Not Belgian yet: Spotify Podcast Ads

As a consequence of their heavy developments in podcasts, Spotify is reported to launch an advertising system dedicated to this very particular type of channel. Based on the intake information and listening habits, Spotify claims to be able to "hyper-target" the podcast offer, which seems to be highly relevant with podcasts. Important: it also involves Spotify Premium users, even if they have the opportunity to opt-out from advertising. It is currently limited to English-speaking countries, but as podcasts seem to be on the rise everywhere in the world, it is expected to enter other countries soon.

Google confirms Local Search update

In 2018 already, Google reports the introducing of neural matching. This technique goes further than the exact words in a business name or description in an attempt to understand conceptually how it might be related to the words used and their intents. Google reports the change had impacted 30% of searches in 2018. The actual consequence is to provide users with more local results. The launch of neural matching is now official and it involves all countries (not just the US). However Google  reminds you that the important points to focus on for a good ranking in natural search are still the same: relevance, importance, and distance.

Krant van West-Vlaanderen reshapes its brand

Until now the aggregate known as "Krant van West-Vlaanderen" (usually abbreviated as "KW"), a weekly regional newspaper, consisted of 8 different editions. As of January 2020, Roularta reduces their number to 5 (the CIM NRS questionnaire already considered 5 different "titles" that are reported together as KW). It also seems that the name KW will be enhanced, not only in paper, but also online. In 2018, the aggregate had a total print circulation of 58.555 copies every week (CIM authenticated). Weekly reach of KW.be was about 150.000 persons in the last weeks of 2019 (source: CIM Internet)

C8 becomes Belgian (via Proximus)

The French thematic channel C8 is now available on Proximus Pickx. C8 is the channel of the French showman Cyril Hanouna, well known for its (sometimes controversial) show "Touche pas à mon poste" (TPMP). Until end 2019, this programme could be seen on Plug TV (RTL Group), based on an exclusivity contract for Belgium. This year, the contract has been terminated and not only the show, but also the entire channel may now be seen in Belgium. On Plug RTL, TPMP had an audience share of ±2% on all adults and 3% on 15-34 years in 2019 (source: CIM TV). In the South of Belgium, Proximus is available in ±45% of households (CIM Establishment Survey, 2018). It seems that C8 intends to be commercialised in Belgium, but the sales house that would be in charge is not determined yet.

Facebook is introducing AR ads

Facebooks latest format is now globally available, this new system of Augmented Reality (AR) ads could be a major change in the way it is advertised on social platforms.

The results of the beta version already showed significant improvements in terms of CTR (up to +53%), up to +28 points lift in purchases and a longer viewability of the ad.