How Advertisers and Brands Are Responding To The Ukraine Crisis
Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine is driving advertisers to take action. They are rapidly reassessing their creative and media spending. Brands are supporting their staff in the region and pledging to help Ukrainian citizens across the globe. From pausing ad placements to cease product sales, cut services, or halting business with Russia. Here’s a host of some big companies that began to trickle in recent days.
Accenture
The first major company in the marketing and advertising field took a definitive stance that it will discontinue doing business in Russia. In addition to its 2,300 employees, the multinational consulting company has a global innovation lab in Moscow called ‘Future Camp’. The company thanked them and vowed to support the former employees. The company has promised to help its Ukrainian colleagues around the world and their families. It will give $5 million to organizations that provide assistance to Ukrainian citizens and those seeking asylum in neighboring countries.
McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group also declared today that they will no longer deal with Russian companies.
Roku
The streamer dropped a Russian-backed news channel from its channel store everywhere that including Europe and the U.S. The decision follows a similar move from DirecTV which is “accelerating this year’s contract expiration timeline and will no longer offer their programming effective immediately” amid the unfolding crisis in Ukraine.
Extreme Reach
Adtech firm, Extreme Reach has stopped distributing and delivering ads to Russian-affiliated internet and television sites. As per Adage reports, the company said, “As a global company, we are part of a global community that is weakened when any of its people are oppressed. More directly, we’re providing support to our team members who are themselves based in Ukraine or whose families and loved ones are in the midst of this unthinkable crisis.”
Microsoft
Microsoft has removed RT news’ mobile app from the Windows app store, in addition to banning all ads on Russian state-sponsored media. In a blog post, Microsoft said that they are focusing on four areas to help Ukraine. They are working on cybersecurity, state-sponsored discrimination campaigns, humanitarian aid, and employee protection.
The tech giant has paused all advertisements across products in Russia. This is relevant for ads on Search, YouTube, Display, and the move is effective immediately. It is an extraordinary step given how much of Google’s revenue is from advertising. Google blocked mobile apps connected to Russian state-run media outlets RT and Sputnik from the playstore.
Twitter also announced a similar move and said, “We’re temporarily pausing advertisements in Ukraine and Russia to ensure critical public safety information is elevated and ads don’t detract from it.”
Apple and Facebook
The tech giant has ended the sale and exports of its products to Russia. In a statement, it said, “Apple Pay and other services have been limited. RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside Russia. And we have disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens.”
Facebook’s parent company Meta has restricted access to Russian state media accounts and blocked the running and monetization of ads on their platform. It has also removed accounts that provided disinformation and targeted Ukrainians.
Spotify
Spotify, the podcast service provider has shut its offices indefinitely in Russia. It has removed all Russian-state-affiliated content.
Equinor
Norwegian energy company Equinor has had a presence in Russia for over 30 years and has decided to end the joint venture with Roseneft.
In a statement, the company said, “In the current situation, we regard our position as untenable. We will now stop new investments into our Russian business, and we will start the process of exiting our joint ventures in a manner that is consistent with our values. Our top priority in this difficult situation is the safety and security of our people.”
AirBnb
The company has suspended all operations in Belarus and Russia. It will offer free, temporary housing for up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine. It will also partner with resettlement agencies to house Ukrainian refugees globally.
Airbnb is suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) March 4, 2022
Oracle
The software company suspended all operations in Russia. Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation requested on Twitter that the company ends its business relationship with Russia, Russian clients, and partners.
Publicis
Publicis CEO and Chairman Arthur Sadoun sent an internal memo to the holding company’s 350 Ukraine employees ensuring guaranteed salary pay for 2022. In the memo he said, “While these financial measures can only help a small part of the turbulent reality you face today, we hope it will give you some sense of security, help provide for your loved ones and allow you to plan and take back control of your lives.”
BP and Shell
Both BP and Shell will exit Russian operations.
BP is one of the largest foreign investors in the oil market. The company exited a 20% stake in the Russian oil giant Roseneft- a move estimated to cost the company $25bn. On the other hand, Shell will exit its partnership with Russian oil company Gazprom.
IKEA
The home furniture retailer has paused all its operations in Russia, and Belarus. In a statement, it said, “These decisions have a direct impact on 15,000 IKEA co-workers. The ambitions of the company groups are long term and we have secured employment and income stability for the immediate future and provide support to them and their families in the region.”
Fashion retailers like H&M, Marks & Spencers, Burberry, ASOS have halted Russian sales.
Disney, Warner, Sony, Paramount, Universal, and Netflix
Disney, Warner, Sony, Paramount, Universal has paused all their theatrical releases in Russia. Meanwhile, Netflix has stopped all the future projects in Russia.
Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin
The automakers halted all operations in Russia. Tata Group-owned JLR has halted car deliveries in Russia. Similarly, Aston Martin has halted stopped the exports and production of its cars in Ukraine and Russia.
Honda, Toyota, Mercedes, and Mazda have also joined the list of automakers who have stopped operations in Russia. According to Reuters, the Japanese company Toyota produces about 8,000 vehicles in Russia. Honda has suspended operations in Russia due to difficulties with payments and shipping vehicles. Mazda announced that its joint venture plant in Vladivostok would soon cease exports soon.
Visa and Mastercard
Two major card payment firms, Visa and Mastercard, have blocked numerous transactions with Russian banks. Reuters said Mastercard’s net revenues from Russia accounted for approximately 4 percent of its total revenues.
Nordea, HSBC, Mashreqbank and Raiffeisen Bank International
In a statement released by Reuters, Nordea Asset Management announced that they will liquidate all of their investments in Russian government bonds, equities, corporate bonds, and alternatives. has decided to liquidate all of its investments in Russia, including government bonds, equities, corporate debt, and alternatives. The British Bank HSBC has winded down its operations with a host of Russian banks Dubai-based Mashreqbank also halted its operations with Russian banks and Austria’s largest bank Raiffeisen Bank International is planning to exit the Russian Federation.
Siemens
Germany-based Siemen’s work on new projects and deliveries are put on hold in Russia. Russia, where the company has been active since 1852, contributes just 1 percent of sales to the company. Siemens has also ceased operations on its 1.1 billion euro contract with Russian Railways to build high-speed trains.
MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM
Shipping giants including Switzerland-based MSC, Denmark’s Maersk, and France’s CMA CGM suspended non-essentials cargo bookings to and from Russia until further notice.
AerCap
In compliance with the applicable sanctions against Moscow, the world’s largest aircraft leasing firm AerCap announced that it will cease leasing from Russian airlines. The company has 152 aircraft worth $2.5 billion in both Russia and Ukraine.
Compare the Market
Compare the Market, a UK financial comparison website, is withdrawing its long-running ad campaign featuring Russian-accented meerkats from news programs.
Hypermedia plans to introduce data measurement tools
Data is a goldmine in 2022. W group, a pioneer in the data measurement domain with its subsidiaries- Hypermedia and DigitAll leading at the forefront. The W Group will launch its data intelligence service in the UAE within the next year, offering a fully customized DOOH media experience to its 800 strategic partners and clients.
For the future of effective OOH business planning, access to trustworthy data measuring tools is critical. These solutions not only provide a guaranteed return on investment (ROI) by revealing sales insights, but they also open up a vast and varied possibility for smart experience customization.
Data is the key to providing prospective clients with unrivaled access to consumer insights, as well as ‘campaign performance reports’ that ensure a successful ad campaign. That is why Hypermedia has made significant investments in digitizing all main media assets across all of its initiatives in Dubai Metro, Malls, Outdoor, and in-store.
Philip Matta, W Group’s Chief Operating Officer expressed the excitement to be able to share the unique data measurement tools in the near future.
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Instagram Shuts Down IGTV For Longer Videos, TikTok Expands Video Length
Instagram announced the shutdown of its longer format video ‘IGTV’. The company explained in a blog post they intend to make video content “as simple as possible to discover and create”. Thus, in-stream video ads will also be discontinued. Creators that actively monetize with in-stream video ads will receive a temporary monthly payment based on their recent earnings.
The Meta-owned company is increasingly becoming video-focused and wants to integrate all video content into its main app. It is in the process of designing a ‘new ad experience’ that will allow Instagram users to earn ad revenue on Reels. Earlier this year, Instagram announced that it would “double down” on video content in 2022. Instagram reports that Reels contributes to engagement growth by pushing short videos both in the feed and with a dedicated button in the navigation menu. The initial limit for reels was 30 seconds, but that limit was extended to 60 seconds in 2021.
Meanwhile, major social media platforms continue to introduce shorter video content tools, Instagram competitor TikTok is doing the opposite.
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TikTok Videos Triple In Length
In a bid to challenge rival YouTube, TikTok now lets users upload videos as long as 10 minutes. However, YouTube is promoting its short-form content “Shorts” feature. Even though this news is a big deal in the competitive world of social media, as it extends TikTok’s previous July extension to three-minute-long videos by three times, it comes at a peculiar time. An official from TikTok says the goal is to bring value to the community and enrich the user experience.
“Today, we’re excited to start rolling out the ability to upload videos that are up to 10 minutes, which we hope would unleash even more creative possibilities for our creators around the world.”
Creators will have more time and flexibility to film things like cooking demos, beauty tutorials, educational videos, comedic sketches, and more. Globally, TikTok will release the option to film longer videos in the coming weeks. Users using the latest version will be notified of the update.
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Magnite Acquires Carbon That Will Allow Publishers Unlock The Value of Audience
Magnite, the world’s largest independent omnichannel sell-side advertising platform announced the acquisition of Carbon. Essentially, Carbon is a one-stop solution for supporting seller-defined audiences, which is one of the hottest trends right now, as inventory sellers have significant bargaining power in CTV. Publishers can create unique audience segments and improve addressability by accessing first-party data from streaming viewers. The acquisition was financed by an asset sale and financial terms were not disclosed.
Interesting Read: GroupM Launches Programmatic Marketplace, Result of Licensing Deals with Magnite and PubMatic
How Will Magnite Benefit From This Deal?
Magnite’s move makes logical because CTV currently accounts for one-third of the SSP’s revenue. The acquisition will benefit Magnite as it expands its audience and identity capabilities and integrates them across its omnichannel offerings.
Adam Soroca, Chief Product Officer at Magnite said,
“CTV sellers have valuable viewer data that makes them well-positioned to create unique first-party data and we expect their demands around addressability to become more pronounced. As it relates to the open web, the likely deprecation of the third-party cookie means publisher-centric identity solutions are foundational to the future of advertising.”
Audience creation is moving from the buy-side to the sell-side, which directly owns the relationship with consumers. Although this shift is new for many publishers, first-party data has been an essential component of CTV/OTT addressability for decades. Magnite supports industry-specific IDs, it adheres to the belief that a variety of identity signals is needed to make the inventory addressable to the greatest extent possible. Carbon enters the picture here.
It will provide sellers with everything they need to maximize their audiences across all channels. In addition, it will provide Magnite with an opportunity to demonstrate its value (aka ROI) as a video ad server and CTV network.
Interesting Read: Unlock The CTV Opportunity: What The Future Looks Like
And That’s What They Said
Advertisers will expect more control and transparency in exchange for the relatively high CPMs they’ll have to pay for CTV now that the honeymoon time for CTV is coming to an end. Publishers and SSPs are beginning to realize that power (and money) will go to those who can show their efforts reached a specific audience or generated business results.
Pete Danks, CEO & Founder at Carbon said,
“Helping publishers be more profitable by providing them with technology to unlock the opportunities within their data has always been core to our mission.”
“We’re excited to further this goal as Magnite and continue to work with publishers to lay the groundwork for a new audience-based advertising paradigm built on sell-side data.”
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Is Microsoft Reinventing Its Ad Business With Massive Acquisitions?
Microsoft has a sizeable ad business. In the latest earnings call, the company reported the advertising revenues “surpassed $10 billion, ex-TAC ”. The company believes its vertical will grow in the mid-to-high teens.
“Across Bing and Edge, we are creating differentiated, high value experiences for consumers and advertisers in key verticals, including shopping. More broadly, we are expanding our opportunity in advertising.”
The company has taken center stage with its recent notable acquisitions -gaming giant Activision Blizzard and a leading adtech company Xandr. Recently, Nadella said,
“And with our acquisition of Xandr, we will bring to market new advertising solutions that combine our deep audience understanding and customer base with Xandr’s large-scale data-driven platforms.”
Does all this mean the stirring of a sleeping giant in the ad industry? Microsoft has access to an extremely powerful first-party data operation based on subscriptions. Even though Bing, Edge, and MSN may seem passe today. However, Microsoft still has a huge audience which includes Xbox, Game Pass, LinkedIn, and Outlook.
Interesting Read: 5 Ad Industry Trends That Are Likely To Unveil in 2022!
All The Ingredients Of The Ad Business
Despite the size and stellar performance of its ad business, Microsoft has not really been seen as a true rival for Google and Facebook in the advertising sphere. It’s been some time since Amazon officially dispensed Microsoft from the “Big 3” of digital media, joining Google and Facebook among the world’s largest digital advertising companies.
Still, analysts do not seem to have discounted Microsoft’s ad dominance. As GroupM Business Intelligence Global President outlined in a report, “We estimate advertising to be a $15 billion business in 2021.” These figures are before Xandr’s acquisition; making Microsoft the fourth largest player outside of China in ad sales. Weiser attributes this to a surge in overall ad demand, as well as LinkedIn‘s success in recruiting advertising following the “Great Resignation.”
Ad offerings from Microsoft currently include ads on its search engine Bing, placements on its O&O networks, as well as its Microsoft Audience Network, a programmatic network that places native ad units on properties like CBS Sports and Fox Business. This is in addition to its retail media offering PromoteIQ.
There is still plenty of opportunities for Microsoft to enhance its ad revenue even beyond what it is currently doing. For its advertising business, the company has “bold ambitions”, especially around data, audiences, and international expansion.
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Xandr- A crucial ingredient
The acquisition of Xandr (formerly App Nexus) will not only solidify Microsoft’s position as a prominent ad tech player but also develop capabilities in the demand-side and supply-side of advertising.
On the supply side, it helps them monetize their data and ID better because in the past, they didn’t sell that outside of their own businesses but now they can do so with Xandr. On the demand side, it helps them secure more budget.
Xandr and Microsoft had a close relationship before their merger, which may have led to a much better outcome. Recent acquisitions have the potential to awaken the sleeping giant. In contrast to before, Microsoft has more content, data, and now technology. All walled gardens possess this very powerful characteristic. So, is there a new walled garden in making? Experts interpret this acquisition as Microsoft’s bid to build a walled garden with a buying platform, unique inventory, persistent ID layer, and proprietary data.
Activision Blizzard- an advantage to ad-funded gaming
Xandr’s purchase is a drop in the ocean compared to the Activision Blizzard deal. This acquisition provides a shortcut for Microsoft to ramp up its content offerings. It will also help to build out their audience, a key area for Microsoft’s ad business.
Activision’s great content could also boost subscription numbers for Game Pass, assuming the regulatory approval. Both are hoped to drive future growth for Microsoft’s gaming division as revenue models and platforms shift in the industry. Activision Blizzard’s developer resources will expand Microsoft’s ability to make games, and as a result, the company’s metaverse plans will be bolstered.
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Cross-Platform Monetization
Microsoft could increase sales and monetization by connecting its various tech properties, such as CTV and in-game ads. ( Note-Video game consoles support streaming apps for the CTV category.)
In addition, the search business presents them with a great opportunity to grow their advertising revenue. As Bing is the second-ranked search engine in the U.S., Xandr can integrate its search intent data.
Xandr can help Microsoft build out its in-house ad tech stack. Ads across their content portfolio could be served through Xandr. The company could start an open demand-side platform and plug Xandr in all the in-game inventories. Xandr could be the link between all their inventories, even on consoles. Publishers can upload some creativity to appear in games like Candy Crush, Call of Duty, and the Xbox storefront. However, few experts are not convinced of any brand link between the Xandr acquisition and the Activision Blizzard acquisition as the space of adtech is quite further down the chain.
Microsoft’s own mobile apps, native content, and CTV assets can be monetized through Xander’s DSP, SSP, and Xandr Curate’s audience data-fueled curation capabilities. These capabilities serve as a powerful foundation for the omnichannel advertising ecosystem.
Interesting Read: All You Need To Know About Connected TV Advertising!
Wrapping Up
As a credible alternative to the current market leaders, Microsoft’s brand could undoubtedly be instrumental in establishing the advertising offering as a viable proposition. However, Microsoft will require to overcome two points at issue- lack of non-search DNA and mobile app monetization. The company has predominantly focused on search. Also, it is a learning curve for Xandr too, as mobile app monetization and native is not its expertise.
History shows that mere having adtech sprinkled with data or inventories on top won’t suffice to compete with the likes of Google or Facebook. Much more is needed to succeed realistically and very few companies have it. And Microsoft is absolutely one of them. Challenges lie ahead but are achievable. A matter of time for sleeping ad giant to wake up!
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Connected TV Ad Fraud: Is It Real And How To Avoid It?
Connected TV (CTV) has gained exponential popularity with high-quality content and wider reach. CTV, which is commonly powered by Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, etc., appears to be an attractive option for advertising. CTV’s inventory is attractive, especially as third-party cookies seem destined to disappear off of desktop and mobile. However, there is a drawback for those who do not conduct due diligence. Fraud is inevitable wherever the money goes in advertising. The growth of CTV content and advertisers’ investments have made it a prime target for fraudsters, presenting new ways to steal money from unsuspecting marketers.
The eMarketer study indicates that despite the threat of ad fraud, the increased consumption of content and advances in targeting and measurement have been driving advertisers’ interest in CTV. Overall, CTV ad spending will increase from $14.44b in 2021 to $29.50b in 2024.
Image Credit: eMarketer
Interesting Read: Unlock The CTV Opportunity: What The Future Looks Like
Growing Risks Of Ad-Fraud In CTV Environment
Connected TV(CTV) is an emerging trend and digital thievery takes place owing to a lack of transparency, tracking, and regulations. Demand outweighs supply and CTV ads do not provide sufficient technical visibility of ads on desktop and mobile.
The Industry Pulse Report cited, “ahead of 2020, 46% of publishers cited ad fraud as a challenge for programmatic advertising, well above the 38% of respondents industry-wide who said increasing levels of ad fraud would be a concern for automated transactions.” To understand the complete picture, let us start with the mechanism of ad fraud.
So, how does it work?
Publishers believe they have sold the standard display inventory while media buyers believe they have purchased licensed CTV video inventory. A random display ad is then shown to users at the same time as ongoing CTV video calls.
The use of spoofing allows bad actors to gain access to CTV servers, pose as real viewers within the system, and even display advertisements when none are actually present. Ad fraud is becoming more and more prevalent as television viewership rates rise.
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We need to consider both the business and technical characteristics that make CTV unique to understand the problem:
High Cost Per Impressions(CPM):
The CTV ad inventory presents marketers with new, high-value opportunities, but fraudsters and bad actors also have lots of reasons to capitalize on it. Due to the higher cost per impression on CTV compared to other formats, such as display, the CTV is more expensive. Therefore, the incentives for fraud are obvious. Scarcity reduces standards. Due to the low rates fraudulent publishers charge, advertisers looking for the lowest CPM – rather than the highest impact – will be placed at a greater disadvantage.
Earlier last year, a network of bots gained access to apps on over a million Android devices with the aim to display advertisements on TVs. It accounted for about 650 million bid requests a day and tricked over 6,000 CTV apps.
Verification and Measurement:
Accuracy and measurement are a challenge in CTV. The video ad serving templates (VAST) of CTV environments are almost always pure, limiting the capability of buyers to run measurement codes on the device. The telemetry in CTV compared to other forms of advertisements is less.
This prevents accurate measurement of the success of the ads. It becomes difficult to verify the impressions, whether the ad was genuinely served to a real device and watched by a human than scripted by bots. It also affects the tracking of connected TV(CTV) data.
A Double-Edged Sword-Server Side Ad Insertion
In server-side ad insertion, content and ads are combined into one video stream, enabling seamless playback on OTT devices such as Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV. This creates a smoother user experience while ensuring the data from the buy-side ad servers stays out of the end user’s hands. Fraud schemes use server-side ad insertion to demonstrate fake inventory across a multitude of devices, apps, and IP addresses. Due to the exchange’s incapability to distinguish between legitimate users and ad scammers’ signals, the exchange sells impressions to both groups, allowing scammers to profit from advertisers.
By way of example, the LeoTerra SSAI fraud scheme, detected by Double Verify (DV) in July 2020, involves fraudulently setting up online SSAI servers and then producing CTV inventory across an unlimited number of devices, apps, and IPs.
Review SSAI
As SSAI masquerades fraudulent traffic so easily, any behavior that resembles SSAI within traffic should be studied carefully. It is not a good idea to accept supply from intermediaries that use SSAI, and equally not permit supply from publishers without expert guidance.
Interesting Read: Connected TV Explained: The Essential Glossary Of CTV
Greater Transparency Needed
Vendors should be transparent about the inventory their campaigns are running on. Often marketers do not get enough transparency and information on where their ads will run- ad position, time, and channel. Hence, there’s a high possibility that there will be quality issues or suspicious inventory will be served.
But the good news is, there is a push to adhere to the IAB transparency standard to enable buyers to determine who is receiving payments for the ad impressions. This will account for transparency and save from playing whack-a-mole.
Mitigate The Risks OF Ad Frauds
The CTV infrastructure, measurement, and verification framework require improvement. Sophisticated and advanced ad verification technologies are needed to mitigate risks. Strong integrations between CTV providers and ad verification companies can better the situation. Brand should support high-quality CTV inventory to mitigate cybersecurity risks. For successful CTV ads, brands should partner with safe, transparent, and trustworthy suppliers that effectively comprehend the nuances of CTV. Therefore, they should carry out meticulous due diligence and blocklists. Monitor the ad bid streams and data to spot any irregularities. In-depth due diligence to select a partner is prudent to avoid ad fraud. Though many businesses may look at it as a resource-intensive task, it is better than losing dollars.
Closing Words
Mark Zagorski, CEO at DoubleVerify said it rightly, “The adage holds true, fraud follows the money.” As CTV viewership grows rapidly, marketers need to be more vigilant to combat ad frauds. They should join hands with the players in the ecosystem to secure the future of the TV. device manufacturers or server-side ad insertion vendors should aim for robust security mechanisms to make it difficult for bad actors. Due diligence, strong partnerships, brand safety, and understanding of the fraud landscape can help the CTV environment live upto its hype and growth.
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6 Data Privacy Trends To Look Out For In 2022!
Data Privacy has been a key element in the last few years in the adtech industry. With a handful of developments across the globe, the industry is facing a new regulatory landscape right now.
So, what can we expect from the data privacy landscape in 2022? In spite of the momentum, data privacy bills and amendments globally are difficult to pass and sign into law, GDPR to elevate the game while privacy spans global, preparing for privacy regulations along with a cookieless world (and companies kick the tires on alternate identifiers) remains a colossal challenge.
The regulatory action is not at par with most market changes. Many tech giants like Apple and industry groups are establishing the ground rules for consumer data privacy. Let us understand the data privacy trends in 2022.
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State Privacy Legislation Continues
Well, achieving federal privacy law is most unlikely this year in the U.S. Instead, the growing “patchwork” of state privacy laws will continue. In addition to Colorado, Virginia, and California, many others are underway to pass privacy laws this session. There will be more states to contend with than now by the end of 2022.
There is an opportunity since consumer advocates, and industry representatives, want comprehensive privacy legislation. What matters is how, and what it will look like. Those sticking points must be ironed out – particularly in regards to the scope of preemption and a private right of action that will slow the process.
Co-regulation To Address Data Privacy
Self-Policing is better than no policing. Even though industry players are establishing self-regulation, they are not enough. They have not been effective and do not solve the main aim of addressing data privacy.
Gradually the tone is changing to co-regulation. Tech giants and industry groups combined with government regulations can build comprehensive consumer privacy programs to support brands’ efforts to comply with regulations. This private-public partnership can help serve the advertising ecosystem and most importantly, the consumer in the best way.
It will allow them to understand the flow of data- how to collect data, where to find it, how to use it, whom to share with, and the value of that data. This is the premise that will help companies to know those nuances and craft a solution on additional privacy requirements instead of starting from scratch each time. It will address the privacy issues without disintegrating the industry.
Time For New Solutions As Cookies Crumbles
As the cookie crumbles, companies require to determine the use of first-party data to nurture brand equity. CCPA has proposed new regulations and expressed discontent over e-mail based identifiers. This means they will be subjected to the same checks and limitations as currently placed on cookie ID’s and other identifiers.
In a cookie-less world, the companies that will focus on building brand equity to boost consumer trust. Businesses understand that poor accountability and misuse of data will stymie their brand equity and trust among consumers.
Focus On Privacy Centric Tech
The focus of 2022 will be privacy-enhancing technology. Techniques like clean rooms are here to stay as a privacy-centric tech solution. Few other technologies that are gaining popularity are differential pricing and homomorphic encryption along with synthetic data in the privacy-laden environment. As these solutions become more widely available, companies will have to understand the underlying technology and its implications before choosing which to integrate into their system.
Interesting Read: Clean Rooms Explained: How Marketers Can Prepare For Cookieless World
Big Tech And Their Stringent Policies
Big tech platforms and walled gardens will continue to roll out stringent policies for consumer privacy. However, these privacy-enhancing policies and solutions mostly benefit them . They’re focusing their applications on their consumers and the data they collect within their walled gardens. In the open web or across the ecosystem, they are not helping advertisers, publishers, developers, or consumers. Many companies are not ensuing the regulations meaningfully.
As an example, Apple started requiring opt-in consent for Apple to use data for ad personalization earlier this year, in line with its AppTrackingTransparency policies for app developers.
There are more companies offering advanced privacy solutions to consumers without attracting competition scrutiny. Recently, Twitter announced that it will not allow sharing of photos and videos without consent except for public information.
Global Privacy Wave Grows
There is a growing trend worldwide for countries to adopt some form of data privacy legislation, often using the GDPR as a model and adapting it to their own specific market. As a result of the GDPR, the EU set the standard for privacy for other countries like Canada, Saudi Arabia, and China to follow. Likewise, India is updating its privacy laws. States in the US are also attempting to tackle this issue – such as California’s CCPA. Privacy and data protection laws are likely to continue growing around the world in the coming year. If companies want to serve global markets effectively, they will have to navigate a much wider range of privacy issues than just the U.S.
In a nutshell, consumers have made it clear that they don’t want to be tracked at the user-by-user level. Global legislation will increasingly emphasize this principle. Regulatory frameworks in all markets will continue to challenge geo-location-based methods of tracking and targeting.
Interesting Read: 5 Ad Industry Trends That Are Likely To Unveil in 2022!
Unlock The CTV Opportunity: What The Future Looks Like
2022 is the year of CTV- A captive audience, and an engaging screen!
Advertising on Connected Television (CTV) is like an open invitation into a customer’s living room. A prime seat that cannot be missed. And here are the numbers to prove it!
eMarketer forecasts that CTV ad spend will reach $14.44 billion, up by 60% from 2020. It will more than double by 2025, soaring past $30 billion.
It is possible to unlock those advertising dollars by combining audience-based buying with the type of high-quality, engaging content that linear TV has historically been renowned for. Industry experts aim to focus more on identity, interactivity and engagement, growth of ad-supported video-on-demand(AVOD), and convergence of TV and online videos.
Interesting Read: Connected TV Explained: The Essential Glossary Of CTV
Measurement and Identification
Ad measurement is a challenge primarily from the fragmentation of the ecosystem. In other words, there’s no common currency.
Nielsen’s panel-based approach worked seamlessly within the linear TV but proved insufficient for a highly dynamic and addressable CTV ecosystem. The approach is not equipped to provide advertisers with the required insight into a campaign’s performance. This resulted in losing its Media Rating Council accreditation in September
The fundamental problem is the lack of a common identifier across the various CTV platforms. A universal, cross-platform identifier would simplify planning and analyzing CTV campaigns for media buyers. Therefore, alternative currencies are experimented with to measure deduplicated audiences across linear and CTV platforms.
CTV is using IP addresses heavily as its last non-consent-based identifier. However, IP addresses could be in for reckoning in 2022 thanks to the rising privacy regulations. So, industry players must continue trialing new ways to make the most of the audience data they have.
Meanwhile, there will be a rise in clean room technology. Data sharing in clean rooms is a safe, secure way for media companies and advertisers to share their first-party data for targeting and measuring purposes. The system will help TV advertisers go beyond basic demographics such as gender and age and make more advanced audience-based purchases.
Interesting Read: Clean Rooms Explained: How Marketers Can Prepare For Cookieless World
Interactivity and Engagement
This is the golden era for content. Another upcoming big shift in the landscape of CTV – Interactive Content
High-quality, creative and engaging content will be key to attracting committed viewers. CTV breathes new life into interactive programming and helps brands build a connection with consumers
Viewers that engage in interactive programming are more likely to respond to eCommerce advertising when watching TV content. Users who can interact with an ad through a quiz, ad selector, or even a simple catalog of brands often stay engaged for a longer period beyond the ad runtime.
Purchases of what users see on the screen will speed up. Advertisers must measure beyond impressions to gauge engagement in new ways and drive real-world purchases.
Having said that, watching TV doesn’t suffice – it depends on what you are watching and how engaged you are with its matter. That’ll determine the audience engagement with the ad break and the messages in the ad break.
Ecommerce marketers benefit from CTV channels because they drive action across the funnel. An ad on CTV often prompts people to search online for what they want after viewing it.
Interesting Read: All You Need To Know About Connected TV Advertising!
AVOD is Inevitable
Well, all premium video content does not have ads.
In 2021, however, subscription content tipped the scales in favor of ad-supported content. Millions of subscribers subscribed to streaming services very quickly, and the trend only accelerated during the 2020 pandemic.
The most popular option, until recently, was subscription video on demand. Despite this, trends in the market indicate that advertising-based VOD is growing at breakneck speed. This finding is backed up by a report from the IAB showing that 62% of viewers prefer free content with ads. One such company, Roku, revealed in its 2020 annual report that 14 million new accounts were opened using its ad-based model.
The numbers agree that subscription fatigue is setting in. TVision reported that the time spent on AVOD increased 9.3% from Q1 2021 to a 38% share for Q3 2021. Meanwhile, subscription-based platform (SVOD) viewership decreased by 8.6%.
The penetration of AVOD services will also not slow down anytime soon, especially as more quality content is coming to those platforms – that’s the game-changer. It’s a virtuous cycle: More content means more viewership which leads to more advertising dollars. It’s highly that monetization will continue to gain popularity with AVOD’s capacity to bring together viewers, advertisers, and content creators.
2022 will see big shifts by new entrances into the market who will have better access to TV with more personalized targeting. However, this does not mean all doom and gloom for SVOD. In order to stay on top of the new normal – endless consumer choice – streaming platforms need to invest in and expand their content offering.
Is Convergence the Future?
Advertisers struggle to reach scale as viewership habits shifts from traditional linear television to the internet-enabled connected TV (CTV) or other video-on-demand(VOD) options. In spite of the fact that traditional linear TV still has mass appeal, and is an essential component in any media plan, advertisers can also pursue nuance, flexibility, and precision with CTV.
So, can convergence be the answer?
For linear campaigns, advertisers are turning to CTV for incremental reach. An advertiser’s incremental reach represents deduplicated audience across their linear and CTV ads. Ad agencies that couldn’t reach users with linear TV schedules are now reaching them through additional CTV buys. It’s possible to achieve incrementality because consumers desire choice and want to have all their options at hand.
In the era of big data, we know more than ever. There is an old chestnut that says, “if you know better, do better.” CTV provides unprecedented opportunities for strategic growth.
Interesting Read: A Look Ahead: Convergence Of Linear TV And Digital TV Advertising
5 Ad Industry Trends That Are Likely To Unveil in 2022!
In 2021, digital advertising spending has increased by approximately 20% despite the pandemic. The ad market is expected to grow in the upcoming years. The global pandemic forever altered consumer behavior. Mergers and acquisitions, privacy changes, the death of cookies, and the expansion of commerce-based business dominated the adtech industry in 2021.
What do adtech experts predict the future of advertising in 2022? More of the same as these trends of 2021 will continue echoing far beyond 2022.
#Trend 1: Privacy Regulations Continues – First-Party Data Is Priority!
Privacy and user data protection have become more prevalent than ever. Google is soon going to shut third-party cookies in Chrome, Apple restricted IDFA, and the international privacy regulations (such as CCPA, COPPA, GDPR.) changed advertising routines worldwide.
From 2022 onward, platforms with opted-in audiences will have the advantage of monetizing their first-party data. Additionally, publishers who have just begun to pivot to first-party data are scrambling to meet Google’s latest deadline to discontinue third-party cookies by the end of 2023.
Early adopters of cookie-less advertising can gain access to new audiences, more inventory, and more scaled advertising results. Publishers can also benefit from first-party data sets to create ads with more dynamic messaging tailored to different sections of their audience. However, since the deprecation of third-party data is still about two years away, third-party data-based businesses will continue to do business as usual until the lights go out.
Interesting Read: Impact of Delay in Deprecation Of Cookies By Google On Adtech
#Trend 2: Boom, CTV, Podcast or Video Content On-Demand
Research data suggests that global consumer spending in the top 100 non-game subscription applications climbed 34% to $13 billion in 2020.
Image Credit: Sensor Tower
A growing number of consumers are opting for subscription services, and that presents a good opportunity to gather first-party data. Companies who aren’t thinking about how they could make a subscription business out of their products should probably start. So, digital formats like Connected TV(CTV), Audio, or video formats are constantly rising. CTV’s immense viewership soon made it the shiny new toy all brands wanted to capture. Advertisers are actively investing their ad budgets into video, CTV, and audio – as the traffic is surging with people spending more time indoors. Publishers must meet changing audience demands and offer the best service possible- maybe a podcast or video content.
Interesting Read: Connected TV Explained: The Essential Glossary Of CTV
#Trend 3: eCommerce Ascendance continues
eCommerce’s influence is powerful and set to dominate the adtech industry. In the coming years, it will be difficult to differentiate between publishers and retailers.
Publishers are implementing e-commerce-based methods of tracking user behavior. They should harness the power of first-party data, always put the individual first, and foster collaboration with like-minded partners to connect data and generate insights that can help them survive a new age. As an example, Walmart, which has the most customer data, will hope to capture more of the supply chain, and it will dominate the advertising market as well.
Also, marketers are taking cues from media companies. Over the last few years, the boundaries between the sell-side and the buy-side have blurred. Identifying a marketer from a publisher is going to be very difficult. Reason- Both have the access to create content on platforms like Instagram or TikTok.
#Trend 4: And more IPO’s and consolidation in 2022
Mergers and acquisitions in adtech have picked up the pace in the last few years faster than Usain Bolt’s race. PitchBook data suggests that PE firms were highly active in adtech and have invested in 86 deals in 2021 compared to 43 deals in 2020.
A few examples of the performance marketing-minded deals in 2021 are:
-Dotdash’s purchases Meredith’s National Media Group
-Axel Springer buying Politico for $1 billion
-BuzzFeed’s acquisition of Complex before going public
–Group Nine and Vox Media acquisition
-Publicis Groupe buying Citrus Ad
Industry experts point out that the trend of consolidation will continue in 2022 as well. Viant’s successful IPO opened floodgates as investors realized high returns in the ad tech sector. Many tech giants like Vox Media, Forbes are planning to come up with IPO’s. Before a public offering, acquisitions offer a potential means of raising the valuation of a company. Consolidation also tends to turn publishing platforms into more profitable ones, making it easier for them to invest in improving content and ad-buying.
Consolidation will bring extraordinary change- set structural issues and enhance quality digital advertising. Quality digital advertising coexists with the best media environments. The latter refers to the finest content and user experience. Hence, to achieve it, media owners require to be self-sustainable.
#Trend 5: More acquisitions coming up
The majority of publishers want to maximize profits, so they may put pressure on middlemen in the advertising supply chain or buy or build their own customized solutions. Publishers have two options – to develop in-house ad serving technology or acquire an adtech firm. Building an in-house adtech stack gives an edge to the publisher to monetize user data. Publishers will no longer require to rely on a service provider to l link KPIs via soon-to-be obsolete third-party data. Although, history proves more success in developing customized in-house technology than acquisition. But the latter addresses a larger audience and has high scalability. For instance, In 2016, AT&T acquired Xandr’s content arm, WarnerMedia, which was never closely linked with Xandr, and ultimately, it was sold to Microsoft.
Brands need to establish a strong foothold in the future under two circumstances -Firstly, vast reach in a given country. Secondly, consistency in standards, processes, data, and business practices.
Lastly, as we look ahead to 2022 and continue at full throttle in the mergers and acquisitions space. Scalability and reliability matter, but in the end, growth dominates. Here’s to more and more companies putting their muscle in the areas in 2022.
Also Read: Clean Rooms Explained: How Marketers Can Prepare For Cookieless World
AppLovin Closes Acquisition of Twitter’s MoPub Business For $1.05 Billion
MoPub, Twitter’s mobile monetization platform, is officially sold to mobile application developer and technology platform AppLovin. The deal, announced last October, closed on Monday.
The transaction was worth $1.05 billion in cash, and the MoPub platform, which includes advanced bidding, MoPub Marketplace, and network mediation, will sunset on March 31. Its dashboard and reporting will remain online until April 8.
In addition to MoPub’s core features, MAX further accelerates growth and improves efficiencies for app publishers while providing advertisers with greater reach and cost-effective pricing. By 2023, unified platforms are expected to process over $15 billion in annualized advertiser spend. Sen Sun, Vice President of Ads at Scopely, an AppLovin partner said,
The integration of MoPub and MAX will be a positive benefit for publishers and players alike.
Interesting Read: Ogury and The Trade Desk Partner To Offer Programmatic Mobile Advertising
Over 45,000 mobile apps were using MoPub to monetize last October, reaching some 1.5 billion users worldwide, while over 150 demand-side providers representing thousands of brands and agencies had direct access to the AppLovin Exchange. Adam Foroughi, AppLovin’s Co-founder and CEO said,
Developers benefit from more features to help drive higher monetization opportunities and streamline workflows, leading to increased revenue for their businesses. We believe the power of this unified platform will be unparalleled in today’s market.
With MoPub’s suite of demand and supply-side features, MAX’s already robust capabilities and extensive buyer and bidder database will be improved. The SDK 11 release is due out on January 6 and includes new features such as Universal Creative Reporting, Ad Review, Native Ad Format Support, and Built-In GDPR Consent Flow, which is available on the company’s blog.
Interesting Read: Digital Powerhouse Deal: Vox Media Announces Merger With Group Nine
Bruce Falck, GM of Revenue Products, Twitter said in a statement,
With the sale of MoPub completed, we continue to concentrate our efforts on enhancing ads across our platform. Our goal is to deliver faster growth in key areas and accelerate our product development.
Additionally, Twitter noted that publishers could migrate off MoPub in a 90-day transition period after the close. Customers will be able to directly receive assistance from AppLovin for their migration to AppLovin MAX.
Read More: Clean Rooms Explained: How Marketers Can Prepare For Cookieless World
