Top 10 Online advertising platforms

Important news about Online advertising platforms

2024. TikTok ads will now include AI avatars of creators and stock actors



TikTok, in a move that would surely make Marvin the Paranoid Android sigh deeply, is introducing generative AI avatars of creators and stock actors for branded content and ads, as if regular influencers weren’t confusing enough already. But that's not all—enter the “AI Dubbing” tool, which is apparently meant to help creators and brands fling their ads across languages and borders like a multilingual Babel fish. The new "Custom Avatars" can be tailored to look like creators or brand spokespeople, charmingly helping to globalize everything from cat food to quantum toothpaste. Brands can now take their avatars (and their campaigns) across the world with an ease that would make Zaphod Beeblebrox giddy—pairing spokespersons with AI doppelgängers to make their global ads both local and, well, infinitely multilingual. Not to be outdone, the “Stock Avatars” offer a lineup of AI-generated actors from diverse backgrounds, pre-licensed for all your business needs. It’s a digital casting call, without the pesky inconvenience of real humans.


2023. Meta debuts generative AI features for advertisers



In a curious maneuver that might have looked like science fiction had anyone been watching, Meta has unveiled its inaugural generative AI tools, apparently tailored specifically for advertisers—or, to be precise, those contributing handsomely to Meta’s cosmic cash flow. Picture this: advertisers, not just any advertisers but the sort who dream of finely tuned, click-worthy ads, now have the power to employ AI as their willing assistant for tasks from conjuring vivid backgrounds to stretching images and spawning multiple ad text versions from a single original. In one fell swoop, this AI-laden trio caters to every advertising whim: the first, a Backdrops spin-off for producing custom backgrounds that magically change product images; the second, an image expansion trick to tailor those assets to the unending demands of Feed and Reels; and, as a cherry on top, a text variation feature nestled in Meta Ads Manager, spinning up six ad-worthy versions of text from mere prompts. One might think it’s all a bit improbable—yet here it is, in the flesh (or pixels), Meta’s vision of AI at advertisers’ command.

2023. Twitter looks to bring advertisers back with expanded Ad features



In a twist of fate that would surely leave the great galactic advertisers trembling in their hyperspace boots, Twitter—now referred to as X for reasons best left to the marketing department—has unveiled a new partnership in the ever-peculiar pursuit of "brand safety." You see, it turns out that displaying ads next to Nazi content tends to put advertisers off their tea, resulting in a rather unfortunate drop in revenue. So, in a move reminiscent of trying to install a flotation device on the Titanic post-iceberg, X has teamed up with ad-tech wizards Integral Ad Science to offer shiny new tools that promise, with a confidence level hovering just shy of absolute perfection, to keep advertisers' content far away from anything unseemly. With options to dodge unpleasant keywords and the usual litany of unsavory digital detritus—think sexual content, hate speech, drugs and all the other things you'd avoid at a dinner party—advertisers can now choose from standard or conservative settings to filter their way to brand safety nirvana. Oh and if that weren’t enough, an automated blocklist feature ensures that no one’s brand accidentally sidles up to something unspeakable on the "For You" or "Following" pages, because in the vast expanse of the internet, you can never be too careful.


2023. Twitter completes sale of MoPub to AppLovin



In a move that would have made even the most seasoned Vogon bureaucrat’s head spin, AppLovin, the sort of marketing software provider you might stumble upon just before being vaporized, has gleefully snapped up Twitter’s mobile ad platform, MoPub, for the tidy sum of $1.05 billion (cash, not Zogarian credits, mind you). Now, MoPub, which had been merrily contributing about $188 million a year to Twitter’s coffers back in 2020, has been cast off into the vast reaches of redirected resources. Twitter, ever the social media butterfly in search of a new bloom, has decided to pivot – yes, pivot – focusing its energies on “performance-based ads,” “SMB,” and “commerce,” whatever those mean in this galactic quadrant. Meanwhile, MoPub’s software, which already wrangled monetization for a dazzling 45,000 mobile apps (reaching a rather boggling 1.5 billion global users), now finds itself in AppLovin’s hands. AppLovin, naturally, is no slouch; its Exchange provides direct access to over 150 DSPs (Demand-Side Platforms, for the uninitiated), connecting it to brands, agencies, and quite possibly a few curious hyper-intelligent shades of blue.


2020. LinkedIn introduces new retargeting tools



In the vast and swirling cosmos of LinkedIn's advertising toolkit, a few shiny new features have emerged, shimmering with promise like a cup of really good tea on a damp afternoon. Among these marvels are retargeting capabilities designed to boldly follow users who've dared to engage with video ads, tracking their attention spans at 25%, 50%, 75%, or (gasp!) 100% completion. Not content to stop there, advertisers can now also zero in on those brave souls who’ve flirted with—or fully embraced—a Lead Gen Form. Meanwhile, the LinkedIn Audience Network is getting a brand safety boost, because even in the chaotic dance of digital marketing, one must ensure the Vogons of inappropriate content don’t crash the party.


2020. Contextual advertising company GumGum raises $22M



Contextual advertising firm GumGum has secured $22 million in funding. GumGum created computer vision technology capable of recognizing the content of an image and placing a relevant ad next to it. This technology forms the core business that GumGum has leveraged as a “foundation” to branch out into new sectors such as sports endorsements and in-video advertising. The in-video component has already been piloted with Sprint and other brands, with a wider rollout planned for the second quarter of this year.


2019. Amazon launches sponsored display advertising



Amazon introduced a new advertising campaign format for Vendors and professional Sellers on Amazon: Sponsored Display. This new ad format addresses a major gap in Amazon’s pay-per-click advertising suite: the capability to retarget Amazon shoppers. Retargeting is a well-regarded feature for retail brands and has long been available on display ad networks, Facebook and Google. It’s also a feature offered through Amazon’s programmatic media solution, its Demand Side Platform (DSP). However, the DSP demands a substantial monthly expenditure for advertisers to access it and ideally requires a proficient media expert to efficiently manage the channel.


2019. Facebook unveiled automated ad builder and an appointment manager for small businesses



Facebook has introduced two new products designed for small businesses. The first is Automated Ads. The concept is that business owners can respond to a few questions about their type of business and their campaign objectives. Based on their responses — as well as the details on their Facebook Page — Facebook will generate suggestions for the target audience, the budget to allocate and even how the different ad versions should appear and what they should convey. Additionally, although Facebook previously offered basic support for booking appointments in Messenger, it is now enhancing that feature so businesses can accept and manage all appointments through Facebook and Instagram. These appointments can also be synchronized with the business owner’s personal calendar or with third-party scheduling tools like MyTime and HomeAdvisor.


2019. Bing Ads rebrands to Microsoft Advertising



Bing Ads has been rebranded to Microsoft Advertising, with the company stating that the change aims "to indicate offerings that go beyond search inventory and search data." Microsoft also emphasized personalization and AI in the announcement—promising to launch more advertising products with integrated AI, more connected to your data and business. Bing will continue as the consumer search brand for Microsoft, with the tech giant asserting that the Google competitor will "only become more significant as intent data drives greater personalization and product innovation."


2018. Adwords rebrands as Google Ads, adds AI for small business


In the inexplicably labyrinthine universe of marketing, July will see Google’s rather famous ad service AdWords undergoing a dramatic, albeit slightly smug, rebranding as Google Ads. But hold onto your towel—it’s not merely a name tweak. Alongside it comes a fantastically clever feature called Smart Campaigns, which, in an act of dazzling machine-learning wizardry, will become the default for advertisers. Essentially, advertisers declare their holy grail—be it phone calls, store visits, or purchases—and then Google Ads, like a hyper-intelligent, ad-optimizing dolphin, uses its machine smarts to fine-tune images, text, and targeting, ensuring that more of those prioritized actions come hurtling toward them faster than a Vogon construction fleet.