Street Fight Daily: Agencies Adapt to Amazon, Local News Sites Awash With Ad Fraud

TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING

Hacking Amazon: Agencies Create Workarounds for an Emerging Ad Giant (AdExchanger)
It’s no longer a secret that Amazon is becoming a dominant player in the digital advertising industry. It’s also no secret among agency buyers that Amazon’s platforms are notoriously difficult to use.

Local News Publishers Still Mired in Ad Fraud, New Pixalate Data Shows (Street Fight)
According to new research from Pixalate, a cross-channel fraud intelligence company that works with brands and platforms to prevent ad fraud and improve ad inventory quality, about a quarter of all smartphone app video and smartphone app display activity is “invalid traffic” (the technical term for what is largely fraud).

More than 1,000 U.S. News Sites Are Still Unavailable in Europe Post-GDPR (Nieman Lab)
Websites had two years to get ready for the GDPR. But rather than comply, about a third of the 100 largest U.S. newspapers have instead chosen to block European visitors to their sites.

Indi Tackles Inauthenticity in Influencer Marketing Space (Street Fight)
Consumers have grown weary of synchronized sponsored content flooding their Instagram feeds, and brands are being inundated by requests for freebies from self-proclaimed social media stars. That evolution in the influencer marketing space has created an opening that Indi CEO and founder Neel Grover believes his new platform can fill.

Tribune Kills Its Merger with Sinclair, Sues the Broadcast Giant (AdWeek)
Tribune Media has officially terminated its $3.9 billion agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group, the company announced this morning.

TWILIGHT OF THE IDOLS

Uber Lost in NYC. But Here’s the Real Problem (Recode)
The real trouble is that this may set a precedent for other cities looking to regulate Uber. While Uber and Lyft may be able to stomach a pause in what is Uber’s largest market in the U.S., attempts to replicate these bills in other places may prove to be much more overbearing or sweeping than those passed today in New York.

Rules Won’t Save Twitter. Values Will (NYT)
Kara Swisher: Apple, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Spotify, and most other major internet distributors banished Mr. Jones, either permanently or for some unspecified star-chamber-determined amount of time, for hate speech and other violations. But not Twitter.

Stories Was Instagram’s Smartest Move Yet (Recode)
Two years ago, Instagram did something that felt a little desperate: It copied the best product from a direct competitor, and even gave it the same name. Snapchat Stories were suddenly Instagram Stories.

THE EARNINGS BEAT

Yelp Validates Its New Flexible Ad Contracts (Motley Fool)
Yelp announced better-than-expected second-quarter 2018 results on Wednesday after the market closed, detailing accelerated advertising revenue growth and record paying advertising account additions following the rollout of the company’s more flexible non-term ad contracts.

Growth of NYT Digital Subscribers Slows, Shares Drop (Reuters)
The New York Times added fewer paid digital subscribers in the second quarter as it cut back on discounts, overshadowing its better-than-expected quarterly results and sending its shares down nearly 5 percent on Wednesday.