Hello there! It’s been a minute. I’ve been enjoying the ever-mixed UK summer and gorging on the recent Olympics feast, while in the wider world it feels like we’ve had enough news for at least a decade.
At least in the world of Digital Marketing there have been a few platform updates, but things are really getting into gear now with the news that a US Judge has ruled that Google has build an illegal monopoly, as well as the recent-ish news that Google has u-turned on plans to block third-party cookies from Chrome.
Away from this there are ad platform updates from Meta, updates (or lack thereof) from TikTok and its potential US ban, Snapchat (remember them) announcing encouraging profits, and plenty more besides.
I’ll be back now every week for the foreseeable future – if you find this newsletter helpful or useful then I’d be hugely grateful if you could share with your peers and colleagues. With that, let’s get cracking!
US judge rules that Google built an illegal monopoly
A recent US District Court ruling declared Google to have an unlawful monopoly in the Search market. The ruling found that Google had violated antitrust laws and suppressed competition via a series of exclusive agreements, most notably with Apple, to make Google the default search on devices.
This is one of those news stories which could mean everything for marketers… or could mean nothing. Theoretically this could launch a sequence of events which sees Google go from having 85-90% of the global Search market down to a much more meagre (and competitively interesting) 50-60%, with users choosing to try alternatives. This would make PPC strategies far, far more complicated (and, dare I say, interesting?).
Or, as your writer predicts, Google’s brand is now so entrenched in the minds of people (“to Google” something is essentially a mainstream verb at this point) that the biggest losers here are actually Apple, who according to The Economist could attribute 18% of their operating profit last year to Google’s payments. I should say that the same article also theorised that Apple might now itself take a serious look at entering the Search market.
Either way, firms and platforms will now have to offer users a choice of which Search Engine they want to use – some might fancy something new and pick Bing. But I’m fairly confident that people who have spent decades turning to Google will continue to do the same. Something to monitor, either way.
Google u-turns on Cookies in Chrome
Stretching the definition of ‘this week’, but easily one of the biggest Digital Marketing headlines since we last spoke was the news that Google has abandoned plans to block third-party cookies from Chrome, something it initially announced in 2020.
Ultimately, it wants to give users the choice. My own experience of working with cookie opt-ins and Google Analytics is that while many will actively turn the cookies off, a sizable minority won’t bother.
I also frankly don’t think that this actually changes too much for those marketers who have been planning for this day. You’ll have been looking to combat this with improved first party data, tracking methods which rely less on cookies, and by being more transparent with consent management – I think it would be hard to argue against any of these as being sound approaches. Creative Salon has more on this.
Meta removes detailed targeting exclusions
Meta has recently removed detailed targeting exclusions from campaigns. Why? Because campaigns perform better without them. Yes, campaigns with broader targeting wind up being cheaper – who knew.
Up to this point, interest excursions were quite an important way for brands to refine their audience. For example, you might want to target people who do not already have an interest in your brand (or another firm), or in a particular offering, as part of growing your wider awareness.
Meta claims that exclusions get in the way of its AI delivery systems being able to deliver ads at the right time – my own view is that this is similar to moves from Google to push advertisers towards Broad match, which ultimately make it easier for them to find ways to serve your ads.
Which is great for them, but not so great for your relevancy. Frankly there’s not much you can do at this stage other than to keep an eye on any further updates, and make sure the targeting you do have on Meta is as tight as possible.
Further Reading
The news that the US Government is looking to ban TikTok was everywhere a few months ago, but has seemingly gone quiet. The reality is that there is back and forth between various lawyers, with juicy headlines making way for tedious proceedings and bureaucracy. I’ll be keeping on top of this over the coming weeks and months so you don’t have to!
X has removed all ads for Premium subscribers. Great for those paying their monthly subs, less great for creators trying to monetize via the platform.
In amongst all the turmoil for Meta, X and TikTok, Snapchat has been quietly doing its thing in the background, and this week announced strong ad revenue subscribers, and that it has reached 11 million paid subscribers.
Raconteur has compiled a few little fun insights and thoughts on the trends some marketing leaders think will define the second half of H2.
Instagram is working on adding screenshot blocking for Temporary DMs.
I’d be surprised if you missed it, but Elon Musk has seemingly declared open war on Keir Starmer recently, branding him this week as “two-tier Keir”.
That’s it! If you found this interesting then I would really appreciate it if you shared this with your friends and colleagues.
If you’re feeling particularly generous, then I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you next week!