The Wall Street Journal reports that more advertisers are employing outright "bribery" to get consumers to watch their ads in an era of increasing use of ad blocking software. These "incentivized ads" may appear in social and mobile games where users have either logged in or provided some identifying information. "Or the ads are delivered on websites geared for people interested in earning free items to be redeemed in the real world where they are required to register with their real names. For example, a marketer might provide consumers with more lives or weapons in a videogame or reward points …

Accenture's managing director and global lead for media management George Patten writes that in the complex and fragmented media buying ecosystem where quality and cost are in question, the industry "needs to acknowledge that media has grown into a highly specialized discipline that requires training and deep expertise." "Analytics, automation and other innovative technologies can provide needed insights, but relatively few companies have been able to take full advantage of these capabilities," Patten says, adding that four elements are needed to add value in buying: transparency, content, attribution and tech.

Volvo, a launch partner for Time Inc.’s Real Time ad product, is taking targeting to a whole new level.  The deal works like this: Time Inc. works with partner SocialFlow to place Volvo ads next to trending content, giving "the car-maker access to a part of a publisher’s audience that’s rarely monetized – its social feed," according to Ad Exchanger.  Additionally, with the Volvo campaign, Time Inc. targeted audiences using Facebook’s audience data. Time Inc. reportedly reaches 180 million people on seven social platforms, with 40% of that audience on Facebook.  “Everything about our marketing strategy now is targeted," said Bodil Eriksson, executive vice …