TikTok has announced its first ever SME Council for TikTok-focused small businesses. The SME Council, which is made up of 20 small businesses, held its first meeting on 4 April in Stoke-on-Trent, where council members shared their experiences of running businesses in the UK and using TikTok to support their growth. The council will also provide insights and learning to help shape TikTok’s first TikTok SME Manifesto. This will make a set of requests to policymakers with the aim of boosting SME growth, developing skills, and encouraging entrepreneurship.
A new study from Adobe, which surveyed 363 UK marketers to explore the return on investment of integrating AI within the content supply chain, found that marketers use AI to save 116 minutes weekly on content creation, which represents 100 hours saved each year and leads to yearly savings of £1,836 per employee for marketing teams. Marketers utilising AI in their workflows say they use the extra time to improve the quality of their work (60%), initiate more strategic planning (50%), and take on new responsibilities (42%). Marketers who used AI in the last year were 44% more likely to gain or earn additional production budget than those who hadn’t adopted AI.
Food delivery platform Wolt has partnered with Deutsche Telekom. The partnership will give Deutsche Telekom customers in seven countries access to Wolt+ membership for free for up to 12 months through its Magenta Moments engagement program. The rollout has started with Croatia and will expand gradually across Austria, Czechia, Hungary, North Macedonia, Poland, and Slovakia.
Supply-side platform TripleLift has released a report titled ‘100 Years of Television’ to mark the centennial of TV’s first public demonstration. The report examines television’s transformative journey from experimental technology to digital powerhouse, highlighting key moments that reshaped TV advertising. It also explores how connected TV will continue to evolve as a fully digital medium. Findings include that TV is rapidly becoming a fully digital medium, with streaming expected to account for 100% of TV consumption within the decade; AI and automation will fundamentally change both content creation and advertising; and shoppable TV experiences will become increasing important, though standardisation and seamless user experiences remain critical challenges.
VIOOH, a digital out-of-home supply-side platform, has announced a UK-wide programmatic partnership with Zoom Media UK. The partnership gives advertisers access to 750 HD digital 6-sheet screens within gyms and health clubs, including The Bannatyne Group, The Gym Group, Everlast UK, and Fitness 4 Less.
TV audience measurement organisation Barb has launched the first set of overnight commercial spot ratings in beta, working with Clearcast and AdSignal. Barb awarded Clearcast with the contract to deliver interim overnight commercial spot logs in December 2023, following a competitive tender process. The logs are delivered in conjunction with AdSignal. AdSignal monitors Barb-reported commercial channels’ live broadcasts and matches the ads aired with Clearcast’s ad library to enable Barb to produce interim overnight reports of ratings for commercial spots. They are accessible to clients via the Barb API and data bureaux.
Sovrn, a publisher technology platform, has announced its newest offering, Sovrn Commerce Audiences. The solution aims to enable advertisers to reach consumers who are actively shopping and showing explicit purchase intent by combining purchase behaviour with online engagement and contextual signals. Simpli.fi, Basis, and tvScientific have signed on as launch partners.
Performance advertising platform Moloco has released findings from its latest research study, ‘2025 State of Mobile Gaming: In-App Purchase Trends of Leading Apps.’ The research found that Although overall install volume remains flat at an aggregate level, top apps are improving install-to-payer conversion rates and boosting lifetime value (LTV) by up to 6% year-over-year. The top 5% of US iOS high-value users now generate 20% of global gaming revenue across iOS and Android. iOS has overtaken Android, now generating 55% of total in-app purchase revenue, with the US and smaller global markets driving nearly all growth. The top 1% of iOS winning bid prices across the industry surged 140% in 2024, while overall median bid prices remained steady.
EmpowerLocal, a digital ad network, has announced the strategic acquisition of sponsorship marketplace SponsorBooker and the appointment of its Founder and CEO, Daniel Caplin, as Chief Revenue Officer. EmpowerLocal will look to use the acquisition to transform the discovery, planning, and activation of hyperlocal marketing campaigns.
