After YouTube star Logan Paul posted a video of a dead body hanging in a Japanese forest, YouTube again promised to scrutinize its top videos more closely, and also change the threshold for which videos can accept ads. Last year, marketers discovered their ads were being shown next to extremist videos. In response, YouTube developed new policies to give advertisers more control over the placement of their content and said it would better police videos. But the Logan Paul video shows just how challenging that can be. Continue reading YouTube Promises Human Vetting of Google Preferred Videos

New media companies that attracted an entire demographic away from traditional television are making a counterintuitive move by producing TV programs, often in partnership with networks and other Hollywood players. BuzzFeed, Vice Media and Huffington Post are among the companies now inking deals with HBO, A+E Networks, Comcast’s Universal Studios and Hearst Television. One big reason why is that new media purveyors have to meet expectations of sky-high valuations, and TV is a more predictable revenue stream than online video. Continue reading New Media Companies Lured to TV by Revenue Opportunities

Instagram just turned on its API (application programming interface) for ads, and some experts are calling it the next step in advertising’s digital evolution. Before, advertising on Facebook-owned Instagram was a complex process. Now, any potential advertiser can simply buy an ad on Instagram using online ad-buying tools from Instagram partners. What makes this new process interesting to advertisers is an estimated 44 percent of Instagram’s 300 million users are in the coveted 18-29 year old demographic. Continue reading Instagram’s New API Could Spark Major Change in Digital Ads