people from different areas?
In-app purchases are used to sell content in numerous categories. Available content ranges from services, new features, and even subscriptions. On an Apple store, a user is independent to make purchases on/for an iPad, iPhone, Apple watch, and Television.
The in-app purchase is divided further into four main categories:
- Consumable: An in-app consumable purchase could be anything that can be exhausted with time or usage. These mostly include subscriptions, purchases for games like coins or gems, or maybe progress in a particular game.
- Non-Consumable: Non-consumable items usually come with one-time purchase options. These items can include filters for a phone camera, business application with one-time purchase options e.t.c.
- Auto-Renewable section: These services come with a subscription that gets exhausted in a time frame. The consumer needs to refuel the quota to keep the service working. These services could be a subscription to a monthly magazine or a yearly purchase for an upgraded feature of an application.
- Non- Renewing Subscription: There are certain limited-time features or one time purchases bought from the app store. Due to their fewer availability, it is hard to renew their subscriptions. Therefore they remain as a non-renewing subscription due to their limited availability.
In the month of February, Apple made some crucial changes to its in-app purchase policies. However, Apple received criticism for these policies.
In a statement issued by Apple to the media, regarding the in-app purchase policy; “All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the apps.”
The statement raised concerns, as the publishers/developers of these services had to pay a large chunk of their share to Apple. The calculated share was estimated to be 30% of their earning.
The implemented policy included all the products. These included magazines, newspapers, videos, movies etc. Even the high stake players like Hulu Plus, Netflix, Spotify, and Rhapsody did not get any flexible walk away.
The biggest challenge was the 30% revenue that these applications had to share with Apple.
To avoid any purchases outside the Apple environment, Apple does not allow any external purchase mechanism that can grant users a subscription in Apple. Hence, there was no backdoor entry for anyone. It was clear that if these companies wanted to serve their business to the audience of the Apple environment, they have to bow down to the laws laid by Apple.
Another restriction for the application is that they can not link themselves to the Amazon website.
After facing criticism from several competitors, publishers, developers, and even service providers, Apple made changes to its policies.
The new rules allow developers and publishers to set the price of their products and services according to their convenience. However, the restriction on linking external sources within the application is still prohibited.
Apple is not forcing Amazon to sell their books in the Apple store. If Amazon decides to do so, they are allowed to charge a premium amount from the customers. It will help Amazon compensate the amount to Apple.
Another reason for the change in policy could be the Financial Times application winning an award for the best web-based application. The application can bypass the Apple AppStore and can open in a browser.
However, Financial Times will continue to host their application on the Apple platform, but they aim to direct the audience on to their browser-based web-application.
Though the FT Times new web-based application created a polarity amongst the other publishers. They have to decide their future with Apple-store.
No Newsroom To return To, As Many Newspapers Retire During COVID
After a rough phase of destruction by the COVID pandemic, media companies are planning strategies to re-open their businesses. The bad news is that many of them don’t have an office to return.
The Tribune released a statement last week. They have decided to close their New York daily newspaper and several other offices at different locations. According to a statement provided by them to the New York Times, they would “reconsider their need for physical offices” as they are fighting the way through pandemic and “as needs change.”
According to Fran Wills, CEO of the Local Media Consortium, media houses aren’t just buildings; they are the landmarks, representing culture, heritage from centuries. Frank is an owner of around 4,000 memberships. These memberships include radio, newspaper, online-only news outlets, and TV. Frank added, “They are a big part of a lot of the downtowns in a lot of their communities.” The pandemic broke the backbone of the news industry.
Emily Bell, professor at Columbia Journalism School, tweeted last week, she stated that the closure “represents institutional weakening. The dilution of solidarity against power, the snuffing of a beacon,”
They are the much needed times for newsrooms and newspapers to action around the world, especially in the US. With an ongoing pandemic and rising anger of communities to end discrimination and upcoming elections in November, the US needs its media houses even more now, than ever.
However, media houses have lost the trust of their readers. A 2019-2020 Gallup and Knight Foundation poll of more than 20,000 Americans showed that the Americans no longer trust their media and have a negative viewpoint towards them. The numbers are even lower when compared to the poll conducted in 2017.
The summary of the report states, “Americans have not only lost confidence in the ideal of an objective media, they believe news organizations actively support the partisan divide.”
The biggest challenge faced by the industry is to maintain the real state that they have accommodated. With several heads to feed, it became difficult for the newspapers to sustain their accommodated newsroom, which was the finest venues, but mostly rented. Also, the decline of the trust of their audience has forced them to stay in low visibility. Now, they gradually try to step up on the ladder of consumer trust, to re-gain their reputation.
Although, the possibilities of media houses losing their trust with the audience even increase with them being in lower visibility. These times should be considered dangerous, the lower visibility might propagate a negative sentiment across the audience’s minds, as the industry work on its cost-cutting plans involving the evacuation of the real estate.
In 2017, The Dallas morning news downsized itself from the famous building “Rock of Truth”. However, they made a smaller iconic version of the monument. The new inscription on the glass states, “Build the news upon the rock of truth”. The new owner of the building states that they will preserve the exterior of “Rock of Truth”.
According to Wills from Local Media Consortium, “It would be beneficial for companies considering moving out of their offices to continue to have some sort of presence or some sort of way their landmarks can be preserved in their communities.”
Jeff Jarvis, a journalism professor at the City University of New York, thinks that this could be an opportunity for the newspapers to go back to their audiences. It will also promote cross-team collaboration and can be useful for sales teams which can spend more time with their audiences.
According to Jarvis, “Slack is a poor substitute for the sound of ringing typewriters, but you start to see the beginnings of that kind of office buzz being recreated.”
The factor of collaboration is not just limited to the sales teams and newsrooms. Even the local outlets are collaborating.
Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst at the Poynter Institute, stated, “Collaborations among formerly competing papers and other news entities have taken off like a rocket over the last few years.”
As an example, Story share launched in February by the AP, a tool that allows more than two dozens of newspaper to share their content plans and also helps them to republish each other’s stories. Nearly, 18 news channels joined hands in Florida to cover the climate changes happening in the states. These included The Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times.
However, journalism seems to be entangled in the cobwebs of old myths, and traits of the days of ink and paper. Journalism needs to break its chains and explore the possibilities of ideas and innovation.
Advertisers Lose An Approximate Of $130 Million In Fraud Dubbed As Hydra
In a revelation by Protected Media, a security firm based in Israel, advertisers lost an approximate of $130 million in an advertisement fraud. They have named the accused as Hydra, and there is an ongoing search operation target to find the accused.
However, Google and other advertisement tech firms are looking for the accused, but yet no one knows who is behind this million-dollar fraud.
Hydra!
The given name is perfect for a criminal community. Hollywood movies often have such names for their villains.
Although, it is indeed a villain in the real world which is responsible for fraudulent activities and stealing of $130 million; valuable hard-earned money of the advertisers.
The problem is, it still exists and has not been identified.
Rachel Nyswander Thomas, COO of TAG said, “Hydra is an accurate name because the impressions are being sold through many networks and being diluted — there are many heads to slay.”
The statement certainly raises concerns.
It is said to be creating fake app traffic. The traffic goes undetected by humans, ultimately costing them money for nothing.
Even though it was detected nearly a year ago by Asaf Greiner, CEO at Protected media, it is hard to catch the people behind the fraud scheme. These are clear signs that the fraud scheme is no ordinary fraud that advertisers or tech firms have faced in the past.
Reportedly, it portrays itself as mobile phones to create small amounts of traffic and then diverting the ad-traffic into the areas where enormous money is getting invested.
There is an ongoing search operation in progress; “Operation Abolish Hydra.”
However looking at the scenarios, it will take some outstanding measures to get to the root of such clever fraud techniques.
There is an ongoing fight against fraud, piracy, malware, and the absenteeism of transparency in the world of digital marketing.
To fight such malpractices, and eliminate the risk of fraud by these malpractices, American Affiliation of Promoting Companies (4A’s) and Affiliation for Nationwide Advertisers (ANA) and IAB created TAG. The leadership council of this community contains names like ad platforms, companies, and advertisers at the side of, Facebook, Google, NBCUniversal, GroupM, and Dr. Pepper Snapple Community.
Even when Google checked things with its Advert Traffic Quality team, it confirmed the fraud is costing people their money. Although, according to Google, it has only lost the least volume of marketing from the scam operation.
In the meantime, TAG launched the operation, “Operation Abolish Hydra.”
The operation allowed digital ad sellers to report any fraudulent activity to TAG. Therefore, ultimately helping in the detection and control of this fraud.
Rachel Nyswander Thomas, COO of TAG said, “What is more modern is the diploma to which or no longer it is specializing in in-app inventory and that or no longer it is hiding in more modern ways.”
In a statement Asaf Greiner, CEO at Protected media acknowledged:
“Promoting platforms are ashamed of being victimized and they’re threatened by it.”
Also, “They’ll compile true into an express where an advertiser asks them to pay them abet. Most CMOs need to specialize in their subsequent job. It would no longer find excellent on anybody’s resume.”
A Google spokesperson stated the following while addressing the issue:
“We commend Accurate Media for sharing facts on the Hydra ad fraud blueprint and participating with the broader exchange, which is distinguished to minimizing effect.”
He also acknowledged that “The largest takeaway from this case is the need for all mobile app developers to put into effect app-adverts.txt records data to mitigate app spoofing risks.”
A spokesperson from TAG said:
“It will lift time to construct a culture of possibility-sharing.”
Further stating that “We stamp original to this as an exchange. However other people are initiating to possess an extensive consciousness that or it is no longer almost about taking half in whack-a-mole yourself.”
India Shook China: Banned 59 Major Chinese Mobile Applications
In a recent decision taken by the Indian government, 59 Chinese mobile applications will be banned, in India. The list of 59 applications included some major, names from the market. TikTok, which had a higher share of its business in the Indian market, is included in this list.
It would be interesting to know that in 2019, when TikTok was briefly banned, in India, ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok reportedly lost more than $500,000 daily. The User share of TikTok has increased tremendously since then in the Indian market. Therefore, the news must have come as a disaster for the company.
The Indian government took this decision after the Indian intelligence informed the government about the potential risk of security from these applications.
Since the brutal face-off between the Chinese and Indian army in the “Galwan Ghati“, a place in Ladakh, the air is stiff between both the countries.
In a press release following statement was issued by the government stating, “The Ministry of Information Technology, invoking its power under section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009 and in view of the emergent nature of threats has decided to block 59 apps since in view of the information available they are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order”.
The press release further mentioned, “The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) has also received many representations from citizens regarding the security of data and breach of privacy impacting upon public order issues,”
It clearly stated that this move is to “safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users”.
Since the tension in Ladakh, the anger against TikTok and other Chinese application/equipment was seen, in the Indian market.
The rating of the application started falling continuously on the platform after the incident took place. On Apple store, the Chinese app used to rank in the top-5 free applications which later dropped down to 10th place in the ranking.
Similarly, TikTok saw a fall in ranking on the Google Play store and slipped from third to the fifth position in India, still managed to stay in the top 10 free applications.
It is not just the country of India, which banned the Chinese application!
Taiwan also banned a few Chinese applications due to security concern. However, in Germany, Zoom was restricted for the usage, Including other apps.
Robert O’Brian, the US national security advisor, has clearly stated that the Chinese applications are used as a weapon by the Communist Party of China(CPC) to spread its ideology across the globe.
The younger generation grew highly fond of this Chinese application. The application has this younger fan base not only in India but also in countries like the US and China.
TikTok, the highest downloaded app, had more than 2-billion users. India turned out to be the largest contributor in this success, contributing 611 million user downloads.
According to the report by sensor tower, the Chinese application grew in popularity during the lockdown phase in this epidemic.
The list of 59 Chinese mobile apps included:
- TikTok
- Shareit
- Kwai
- UC Browser
- Baidu map
- Shein
- Clash of Kings
- DU battery saver
- Helo
- Likee
- YouCam makeup
- Mi Community
- CM Browers
- Virus Cleaner
- APUS Browser
- ROMWE
- Club Factory
- Newsdog
- Beauty Plus
- UC News
- QQ Mail
- Xender
- QQ Music
- QQ Newsfeed
- Bigo Live
- SelfieCity
- Mail Master
- Parallel Space
- Mi Video Call Xiaomi
- WeSync
- ES File Explorer
- Viva Video QU Video Inc
- Meitu
- Vigo Video
- New Video Status
- DU Recorder
- Vault- Hide
- Cache Cleaner DU App studio
- DU Cleaner
- DU Browser
- Hago Play With New Friends
- Cam Scanner
- Clean Master Cheetah Mobile
- QQ Security Center
- Wonder Camera
- Photo Wonder
- QQ Player
- We Meet
- Sweet Selfie
- Baidu Translate
- QQ International
- Vmate
- QQ Launcher
- U Video
- V fly Status Video
- Mobile Legends
- DU Privacy
Nadim Samara Quits Omnicom After Being With Them For 19 Years
CEO of Omnicom Media Group MENA, Nadim Samara has decided to quit OMG. He will be relieved from his role in OMG, on 30 June 2020. This decision was taken after a mutual agreement between Nadim and OMG.
OMG is parent company group for PHD, Hearts and Science media agencies and OMD.
From 2016 to 2018, Nadim had been the CEO of OMD’s UAE operations. Later, he got promoted to become CEO of OMD MENA. In June 2019, Nadim became the CEO of OMG MENA.
To make sure the smooth working of the group, due to the vacant position of CEO, Ellie Khouri, the Executive Chairman of the group, has decided to add the functioning of CEO to his role. He was handling this role before Nadim got promoted to this job responsibility.
Khouri said, “Nadim’s career at Omnicom Media Group, spanning 17 years, has been very impressive and his contribution to our group’s development cannot be overstated. As well as a consummate professional, we bid farewell to a dear friend with whom we’ve shared countless experiences, challenges and successes. We wish him nothing but the best for his next career move.”
It would be exciting to know, “What would be the next big step by Nadim Samara after leaving OMG?”
The Guardian Introduces “The Registration Wall” To Collect First Party Data
Google and Apple have already initiated the process of discarding the third-party cookies, in their browsers. Similarly, The Guardian is asking people to sign-in, to help build the first-party data strategy.
The Guardian, in December, has initiated a testing model for its “Registration Wall”, including the only selected audience. This was shared in a post, by Caspar Llewellyn Smith, who is also a chief product officer at The Guardian.
According to him the goal of the testing is to portray more relevant advertisement to the customer and readers, this will also provide financial stability to the publishers.
The post started, “Asking readers to sign in provides us with more information that we can use to personalize our approach in asking for support, to serve advertising (with readers’ consent) and to create a better user experience.”
When a reader clicks on an article, an option to register for free appears on the screen. The user can opt for a “Not now” option if the user is not interested.
In the case of the user register, they get the perk of posting comments, exclusive access to the editorial section, and they can also opt for gift cards and discounts.
This helps the publishers to understand user preferences. The user and publishers can keep a track of the number of articles read by the user in a month.
Alice Pickthall, a senior analyst at Enders says, that it is a good job. “Registration is part of the funnel to growing reader engagement and donations while improving advertising quality and targeting so the benefit will be twofold to both strands of revenue.”
Registration walls collect the first-party data, this helps them to empower the content choice of the audience. It also, increase the accuracy of ad-targeting.
Even newspapers like the New York Times, Tribune Publishing, Hearst Newspapers are considering to implement registration walls on their websites.
With the help of registration walls, the publishers can have a better understanding of the users’ psych and therefore, they can target the ads according to the user preferences.
The Registration Wall leads publishers to a ten times higher conversion rate, as reported by the subscription platform Piano.
According to Thomas Beakdal, a media analyst, the first-party data helps to retain the customer, “You can’t do good churn analysis without first-party data.”
Even, the first-party data helps to increase the number of subscribers.
According to Nordic publisher Schibsted, an increase of subscribers was noticed when they analyzed their first-party data and understood the reason behind the cancellation journey of their users.
As the concept of third-party cookies is dying, the publishers’ community must build a first-party database. It will help publishers like Vox, Business Insiders and The Washington Posts in sustaining their businesses.
A registration wall will help publishers to collect details like email, phone number, name etc. helping them efficiently targeting their audience.
In just one year of installing registration wall on their website, The New York Times swears to never use third-party cookies for advertising.
The Guardian intends to provide a wonderful journalism experience to their audiences. They don’t want to compromise on it at any end. They feel that it’s a civic right of a human to get accurate information during these tough times of pandemic. The introduction of the registration wall is another step in that direction.
Online news platforms are experiencing heavy traffic on their website. Although, the revenue generated by advertisement is pretty low.
It’s astonishing that in March, The Guardian experienced a record-breaking user interaction on its unique browser. Since February, the number doubled and reached toa recorded of 336 million. As in February, this number was recorded to be 191 million.
Both, the number of daily visitors, and weekly visitors on the website have increased. In October 2019, The Guardian set a record of the maximum number of readers with some 750 million. This year in March 2020, it broke its record by reaching some 2.17 billion.
However, the data showed that The Guardian in the U.K experienced a downfall of the user database in April 2020. In March 2020, the number of readers was 35.7 million. In April it dropped down to 34.7 million. Still, it’s great when compared to February 2019, 25.6M unique readers.
Due to Covid-19, the publishers have seen a decrease in spent on advertisements. There is a downfall of 65% on the spent.
However, The Guardian is all set to achieve 2M paying supporters by the year 2022.