▸ Week 36

CMA objects to Google’s ad tech practices in bid to help UK advertisers and publishers.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally found that Google is engaging in anti-competitive practices in the open-display ad tech sector, potentially harming thousands of UK publishers and advertisers. 

The CMA's investigation reveals that Google uses its dominance to favor its ad tech services, disadvantaging competitors and reducing fair competition. Google allegedly manipulates bids and provides its AdX exchange with preferential access, limiting the chances for rival exchanges to compete effectively. This conduct has been ongoing since at least 2015 and also affects Google’s publisher ad server, DFP, by preventing rival servers from competing. 

The CMA is considering measures to stop Google's anti-competitive behaviour and ensure it doesn't recur. Separate investigations by the US Department of Justice and the European Commission are ongoing.
 

Tech Lab Unveils New Privacy Taxonomy.

The IAB Tech Lab released the Privacy Taxonomy for public comment, providing a new framework to help businesses manage personal data and comply with privacy regulations. This initiative aims to unify data privacy practices in the digital advertising industry and invites feedback over the next 30 days.

Browser-Level Cookie Controls Better Reflect User Preferences, finds Government-Backed Study.

The EU’s GDPR was created to give Europeans more control over their data but has led to more intrusive cookie banners. The UK retained GDPR principles post-Brexit and is considering alternatives to these banners, like browser-level cookie controls.

A government-backed study by The Behavioural Insights Team found that browser-level controls generally result in lower cookie opt-in rates than site-level controls, though acceptance remains relatively high. The study tested various browser-level consent mechanisms, finding that detailed cookie information led to opt-in rates more aligned with user preferences.

Surprisingly, 53% of users were comfortable opting in to all cookies, but knowledge about cookies' purposes was found to be low. The findings suggest that browser-level controls could balance privacy and user experience without drastically reducing cookie opt-ins. However, privacy advocates argue that poor understanding of cookies undermines meaningful consent.

Media Briefing: How publishers spent summer 2024

Summer 2024 saw significant developments for publishers in digital media.

Google reversed its decision to phase out third-party cookies, allowing users to choose their cookie settings, though publishers remain cautious about the impact. AI content licensing deals surged, with major publishers like Condé Nast signing agreements, while Perplexity AI introduced a revenue-share model focused on ad revenue, not content access.

New social platforms like LinkedIn and Reddit pursued partnerships with publishers, providing new revenue opportunities.Women's sports coverage grew in prominence, driven by increased advertiser interest and lucrative deals. Podcast networks anticipated a rise in political ad spending for the upcoming U.S. elections, buoyed by new ad tech and targeting tools. 

The industry is adapting to a changing landscape, balancing opportunities and uncertainties across multiple fronts.

AppsFlyer And Unity Integrate With The Android Privacy Sandbox To Avoid Another ATT-Style Disaster.

With uncertainty around the deprecation of Google’s mobile advertising ID (GAID), AppsFlyer integrated with the Android Privacy Sandbox’s Attribution Reporting API. This makes it the first mobile measurement platform (MMP) to offer such a product, developed with Unity.

The integration aims to help advertisers prepare for a potential shift similar to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT). AppsFlyer’s new dashboard consolidates attribution data, providing a clearer view of ad conversions.

More ad networks need to adopt the API for better data accuracy. AppsFlyer is also building tools to optimise campaigns using historical data, following its iOS post-ATT success.

Madison and Wall forecast $397 billion in 2024 ad spend.

The U.S. advertising industry grew by 9.6% in Q2 2024, driven by a healthy economy and easy comparisons to last year, reaching a projected $397 billion in total spend for 2024.

Growth is expected to slow in the latter half of the year due to high growth rates in 2023. Digital ad platforms, especially retail media networks, led growth with a 16.4% increase, accounting for 67% of ad revenue. Political and issue advertising are significant contributors, projected to add $16 billion.

Traditional media is expected to face limited growth due to challenges like consumer identification and brand safety concerns. Marketers are increasingly focused on performance over content, impacting their media investment decisions.

Scoop: IAB And MRC To Collaborate On Attention Measurement Accreditation.

The Media Rating Council (MRC) and IAB's Attention Measurement Task Force are collaborating to accredit attention measurement vendors, , with guidelines expected by Q1 2025. This effort aims to standardise transparency without enforcing specific methodologies like eye-tracking or proxy measurements.

Vendors must disclose how they measure attention, ensure user consent, and comply with privacy standards. The goal is to avoid past mistakes with viewability as an ad-buying currency and promote nuanced understanding of attention metrics.

The MRC and IAB will focus on educating the industry on effectively using attention data without over-relying on it. This collaboration encourages broader involvement from publishers and ad tech vendors to refine how attention metrics impact ad performance and quality

Prebid Digital Out-of-Home Webinar.

A Prebid will host a webinar on DOOH to provide an update on the strides they’ve made in advancing DOOH initiatives, their tackled challenges, the lessons learned, and the current position. Date: September 12th, 2024.

Register here.