AdTech News Round-up

Nano Report Reveals Advertisers Increase Contextual Targeting Spend by ￡770m  in 2023

Advertisers are set to increase their spending on contextual targeting by $770 million in 2023, according to The Nano Report.

This trend is being driven by privacy concerns and the decline of third-party cookies. The report also revealed that 87% of advertisers plan to increase their spending on contextual targeting in the coming year, with 45% of respondents planning to increase their spending by over 20%.

Contextual targeting is viewed as a more privacy-friendly option than user data-based targeting, as it involves targeting ads based on the content of the webpage or app being viewed.

FTC wants to make it easier for consumers to cancel free trials and subscriptions

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed a new regulation that would make it easier for Americans to cancel free trials and subscriptions. 

The rule would require companies to offer cancellation options through the same method used to sign up, including online and by phone. This would apply to gym memberships, streaming services, e-commerce, cable TV, and more. 

Companies would face fines for each violation of the rule, and the regulation could affect big retailers and online platforms as well as small businesses. The FTC will allow public comment on the proposal before finalizing the rules.

Snap launches enterprise division to help businesses build AR features

Snap Inc, launched a new division that will help other companies build augmented reality (AR) features for their websites or apps.

The division called AR Enterprise Services (ARES) marks the first time Snap will sell to business customers its AR technology.

ARES' first product called Shopping Suite will provide tools for companies to build features that allow customers to virtually try-on clothes or view a product from all angles in 3D, which could help increase sales and reduce returns.

Artificial intelligence is also helping advance Snap's AR capabilities. The creation of high-quality 3D images can now be done in a few hours.

Snap is seeking to diversify its revenue beyond digital advertising, which currently comprises the vast majority of its revenue.

Google Launches Bard AI Chatbot to Counter ChatGPT

Google is launching public access to its new conversational AI program called Bard, which responds to written prompts using information sourced from websites such as Wikipedia. 

The program can handle follow-up questions in a conversational manner and is based on LaMDA, an AI system that Google engineers have been developing since 2015. 

Although Bard won't be integrated into Google's search engine, a virtual button at the bottom of its responses will redirect users to find answers on Google search. However, as with other AI models, Bard may sometimes produce inaccurate or fabricated information and replicate biases and stereotypes.

Streaming is Watched More Than Any Other Form of TV in the UK 

Magnite unveiled its study “Streaming TV’s New Era: How Ads Are Powering Streaming’s Future in the EU5.

• Streaming is the most-watched form of TV with 82% of those surveyed citing it as their preference in comparison to 49% choosing broadcast and 39% watching paid traditional TV.
• Consumers are reevaluating their streaming subscription stacks due to macroeconomic pressures. 45% of streamers indicated they will downgrade or cancel a streaming TV subscription, while 77% said they would use a new free or reduced-cost ad-based streaming service this year.
• TV offers a premium environment that can’t be replicated by social feeds dominated by user-generated content with 82% of ad-supported streamers saying they trust ads within TV content in comparison to only 52% of viewers who find ads trustworthy on social media.

Netflix Ad Tier Reaches 1 Million US Users After Shaky Start

Netflix’s ad-supported tier has reached 1 million monthly active users in the US, suggesting its advertising business is gradually picking up steam.

• Netflix Basic With Ads now accounts for 20% of new sign-ups in the US, growing 500% in its first month and 50% in its second.
• Prior to the launch, the streaming company forecast its ad tier to reach 1.1 million US viewers at the end of 2022, and 13.3 million by Q3 2023.
• The company’s ad tech platform Xandr was notably untested in the CTV space, and Netflix is apparently exploring alternative options for when the deal wraps up next summer.
• The company plans to introduce single-show sponsorships and demographic targeting.

Microsoft to launch in-house app store

Microsoft will launch a new app store for games on iPhone and Android devices. The app store, which would rival the likes of Apple and Google, could be available as soon as next year if Microsoft’s USD$75bn (~￡61.5bn) acquisition of Activision Blizzard is approved by regulators.

AI is used in marketing by two-thirds of B2B orgs, Forrester finds

AI is used in marketing by 67% of B2B organizations, according to the new “Global State of AI in B2B Marketing Survey” by Forrester. More than 70% of respondents plan to “moderately” or “significantly” increase their plans for using AI in marketing processes, the study found.

• The top use case for AI in B2B marketing was targeting (selected by 40% of respondents). Personalization and marketing automation/tactic orchestration came in tied for second (36%).
• Build or buy?
• 50% said they are purchasing technology with embedded AI capabilities,
• 35% are building in-house capabilities.

Meta's paid verification program goes live in the US

Meta has launched a paid verification program in the US for users who want to verify their accounts. 

The move is aimed at providing a way for users to prove their identity and authenticity, while also providing the company with a new revenue stream. Meta has said that the program is currently only available to individual users in the US, but it plans to expand the offering in the future.

Amazon is set to conduct its second biggest wave of job cuts this year

The e-commerce giant will reduce its global workforce by 9,000, with the cuts predominantly impacting its advertising, cloud services, and Twitch live-streaming teams.

Meta Plans 10,000 Job Cuts in New Round of Layoffs

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has announced in an email to its employees that the company will be reducing its headcount by approximately 10,000 jobs over the upcoming months, in what is being described as a second wave of mass layoffs by the parent company of Facebook. In addition to this, Zuckerberg has stated that the firm will decrease hiring and terminate some projects, as part of its "year of efficiency" plan.

Will 5G be the catalyst for AdTech space? Here is how

India’s digital economy is estimated to touch USD 1 trillion by 2025. The key catalyst fueling this growth will be 5G.

5G technology will likely have a significant impact on the growth of AdTech, as it promises to deliver faster download speeds, lower latency, and improved network efficiency.

Here are some ways in which 5G will likely drive the growth of AdTech:

• Improved user experience with more seamless, real-time interaction between users and AdTech platforms
• More targeted advertising: collecting and analyzing more data about consumer behavior in real time
• Increased connectivity: 5G will also increase the number of connected devices, including IoT devices
• Improved video advertising: 5G will enable advertisers to deliver high-quality, real-time video content to users without the lag

Adoption of 5G will also:

• bring the expenditure of gaming and short-form video ads as people will spend more time with their smartphones in hands. 
• solve the AdTech problems of rendering, buffering, and blank ads would exist no more.

To ensure a smooth transition amid the 5G revolution, brands and agencies must ensure they have all the technology and processes along with a competitive workforce to manage the exponential shift in consumer expectations and ad tech experiences.

OpenAI releases new chatbot GPT-4

OpenAI has launched GPT-4, a new AI chatbot that builds upon the popular ChatGPT, allowing it to process images and generate captions and descriptions. 

The development of GPT-4's safety features took six months, and the model was trained to respond to human feedback. However, OpenAI cautions that the chatbot may still disseminate some disinformation.

Google dominates in both marketing spend and confidence on the buy side

According to a recent survey by Digiday, Google ranks just below Facebook and Instagram in terms of marketing spend for agencies. 

Despite this, almost half of the agencies surveyed said that a large or very large portion of their clients' marketing budgets are allocated to Google. 

• The search giant remains the top channel for marketing spend among brands, with 97% of brand professionals spending at least a small portion of their marketing budgets on Google. 
• Confidence in Google's ability to drive marketing success is high among both agency professionals and brands. 
• Over two-thirds of agency pros and 100% of brands reported being confident in Google.