Next to Now: On Streaming, Targeting, and Cheating

    NATIVE AD PERFORMANCE Commenting on a study of native advertising click-through rates, Media Post is surprised to see that native ads do better on mobile. We are not. Mobile remains the best platform for high engagement—and not just because of mistaken clicks: “The research found that click-through rates (CTR) for premium native ads […]

Next to Now: New Shifts in Ad Ecosystems

As our preparations for this year’s Digital Book World shift into high gear (including the Master Class in paid advertising and the panel on the book buyer’s journey), there is an abundance of ad news to take in. Below is a sampling of what we’ve been reading this week. WHY IS THIS PAGE TAKING SO […]

Next to Now: Valentine’s Day Edition

  SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERS REJOICE As a Valentine’s Day present to social media managers who like to keep their personal and their business identities distinct, Instagram announced this week that they are finally going to allow users to toggle between multiple accounts. #instagram #social   INFORMATION OVERLOAD From Quartz: “Many people today struggle with information […]

Next to Now: The Super Bowl of Advertising Edition

  It’s Super Bowl weekend! That means most of the advertising industry is strutting, preening, and fretting in advance of the one event in which ads are at least as anticipated as the game. This time of year the industry’s worries are on full display: are we just making ads so people can see what fancy ads […]

Next to Now: The Road Ahead Edition

Does the road ahead look clear or is that just snow blindness from last weekend’s blizzard? This week we read about Facebook’s entry into live streaming, strategic shifts at Quartz, and new ways to target sports and gaming enthusiasts.   FACEBOOK JUMPS IN & PERISCOPE BETTER WATCH OUT Facebook enters the live stream business: “The […]

Next to Now: News for January Edition

POLITICAL HEAT BRINGS VIEWS TO THE HILL For the coming round of political books, take note of this stat from AdWeek: “The election cycle is already paying off for The Hill. According to comScore’s December 2015 numbers, the politics site garnered nearly 10.6 million visitors, a 175 percent year-over-year increase.” #politics   BRINGING ADS TO […]

New Year New Next to Now

LONGER TWEETS: THUMBS UP OR DOWN? The 140 character limit has been a defining feature of Twitter from the beginning—so it’s no surprise that the announcement that the company plans to extend that limit to as many as 10,000 characters has inspired mostly shrugs and scowls from users. AdWeek outlines six ways longer Tweets could […]

Next to Now: Winter Solstice Edition

Our last post before the end of 2016 is a meaty one.   WHAT BROUGHT WATERSTONE’S BACK FROM THE BRINK? A great—and optimistic!—article in Slate about how the future of chain bookstores might be shifting, with a focus on the refurbished Waterstone’s. #bookstores   DESKTOP EMAIL OPEN RATES STILL HIGHER, BUT DECLINING According to eMarketer, […]

Next to Now: Holidays Are Here Edition

As the New York City sidewalks become forests of blue spruce and Canadian tree sellers and the Rockefeller Center tree lights up the night, the world of digital advertising continues to evolve. Here are links to some of the most relevant ad news we’ve seen this week: ADBLOCKING NOT YET AN ISSUE FOR MOBILE Nieman Lab […]