Hotel technology (bedtech?) vendor TravelClick has purchased Digital Alchemy, which specializes in email and text messaging for hotels. It’s interesting evidence against the idea that messaging is a pure commodity.
CDP vendor Lytics has raised $14 million in Series B funding, bringing its total to $23.3 million. The funds will be used for product development, marketing, and sales.
Consumer behavior is an especially rich source of obvious results. GlobalWebIndex tells us that 94% of internet users now own a smartphone, 16-24-year olds are the most active mobile users, and Android is the dominant operating system globally. Pew Research found that 26% of Americans are online almost constantly. My personal favorite is a HRC Retail Advisory report that 95% of consumers want to be left alone while shopping. These people make my job so easy. Obviously.
It’s tough to get brand safety right, but the industry keeps trying. IPG Mediabrands announced a new set of tools to find and block inappropriate ad placements, while IAS expanded its suitability measurements to include standards from the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM). Meanwhile, DoubleVerify admitted a mistake made brand safety on X/Twitter look worse than it really was in October 2023 and March 2024.