AesirX is excited to announce the release of its Unified Analytics and Consent Solution on the official WordPress repository. This new plugin allows users to install the solution with just one click, marking a significant advancement in providing a privacy-first, open source tool tailored for WordPress and WooCommerce sites. The solution adheres to GDPR and ePrivacy Directive requirements, offering site owners a robust, scalable option for data privacy management.

1. Open Source and Cost-Effective:

• Access and Customization: Developed using PHP and JavaScript, the plugin is fully open source with no hidden costs. Users can modify the code to meet their specific needs.
• Scalability: Deployable on up to 95% of websites and e-commerce platforms, it is designed to be adaptable for site owners worldwide.

2. Privacy and Data Security:

• First-Party Data Handling: By processing and storing data on user servers, AesirX reduces risks associated with third-party breaches and unauthorized access.
• Regulatory Compliance: Aligned with GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and other international privacy regulations, it ensures site owners and users are protected.

3. Performance Enhancements:

• Reduced Dependency: Minimizes reliance on third-party services, leading to faster load times and improved site performance.
• Enhanced User Experience: Provides a smoother, more reliable experience to maintain user engagement and trust.

4. Advanced Consent Management:

• Explicit Consent Collection: Features clear consent banners for obtaining informed consent before data collection.
• Granular Consent Management: Allows users to customize their consent preferences for increased transparency.
• Real-Time Consent Tracking: Manages and updates user consents in real time.
• Deferred Loading: Ensures no data collection scripts are loaded until consent is obtained.
• Easy Opt-Out Mechanism: Users can withdraw consent at any time.
• Decentralized Consent: Integration with Concordium offers tamper-proof, transparent consent records.

5. Web2 to Web3 Integration:

• Decentralized Consent: Facilitates seamless onboarding from Web2 to Web3, enhancing security and compliance through wallet integration and the Shield of Privacy.

Community and Continuous Improvement:

• Open Source Benefits: Backed by a vibrant community of developers and privacy advocates, AesirX benefits from ongoing improvements and cutting-edge privacy technology.

AesirX's Unified Analytics and Consent Solution offers WordPress and WooCommerce users a powerful, open source tool for managing privacy and data security. With its comprehensive features and compliance with international privacy standards, it provides a valuable addition to the WordPress repository, ensuring enhanced user experience and data protection.

Claspo's new WordPress plugin simplifies widget creation and management, enhancing user experience with advanced targeting and multilingual support.

Claspo, the innovative website widget platform, is thrilled to announce its integration with WordPress, the world’s leading content management system. This new plugin is designed to address common widget-related challenges faced by website owners, seamlessly enhancing the WordPress ecosystem and filling the gaps left by existing solutions.

• Effortless Widget Creation:

  • Install the Claspo Popups & Forms builder plugin from the WordPress plugin repository.
  • Create widgets for various marketing objectives without technical difficulties or steep learning curves.

• Efficient Widget Management:

  • Manage and scale widgets without impacting user experience or increasing bounce rates.
  • Enhance global engagement with precise geotargeting and multilingual capabilities.

• Minimized Manual Effort:

  • Reduce the risk of errors with the intuitive drag-and-drop editor and over 700 pre-designed templates.
  • Implement preset UX-focused display rules and default overlapping protection.

CEO's Insight

Valentyn Honcharov, Founder and CEO of Claspo, emphasizes the platform's user-friendly approach:

"Claspo makes the process easier for WordPress website owners at every stage. Our extensive library of over 700 pre-designed templates, combined with an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, ensures that creating widgets is a breeze. With preset UX-focused display rules and default overlapping protection, setting up and managing widgets is straightforward. Website owners can confidently unleash their creativity, knowing Claspo will ensure their widgets convert effectively without disrupting the user experience.”

Impressive Results

Claspo's impact is already evident through impressive results achieved for its clients:

• MAUDAU: 19% increase in discounted product sales.
• Grade: 110% boost in conversion rate.
• Devart: 48% increase in product downloads.

WordPress website owners can now tap into Claspo’s advanced functionality to improve their key performance indicators. Claspo offers an affordable and flexible pricing model, making it accessible for both large-scale websites and startup blogs, and providing an excellent price-quality ratio among comparable WordPress plugins.

Advertisers paid more for clicks and impressions in Q2 2024, but Skai's Quarterly Trends Report predicts price moderation in the latter half of the year

Skai, the leading omnichannel advertising platform specializing in walled garden media, has published its Q2 2024 Digital Marketing Quarterly Trends Report. This in-depth analysis highlights the digital marketing trends that defined the second quarter of 2024, along with an interactive infographic detailing key insights. The report shows positive topline growth numbers in retail media, paid search, and paid social, maintaining similar levels to those reported by Skai last quarter.

• Spending Trends:

  • Overall investment levels in retail media, paid search, and paid social continued to grow.
  • Year-over-year (YoY) and quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) spending increased across all channels.
  • Most Skai accounts increased spending by at least 5% over Q2 of the previous year.

• Price and Volume Trends:

  • Retail media and paid search CPC increased YoY for four consecutive quarters.
  • Paid social CPM increased YoY for the last two quarters.
  • Click and impression growth slowed as prices rose, indicating a potential shift in ad buying behavior.

• Retail Media Performance:

  • Conversion rate in retail media grew 12% YoY, matching the CPC increase.
  • Total conversion volume grew 18%, slightly below the spending increase.
  • This suggests that higher purchase intent and fewer clicks to convert are driving price inflation without sacrificing ROAS.

Growth Drivers in Search and Social

• Commerce Media:
  • Sequential growth for product ad and campaign types outpaced overall channel growth.
  • New formats like Performance Max (search) and Advantage Shopping Campaigns+ (social) gained traction.
  • Performance Max was adopted by half of Skai search accounts, while ASC+ was used by one-third.

Expert Insight

Chris Costello, Senior Director of Marketing Research at Skai, commented on the current trends:

"We've heard reports of advertisers concerned about higher prices, and they're clearly experiencing some pain as CPC and CPM are up across the board. Our long-term data analysis suggests these price increases are cyclical. With year-over-year increases slowing from Q1 to Q2, we may be nearing the end of this cycle. Marketers adapt their strategy in times of high prices with tools like dayparting, audience targeting, and budget caps until the trend reverses. Other factors, such as changes in ad load that artificially moves inventory, or macroeconomic conditions, may also influence these cycles."

The Q2 2024 Digital Marketing Quarterly Trends Report by Skai provides valuable insights into the current state of digital marketing. With positive growth in retail media, paid search, and paid social, marketers can continue to leverage these channels while adapting to cyclical price trends and evolving ad formats.

Using VISPER Live, Strack & Van Til saw a 54% increase in its shopper retention rate within 90 days of deployment.

Birdzi, renowned for its comprehensive customer intelligence and engagement ecosystem in the supermarket industry, has announced its latest advancement: VISPER Live. Building on the success of the industry-leading VISPER solution, this new platform sets a new industry standard for shopper engagement and outreach, offering advanced levels of personalization that meet modern consumer expectations.

• Custom Audience Engagement:

  • VISPER Live allows grocers to tailor outreach to custom audiences continuously.
  • Unlike previous VISPER campaigns, which typically last two weeks and target one core audience, VISPER Live runs ongoing campaigns and engages with multiple defined audiences weekly.

• Intelligently Responsive Campaigns:

  • Utilizes a retailer’s entire catalog, historical purchasing patterns, and proprietary KIC scores to generate highly valuable promotions.
  • Personalized offers appear seamlessly in mobile and desktop coupon galleries, offering convenience and efficiency for shoppers.

• Complete Retailer Control:

  • Brands maintain full control over VISPER Live operations, allowing for customization to meet specific goals and needs.

Impact on Retailers

Since its implementation in September 2023, VISPER Live has significantly benefited long-time Birdzi customer Strack & Van Til:

• Customer Retention: Increased by 54% within 90 days of deployment.
• Email Campaign Success: Open rates reached 66.7%.
• Loyalty Program Growth: Achieved a 12% increase in membership.
• Customer Engagement: Boosted weekly spending and customer visits.

Michael Tyson, Chief Marketing & Merchandising Officer at Strack & Van Til, commented:

“VISPER Live has delivered valuable savings to our loyal customers, who have responded incredibly well to this unmatched level of personalized outreach. Since implementation, we have witnessed lifts in weekly spending and customer visits, along with 12% growth in loyalty program membership.”

CEO’s Vision

Shekar Raman, CEO and co-founder of Birdzi, expressed his excitement:

“We’re already seeing fantastic initial results as VISPER Live redefines personalized customer engagement. Birdzi is passionate about re-imagining the personal grocery store touch of the past using today’s AI-powered technology. We’re thankful to collaborate with our valued retail customers to develop and continually evolve our advanced and award-winning products.”

Birdzi’s VISPER Live is a groundbreaking tool that transforms shopper engagement with advanced personalization. Its innovative features offer substantial benefits for retailers, enhancing customer loyalty and engagement through tailored, intelligent campaigns.

Harmony Frequency Automates Global Frequency Intelligence to Reduce Ad Waste, Strengthen Campaign Effectiveness, & Improve Viewing Experience

Innovid, an independent software platform specializing in the creation, delivery, measurement, and optimization of advertising across connected TV (CTV), linear, and digital channels, has announced the launch of Harmony Frequency. This groundbreaking solution is the first of its kind to offer holistic frequency management for CTV and digital advertising, setting a new standard for optimizing ad delivery and campaign effectiveness.

• Holistic Frequency Management:

  • Harmony Frequency addresses the limitations of current frequency capping methods, which are typically siloed and only applicable on a one-to-one basis per publisher or DSP platform.
  • The solution provides a unified view of ad impressions across all platforms, devices, and households, leveraging Innovid’s ad server that tracks every impression.

• Frequency Intelligence for DSPs:

  • By integrating frequency management insights directly into programmatic buying strategies, Harmony Frequency helps DSPs make informed bidding decisions.
  • This reduces ad waste by preventing overexposure, maximizes budget allocation to underexposed households, and improves the viewing experience by minimizing ad fatigue.

• Enhanced Campaign Effectiveness:

  • Harmony Frequency allows advertisers to reduce wasted spend and enhance campaign efficiency by providing rich data signals for better decision-making.

Beta Testing and Industry Impact

• Closed Beta Tests:

  • Harmony Frequency began closed beta testing with leading DSPs, including Yahoo DSP, earlier this month.

• Harmony Product Suite:

  • Launched earlier this year, the Harmony suite aims to optimize advertising infrastructure, improving efficiency, transparency, control, and reducing carbon emissions while increasing ROI and enhancing viewing experiences.
  • Harmony Frequency is a key innovation in this suite, shifting frequency management from the final mile to the starting line and integrating insights directly into programmatic strategies.

Industry Reactions

• Adam Roodman, SVP of Product Strategy & Management, Yahoo:

  “Harmony Frequency provides an in-the-moment view of campaign frequency across advertisers’ digital channels, helping to close the gap between understanding and action. As the media landscape continues to fragment, automated, holistic frequency capping will play a crucial role in campaign effectiveness. We’re excited to bring this offering to our Yahoo DSP advertisers in an effort to help make their campaigns run more efficiently.”

• Jason Trubowitz, SVP, Media & Measurement, ANA:

  “The ANA supports all efforts to break down walls to bring real-time, transparent intelligence to buyers and sellers for better CTV viewing experiences.”

• Zvika Netter, CEO & Co-Founder, Innovid:

  “As viewers, we know all too well that seeing the same ad over and over again leads to creative burnout and annoyance with the brand and the platform or app it was delivered on. As a trusted tech platform for the world’s largest advertisers, we also know how overexposure leads to waste, hurts performance, and damages brand reputation. With Innovid's universal view of the CTV and digital ecosystem, we are the thread that ties it all together – we can and have solved frequency management. Harmony Frequency is a testament to our commitment to innovation and our dedication to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of CTV and digital advertising for all.”

Innovid’s Harmony Frequency is set to revolutionize the management of ad frequency across CTV and digital platforms, offering a holistic approach that enhances campaign effectiveness and reduces ad waste. With its advanced capabilities and industry support, Harmony Frequency represents a significant leap forward in optimizing digital advertising strategies.

Checkly – the leading provider of synthetic monitoring powered by Monitoring as Code (MaC) and Playwright – has raised a $20 million Series B funding round led by Balderton Capital. Existing investors Accel, CRV, and Paul H. Müller also participated. In conjunction with the funding announcement, Checkly is unveiling its new Checkly Traces feature which will help engineers resolve issues even faster by connecting synthetics with tracing. In this way, engineers will have immediate insight into failures and will no longer need manual data correlation.

Checkly, a leading provider of synthetic monitoring powered by Monitoring as Code (MaC) and Playwright, has announced a $20 million Series B funding round led by Balderton Capital. This latest investment, with participation from existing investors Accel, CRV, and Paul H. Müller, follows Checkly's recognition as a Gartner Cool Vendor. The funding will support Checkly's mission to enhance issue resolution speeds and introduce innovative features like Checkly Traces.

• Monitoring as Code (MaC):

  • Checkly’s platform provides real-time alerts and insights deeply integrated into engineering workflows.
  • Enables engineers to detect and resolve issues up to 10x faster through a code-first approach.

• Checkly Traces:

  • New feature connecting synthetics with tracing to enhance issue detection and resolution.
  • Provides immediate insights into failures, eliminating the need for manual data correlation.

• Proactive Monitoring:

  • Simulates user interactions continuously across 20+ remote locations using automated Playwright scripts.
  • Offers accurate, real-time alerts with detailed insights, reducing delays and false positives.

Market Position and Growth

• Series B Funding and Growth:

  • With the new $20M funding, Checkly’s total funding rises to $32.25M.
  • The company plans to expand its teams, extend its reach, and enhance its platform capabilities.

• Adoption and Recognition:

  • Checkly is used by over 1,000 customers, running 32.5 million checks daily.
  • Recognized as a Gartner Cool Vendor and noted for its code-first monitoring approach.

• Industry Impact:

  • The monitoring and observability market is expected to grow to $4.1 billion by 2028.
  • Checkly's platform offers a cost-effective alternative to legacy tools, with up to 80% cost savings.

Industry Reactions

• Hannes Lenke, CEO of Checkly:

  “Today, only a fraction of engineers have access to observability and monitoring tools. At Checkly, we integrate monitoring directly into code repositories, empowering teams with Monitoring as Code. Our funding and Checkly Traces launch will continue to accelerate issue detection and resolution.”

• Colin Hanna, Partner at Balderton Capital:

  “Checkly’s fresh approach to monitoring and observability empowers developers to own the reliability of their services. This shift enhances resolution speed and reduces costs, as evidenced by the support from sophisticated software companies.”

• James Hall, Founder at Parallax:

  “Checkly Traces provides seamless observability and effective insights for pinpointing issues and optimizing strategies. Its straightforward onboarding and automated trace correlation significantly enhance troubleshooting efficiency.”

Checkly's $20 million Series B funding and the introduction of Checkly Traces mark a significant advancement in synthetic monitoring and issue resolution. By integrating monitoring directly into code repositories and enhancing capabilities with tracing, Checkly is poised to offer unparalleled efficiency and effectiveness in the evolving landscape of software monitoring.

Ranker saw a 5% increase in spend after implementing automated wrapper management feature

Magnite, the world’s largest independent sell-side advertising company, has unveiled an advanced automated wrapper management feature within its Demand Manager platform. This new functionality is designed to help publishers maximize revenue and streamline operations by leveraging machine learning to optimize Prebid settings. Built on Prebid technology, Demand Manager offers comprehensive yield management tools and reporting insights, empowering publishers to align their strategies with business goals effectively.

• Machine Learning Optimization:

  • Utilizes machine learning to find the optimal configurations for a publisher’s Prebid Wrapper on a per-impression basis.
  • Capable of enhancing billions of settings to improve ad performance and revenue potential.

• Revenue Growth:

  • Ranker experienced a 5% increase in spend following the implementation of the automated wrapper management feature.
  • A/B testing capabilities in Demand Manager complement this feature by eliminating the guesswork in configuration settings.

• Efficiency and Time Savings:

  • Reduces the need for extensive manual testing, saving publishers time and resources while maximizing revenue from Prebid.

• Future Enhancements:

  • Upcoming optimizations include improved bidding order and intelligent price floor guidance.
  • Aims to provide dynamic Prebid timeout configurations and other advanced settings to further enhance performance.

Industry Impact and Adoption

• Growth and Adoption:

  • Demand Manager has seen a 30% increase in spend year-over-year from 2023 to 2024.
  • Widely adopted by major publishers such as Buzzfeed and Disney, with 13 of the top 50 Comscore-ranked publishers utilizing the tool.

• Industry First:

  • The automated wrapper management feature is an industry-first, positioning Magnite as a leader in leveraging machine learning for yield optimization.

Industry Reactions

• Alex Mason, Vice President, Programmatic Sales, Yield & Strategy at Ranker:

  “Demand Manager's Automated Wrapper Management tool provides us peace of mind knowing it leverages extensive historical data to adjust our Prebid settings on an ad request basis. This feature maximizes revenue while saving time and resources.”

• Sunil Gupta, Vice President, Product Management at Magnite:

  “This industry-first feature set supercharges Demand Manager, unlocking the full power of Prebid and improving monetization capabilities without additional costs. Machine learning and automation are key to the future of yield optimization.”

Magnite’s introduction of automated wrapper management within Demand Manager represents a significant advancement in optimizing Prebid settings for publishers. By harnessing the power of machine learning, this new feature not only enhances revenue potential but also improves efficiency and reduces manual effort. With its strong market adoption and planned future enhancements, Demand Manager continues to set new standards in ad management and monetization.

Characters like Sorcerer Mickey, Princess Tiana, The Mandalorian and Woody will be accessible in Canva for a limited time to bring delight and nostalgia to social posts, learning materials and more

Canva, the all-in-one visual communication platform, is expanding its extensive content library with a limited-edition Disney collection. This announcement coincides with Canva’s participation in D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in Anaheim, CA, from August 9-11. The new collection will offer Canva users access to Disney’s iconic characters and themed templates, marking Canva’s most significant branded content release to date.

• Exclusive Content:

  • Access to Disney characters including classics like Woody from Toy Story and new favorites like Joy from Inside Out.
  • Features ten beloved characters in D23-inspired templates and graphics, available from August 9 through September 30.

• Design Possibilities:

  • Social Media: Ideal for creating custom posts, wallpapers, and profile pictures that capture Disney’s magic.
  • Educational Use: Perfect for students and teachers to enhance lessons, presentations, and projects with Disney’s beloved characters.
  • Fan Memorabilia: Enables Disney enthusiasts and D23 attendees to design thank you cards, invitations, and photo collages.

Canva’s Commitment to Creativity

• Enhanced Content Library:

  • Canva’s goal is to make designing accessible and intuitive, with a focus on sparking imagination and delighting users through a diverse and expansive content library.
  • Silvia Oviedo, Head of Content and Discovery at Canva, emphasizes the evolution of Canva’s content offerings to include branded content that inspires creativity.

• D23 Engagement:

  • Canva will feature a creative space at D23, where attendees can engage hands-on with Disney content through the Canva Magic Print Shop.
  • Guests will have the opportunity to design and print Disney-inspired tote bags using Canva Print.

New Creative Opportunities for Disney Fans

• Empowering Creativity:

  • Canva’s platform supports a wide range of users including creators, students, professionals, and enterprises, facilitating the transformation of ideas into visually compelling designs.
  • Kristine Segrist, Global Head of Consumer Marketing at Canva, highlights the synergy between Canva’s design capabilities and Disney’s visual storytelling.

• Access and Availability:

  • The Disney collection is available to Canva’s paid subscribers, education, and nonprofit users in the U.S., with plans for future expansion.
  • Users can explore the collection via the search bar on Canva’s home page, in the editor, or at canva.com/collections/disney.

Canva’s introduction of a limited-edition Disney content collection offers users exciting new ways to integrate beloved Disney characters into their designs. With this expansion, Canva continues to enhance its platform’s creative potential, providing tools and inspiration for users to bring their Disney-themed projects to life.