Today in Digital Marketing - Google's Losing Control Over the Cookieless Future

Starting point is 00:00:00 It is Tuesday, October 18th. I'm Todd Mathen. Today, strike two. Is Google running out of chances to steer the cookie-less future? Meta is forced to sell off one of its acquisitions. Walmart joins the influencer marketing trend. Branded content tags expand to Facebook. And YouTube has a new ad placement aiming at podcasts. Here's what you missed today in digital marketing. Google, it seems, just can't cut a break on its privacy ideas. First, Flock was supposed to help

Starting point is 00:00:32 marketers retargeting in a world without third-party cookies. Now, its newest iteration, Fledge, seems to be bombing as well. Fledge, that's first locally executed decision over groups experiment, is a cookie-less remarketing tool that serves ads to custom audiences without the need for cross-site tracking of individuals. Google started testing this back in August, but as of now, only five ad tech companies have expressed any interest in the new tech, with only three using it in any meaningful way, RTB House and Crito, and the third is Google itself. And it doesn't look like this is going to change soon, as there seems to be little desire from other tech companies to get involved. Why? Two reasons. First, it's still relatively unknown in the community.

Starting point is 00:01:21 And second, it's expensive. As Digiday reports, no one can afford to be first, especially when there are so many unresolved issues. These issues include Fledge only handling the retargeting part of performance advertisers. So marketers won't know if the users who saw a retargeting ad converted, as that's a whole other work stream from Google. There are also no proper reach and frequency controls. Plus, based on the current specifications, it seems there's only one gatekeeper, Google.

Starting point is 00:01:52 Quoting Digiday, Add all of this up and it's not surprising that the specialists in network and retargeting advertising would be among the first and only companies to test Fledge. They can see a way to make it work for their businesses, but for everyone else, the downside is too sharp and the upside too ambiguous, unquote. That doesn't mean that Fledge trials will remain stuck forever. Digiday added that the interest is there, just not enough to convince most ad executives to test it. Whether Fledge will gain support once more information about these tests become available, that's yet to be determined. Meta is being forced to sell Jiffy.

Starting point is 00:02:32 The social network was ordered to sell Jiffy last year but appealed the ruling. In its decision today, the UK Competition and Markets Authority announced that Meta had failed on five of six objections. The CMA found that Meta's takeover of Jiffy could allow Meta to limit other social media platforms' access to GIFs, making those sites less attractive to users and less competitive. On top of limiting other social media sites' access to GIFs, the antitrust regulators said that Meta could change the terms of access and require customers like TikTok, Twitter, and Snapchat to provide more data from UK users in order to access GIFs. Again, this ruling coming from the British Competition Authority. They also found the merger would negatively impact the display advertising

Starting point is 00:03:15 market. As a result, the CMA concluded, quote, the only way to avoid the significant impact the deal would have on competition is for Jiffy to be sold off in its entirety to an approved buyer. Meta confirmed it will sell off Jiffy's global operations following today's ruling. According to Bloomberg, this is the first time global regulators have forced a big tech firm to reverse a completed transaction. Walmart continues its push to social commerce. The retail giant announced Walmart Creator today, a new platform for influencers to earn commissions by referring followers to the company's products.

Starting point is 00:03:55 Here's how it'll work. Using the portal, influencers will be able to earn money on product links with apparently no cap. And by that, I mean no limit, not no cap as in TikTok parlance. The platform also provides users with performance data as well as product recommendations based on their interests and lets creators apply to be part of upcoming brand campaigns. Unlike other creator marketing platforms, no minimum number of followers is needed to join. So anybody can be an influencer. Applicants can apply for beta access ahead of the holiday season, and Walmart Creator will launch fully next year.

Starting point is 00:04:30 While Walmart continues to push its influencer marketing efforts, Meta is doing the same, only with Reels. The company rolled out branded content on Facebook Reels to all creators globally yesterday. Now, creators can apply the branded content tag tool on reels on organic posts, and tagged brands can convert those reels to branded content ads. Meta added that all creator content which features or is influenced by a branded product for an exchange of value must also tag that brand. Once tagged, the business partner will be notified and receive certain metrics about the post. Meta first enabled branded content tags back in 2020 for Instagram Reels,

Starting point is 00:05:10 so it's not a new concept. Nevertheless, now that TikTok reposts, I'm sorry, I mean Facebook Reels creators will be able to add the tag, brands will have a greater opportunity to partner with relevant creators in their niche and region. from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. YouTube is doubling down on podcasts. The company yesterday announcing it will roll out audio ads globally and let marketers target users who are listening to and watching podcasts on the platform. YouTube also took the opportunity to boast

Starting point is 00:06:05 that it is the second most popular podcast listening destination. Now, advertisers can place 30-second audio ads on videos up from the 15-second spots previously available. Advertisers in the U.S. will also be able to narrow their ad campaigns based on podcast genres like comedy, news, sports, society, and culture. Among the other developments were product feeds in YouTube Discovery ads. Those appear in Google Discover as well as Gmail's promotions and social tabs. There will now be the option to include local offers with real-time inventory availability. Finally, the ability for creators

Starting point is 00:06:42 to tag products within their videos and shorts will also be more widely available this quarter. The Omnicom Media Group is attempting to keep up with consumer demands with a new consumer sentiment tracking tool. The tool works through OmniSignal, their consumer polling tool that reaches more than 3 million people through their marketing platform. The tool breaks down attributes like generation, gender, income, ethnicity, region, and the presence of children in the home. You can also look at consumer behavior within 18 specific verticals. Earlier this year, Omnicom first noticed consumers' main concern was inflation rather than COVID. Its latest stats indicate that 80% of consumers cite inflation as a concern, compared to 60 who cited COVID as a concern earlier this year. According to the company's

Starting point is 00:07:32 CPO, nearly 90% of consumers have changed their behavior in at least one category, with brand switching being the most common change. This led to the creation of a category volatility index. Quoting that executive, a lot of our clients have multiple audiences that they're targeting for their different product lines. We were able to then parse out and understand that with some of our audiences,

Starting point is 00:07:55 we might not need to make any change, but certain audiences we might need to based on what we're seeing in terms of an over-index or under-index. For example, a client of Omnicom wanted to launch a more premium product compared to its competitors in the market. With this tool, planners were able to determine that the core customer was generally spending less or looking for more value rather than leaving the category due to inflation concerns.

Starting point is 00:08:19 As a result, the messaging shifted to play up the benefits of the product's multiple uses in light of its higher price point, while audience targeting shifted to play up the benefits of the product's multiple uses in light of its higher price point, while audience targeting shifted to private label brands. And finally today, it looks like this whole Elon Musk takeover of Twitter will happen after all, and one sure sign, Twitter locked its staff's stock accounts yesterday. The company updated its employee frequently asked questions page this week to tell staff that they will not be able to access or trade shares from the company's equity award center. Sources of Bloomberg say the page said the change was done,

Starting point is 00:08:58 quote, in anticipation of the closing of the pending acquisition of Twitter by an entity controlled by Elon Musk. My wife is heading down island to Victoria to hang out with her brother who is in town from back east. I would probably normally go. I might yet go, but it's an hour and a half drive down, an hour and a half drive back. I hate being in a car. I'm one of those people that's like, I'm all about the destination. Where do these bumper stickers

Starting point is 00:09:30 come from that are like, it's all about the journey. No, screw the journey. I just want to be there. What that probably means, of course, is that I'm going to be spending my time at home yelling at my Overwatch team again. Such is the life of a support player.

Starting point is 00:09:46 Anyway, that's it for today. Thanks for listening. I'm Todd Mappin. See you tomorrow. I hope you like my character, it shows me Got the high score but never played with a trophy. The game starts, you special move unlock. Punch, kick, combo, got through my block. Give you my hearts if you get hit. Diamond blocks craft you a necklace, oh Outro Music

Today in Digital Marketing - Google's Losing Control Over the Cookieless Future

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