Advertisement Practices under Scrutiny: FirstPartyCapital's Rich Ashton Accuses Amazon and Google of Deceiving Advertisers
In the rapidly evolving world of technology, a series of significant moves have been made that are set to reshape the advertising landscape.
Firstly, Italian app developer Bending Spoons has announced its acquisition of video platform Vimeo for approximately USD$1.4bn (£1bn). Led by Luca Ferrari, the CEO of Bending Spoons, this deal marks a significant step forward for the Italian tech company. The details of the acquisition were not disclosed, but it's clear that Bending Spoons is making a bold move to expand its portfolio.
Meanwhile, in another corner of the tech world, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an investigation into the practices of two tech giants - Amazon and Google. The investigation focuses on their advertising activities, with concerns about the disclosure of terms and pricing for ads. The FTC is investigating whether these companies have failed to properly disclose these details to advertisers, potentially misleading them in the process.
The FTC's investigation is not limited to Amazon and Google. It also includes a focus on Amazon's advertising auctions and the disclosure of 'reserve pricing' for some search ads. Similarly, the investigation into Google's practices concerns its internal pricing process and whether it increased the cost of ads without disclosing this to advertisers.
In a positive development, Amazon Ads and Netflix have announced a partnership. This partnership will be available in 11 countries, including the UK, starting from Q4 this year. The new partnership will bring Netflix's premium ad inventory to Amazon's DSP, providing advertisers using Amazon DSP with direct access to Netflix's advertising opportunities.
This partnership was a topic of discussion in a recent episode of the MadTech Podcast, where John Still, Aimee Newell Tarín, and Rich Ashton delved into the details. The discussion also touched upon recent M&A activity in the ad tech scene, including UK-based private equity firm Vitruvian Partners' USD$637m (£467m) investment in DeepIntent. Vitruvian Partners bought a majority stake in healthcare DSP DeepIntent in another recent M&A activity.
The news of these partnerships and acquisitions has been reported by Reuters, signalling a busy period in the ad tech industry. As these changes unfold, it will be interesting to see how they impact the advertising landscape and the companies involved.
