Inside Google’s latest move to postpone the cookie apocalypse

Google has stayed true to form: It has put the brakes on its elaborate plan to ditch third-party cookies in its browser, just as many anticipated. For now, Google hasn’t given an exact timeline — just that it’s hopeful it can happen in 2025.

Before diving into the implications and potential outcomes, it’s crucial to understand the events and factors that have brought the ad industry to this point. Despite Google’s (most recent) assurances that it would stick to its (newest) game plan, there has been a lot going on as of late.

January is as good a place to start as any. That’s when Google began ending third-party cookies in Chrome among one percent of traffic, which equates to around 30 billion users.

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.

While Biden signs the TikTok bill, marketers still aren’t panicking

When it comes to the TikTok “divestment or ban” bill, marketers are worried. But most are not too panicked about the outcome — at least not yet.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill (79 votes to 18) on Tuesday to ban TikTok in the U.S. if owner ByteDance doesn’t sell its shares within nine to 12 months. It’s a revision of a previous bill, approved by the House, which gave ByteDance 165 days to sell TikTok. The new bill, linked to a $95 billion foreign aid package, includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $17 billion for Israel’s weapons and $9 billion for Gaza. TikTok’s inclusion falls under the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024 and gives ByteDance 270 days to divest the company. President Biden signed it yesterday.

Responding to Digiday’s request for comment on the matter, a TikTok spokesperson said: “This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court. We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail. The fact is, we have invested billions of dollars to keep U.S. data safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation. This ban would devastate 7 million businesses and silence 170 million Americans. As we continue to challenge this unconstitutional ban, we will continue investing and innovating to ensure TikTok remains a space where Americans of all walks of life can safely come to share their experiences, find joy and be inspired.”

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.

Research Briefing: YouTube commands marketing spend on ad-supported streaming services

Interested in sharing your perspectives on the media and marketing industries? Join the Digiday research panel.

In this week’s Digiday+ Research Briefing, we examine how YouTube commands marketing spend among ad-supported streaming services, how fewer publishers plan on growing their events business, and how ads are coming to Meta’s Threads platform sooner than expected, as seen in recent data from Digiday+ Research.

This is a member-exclusive article from Digiday. Continue reading it on digiday.com and subscribe to continue reading content like this.

Media Briefing: Publishers who bet on events and franchises this year are reaping the rewards

Betting big on franchises

The bet publishers made on tentpole events and franchises to get advertising revenue back on track this year seems to be paying off.

According to seven publishers, their ad sales teams have been successfully closing more deals for marquee events and editorial franchises, at an earlier pace than last year. As a result, several media execs told Digiday they’re anticipating event revenue to grow this year over last year.

This is a member-exclusive article from Digiday. Continue reading it on digiday.com and subscribe to continue reading content like this.

FaZe Clan’s $75 million product licensing business could represent the future of esports

After a difficult year in 2023, FaZe Clan is looking to re-enter the esports limelight — and it’s using its lucrative brand licensing business to accomplish the task.

Gamesquare’s acquisition of FaZe Clan, reported by Digiday last October, went through last month. The storied esports organization is now part of Gamesquare’s broader portfolio, which also includes gaming and esports companies such as Ninja Labs and Stream Hatchet. Since then, FaZe Clan’s social channels have gone relatively dark, but the esports org is looking to officially relaunch as soon as this week, backed by Gamesquare’s sales and marketing arms.

“We’re getting a lot of content banked; we don’t want to just go live and be the same old FaZe,” said FaZe Clan CEO Justin Kenna. “So yeah, the team are in there and working. We have a centralized group sales meeting where the teams are sharing and cross-selling and upselling.”

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.

Sephora pone a prueba una nueva estrategia de merchandising para el cuidado corporal

Esta historia fue reportada por primera vez en Glossy, una publicación hermana de Digiday en Español.

Sephora está poniendo a prueba un nuevo programa de merchandising en las tiendas, aprovechando el auge del cuidado corporal.

El programa piloto, una extensión del programa “Next Big Thing” de Sephora, se centra exclusivamente en el cuidado corporal y pretende desmarcar los productos de esta categoría de la comercialización típica de los estantes de cuidado de la piel. Desde su lanzamiento en febrero, el programa piloto está presente en 60 tiendas de todo el país, en función de la demanda del mercado de productos de prestigio para el cuidado corporal. La selección de marcas que forman parte del proyecto piloto incluye Soft Services, Kate McLeod, Nécessaire, Oui the People, 54 Thrones y marcas de cuidado íntimo como Maude y Luna Daily. También incluye marcas de belleza más amplias que ofrecen cuidado corporal, como Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez, Fenty Skin, Isle of Paradise y Youth to the People. En total, unas 40 marcas componen la categoría de cuidado corporal de Sephora.

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.

Biden Signs Law Banning TikTok Unless It’s Sold

“We will keep fighting for your rights in the courts,” TikTok CEO Shou Chew said in a video posted to X after President Joe Biden signed a law that will ban the app unless it’s sold within one year.

Spotify Submits EU iOS App To Apple, Following Previous Attempts

To avoid Apple’s 30% fee on all subscriptions made via the App Store, Spotify has submitted a new version of its iOS app for users in the EU.