March Marketing Chatter: Cookie Deprecation, the TikTok Bill, and Apple's DOJ Troubles
Marketing never stops moving. Wpromote's monthly Marketing Industry Chatter newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the biggest headlines, updates, and trends in the wide world of marketing and media—with the expert insights you need to take action.
The end of Q1 is here, and it's been a doozy. We've got a little pick-me-up in the form of some of the hottest marketing headlines you might've missed this past month.
From the current state of data deprecation to the TikTok bill winding its way through Congress, here's the breakdown of the most important industry news from March.
DOJ sues Apple, claiming smartphone monopoly
What you need to know: On March 21, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and more than a dozen states filed a blockbuster antitrust lawsuit against Apple, alleging the tech giant built an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market.?
They are claiming that Apple has deployed anti-competitive tactics, including blocking innovative new apps and degrading how Android messages appear on iPhones, as a way of maintaining a monopoly on the smartphone market. Apple is the latest in a string of Big Tech companies to face monopoly accusations in the US after the industry was left largely unchecked for years.
An Apple spokesperson said the lawsuit “threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets” and could hinder their ability to create the tech people expect.
What you need to do: Apple is planning to move to dismiss the case, so it’ll be a while before there’s a definitive ruling in either direction. While we wait, make sure you’re staying on top of any legal news relevant to the marketing industry (especially large anti-trust cases like this one and the DOJ’s current suit against Google)? so you’re not caught by surprise by any big changes.
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The TikTok bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate
What you need to know: On March 13, the House passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, 352 votes to 65.?If signed into law, the bill threatens to ban TikTok (by restricting access to US web-hosting services and app stores) unless the app’s Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, sells it within six months.
While the White House is pressuring the Senate to act fast, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he’ll have to consult with relevant committee chairs to determine the bill’s path. TikTok has been leveraging its massive popularity to lobby users to contact lawmakers and lodge their protests against the bill, which could be a tough sell in an election year.
What you need to do: A ban isn’t a ban until it actually passes. While a TikTok ban might be a frightening prospect for users and marketers, we still believe it’s far from likely. Until we get more actionable news, keep leveraging TikTok as part of your overall marketing strategy–but make sure you’ve diversified your social strategy so you’re in the clear if there’s a disruption on any platform.
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Niche community powerhouse Reddit goes public
What you need to know: Reddit has been private since its 2005 launch, but no more: the company officially made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on March 21.
Reddit has been making big overtures to advertisers in the months leading up to the IPO, offering more ad formats and options as well as brand safety features. The week before the IPO, Reddit introduced a new ad format called “free-form ads,” commonly known as “megaposts” or in-depth, effort-filled scrolls of information.
Some users of the platform were not happy about Reddit’s IPO, and many hoped to short the company’s stock. In an effort to mitigate the risk of an unhappy consumer base, Reddit now plans to offer shares to its power users.
What you need to do: Reddit is a critical part of many users’ purchase journeys and represents a huge opportunity for advertisers. And the platform itself is eager to bring more brands on board, especially post-IPO, and their fast-expanding ad offering reflects that momentum. Social diversification should be a core goal for 2024, so it’s a great idea to start exploring and testing into Reddit if you haven’t already.
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Cookie deprecation unleashes new measurement challenges
What you need to know: If you were still hoping that Google would reverse its decisions about third-party cookies, stop: it’s time to accept that the cookieless future is now. Despite the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warning that the tech giant needs to resolve privacy concerns before moving forward, Google says it’s on track for full cookie deprecation in the second half of 2024.
According to Google, only 30% of marketers feel prepared for third-party cookie deprecation. Many are still searching for a long-term solution to third-party tracking as offerings from Google and The Trade Desk battle for dominance.
As it becomes harder to track people’s online behavior beyond walled gardens, many brands will need to wake up to a harsh truth: the measurement tools they’ve been using for years will no longer work. Demand for new solutions is on the rise.?
What you need to do: Wpromote’s experts built the Polaris Measurement Framework so our clients would be ready for this challenge by leveraging a potent mix of multi-touch attribution, data clean rooms, media mix modeling, incrementality testing, forecasting, and predictive lifetime value. Don’t wait to make changes: you need to make sure your data strategy is ready for more deprecation or face falling behind.
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Adobe launches suite of generative AI tools for marketers
What you need to know: As part of its Firefly launch, Adobe is rolling out a brand new offering built for marketers:? Adobe Sensei Generative AI Services, a set of enterprise-focused, AI-powered services across its suite of productivity apps.
Sensei GenAI leverages a combination of Adobe’s large language models and the Azure OpenAI Service to perform a range of marketing and sales tasks. The AI tools will also be integrated into the Adobe Experience Cloud, so it can be part of a user’s workflow from the beginning.?
Adobe is going head-to-head with a wide variety of startups like Movio, Copysmith, and Jasper that are focused on leveraging gen AI in marketing copy, imagery, and video, as well as new offerings from both Google and Microsoft.
What you need to do: While Adobe is far from the first company to enter the race for marketing applications of gen AI, the integration of these new tools into their Experience Cloud and the wide use of Adobe tools by creatives could be a big draw for marketers looking to cut down on process time. AI isn’t going anywhere, so make sure your team is continuously testing different tools to see which work best for your brand.
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March Featured Content
State of the Data 2024: The Industry-Shaking First-Party Data Imperative
The ground beneath the digital marketing ecosystem is getting shakier as third-party cookies crumble in 2024. But there’s a clear path forward.
It’s time for you to unleash your inner action hero and lead your brand through the chaos. You have the power to unlock massive competitive advantages if you move now to future-proof your approach to data.