Handing a victory to Facebook, a divided federal appellate court has decided against hearing additional arguments challenging the company's $9.5 million Beacon settlement. The decision, issued Tuesday, leaves in place a prior ruling approving the deal, which calls for Facebook to fund a new privacy group. The agreement also requires the social networking giant to pay the 19 consumers who filed suit amounts varying from $1,000 to $15,000, while the company will pay around $3 million toward court costs and fees for the plaintiffs' lawyers who brought the case. Facebook user and privacy advocate Ginger McCall challenged that settlement, arguing that Facebook would have too much control over the new organization, dubbed the Digital Trust Foundation. The foundation will be directed by a three-person board -- and Facebook will play a key role in selecting those people. (One of the board members was supposed to be Facebook's former public policy director, Tim Sparapani, but he left the company before the foundation was created.) McCall also argued that the deal didn't compensate users who were harmed by the defunct Beacon ad program, which shared information about people's ecommerce activity with their friends. Last year, a panel of the 9th Circuit voted 2-1 to uphold the settlement, originally approved by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg. The two judges in the majority wrote that the settlement was "fundamentally fair," while Senior Circuit Judge Andrew Kleinfeld dissented. He wrote that the deal "perverts the class action into a device for depriving victims of remedies for wrongs, while enriching both the wrongdoers and the lawyers purporting to represent the class." McCall then asked the entire 9th Circuit to consider the case. On Tuesday, a divided court declined to do so. Six appellate judges dissented from that decision. They said in a written opinion that the settlement "failed to be reasonably certain to benefit the class," or to "advance the objectives" of the wiretap law -- the statute the consumers cited in their lawsuit. A Facebook spokesperson said the company was "pleased with the court's decision upholding the settlement" and looks forward to establishing the Digital Trust Foundation.
Apple has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit by providing at least $5 in iTunes credits to parents whose children ran up credit card charges by purchasing virtual currency for use in games they had downloaded.If approved by U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, Calif., the settlement will resolve a lawsuit initially filed two years ago by Phoenixville, Pa. resident Garen Meguerian. He alleged that his 8-year-old daughter ran up $200 by purchasing in-app currency for use in games like "Zombie Toxin" and "City Cash," which she downloaded for free from iTunes.Meguerian alleged that iTunes required log-in credentials to download games, but then gave players a 15-minute window to purchase currency without reentering a password. Several other parents filed similar lawsuits, which were consolidated in front of Davila.The settlement calls for Apple to provide $5 iTunes credits to all parents who say a child ran up bills for in-app purchases. Parents whose children ran up more than $5 in a 45-day period will be entitled to iTunes credits for that amount or, if the charges exceeded $30, cash refunds. The deal also calls for the lawyers who represented the parents to receive around $1.3 million.Meguerian alleged in his complaint that Apple "entices" children by offering free apps that then offer to sell "irresistible game currency." The parents argued that Apple should have done more to inform people that the "free" games were supported by in-app purchases. They also argued that any contracts entered into by their minor children were voidable because of their age.Davila will hold a hearing in the case on Friday, when he is expected to decide whether to grant the settlement preliminary approval.
In an attempt to stop data theft, Lotame has designed a feature in Crowd Control, its data management platform, to protect against unauthorized third-party tags collecting data from site visitors on Web pages. The tool, made possible through a partnership with The Media Trust, gives publishers data on companies dropping cookies on their site traffic. Data protection for publishers and marketers is increasingly important as sophisticated technologies make site visitor and Web browsing behavior the key to successful ad targeting. Many times publishers are unaware of the amount of cookies being dropped on site visitors, and marketers don’t realize the amount of data being "hijacked," said Andy Monfried, Lotame founder and CEO. "They don't know who drops cookies on their Web site visitors," he said. "This lets us put a flag in the ground and protect publishers' data." Monfried said when a company drops one master cookie, six can follow without the publisher knowing third-party companies shuffle the data to others. Lotame manages 1.5 billion profiles monthly, and he believes data protection remains one of the most important functions of data management platforms (DMPs). Kalyan Lanka, Lotame VP of product management, said if one company gets approval from a publisher to sell site visitor data, it may pass data to DSPs or exchanges without the knowledge of the client. Through the partnership, The Data Protection tool aims to stop this from happening. Publishers, ad networks and marketers can collect online, offline, CRM, mobile and Web analytics data into one platform for audience targeting and optimization. This is the first time Lotame brought in a third-party company to support a feature in its platform, other than semantic targeting. Aside from stopping data theft by monitoring third-parties firing tags on their Web sites, the tool ensures encryption is maintained and supports custom alerts and transparency reports for tag approval.
When Best Buy announced a new price-matching guarantee, it highlighted brick-and-mortar retailers’ efforts to discourage showrooming -- the practice of checking out products in stores before buying them for less online. A new study by Ipsos MediaCT and the IAB suggests shoppers are clearly showrooming when it comes to consumer electronics, but that use of mobile phones in stores also leads to in-store sales. While 42% of people who were using their phones while shopping ultimately made their purchase online, a full 30% did so in the store. Based on an online survey of 482 consumer electronics shoppers in February, Ipsos researchers found that mobile-equipped shoppers were also more likely to make an unplanned purchase: 32% in-store compared to 22% online. Nearly a third (31%) overall used mobile phones for shopping-related activity in stores. Three-quarters of consumer electronics shoppers went to a retail store to sample a product, with half planning to buy there, and a quarter intending to showroom. The study also showed a correlation between mobile use and spending. Among mobile-wielding shoppers, 42% spent over $1,000 while in stores in the last six months, compared to only 21% of those who didn’t use their devices in-store. And 65% of in-store mobile users said consulting their device made them more likely to buy a product. “Mobile is the connective tissue in showrooming that is driving a more integrated shopping experience in the consumer electronics space,” said Anna Bager, VP and GM, of the IAB’s Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. Digital advertising also played a role in showrooming. Over a third of shoppers (35%) recalled seeing ads for electronic products they were shopping for. Half said that digital ads made them visit an online store, while 28% said digital ads led them to shop at a brick-and-mortar retail location. The rest were not influenced either way. Among other key findings: *Three-quarters of shoppers did some form of online research before going to a store, while six in 10 did so after. *Smartphones, flat-screen TVs and tablets were the top three consumer electronics shopped for in the last six months. *Mobile-equipped shoppers on average spent $1,539 versus $929 for those who didn’t use mobile devices while in stores. "Shopping for Electronics photo from Shutterstock"
Rather than Barack Obama or The New York Times’ data diviner Nate Silver, the real winners of election 2012 were micro-targeted advertising and messaging. That’s according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, which now estimates that micro-targeted ads accounted for $130 million to $200 million in spending during last year's presidential election. “Political micro-targeting in digital advertising truly matters. Most importantly, it can help make the difference between a winning race and a losing one in close elections,” according to Patrick Dolan, EVP and COO at the IAB. Dolan credits micro-targeted political ads with playing crucial roles in the recent elections by providing scalable, custom messaging during the entire campaign cycle, as well as aiding recruitment, fund-raising and get-out-the-vote efforts. Plus, micro-targeted ads were increasingly part of a holistic, comprehensive campaign outreach strategy, where online spend was conjoined with tailored cable and broadcast buys in an aligned effort. Looking ahead, the IAB expects a “tweaking” of targeted ads by monitoring voter reaction in a refined political engagement process. Also, retail politicking -- such as “door-to-door” campaigning -- will be executed more in tandem with micro-targeted messages and tactics, Dolan predicts. Privacy issues will continue to be considered and addressed by micro-targeting firms in campaigns at all levels, Mike Zaneis, SVP of Public Policy and General Counsel at the IAB, warns. “The research conducted and findings identified ... have shed new light on the opportunities presented by micro-targeting, which should catch the attention of aspiring and current lawmakers alike,” says Zaneis.
Attempting to build on a lead-generation business nine years in the making, ReachLocal will roll out three products this year supporting local online commerce, along with a site where consumers can instantly book home improvement services. Lead management tool ReachSite, ecommerce support tool ReachCommerce, and target email and alert tool ReachConvert will debut in North America during the second quarter and launch in the second half of this year. The company also announced a new consumer offering, ClubLocal, the home improvement service directory being tested in Dallas-Fort Worth since July 2012. The second beta market, San Francisco, will roll out in the second quarter of 2013. The string of ReachLocal platforms covers lead generation and search and social marketing, as well as online bookings and buying. ClubLocal provides the ability for consumers to book up to 17 home services online, or via a mobile app. Zorik Gordon, ReachLocal CEO, calls the change from a lead-generation business to marketing and support services an "evolution in the business model. Love them or hate them, Groupon showed us an online company can support local services," he said. All merchants participating in ClubLocal are pre-screened, complete with background check. Prices for services are pre-negotiated. Once the guaranteed work is complete, consumers pay ClubLocal and all receipts and warranties are stored online in their account. ReachLocal supports doctors, dentists, plumbers and other small and medium-sized businesses, generating more than $450 million in revenue last year by supporting 22,000 customers in 12 countries on five continents. ReachLocal estimates the "need-based local services" market at more than $1 trillion, J.P. Morgan Analyst Doug Anmuth writes in a research note, with lead generation for the SMB market at around $43.5 billion in the U.S., according to Borrell Associates. "We're encouraged by the high-margin nature of the products and the company's ability to drive growth and margin expansion over time," Anmuth writes.
Variety, the storied Hollywood trade publication, will cease publishing its daily print edition effective March 18, owner Penske Media announced this week. Variety will continue producing a weekly print magazine, with a new version set to debut March 26, while shifting daily reporting to its Web site. The Web site is being relaunched to make it more accessible via multiple devices, including smartphones and tablets. Penske is also getting rid of the site’s online pay wall permanently, allowing free access to Variety’s online content, effective March 1. As part of the transition, Variety has made a number of new appointments on the editorial side, including three editors-in-chief, with Claudia Eller, previously of the Los Angeles Times, joining Cynthia Littleton, formerly Variety’s deputy editor and TV reporter, and Andrew Wallenstein, who is being promoted from TV editor. The triumvirate will replace Tim Gray, the current editor-in-chief, who will remain with the company in a “leadership role.” The decision to scrap both the online paywall and the daily publication leaves the weekly magazine as the only source of subscription revenues for Variety, suggesting Penske hopes to scale up online advertising on the Web site to make up for lost subscription and print and ad revenues. Currently, print subscribers pay $99 per year, or more, for the daily publication. (The official rate is $349, but many subscribers get a discounted rate.) Penske, owned by car racing mogul Jay Penske, acquired Variety from Reed Elsevier for around $25 million in October 2012, with backing from private-equity firm Third Point LLC. Reed had acquired the 107-year-old trade publication in 1987. A number of other Hollywood trade publications have also traded hands in recent years. In 2009, Nielsen sold Nielsen Business Media properties, including The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard to e5 Global Media, later renamed Prometheus Global Media; e5 also bought Adweek and Mediaweek as part of the same deal.