Collin Colburn

On July 15, 2021, Publicis Groupe’s Epsilon announced that it would acquire CitrusAd. The acquisition combines the service-oriented Epsilon, whose strengths in retail media lie in offsite monetization and first-party data enrichment, with tech platform CitrusAd, which excels in onsite monetization. We think this matchup of providers in the retail media space will give existing […]

We have written and talked a lot about the boom that retail media is going through. And it makes sense why: Amazon is the third leg of the media triopoly with its $20 billion-plus ads business; other retailers such as Kroger, Target, and Walmart are making big strides to take their own share of ad […]

Q1 earnings indicate that digital audio is still growing. Discover what's fueling the growth and the three content challenges poised to shake up the market.

Retail Media Is Booming I’ve taken more questions on retail media in the past 12 months than any other digital marketing topic that I cover. And it shouldn’t be any surprise, as consumer purchasing and behavior has significantly shifted online during the pandemic. We had already noted growth in retail media in the middle of […]

SEO Hasn’t Put User Experience (UX) First SEO has gone through lots of changes over the years — from link farms to keyword stuffing. The customer has not always been at the heart of the SEO process. I’ve told you before about how my high school computer teacher gamed Google’s search algorithm years ago. Even […]

The separation of media and creative execution 40 years ago sent the advertising industry spiraling. Advertising’s perception has devolved from entertaining to annoying, investment to commodity, channels organized to communication everywhere, and audiences obtainable to users elusive. Savvy marketers are actively seeking solutions to join the lower and upper funnels of marketing as a means […]

First the social networks conquered text. Then they dominated video. And now, the new frontier: audio. New app Clubhouse has garnered significant buzz for its audio-based chatroom environment, where users can join live conversations with people and topics they follow. Last month, Twitter announced its acquisition of Breaker, a social podcasting app, and quickly transitioned […]

SEO Has Been Misunderstood For A Long Time I had a computer class in high school, and every day that we walked into the classroom, our teacher expected us to take part in a daily routine: Sit down at our computer and open Google. Search for “Notre Dame” (my high school’s name … the same […]

There’s been yet another big move today in the podcast space, as Spotify acquired Megaphone for its podcast advertising technology. The acquisition for $235 million continues Spotify’s three-year buying spree in the podcast market and further solidifies its dominant position here. Spotify Adds Megaphone To Bolster Monetization Of Its Podcast Content In addition to giving […]

Marketers are itching to get close to consumers in time for a holiday spending surge. This season, we think marketers should take the opportunity to be bold (at work) with their podcasting efforts. We know lots of retailers and brands — from Sephora to Blue Apron to Shopify — have their own podcasts. And even […]

I’ll admit it: I’m a podcast newb. I just got into them at the end of last year because of Wondery’s Business Wars, which sucked me in on my daily commute. While I’ve been late to the game, my colleague Sarah Dawson — a podcast lover and aficionado — listens regularly and knew much more […]

With advertising budgets cut, SEO strategy is more important now than ever before. Learn three key takeaways from the new Forrester Wave report on SEO platforms.

The Clock Keeps Ticking On Microsoft’s Pursuit To Purchase TikTok In The US Late last year, we predicted that companies like Facebook or Meredith Corporation would court TikTok for acquisition but that its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, would ultimately hold out for an IPO. Now, it looks like we were half right. Increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over data privacy concerns and […]

Even If You’re Reopening Your Offices, You Need To Plan For A Remote-Work Future This week, Google extended its remote-work plans for all 200,000 full-time and contract employees through summer 2021. Alphabet Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said in a company memo, “I hope this will offer the flexibility you need to balance work with taking care of yourselves […]

Recent moves by Spotify and SiriusXM reinforce that podcasts are indeed the Next Big Thing.

The whole world and economy has changed over the past several months due to the pandemic. The global economy is in a recession. Advertisers are decreasing media budgets, which is leading to decelerating ad revenue for many of Silicon Valley’s largest companies. But consumers are seeking entertainment and connection during this time and are increasingly […]

Use Federal Stimulus Funds To Deepen Customer Obsession US federal stimulus packages feature over $1 trillion in benefits to businesses. How will your company use its share? In our report, “Six Ways You Should Use The Federal Stimulus To Drive Customer Obsession,” we detail key ways businesses can use federal stimulus money to put customers at the […]

The global economy is in recession: US Q1 GDP declined 4.8%, and the eurozone’s contraction set a record. As far as the advertising triopoly and the social networks are concerned, however, advertising in Q1 surpassed bleak expectations and usage is booming — but not all is how it appears to be. Advertisers: The Pandemic’s True […]

Don’t Read This Before Dinner There are some things that can’t be unseen. Chief among them, a Whopper decomposing in high definition to demonstrate that Burger King plans to remove artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives from the burger. Industry pundits are all abuzz with opinion (ahem!), and Burger King is the toast of media town, posed for ad award glory. But will it help Burger King sell more burgers? So far, Burger […]