Weekly martech review: Hootsuite integrates Google Ads, Pinterest opens API, Adobe acquires Marketo
We review the top news in martech from the week of September 17–24, 2018.
In our review of last week’s martech news, we highlight Hootsuite integrating Google Ads, Pinterest opening their content marketing API, and Adobe acquiring Marketo.
Hootsuite integrates Google Ads to their social media management platform
What it is
Hootsuite is a social media management platform that lets companies schedule, post, and track paid and unpaid content across various channels. Now, they’re integrating with paid Google ads as well.
Why it matters
For the first time, marketers will get a unified view of their paid ads across both search and social. This is part of the growing shift from management to measurement—marketers can begin to track attribution of their ad performance across channels, in one consolidated place.
Pinterest opens content marketing API for brands to find influencers
What it is
Pinterest has announced it will be giving third parties (brands) access to their content marketing API. An API, or application programming interface, is essentially a means for two pieces of software to interact with each other. As an example, if you search flights on Expedia, Expedia will interact with airlines’ APIs to request information. Google Maps APIs are used by developers to imbed maps on webpages.
Why it matters
With this new API from Pinterest, third parties will be able to access, in a secure way, information on influencers’ monthly views, followers, impressions, click-through rates, and saves. This eliminates some guesswork around quality of followers (ever the question) and simplifies the process for both influencers and brands who want to collaborate. Pinterest is preparing to go public next year and surely wants to continue to boost their influencer business.
Adobe to acquire Marketo for $4.75 billion
What it is
We covered this last week (and mentioned it in the newsletter), but again the news is big. Adobe announced plans to acquire B2B marketing automation platform Marketo later this year.
Why it matters
This will further push Adobe out of the “just” creative space (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc) in which they’ve been quite successful, and into the broader customer experience space. It will also solidify their focus on B2B vs B2C.
Before you go
- Our favorite AI wizards at Phrasee have officially expanded their AI powered copywriting tool to Facebook and Instagram campaigns.
- The people whose NLP technology powered Siri are doing another cool thing. No, not Apple. Nuance, a computer software firm, has rolled out Nuance Prediction Service (NPS), a new AI tool to predict customer behavior.
- Marketing data startup raises $30M Series B funding.
- Google launched new Work Insights tool for G Suite users, to provide employers and admins an overview of how Google apps are being used by their teams.
- Salesforce’s Quip tries to entice people to actually read decks — they’re reportedly “interactive.”
- Free data visualization and reports creation tool, Google Data Studio, has beta launched.
- Amazon jumps to #3 on list of highest revenue digital ad platforms — pulling in $4.61 billion for 2018.
- Database marketing company Acxiom set to sell Marketing Solutions business for $2.3 billion to Interpublic Group on October 1st. The remaining business unit will change its name to LiveRamp. CEO Scott Howe says, “On October 2nd, LiveRamp will effectively emerge as a highly successful SaaS IPO.”
- Adobe announced this morning the launch of new AI assistant Virtual Analyst.
See something we missed? Leave us a comment below!
