Month: January 2022

Amid global lockdowns and quarantines, consumers have been spending more time in their living rooms than ever before, seeking solace in shows like “Ted Lasso” and “The Great British Bake-Off.” As a result, television viewership — particularly via connected TV and over-the-top devices — has reached all-time global highs, with no signs of slowing down.

This boost in viewership should have delivered a boost in advertising engagement — an abundance of fresh opportunities for marketers to reach their target audiences at scale. 

Instead, it allowed a handful of companies to construct even more walled gardens in the CTV space, restricting data-driven reach and comprehensive measurement capabilities for advertisers as well as revenue streams for many publishers across the open internet. How so? By limiting the accessibility of the ever-valuable automatic content recognition data — ACR data — beyond their devices and platforms for targeting purposes. 

ACR data, while privacy-compliant, is challenging to access

For those who may be unfamiliar with ACR, it’s not new to the adtech scene, but the surge in CTV viewership, increase in the number of smart TVs per household and the deprecation of third-party cookies has made it more valuable than ever. 

ACR data does not rely on cookies. It’s embedded in most smart TV operating systems and OTT devices and depends on a viewer’s choice to opt-in and share their information, making it more aligned with privacy standards.

Sounds like a silver bullet, right? The challenge, however, is that the vast majority of ACR data is only accessible to advertisers who work with the walled gardens individually and directly rather than from a consolidated source. As a result, there are disparate data sets, inefficiencies because of audience duplication, wasted impressions and disjointed measurement between linear and CTV.

This doesn’t have to be the case.

Deduplicated TV viewership data helps break down ACR silos

One option for advertisers to circumvent this siloed approach and broaden their reach is to enhance their buys with deduplicated TV viewership data that is then delivered against media across the open web. 

Why is this important? Consider, for instance, the number of television sets in the average household, which, in 2019, was as high as 2.5 in the U.S. according to Nielsen. This figure likely increased during the pandemic. 

Let’s say a consumer has a Hisense smart TV in their living room and a Samsung in their bedroom. Both sets collect valuable ACR data but are doing so in isolation — resulting in audience duplication. However, when combining the data with additional data sources, such as set-top box data, and mapping it to a unique identifier, marketers can then understand the relationship between these devices and unlock the full potential of TV viewership data at scale across the open web. 

Ultimately, access to enhanced ACR data across the open web empowers today’s brands to efficiently meet target audiences wherever they are between desktop, mobile devices and on the big screen, allowing brands to take advantage of the boost in viewership.

Sponsored By: Unruly

To many, the metaverse might feel like an obscure, perhaps mysterious, part of the internet that’s exclusive to gamers, NFT collectors and over zealous tech CEOs.

However, as the metaverse develops, the truth is that it has the potential to reshape the entirety of the online world in ways a lot of people don’t expect. The metaverse could be the solution to universal ID, a way to better connect scattered workforces and provide a new e-commerce strategy for brands and retailers looking to reach younger consumers.

“Really the most important thing when people say the word metaverse is that they’re just talking about a version of the internet, where when you go to Reddit or you go to Facebook or you go to Instagram, you are the same person,” said Digiday esports and gaming reporter Alexander Lee during the latest episode of the Digiday Podcast. “You don’t have different profiles or identities across those platforms. You are just yourself moving around in virtual space.”

But to get to that point, there is still much to be built and executed on, in order to achieve the idyllic version and the truest form of the metaverse, Lee said. During this episode, Lee provides a detailed discussion of one of the fastest growing parts of the internet and that stands to reason will be a big topic for 2022. 

Continued reading on Lee’s coverage of the metaverse:

• WTF is the Metaverse?
• ‘We stand on the shoulders of giants’: How Meta’s Vivek Sharma plans to transform Horizon into a cohesive metaverse platform
• Why Ralph Lauren — the man and the company — is already in the metaverse
• As hiring in the metaverse ramps up, experts caution against working with snake oil salesmen
• Before Meta, there was Habbo: How social games laid the framework for the metaverse

Later this spring, Lee will be releasing his own mini-series to Digiday listeners that continues this deep-dive into the metaverse. Stay tuned for future updates on the release date.  

Below are highlights from the conversation, edited and condensed for clarity. 

The present metaverse and the future metaverse

There are a lot of different competing definitions for the metaverse right now, if you speak to a representative of different platforms — like Meta, or Roblox, or Fortnite, or what have you — they’ll all say something a little different. The modern conception of the metaverse at its core, hinges on the concept of a more immersive and persistent successor to the internet. And what that means is essentially a version of the modern internet in which your identity is persistent across platforms, and also a version of the internet in which events that happened and actions that you take are also persistent. You know, you can make a change to a virtual space, you can leave and then come back 20 days later, and that change will still be there. The idea of the metaverse is just an internet in which, just like in real life, the things that we do stick with us and the way that we form our own identity is consistent across, you know, all the ways we present ourselves and all the different people we talk to. 

Interoperability and platform collaboration is key

I really think that interoperability is the crux of what makes something into a true metaverse. The concept of interoperability essentially means that you can transfer identities and virtual assets across platforms. So the concept of true interoperability would be expressed in, for example, acquiring in-game currency or items in Fortnite, and then being able to use those items and currency in Roblox, which is a completely different game/platform. 

You’re right that we may never achieve [interoperability]. One thing that makes me feel a little optimistic is that the current version of the internet that we’re using is starting to implement interoperability in a few different ways. When you go to a random website and it gives you the opportunity to log-in via Facebook, or Google, that’s interoperability. The fact that your profile on Facebook can also be your profile on Uber, that’s interoperability. Now, the reason why these platforms do that is because there’s an obvious economic incentive, so there needs to be an economic incentive for the platforms to create interoperability when it comes to sharing Fortnite [currency with] Roblox.

Brands and retailers stand to monetarily benefit from metaverse commerce

The most exciting thing, at least in terms of brands getting involved in the metaverse, is that it’s like an entirely new e-commerce opportunity to sell virtual goods that actually have some kind of value. So a lot of people roll their eyes at the mention of NFTs, which is fair. And if your conception of NFTs [are] only Bored Ape Yacht Club profile pictures, then I understand and share your antipathy towards the concept. But where they can actually have value is a virtual world where items can literally be used. All of a sudden, we’re seeing brands like Gucci, Vans — mainly fashion brands, to be honest — investing and creating digital versions of their garments that can actually be worn. And that’s really powerful. I think virtual commerce is an even more accessible way for brands to start reaching consumers who might not otherwise be able to purchase their products, especially like the younger people who don’t have as much disposable income, but spend their whole lives inside of these platforms.

136 agency professionals answered a question about what they expected their top challenge to be in 2022, and a quarter of them chose The Great Resignation from a list, beating out several other choices, including cookie deprecation, the dominance of walled gardens, video measurement and supply chain issues affecting ad spending.

Anecdotally, the issue of finding, keeping and retaining top talent remains as top of mind as ever for agencies. 18 of the survey’s respondents chose to write in a response rather than select from the provided options, and about a quarter of those written responses focused on talent-related issues.

Like publishers, agencies largely enjoyed a strong 2021, thanks to robust ad spending and a relative lack of disruptions compared to 2020, when virtually the entire advertising industry screeched to a halt in the second quarter.

That return to growth, along with the ends of many hiring freezes that agencies implemented in 2020 amid that year’s broader uncertainty, created a “war for talent” that may have emboldened more agency staffers to leave their current positions.

But good business did not protect agencies from some of the broader trends that swept across the entire working world. Through November 2021, an average of 3.9 million workers quit their jobs every month, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, smashing the previous record.

38% of respondents said that their agencies lost someone to the Great Resignation in 2021, and slightly less than a third said they expect their agency will lose people to the macroeconomic trend in 2022. 

“With Omicron, we’ve had to be pretty flexible in terms of meetings, shoots and any sort of in-person activity,” said  Abbey Klaassen, president, business leadership, East for dentsu Creative. “For example, we may intend to hold a client meeting in-person, but also plan for the possibility that we’ll have to switch it to virtual. Or if we have a shoot, we have to think through various backup plans in case someone can’t go.” 

Klaassen continued: “That said, we’ve been living with the ever-fluid disruptions of COVID for almost two years, so we’re getting pretty good at being flexible and building in contingency plans. We’re trying to manage all of it with empathy and agility.”

At the same time, some say client pitches for new business are being pushed back and contingencies for some creative as well as experiential efforts are increasingly needed. One agency exec said that pitches are usually at a higher volume in January than they are currently as he believes that clients are being cautious given the current wave. 

Major cultural events planned for early this year including in-person conferences, such as CES which last week was shortened by a full day, and televised award shows are now harder to plan for given the uncertainty of whether or not they will happen. 

“It’s hard to approve and plan when there’s constant uncertainty and changes, so we’ve had to keep flexible,” said Michael Shawn Tucker, managing director LA, Campbell Ewald

“For instance, we’re planning around cultural events like the Grammy’s that were pushed back twice last week. This is our cultural norm for now so we’ll stay nimble and open to different thinking and creative.” 

One agency had projects planned that would bring people together in public spaces but now sees that as impractical, according to one agency exec, adding that those plans are now likely going to be retooled to virtual.

“Bigger things like SXSW that were on our radar are now likely to be lower key,” said the exec. “We are still planning to have a contingent there, but we don’t feel comfortable planning bigger activations unless there’s a dramatic change in cases.” 

3 Questions With Spectrum Labs CMO Tiffany Xingu Wang

Social media platforms are increasingly being called out for toxicity. What do you think the future of content moderation is in that regard? 

Content moderation is only the means to an end. Brand trust through user safety is the holy grail. Roughly 40% of U.S. internet users have experienced harassment online. Toxicity eroded brand trust of major social media platforms that defined Web 2.0. This forced us to redefine what trust means in the new era of the metaverse. In my view, digital trust encompasses safety, privacy and inclusion. So, platforms that turn safety into brand trust will bear a competitive edge on the metaverse battlefield.

How does adland need to be thinking about online toxicity and content moderation? 

With the metaverse’s exponential growth, adland needs to be planning for more ad spend there. As more companies shift to the metaverse, there is a critical need for AI tools to help put the safety guardrails in place to combat toxic content, restore trust and preserve vibrant online communities. The metaverse is persistent and immersive, and the conversion will be quicker. Safety by design, from the start, is critical. 

Are there other impacts advertisers need to look out for?

They need to be paying attention to user-generated content. eMarketer predicts influencer marketing spend to surpass $3 billion dollars in 2021 and grow to more than $4 billion in 2022. With what I like to call the “flywheel of the creator economy” there’s a need for more content, more users, more creators more viewers, etc. Trust and safety becomes the backbone to support that flywheel. Companies that actually foster a bright community stand a better chance to serve the creator economy. Creators need to feel safe and supported otherwise the flywheel is broken, and as result creators will leave your community for ones that aren’t. — Kimeko McCoy

By the Numbers

Over the last few years, the idea of brand authenticity has taken center stage as more brands have worked to avoid being #canceled. In today’s polarized social climate, shoppers expect brands to define both their voice and value. While Forrester reports most Americans would boycott a brand for unethical business practices, their new research reveals that boycott threats may just be noise. Find key data points from the report below:

• 41% of U.S. online adults would go back to doing business with a “cancelled” brand if the brand makes a public apology.
• 32% of U.S. online adults indicate that if a brand is convenient or embedded in their life, they may not follow through with boycotting a brand. 
• 22% of U.S. adults online will boycott a brand that doesn’t share their same values. — Kimeko McCoy

Quote of the Week

“The power dynamic has changed. It’s probably the first time in my career that I could say confidently that the people doing the work have more power than the employers in a lot of ways. They have a lot of options.”

— We Are Rosie founder Stephanie Olson on the war on talent that agencies and brands are contending with now.

What We’ve Covered

• How Shutterfly is marketing to younger consumers.
• A rundown of how The Markup and Mozilla plan to track Facebook’s tracking.
• The complicated reality of the post-cookie future for indie ad tech and UID 2.0.