Former Google executive will help lead innovation during a time of expansive enterprise growth for the company

Jasper, the world's leading AI marketing platform, has announced the appointment of Melody Meckfessel as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). With her extensive technical expertise, customer-centric approach, and seasoned leadership, Meckfessel will guide Jasper's technical vision, integrating industry trends and addressing evolving customer needs to deliver a robust roadmap.

• Melody Meckfessel's Background:

  • Over a decade at Google as VP of Engineering:
    • Led engineering teams in Core Infrastructure, Search, and DevOps.
    • Focused on Google and Google Cloud Platform.
  • Co-founder and CEO of Observable:
    • Data visualization platform aiding teams in business data comprehension.
    • Successfully scaled to enterprise customers.

• Impact on Jasper:

  • Melody's appointment signifies Jasper's commitment to expanding platform capabilities.
  • Reinforces focus on empowering enterprise teams with cutting-edge AI technology.
  • Recent enhancements include:
    • Governance and security features.
    • Industry-leading image editing model.
    • New Figma AI features.

• Leadership Vision:

  • Timothy Young, CEO of Jasper, highlights Melody's alignment with the company's vision.
  • Her experience in building disruptive technology and scaling global platforms.
  • Anticipates Melody's role in accelerating product delivery and customer success.

• Melody Meckfessel's Vision:

  • Excited to lead efforts in shaping the future of enterprise AI.
  • Aims to bring creativity and productivity to customer businesses.
  • Will drive product and engineering delivery, and introduce new technology solutions.

• Experience and Expertise:

  • Over 25 years in building and maintaining large-scale distributed systems.
  • Leadership at Google included:
    • Core search systems.
    • Search quality.
    • Cluster management.
  • Played a crucial role in developing tools and systems for Google Cloud Platform.

Melody Meckfessel's appointment as CTO marks a pivotal moment for Jasper as the company continues to innovate and expand its AI marketing platform. With her extensive experience and forward-thinking vision, Meckfessel is poised to drive Jasper's technical advancements and deliver impactful AI solutions for enterprise teams, shaping the future of work and business operations.

Brings deep retail media expertise to help accelerate the next phase of growth at Jivox

Jivox, the leader in personalized commerce marketing, has announced the appointment of Greg Archibald, General Manager & Senior Vice President of Sales for the Americas at Outbrain, to its board of directors. Archibald's extensive experience with leading companies like Criteo and InMobi will play a critical role in advancing Jivox's position in the rapidly growing retail and commerce media market.

• Significance of Greg Archibald’s Appointment:

  • Founder and CEO of Jivox, Diaz Nesamoney, highlights the strategic importance of Archibald’s expertise.
  • GroupM projects commerce media to account for $228.2 billion of the global media market.
  • Jivox IQ DaVinci leads in enabling rapid campaign launches across multiple commerce media platforms.

• Greg Archibald's Enthusiasm and Vision:

  • Archibald expresses excitement about joining Jivox's board.
  • Recognizes Jivox's foresight in investing in retail media technology early on.
  • Highlights Jivox IQ DaVinci’s role in automating and scaling retail media campaigns.

• Greg Archibald’s Professional Background:

  • Current role at Outbrain:
    • General Manager & Senior Vice President of Sales for the Americas.
    • Oversees agency and brand demand functions, focusing on revenue and adoption.
  • Previous roles:
    • Senior Vice President of Americas Media at InMobi:
      • Led sales team and revenue operations.
    • Executive Vice President, Americas at Criteo:
      • Developed growth strategies, significantly increasing market share and revenue.
    • Senior strategic revenue positions at NinthDecimal, Datalogix/Oracle, and Yahoo.
  • Early career as a U.S. Navy pilot.

Greg Archibald’s appointment to the Jivox board of directors marks a significant milestone in the company's mission to dominate the retail and commerce media market. His extensive experience and strategic insights will be invaluable as Jivox continues to innovate and expand its personalized commerce marketing platform, solidifying its position as an industry leader.

The strategic collaboration agreement will expand privacy-centric customer data innovation for customers worldwide

Tealium, the largest independent and most trusted customer data platform (CDP), has entered into a global multi-year Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA) with Amazon Web Services (AWS). This partnership aims to accelerate customer data and artificial intelligence (AI) innovation and growth, particularly within highly-regulated industries.

• Details of the Collaboration:

  • Tealium will leverage AWS’s secure and scalable cloud infrastructure to enhance its customer data solutions worldwide.
  • Enterprises will gain seamless access to Tealium’s real-time CDP, optimizing AI-driven data collection, management, and activation.
  • The solutions will comply with local data privacy regulations.

• Benefits and Vision:

  • Jeff Lunsford, CEO of Tealium, emphasizes the collaboration's commitment to innovation and customer success.
  • The partnership will enable businesses to fuel next-generation AI solutions with clean, enriched, and consented data.
  • Enterprises will benefit from the combined strengths of Tealium and AWS, enhancing their customer data strategies.

• Impact on Customer Experience:

  • Tealium's customer data solutions will empower enterprises to improve customer experience, personalization, and engagement.
  • Vendor-neutrality allows enterprises to embrace stack composability, integrating any platform running on AWS.

• Broader Commitment to Partnerships:

  • The SCA is part of Tealium’s broader commitment to expanding partnerships, as announced at the 2024 Digital Velocity conference.
  • Recent integration capabilities announced with Amazon Ads, Snowflake, and The Trade Desk.

The strategic collaboration between Tealium and AWS represents a significant advancement in the realm of customer data and AI solutions. By combining Tealium’s real-time CDP with AWS's robust cloud infrastructure, enterprises can elevate their customer data strategies, ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations while driving innovation and growth.

New recognition complements AWS Advertising and Marketing Technology Competency achieved earlier.

Blueshift, the leading provider of highly personalized, customer-centric engagement solutions, is excited to announce its acceptance into the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Accelerate Program. This certification underscores Blueshift's commitment to utilizing AWS's cloud infrastructure to deliver secure and innovative customer marketing solutions.

• Significance of AWS ISV Accelerate Program:

  • The AWS ISV Accelerate Program helps ISVs drive new business and accelerate sales cycles.
  • Connects ISVs with AWS customers and leverages AWS Sales organization.
  • Deepens Blueshift's collaboration with AWS to enhance cloud security, scalability, and performance.

• Blueshift's Commitment and Vision:

  • Mehul Shah, CTO of Blueshift, highlights the significance of joining the AWS ISV Accelerate Program.
  • Emphasizes the enhancement of Blueshift's cloud-native CDP platform.
  • Aims to provide customers with greater value through the AWS Marketplace.

• Program Benefits and Opportunities:

  • Access to AWS’s go-to-market resources, technical enablement, and co-selling support.
  • Accelerates the adoption of Blueshift's CDP and cross-channel marketing solutions.
  • Benefits a broader spectrum of industries, driving innovation in customer engagement.

• Recognition and Competency:

  • Blueshift’s presence on the AWS Marketplace and the Advertising and Marketing Technology Competency.
  • Amit Raghavan, GM of Partnerships, highlights the collaboration’s impact on delivering secure and scalable solutions.
  • Positions Blueshift for continued growth and exceptional value delivery to customers.

• AWS Advertising and Marketing Technology Competency:

  • Obtained by Blueshift in 2023, showcasing technical proficiency and customer success.
  • Demonstrates ability to deliver personalized customer experiences across all channels.
  • Leverages data and analytics to drive marketing effectiveness and optimize campaigns at scale.
  • Integrates seamlessly with AWS cloud services.

Blueshift's acceptance into the AWS ISV Accelerate Program marks a significant milestone in enhancing its customer engagement solutions. By leveraging AWS’s cloud infrastructure, Blueshift is poised to deliver innovative, secure, and scalable marketing solutions, ensuring exceptional value and growth for its customers across various industries.

The partnership names adMarketplace as Mozilla's preferred partner to sell its privacy-preserving homepage tiles, and expands the relationship into additional surfaces.

Mozilla, the privacy-focused tech company behind the Firefox browser, and adMarketplace, a search advertising company, have announced the expansion of their advertising partnership. This collaboration focuses on sponsored tiles and Firefox's new tab experience, aiming to innovate privacy-preserving but effective advertising solutions.

• Partnership Background:

  • Mozilla and adMarketplace have been collaborating since 2019.
  • The partnership aims to seamlessly connect the privacy-oriented Firefox browser with brands.
  • Provides accurate measurement to advertisers without compromising user privacy.

• Purpose and Vision:

  • Mozilla's effort to raise the bar on the digital advertising industry.
  • Focus on creating high-value advertising opportunities that preserve user privacy.
  • Mozilla's commitment to innovating privacy-preserving ad solutions.

• Statements from Leadership:

  • Adam J. Epstein, co-CEO and President of adMarketplace:
    • Highlights Firefox as an ideal partner for innovation.
    • Emphasizes the joint commitment to creating an ideal user experience.
    • The expanded partnership aims to revolutionize the user's new tab experience.
  • Katherine Bose, Vice President of Business and Corporate Development at Mozilla:
    • Recognizes the significant transformation in the online advertising industry.
    • Stresses the need for innovation where privacy and advertising can coexist.
    • Expresses enthusiasm for partnering with adMarketplace to bring privacy-preserving ad solutions to more advertisers.

The expanded partnership between Mozilla and adMarketplace represents a significant step towards revolutionizing the digital advertising landscape. By combining their expertise, the two companies aim to deliver innovative, privacy-preserving advertising solutions, enhancing the user experience on Firefox's new tab page while providing effective opportunities for advertisers.

• Global entertainment & media (E&M) industry revenues rose 5% to US$2.8 trillion in 2023 and projected to hit $3.4 trillion in 2028
• Advertising revenues projected to top $1 trillion in 2026, with revenues in 2028 to represent double the revenues of 2020
• Streaming service usage and uptake continues to rise, but market players look to consolidation, live sports, password-sharing crackdowns and ad-based revenue to drive growth as industry competition intensifies
• Gaming remains among the fastest growing E&M sectors globally: largely driven by Asia-Pacific, revenue expected to top $300 billion in 2028. In-person events such as global cinema projected to return to pre-pandemic levels as live-music buoyed by global tours
• Global E&M industry looks to Generative AI to drive new revenue streams and transform business models

Despite economic headwinds, technological disruption, and increased geographic and industry competition, the global entertainment & media (E&M) industry has continued to grow in 2023. According to PwC's Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2024-28, total revenues rose by 5% in 2023 to US$2.8 trillion, outpacing overall economic growth. The report, covering 11 revenue segments across 53 countries and territories, projects global E&M revenues to hit $3.4 trillion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9%.

• Advertising Revenue Growth:

  • Advertising revenue is projected to hit $1 trillion by 2026.
  • Advertising will account for 55% of total E&M industry revenue growth over the next five years.
  • Internet advertising grew by 10.1% in 2023 and is expected to rise at a 9.5% CAGR through 2028, making up 77.1% of total ad spending.

• Streaming Services Adaptation:

  • Streaming services face increased competition and challenges in consumer uptake.
  • Global subscriptions to over-the-top (OTT) video services are expected to rise to 2.1 billion in 2028 from 1.6 billion in 2023.
  • Streaming services are exploring new revenue models, including ad-based variants, live sports, and cracking down on password-sharing.

• Regional Market Insights:

  • The US remains the largest market for consumer spending and advertising, with a 4.3% CAGR to 2028.
  • Rapid growth is seen in China (7.1%), India (8.3%), Indonesia (8.5%), and Nigeria (10.1%).

• Gaming Industry and Live Events:

  • The gaming industry continues to grow, with revenues reaching $227.6 billion in 2023 and expected to top $300 billion by 2027.
  • Asia-Pacific is the largest regional market for gaming, expected to reach $181.8 billion by 2028.
  • Live music and cinema are key growth sectors, with significant increases in revenue from events and box office sales.

• Technological Disruption and Opportunities:

  • The E&M industry is leveraging new and emerging technologies like Generative AI.
  • Businesses must innovate to stay competitive, focusing on value creation through technology.
  • Generative AI can enhance advertising and drive new business models and creative processes.

The global E&M industry demonstrates resilience and growth despite various challenges. Key drivers include advertising revenue, adaptation of streaming services, regional market expansions, and technological advancements. Companies must continue to innovate and leverage new technologies to capture their share of the growing revenue pools and meet evolving consumer demands.

Building and maintaining customer loyalty will be a top priority for marketers in the golden quarter according to AppsFlyer’s new State of eCommerce report

AppsFlyer has released the 2024 edition of its State of eCommerce App Marketing report, offering valuable insights into the shifts in consumer habits and marketing budgets. The report highlights the industry's evolution and identifies key trends that brands should harness to drive metrics like app downloads and purchases during the upcoming peak shopping season.

Economic Stability and Mobile Commerce Growth

As the global economy stabilizes, mobile commerce growth appears promising. Marketers have the opportunity to cultivate and nurture customer loyalty, with AppsFlyer’s research showing significant post-first purchase engagement. Despite only 1 in 10 consumers converting during peak seasons for iOS, nearly 60% evolve into loyal customers.

Key Findings

• Non-Organic Installs and Remarketing:

  • Non-organic installs on iOS increased by 60% in 2023.
  • Marketers focus on the first week post-install for remarketing activations, achieving a 40% conversion rate on the first day and exceeding 75% within the first week.

• In-App Purchases (IAP) Growth:

  • In-app purchasing increased by 15% during the 2023 holiday season compared to Q4 2022.
  • Purchase volumes surged by 21% in Q1 2024 compared to Q1 2023.

• Ad Investment and iOS Dominance:

  • Total ad investment in 2023 reached $6.6 billion, highlighting improved marketing confidence.
  • iOS users fueled a 60% year-over-year increase in non-organic app installations and a 21% rise in IAP rates, outpacing Android’s 21% and 9% respectively.
  • Ad spend on Apple devices climbed by 43% over 2023, while Android saw an 18% decrease.

• Global and Regional Insights:

  • Large Asian companies drove a 125% increase in iOS non-organic installs in Q2 and Q3 2023.
  • The US dominated the global stage due to higher Cost Per Install (CPI) rates.
  • The share of paying users on Android rose to 7.71% during the 2023 peak season, compared to 4.77% in the same period in 2022.
  • iOS paying users increased to 9.85% during the 2023 holiday season, up from 8.45% in 2022.

Strategic Shifts in Mobile eCommerce Advertising

Sue Azari, Industry Lead for eCommerce at AppsFlyer, notes that as the global economy stabilizes, brands are swinging back towards paid marketing for user acquisition instead of relying heavily on owned channels. This shift illustrates the impact of eased economic concerns and the need to stand out against competitors. With new players like Temu entering the market, brands are increasing their spending on promoting shopping apps.

The AppsFlyer 2024 State of eCommerce App Marketing report underscores the dynamic nature of the mobile eCommerce advertising landscape. As the peak 2024 holiday rush approaches, brands must focus on remarketing to drive long-term rewards from lasting customer loyalty. Leveraging the insights from this report can help brands navigate the evolving market and achieve their customer engagement goals.

Marketing and artificial intelligence (AI) follow closely behind

The 2024 Investment Management Compliance Testing Survey, published today, highlights the top compliance concerns for investment management professionals. This year, electronic communications surveillance and off-channel communications have emerged as the primary focus, surpassing the Marketing Rule. The survey, now in its 19th year, is a joint project of the Investment Adviser Association, ACA Group, and Yuter Compliance Consulting.

Top Compliance Concerns

The survey identified several key compliance topics, reflecting the SEC’s examination, enforcement, and rulemaking priorities:

• Electronic Communications Surveillance/Off-Channel Communications (59%)
• Advertising/Marketing (57%)
• AI/Predictive Analytics (46%)
• Cybersecurity (37%)
• Private Funds (16%)
• Conflicts of Interest (10%)
• Vendor Due Diligence (8%)
• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) (8%)
• Anti-Money Laundering (AML) (6%)
• Books and Records (6%)

Industry Focus on SEC Examinations

The survey reveals a strong industry focus on SEC examinations, with 83% of respondents having undergone an exam or being currently examined in the past five years. The top focus areas in recent SEC exams include:

• Books and Records (58%)
• Advertising and Marketing (57%)
• Conflicts of Interest (50%)

Enhancements in Compliance Programs

Investment advisers are proactively enhancing their compliance programs:

• Mock Exams: 65% of respondents have conducted or intend to conduct mock SEC exams. Of those, 85% reported that mock exams helped prepare them for actual SEC exams and identified areas for improvement.
• Increased Testing: The top areas of increased testing align with SEC focus areas:
  • Electronic Communication Surveillance/Off-Channel Communications (73%)
  • Advertising/Marketing (65%)
  • Cybersecurity (57%)
  • Vendor Due Diligence (44%)
  • Books and Records (36%)

Notable Insights from Industry Leaders

• Amy Yuter, Managing Principal of Yuter Compliance Consulting: "The survey provides valuable testing and control ideas, trending insights, and practical enhancement opportunities for the industry."
• Carlo di Florio, ACA’s Global Advisory Leader: "The focus on off-channel communications highlights the need for robust electronic surveillance strategies. Investment advisers prioritizing compliance and industry best practices are better positioned to navigate regulatory complexities."
• Karen Barr, President and CEO of IAA: "The survey reflects increased testing in critical areas as compliance officers’ workload expands significantly."

The 2024 Investment Management Compliance Testing Survey underscores the evolving priorities and challenges in the compliance landscape. With a focus on off-channel communications, advertising, AI, and cybersecurity, investment advisers are enhancing their compliance programs to meet regulatory expectations and mitigate risks. The survey serves as a comprehensive resource for identifying top compliance concerns and best practices in the investment management industry.