May Marketing Chatter: Goodbye Cookies, Live Shopping Bets, and Meta's AI Ad Tools
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.
Summer has officially started and what better way to kick off June than by applying a thick layer of marketing news you might've missed this past month? Whether you were inside debating the end of Succession or outside soaking in the sun, we don't blame you for being a little preoccupied.
From betting on live shopping and Meta's future AI plans to learnings from GDPR's fifth anniversary, here's our breakdown of the most important May industry news.
New live shopping opportunities attract U.S. brands
What you need to know:?Live shopping is already a hit in other countries, bringing in an expected $674 billion in China alone. But 78% of American adults have never participated in a live shopping event, according to a 2022 survey by Morning Consult.
Some platforms are betting big on live shopping. TikTok recently rolled out the feature, and other platforms like Amazon use celebrities and influencers to sell a variety of products in a live environment.
Brands are hoping the highly engaging format catches on; Coresight Research predicts that live shopping in the United States is estimated to bring in $32 billion in sales this year.
What you need to do:?Influencers and social interaction have become critical parts of the purchase journey, especially for younger consumers. Live shopping offers a more immersive experience, and gives brands an opportunity to connect at a deeper level with Gen Z and millennial shoppers who want a more human component in the digital customer experience.
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Pinterest and Amazon join forces across the funnel
What you need to know:?In the past, Pinterest has tried to break into the bottom of the funnel with shopping features, while Amazon has attempted to move up the funnel with Pinterest-esque “collections.” But the two have now embarked on a multiyear ads partnership.
The goal of this meeting of the platforms is to connect Pinterest-style product inspiration with the ability to purchase directly on Amazon, offering consumers a more seamless buying experience.
This is Pinterest’s first-ever deal with a third-party advertiser. The integration with Amazon will be rolled out over several quarters, and there aren’t a lot of specific details yet.
What you need to do:?Pinterest has struggled to adapt to a changing social ecosystem increasingly driven by video. A lot remains to be seen about this partnership, but there’s plenty of potential upside for advertisers, particularly when it comes to capitalizing on Amazon's powerful advertising capabilities and tapping into Pinterest's extensive user base to drive improved conversion rates and higher returns on ad investment.
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Meta introduces new AI tools for ads
What you need to know:?Meta's new AI Sandbox tool is built to serve as a testing ground for generative AI. Advertisers will be able to create multiple variations of text copy, generate background images based on text inputs, and automatically crop images to fit different Meta formats.
AI Sandbox is currently being tested by a small number of advertisers, including Jones Road Beauty, with plans to expand availability in July.
Meta also offers other AI-powered advertising services, including Meta Lattice, which helps predict ad outcomes, and the Meta Advantage suite, which is focused on automation.
What you need to do:?While the AI Sandbox is only available to a few brands right now, we're watching closely to see if the combination of generative AI and Meta's existing sophisticated ad platform proves to be a differentiator and gives Meta a new edge over competitors who have been working hard to capture market share from the giant as budgets get tighter.
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Google is shutting off (some) cookies to test new ad tech
What you need to know:?Google will turn off third-party tracking cookies for 1% of Chrome internet traffic in early 2024 to test new ad tech options from the Privacy Sandbox at scale.
Google's Privacy Sandbox team is developing an "identifier-less" ad tech ecosystem that overhauls how ads get targeted and how marketers measure them by relying on anonymous and aggregated data sets.
The move will help the tech giant test its new products in real-world conditions so ad tech providers can get a better sense of how ad options will change and what will work in a post-cookie internet.
What you need to do:?Advertisers in general have been slow to embrace privacy-compliant solutions, and Google's new announcements provide a lot more insight into the timeline and what advertisers and other plays can expect in the run-up to third-party cookie deprecation in 2024.
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GDPR hits five year anniversary, but results are mixed
What you need to know:?Over the last five years, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been the law in the European Union, but the period has been marked by light enforcement and a fair amount of confusion.
Aside from some big headline fines levied against Meta (like the most recent $1.3 billion just last week), regulators have not consistently penalized companies. In fact, 64% of the 159 enforcement measures implemented by late 2022 were reprimands, not full penalties.
But the newer Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) that's in play now is the biggest test of all: the courts will answer whether buying ads from the open exchange is even possible in a GDPR world.
What you need to do:?The struggle advertisers and platforms have faced in trying to understand what GDPR compliance and consequences look like has been a long and winding process, and it’s not over. But it could give some insight into what regulators in privacy-focused states like California may do as enforcement rolls out from legislation like CPRA.
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May Featured Content
The continued digital transformation of B2B is now entering a new phase: the economy is still in flux, AI is on the rise, and brands are refocusing on profitability over growth as the core objective for the business.
Download our full 2023 State of B2B Digital Marketing report and learn how to leverage these learnings to optimize your marketing strategy and drive tangible business outcomes.