Comprehensive diagnostics and control over trackers, tags, and cookies 

Brands gain complete visibility of third party data activity

Ketch, a leading Data Permissioning Platform focused on privacy operations and data activation, has launched its new suite, Third Party Risk Intelligence. This innovative set of diagnostics and management tools is designed to help brands effectively manage how third-party vendors collect data across digital properties.

The Growing Need for Third Party Risk Intelligence

• Increased Legal Risks: As regulatory enforcement escalates and lawsuits related to wiretapping rise, businesses face heightened legal and compliance challenges.
• Privacy Violations: An uptick in class action suits is targeting brands for privacy violations stemming from tracking technologies that function as unauthorized wiretaps on digital platforms.
• Industry Challenges: Max Anderson, Co-founder and Head of Product at Ketch, emphasizes that traditional consent managers and third-party risk management (TPRM) tools are inadequate, lacking the capability to accurately assess data collection origins and reasons.

Key Capabilities of Third Party Risk Intelligence

1. Comprehensive Scanning:

   • Scans digital properties to identify all types of trackers on websites, mobile apps, and smart TVs.
   • Allows businesses to define unique scanning frequencies and configurations tailored to specific pages and properties.

2. Deep Diagnostics:

   • Provides detailed insights into data systems and tracker origins.
   • Uncovers what data is being collected, the reasons behind it, and how the collection is initiated, whether by direct partners or third parties.

3. Regulatory Compliance:

   • Helps businesses meet notice and disclosure obligations by automatically surfacing new trackers for disclosure.
   • Ensures that privacy notices remain up to date, essential for compliance with modern regulations (e.g., Oregon).

4. Automated Consumer Opt-Out Compliance:

   • Facilitates no-code integration with tag management systems to align consumer consent preferences with data collection practices.
   • Blocks non-consented trackers immediately, with sophisticated identity management ensuring preferences are remembered across channels and devices.

Privacy Health Check

Ketch offers a free Privacy Health Check for businesses to quickly assess their management of universal opt-outs, providing a detailed evaluation of compliance and data collection practices.

With the launch of Third Party Risk Intelligence, Ketch empowers businesses to take control of their data ecosystems. By enhancing visibility and compliance in third-party data collection practices, companies can better navigate the complexities of privacy regulations and mitigate legal risks.

Global Advertisers Can Now Benefit from AI-Driven Content Block Lists and Increased Brand Suitability When Advertising on Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels

Integral Ad Science, a leading global media measurement and optimization platform, has announced a pioneering collaboration with Meta to introduce a first-to-market optimization solution for advertisers. This new third-party Content Block List solution enables global advertisers to automatically prevent their ads from appearing next to content deemed unsuitable for their brand on Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels.

Enhancing Brand Safety and Media Quality

• Alignment with Industry Standards: The Content Block List solution is designed in accordance with industry standards, allowing advertisers to safeguard their brand image while reaching their target audiences.
• Early Access: Currently available to IAS customers using measurement solutions for Instagram and Facebook, the Content Block List will be open to all advertisers by early 2025.

Key Benefits of the Content Block List Solution

1. Social Optimization:

   • Advertisers can ensure their ads are delivered in brand-safe contexts, enhancing engagement and reach.
   • Proactive pre-screening capabilities at the content level on Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels.

2. Custom, Dynamic Control:

   • Creation of tailored Content Block Lists based on industry-aligned standards and an extensive catalog of contextual categories.
   • Provides more granular control compared to traditional publisher-level block lists, adapting to the fast pace of content creation.

3. Seamless Activation:

   • One-time activation within IAS Signal allows advertisers to effortlessly avoid unsuitable content placements across Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels.

4. Industry-Leading AI-Driven Multimedia Technology:

   • IAS analyzes content at a frame-by-frame level, integrating image, audio, and text signals for accurate classification.

5. End-to-End Campaign Support:

   • Advertisers can combine optimization with Total Media Quality (TMQ) for comprehensive campaign support across 28 languages on Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels.

Commitment to Brand Safety

Lisa Utzschneider, CEO of IAS, expressed enthusiasm about this collaboration, stating, “As the first provider to test this solution with Meta, we are delighted to enable advertisers to drive engagement and reach users in brand-suitable, contextually relevant environments across Meta's platform.”

Samantha Stetson, Vice President at Meta, noted the importance of providing advertisers with more tools to meet their brand suitability goals, enhancing their control over ad placements.

With the introduction of the Content Block List solution, Integral Ad Science reinforces its commitment to providing advertisers with advanced tools for brand safety and media quality. This innovative approach empowers brands to scale their advertising campaigns while minimizing risks associated with unsuitable content.

Influencer sponsored posts drive the same engagement as non-sponsored posts, and a mix of macro and micro influencers best supports a brand's message

Emplifi, a leading customer engagement platform, has released its 2024 State of Influencer Marketing Report, highlighting critical trends that can help brands optimize their influencer marketing partnerships. According to a recent report by EMARKETER, influencer and creator content drives nearly 49.5% of social shoppers to make a purchase, underscoring the significant impact of influencers on brand eCommerce outcomes.

1. Influencer Audience Size and Sponsored Content:

   • Emplifi's analysis reveals a direct correlation between an influencer’s audience size and the volume of sponsored content they produce.
   • Influencers with 100,000 followers or more (L and XL influencers) post fewer sponsored posts compared to those with smaller audiences.
   • Micro-influencers (10,000 followers or fewer) post 67% more sponsored content than their larger counterparts.

2. Content Preferences:

   • XS influencers (10,000 followers or fewer) predominantly share more photos than videos.
   • In contrast, influencers with larger followings have shifted towards video content, with nearly 60% of their posts being videos.

3. Engagement Levels:

   • There is little to no significant difference in engagement between sponsored and non-sponsored posts on Instagram.
   • Approximately 7% of influencer content on Instagram is sponsored, with slight regional variations.

Insights from Emplifi Leadership

Susan Ganeshan, CMO of Emplifi, noted that macro-influencers (1 million or more followers) are becoming increasingly selective about brand partnerships to maintain authenticity, despite commanding higher fees. This selectivity leads to significant exposure if the content aligns with their audience. Conversely, micro-influencers tend to post more sponsored content and are a strategic choice for marketers looking to maximize their budgets. Their closer relationships with audiences foster authentic brand partnerships, resulting in higher engagement and conversion rates.

Seasonal Trends and Brand Strategies

• Sponsored-post frequency peaks in the months leading up to the holiday season, though there has been a slight year-over-year decrease in sponsored posts on Instagram, likely due to tightening marketing budgets.
• Emplifi's analysis shows that smaller brands typically collaborate with three macro-influencers for every micro-influencer, while larger brands may partner with up to 10 micro-influencers for each macro-influencer to maintain a balance between niche targeting and broad visibility.

As the holiday season approaches, brands have a unique opportunity to refine their influencer strategies. By leveraging a balanced mix of influencer sizes, brands can enhance their reach and improve engagement. Combining larger influencers for broad exposure with smaller, niche influencers for deeper engagement can ensure brands maximize their impact without relying on a single strategy.

Industry leading brand safety and suitability partner Zefr to expand end-to-end capabilities across Meta, enhances data processing speed

Zefr is thrilled to announce the upcoming expansion of third-party exclusion capabilities on Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels, set for testing with a general availability release expected in early 2025. This enhancement allows brands to utilize Zefr's AI-driven exclusion technology, providing refined control over ad placements across a wider range of content surfaces on these popular social platforms.

Zefr's Role in Brand Suitability Verification

• As Meta's initial testing partner for brand suitability verification on Feed and Reels, Zefr has been instrumental in developing content-level blocklists.
• Identifying the necessity for more flexible controls, Zefr has enabled brands to move beyond broad content categories, allowing for precise ad placement adjustments.

Custom Publisher Exclusion Lists

• Over the past year, Zefr has assisted clients in creating custom publisher exclusion lists, enhancing brand suitability while unlocking new ad placements.
• These lists have been particularly effective in avoiding misaligned content across various placements, including:
  • Facebook In-stream ads
  • Ads on Facebook Reels
  • Instagram profile ads
  • Audience Network

Real-Time Transparency and Optimization

• Zefr prioritizes transparency and optimization, providing clients with hourly updates for near real-time visibility into campaign performance.
• This capability is crucial for addressing sensitive brand concerns, particularly during breaking news and crisis response scenarios.

Partnering with Industry Leaders

• Zefr's dedication to brand safety has yielded significant results across Meta platforms. For instance, a partnership with a multinational pharmaceutical advertiser resulted in a +6.7% increase in brand suitability by implementing customized publisher blocklists.
• This collaboration underscores the effectiveness of Zefr's AI-powered exclusion technology alongside Meta's native platform controls in protecting brands while enhancing performance.

Commitment to Brand Safety and Suitability

Zefr remains committed to assisting advertisers in navigating the complex landscape of content adjacency on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. By continuously expanding partnerships and innovating capabilities, Zefr empowers brands to achieve greater control and precision over their advertising environments. As Meta implements further updates to its suitability controls, Zefr will continue to deliver best-in-class solutions to protect clients' brands across all placements.

VersaFeed has announced groundbreaking findings from a year-long study that showcases the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in optimizing product feeds for Google Merchant Center. By enhancing and generating product data, VersaFeed has significantly boosted engagement and conversion rates for over 100,000 products.

The Challenge of Google’s Data Feed Requirements

Meeting Google’s stringent data feed requirements has long posed challenges for merchants. To address this issue, VersaFeed leveraged proprietary AI tools and randomized A/B testing to optimize existing data and generate missing attributes. Recognizing that incomplete or poorly optimized data can adversely affect compliance and performance, VersaFeed embarked on a mission to explore how AI could enhance product data.

Key Innovations and Results

VersaFeed’s innovative approach utilized AI in two crucial areas, yielding impressive results:

1. Data Optimization

• Enhancements: Existing title and description attributes were refined to include relevant product details and keywords.
• Impact: This optimization resulted in a 9.3% increase in conversion rates for title optimizations and a 5.5% increase for description optimizations.

2. Data Generation

• Filling Gaps: AI was used to fill in missing or incomplete data, such as color, size, material, and pattern, while also creating new attributes like product_highlight and product_detail.
• Performance Results:
  • Filling in gaps for missing data attributes (color, size, material, pattern) led to 3.7% more clicks.
  • Generating new attributes (product_highlight and product_detail) resulted in a 2.3% increase in clicks.

The study conclusively demonstrated that AI plays a critical role in enhancing product impressions, clicks, and conversion rates in Google Shopping. By optimizing existing data and generating new attributes, VersaFeed’s AI-powered solutions provide a significant competitive advantage.

John Kleven, CEO of VersaFeed, expressed enthusiasm about the findings: “We’re thrilled with the results of our study. Our AI capabilities enable merchants to meet Google's requirements more effectively and drive better performance, fundamentally changing how product data feeds are managed.”

Depositphotos and VistaCreate launched Creative Suite API, a modular all-in-one solution with a powerful set of features that cover full-cycle content creation.

Depositphotos, the world’s leading stock content library with over 300M+ files, and VistaCreate, an all-in-one graphic design, photo, and video editor, are excited to announce their new solution for businesses: Creative Suite API. This innovative solution is designed to enhance business operations by combining an intuitive graphic design editor with a vast stock content library and a powerful set of AI-based tools.

Elevate Your Business Strategy

As we approach 2025, it’s time to elevate your strategy and drive business growth with Depositphotos and VistaCreate as your ultimate partners. The Creative Suite API is crafted to align perfectly with your business objectives, whether you aim to speed up time to market, automate workflows, enhance customer experiences, or differentiate yourself from competitors.

Empower Your Business with Creative Suite API

API integrations are increasingly in demand among martech and web-to-print companies striving for rapid and seamless scaling. The Creative Suite API from Depositphotos and VistaCreate is here to level up the game by providing a comprehensive suite of features for full-cycle content creation. This modular all-in-one suite enables businesses to create standout visuals without leaving their platform.

Key benefits include:

• Professionally Created Templates: Access 200K+ ready-to-use templates across 80+ digital and print formats.
• Extensive Stock Content: Utilize a library of 300M+ images, videos, and music files.
• AI-Powered Tools: Automate mundane tasks with tools like the AI Image Generator, Background Remover, Object Replacer, and more, giving users more time for creativity.

A Catalyst for Innovation

“In today's fast-paced digital landscape, businesses are constantly seeking ways to innovate and stay ahead. We launched the Creative Suite API to help them do just that, providing a solution that empowers companies to enhance their products and services without the burden of developing complex creative tools from scratch," said Alina Volchek, General Manager at Depositphotos & VistaCreate.

“This API suite is more than just a set of tools. It's a catalyst for innovation in the martech industry, allowing companies to differentiate themselves and meet their customers' growing demand for integrated creative solutions. Our goal is to level the playing field, enabling businesses of all sizes to leverage advanced creative capabilities and compete effectively in today's visually-driven marketplace.”

Get Started with Creative Suite API Now

Welcome a new era of creativity and elevate your business with a solution accessible to companies of all sizes. To discover more features and details about the Creative Suite API, visit the Creative Suite API website. Complete the request form, and a team representative will contact you shortly to guide you through the new Depositphotos and VistaCreate products. Let’s create amazing things together!

Deal strengthens the platform's lead generation and social media monetization capabilities, empowering small businesses to convert followers into customers and accelerate their growth

Constant Contact, a leading digital marketing and automation platform, has announced its acquisition of Txtify Technologies, a company specializing in mobile-first lead generation through customized microsites and surveys. This strategic acquisition enhances Constant Contact's offerings by providing small businesses (SMBs) with innovative tools designed to grow their customer base and convert social media and digital engagement into valuable customer relationships.

Empowering Small Businesses

The acquisition will significantly benefit Constant Contact's SMB customers by enabling them to create mobile-optimized, branded lead generation forms within minutes—no coding or web development experience required. With user-friendly design tools and high-performing templates, SMBs can swiftly capture contact information from social media followers, fostering deeper connections through owned channels like email and SMS marketing. This capability to quickly turn social media interactions into qualified leads is a powerful addition to Constant Contact's marketing platform.

According to Constant Contact's Small Business Now report, 60% of small businesses rely on social media as their primary channel for customer engagement. However, many face challenges in converting likes, comments, shares, and followers into actual customers, with over half of surveyed SMBs identifying social media as an area needing the most support.

A Strategic Move for Growth

"The profile of today's small business has changed, and many now launch and grow their brand on social media before they build a website or create their first email campaign," stated Frank Vella, CEO of Constant Contact. "Our acquisition of Txtify Technologies allows us to deliver value to mobile-first and social-first entrepreneurs by empowering them to own their audience on social media and convert followers into a marketing list. This is a strategic step forward in our mission to innovate on behalf of SMBs and equip them with the tools necessary for growth."

Collaborative Future

"We are thrilled to bring our powerful lead generation technology to a wider audience as part of Constant Contact's platform," said John Stewart, co-founder and CEO of Txtify Technologies. "Our mission has always been to simplify and scale lead capture and conversion for small businesses, and by joining Constant Contact, I am confident we will help even more SMBs grow and succeed."

As part of this transaction, Stewart and Txtify Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Eric Dewhirst will join Constant Contact, playing a crucial role in integrating the acquired technology into the existing platform. The combination of Txtify's technology with Constant Contact's robust marketing capabilities—like email, SMS, social media ads, and event management—will empower SMBs to grow their contact lists rapidly, gain better insights into their audience, drive more revenue, and directly correlate social media activity with business outcomes.

ScoreApp, a leading platform for interactive quizzes and surveys, is excited to announce its acquisition of Bucket.io, a prominent US-based marketing funnel software company recognized for its innovative lead generation and customer engagement tools. This acquisition represents a significant advancement in ScoreApp's mission to broaden its capabilities and provide businesses with a comprehensive suite of tools aimed at enhancing their marketing strategies.

Enhanced Customer Experiences

The integration of Bucket.io’s advanced marketing funnel technology with ScoreApp’s interactive quiz and survey platform will empower businesses to create more personalized and engaging customer experiences. By combining forces, ScoreApp intends to offer users an all-in-one solution for capturing leads, nurturing prospects, and converting them into loyal customers.

Daniel Priestley and Steven Oddy, Co-Founders of ScoreApp, shared their enthusiasm for the acquisition: “We are thrilled to welcome Bucket.io into the ScoreApp family. Their expertise in building high-converting marketing funnels perfectly complements our mission to help businesses connect with their audiences in meaningful ways. Together, we will set new standards for customer engagement and lead generation.”

Strategic Leadership and Integration

As part of the acquisition, Ryan Levesque, co-founder of Bucket.io, will join the ScoreApp board as a Strategic Advisor, Brand Ambassador, and shareholder, bringing his extensive expertise to drive the company’s growth and innovation further. ScoreApp plans to integrate Bucket.io’s features into its platform, enabling users to design and deploy sophisticated marketing funnels alongside their existing quizzes and surveys. This combined offering will allow businesses to streamline their marketing efforts, improve conversion rates, and gain deeper insights into customer behavior.

Bucket.io, co-founded by Ryan Levesque and Richard Cussons, has positioned itself as a leader in the marketing technology sector, serving thousands of entrepreneurs and businesses worldwide. The company has received accolades for its innovative approach to lead generation and has been featured on the Inc. 5000 list three times.

Ryan Levesque expressed his excitement for the future: “Joining forces with ScoreApp is a fantastic opportunity to bring even more value to our customers. Our shared vision of helping businesses thrive through interactive marketing will drive innovation and deliver unparalleled results for our users.”

Commitment to Customers

Both ScoreApp and Bucket.io are dedicated to ensuring a seamless transition for existing customers. The two companies will continue to provide support and updates throughout the integration process, ensuring users can fully leverage the enhanced capabilities of the combined platform.