WebProNews

Tag: Online Advertising

  • Google May Be On the Hook for €25 Billion in UK and EU Cases

    Google May Be On the Hook for €25 Billion in UK and EU Cases

    Google is facing its biggest potential fines yet, with the UK and EU pursuing cases that could see the search giant on the hook for €25 billion.

    Google is the dominant online ad platform, but critics have long accused the company of abusing its position in the market and shutting out smaller rivals. Despite the company being fined billions in the past, regulators recognize those fines have done little to alter Google’s practices.

    “The fines we have seen so far from competition authorities have had absolutely no consequence whatsoever,” Johnny Ryan, from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, told the BBC.

    The company is now facing legal pressure on two fronts, with potentially staggering consequences.

    “Google is under pressure on two big issues – one is anti-trust and the other is data protection,” Ryan said.

    One of the cases in question is being pursued in the Netherlands, with the other being pursued in the UK. Together, the two cases could result in €25 billion in fines.

    “Publishers, including local and national news media, who play a vital role in our society, have long been harmed by Google’s anti-competitive conduct,” said Damien Geradin, of the Belgian law firm Geradin Partners.

    “It is time that Google owns up to its responsibilities and pays back the damages it has caused to this important industry.

    “That is why today we are announcing these actions across two jurisdictions to obtain compensation for EU and UK publishers.”

  • Senators Introduce Bill to Break Up Google and Meta

    Senators Introduce Bill to Break Up Google and Meta

    A bipartisan group of senators is taking aim at Google and Meta, introducing a bill that would break up the companies’ ad businesses.

    Google and Meta are the dominant advertising platforms online, and both have been accused of anti-competitive behavior. Such behavior has increasingly drawn the scrutiny of regulators on both sides of the Atlantic, with a bipartisan group of senators ready to take action.

    The Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act (CTDA) has been introduced by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), as well as Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). The bill would prohibit companies with more than $20 billion in digital ad transactions from owning more than one part of the ecosystem. This measure would address concerns aimed at Google, which is seen as controlling virtually all aspects of the online advertising industry.

    Read more: There’s a Wiki to Remind You of All Big Tech’s Controversies

    Similarly, smaller companies that process more than $5 billion in ad transactions would be required to meet certain criteria aimed at protecting both the competition and the consumer.

    Senator Lee said, “Digital advertising is the lifeblood of the internet economy. It supports most of the free content and services Americans have come to rely upon, including essential local journalism, and it allows businesses of every size to reach their customers quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately, online advertising is also suffering under the thumb of trillion-dollar tech companies.

    “Companies like Google and Facebook have been able to exploit their unprecedented troves of detailed user data to obtain vice grip-like control over digital advertising, amassing power on every side of the market and using it to block competition and take advantage of their customers. The conflicts of interest are so glaring that one Google employee described Google’s ad business as being like ‘if Goldman or Citibank owned the NYSE.’”

    Needless to say, Google is calling foul on the new bill, telling The Verge that it is “the wrong bill, at the wrong time, aimed at the wrong target.” The company then went on to blame “low-quality data brokers” for the issues targeted by the bill.

    It remains to be seen if the bill will pass, although its early bipartisan support is certainly something of an indicator. The bill is also the latest evidence of regulators’ growing impatience with Big Tech, and what they perceive as abuses of its power and influence.

  • Mozilla and Meta Team Up on Privacy-Respecting Ad Tech

    Mozilla and Meta Team Up on Privacy-Respecting Ad Tech

    Mozilla and Meta have teamed up in one of the most unlikely pairings, in an effort to create privacy-respecting ad tech.

    The advertising industry is currently caught in a dilemma between mining the information it needs to be profitable and respecting user privacy. The two have generally been mutually exclusive, with privacy losing out — at least until recently. Efforts by Apple to improve privacy and give users options to reduce how much companies can track their activity have made a significant dent in many ad companies’ business, including Meta.

    Mozilla and Meta appear to be solving one of the biggest issues in the advertising vs privacy debate, how to effectively deal with attribution, an important quantifier in helping advertisers know how effective their campaigns are.

    Mozilla’s Martin Thomson described the two companies’ solution in a blog post:

    For the last few months we have been working with a team from Meta (formerly Facebook) on a new proposal that aims to enable conversion measurement – or attribution – for advertising called Interoperable Private Attribution, or IPA.

    IPA aims to provide advertisers with the ability to perform attribution while providing strong privacy guarantees. IPA has two key privacy-preserving features. First, it uses Multi-Party Computation (MPC) to avoid allowing any single entity — websites, browser makers, or advertisers — to learn about user behavior. Mozilla has some experience with MPC systems as we’ve deployed Prio for privacy-preserving telemetry. Second, it is an aggregated system, which means that it produces results that cannot be linked to individual users. Together these features mean that IPA cannot be used to track or profile users.

    The key to IPA’s success will be whether enough companies adopt it. Having Mozilla and Meta — two organizations on the extreme opposite ends of the privacy spectrum — collaborating on it is sure to make other companies take notice.

  • Google Revenue is Increasing Due to Online Advertising

    Google Revenue is Increasing Due to Online Advertising

    Google Inc., reported its strongest quarter ever in sales and profit. This was due to a flood of online advertising by businesses competing for customers in reopened countries.

    These strong results showed that Google has come out of a Covid-19 epidemic, which accelerated ecommerce purchases, online food orders, and streaming video consumption. Companies invested millions of dollars in advertising across Google Search, Maps, and YouTube to highlight the superiority of their products.

    Alphabet Inc. reported second quarter revenue of $61.88 million, an increase 62% over a year prior, when it lost its unassailable advertising business to the coronavirus, which crippled the economy. Per-share earnings exceeded analysts’ expectations and profit more than doubled, to $18.53billion.

    Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive, stated that there was a “rising tide” of online business and consumer activity. He stated that digital publishers and YouTube partners earned more during this period than at any other time in the company’s history.

    The company made $50.44 billion from advertising. This 69% increase was due to a hot U.S. market, where ad spend is expected to be the highest in postwar years. YouTube’s advertising business generated $7 billion in revenue last year, an 84% increase over the previous year.

    After-hours trading saw Class A shares rise by more than 3% The stock closed Tuesday at $2638

    Other tech companies have also benefited from the booming digital advertising market. Snap Inc. reported last week that its revenue increased more than twice due to strong user growth. Twitter Inc., however, reported sales increases of 74% thanks to increased advertising.

    Google’s expected sales growth is a return to form. This is a return to form from a money-making machine that has reported revenue increases every quarter over a decade. Sales fell 1.8% in June last year due to major advertisers cutting spending in the travel sector, which accounts for 15% of all sales.

    Google has seen a quarterly increase in revenue every quarter since then. Travel and leisure companies are investing big to attract customers who will fly after being away for a year with vaccinations.

    Philipp Schindler, Chief Business Officer, stated that retail was the most important advertising sector for the quarter. He stated that Google’s decision to include brands that were not paid advertisers in its Shopping Tab last year increased sales and improved listings. He cited Bed, Bath & Beyond, as an example of a company which had a program in place for online shopping and in-store pickup during the pandemic. This was promoted by the retailer across YouTube and Google.

    Google and its competitors should see a rise in digital advertising throughout the remainder of the year. GroupM recently increased its global advertising sales forecast to $749 billion, a 19% increase over last year and above its previous expectation of 12% growth. The company did not forecast future revenue due to uncertainty following the recent increase in Covid-19 cases.

    Legislators in the U.S. as well as abroad have expressed concern that Google’s resilience is a reflection of the strength of its products. Google is the largest digital advertising company in terms of revenue. Google’s search engine holds 92% of all global internet searches, while its Maps services have 89% of digital navigation services.

    Google paid $270 million to French regulators in June to settle a case claiming it had abused its position as the leader in digital advertising. The European Union launched a formal investigation into Google’s digital advertising business. It also alleged that it excluded competitors from buying ad space on YouTube. Three dozen states have filed an antitrust suit in the U.S. District Court for Northern California alleging that the company has an illegal monopoly over its Play app store.

    The Justice Department is also suing it, alleging that it uses exclusionary deals to protect its search engine monopoly. The trial, along with two other state lawsuits, is scheduled to start in 2023.

    Google claims that it operates in a highly competitive market, where customers choose to use its services and ads because they are efficient. Google claims that its Play store is an open operating system, where customers can directly download apps from developers.

    The suits, settlements, and investigations have been ignored by investors, which has led to shares rising more than 50% through Tuesday’s close. Analysts believe that Google, which reported $135.86 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments at June’s end, has sufficient resources to pay any fines.

  • Microsoft Buying Xandr Ad Business From AT&T

    Microsoft Buying Xandr Ad Business From AT&T

    AT&T has agreed to sell its ad marketplace, Xandr, to Microsoft as the ad industry tries to adapt to a post-cookie world.

    The ad industry has been working to cope with changes to online advertising, including initiatives to replace the web browser cookies that have formed the backbone of the industry for years. AT&T says Xandr compliments Microsoft’s current efforts in the context of the open web.

    “Microsoft’s shared vision of empowering a free and open web and championing an open industry alternative via a global advertising marketplace makes it a great fit for Xandr. We look forward to using our innovative platform to help accelerate Microsoft’s digital advertising and retail media capabilities,” said Xandr’s EVP and GM Mike Welch.

    “With Xandr’s talent and technology, Microsoft can accelerate the delivery of its digital advertising and retail media solutions, shaping tomorrow’s digital ad marketplace into one that respects consumer privacy preferences, understands publishers’ relationships with consumers and helps advertisers meet their goals,“ said Mikhail Parakhin, President of Web Experiences at Microsoft.

    The deal is subject to regulatory review. Neither company disclosed the financial terms of the deal.

  • France Fines Google $166 Million Over Search Ads

    France Fines Google $166 Million Over Search Ads

    TechCrunch is reporting that France has levied a $166 million fine against Google over abusing its online advertising dominance.

    France’s competition watchdog, Autorité de la concurrence, announced the fine last week following an investigation dating back several years. The fine is based on advertising rules that were “opaque and difficult to understand” and that Google was applying in “an unfair and random manner.”

    The case was brought to the competition authority’s attention over four years ago when Google closed the Google Ads account of a company called Gibmedia without any notice. Google told TechCrunch GibMedia’s account had been closed to protect consumers, as it was “running ads for websites that deceived people into paying for services on unclear billing terms.”

    Autorité de la concurrence pointed out, however, that Google is not applying that rationale uniformly and currently has other sites selling similar services.

    Google has vowed to fight the decision. In the meantime, in order to comply with the Autorité de la concurrence’s ruling, Google must clarify its rules and procedures, set up a warning system to alert advertisers and help them avoid account suspensions and “organize mandatory annual training for Google Ads support staff.”

  • Google Adwords Introduces ‘Chat Rate’ Metric for Click-to-Message Ads

    Google Adwords Introduces ‘Chat Rate’ Metric for Click-to-Message Ads

    To get the most out of marketing campaigns, it is sometimes necessary to do some tweaking and fine tuning before your ads connect with their targeted audience. For this reason, marketers must gauge the performance of their ad placements which can be gleaned from the reports provided by the ad platform showing data and statistics on specific ad metrics.

    Google Adwords is giving advertisers more ways to determine the performance of their click-to-message campaigns by introducing new ad metrics for the product. In a recent blog post, the company announced the addition of three new performance insights which will be available via Adwords’ message reporting service.

    The report will now contain the click-to-message ad’s Chat rate. With this data, marketers will be able to measure how often people will actually start a conversation with your company after seeing your message extension.

    example of a click-to-message ad

    Adwords also introduced a new performance insight called Chat start time which is basically a timestamp marking the time at which user initiates contact. Businesses might find the new ad metric very useful especially when it comes to scheduling their message extensions to maximize the performance of ad campaigns. For example, a company might learn from this metric that chat volume peaks at noon and, therefore, know that it should allocate more manpower during that time to answer customer queries.

    Lastly, there is also an insight on the number of messages exchanged between a business and a user during a single chat session. This could be helpful in determining which type of campaigns are able to generate longer and, hopefully, more in-depth conversations.

    The new performance insights will be available to Adwords clients in the next few weeks. However, they will initially roll out only to some areas such as the US, Australia, Canada, Brazil, France, and the United Kingdom.

    Introduced in 2016, click-to-message ads are considered to be the text message version of the older click-to-call ad formats. They will allow users to get in touch with an actual representative of a business instead of a mere chat bot resulting in a more natural interaction.

    [Featured image via Google Adwords]

  • Facebook Takes Steps to Clarify Ad Metrics in Light of Complaints from Advertisers

    Facebook Takes Steps to Clarify Ad Metrics in Light of Complaints from Advertisers

    Facebook is finally taking steps to address advertisers’ concerns regarding ad performance. In the interest of transparency, the social media giant is set to clean up its ad metrics and clarify how campaigns are measured.

    Advertisers have been raising questions about Facebook’s metrics, prompting the company to admit to errors in how ad performance is measured.

    On Wednesday, Facebook revealed in a blog post that it will start labeling particular metrics in the Ads Manager as either in development or estimated. It will also be taking out around 20 metrics that are described as “redundant, outdated, not actionable or infrequently used.”

    A complete list of these metrics has been posted, along with explanations for their removal and possible replacements. For example, Button Clicks will be removed because of redundancy. As it turns out, its metrics intersect with others like Event Responses, Link Clinks, and Offers Saved. Facebook is recommending any of the aforementioned three instead of Button Clicks.

    Another change that Facebook will be doing is the labeling of metrics. Some metrics will be clearly labeled as either “estimated” or/and “in development.” Apparently, metrics not defined specifically as estimates have led to confusion among marketers. These metrics are calculated by using sampling or data modeling.

    Meanwhile, “in development” means the metrics are still in the process of being tested or rolled out. This implies that their results could change as the company tweaks its methodologies. Marketers won’t be receiving any notifications about changes or fixes Facebook would be making to this type of metrics.

    The two labels can be seen in the tool tips in Ads Manager and in the column selector for ads appearing on Facebook, its sister company Instagram, and the Facebook Audience Network.

    To assist advertisers and marketers in understanding the upcoming changes, Facebook will be launching “Measure What Matters” in a few weeks. The training program will offer two tracks—one for measuring branding focused campaigns and another for direct response marketing campaigns.

    According to the company’s Facebook page, each track will draw data from analysis and research “across creative planning, ad delivery, cross-channel measurement and video measurement.” Marketers can have access to this information through in-person events and on Facebook Live. Participants can also check it on the Facebook Business site.

    These changes are expected to be rolled out sometime in July. While it will take time to see improvements, Facebook is hoping that these enhancements will boost advertisers’ confidence in the site.

    [Featured image via Freepik]

  • Email Marketing is Alive and Well for Brands

    Email Marketing is Alive and Well for Brands

    Email marketing is alive and well for brands. Over 60% of marketers are planning to use email marketing as their primary method of gaining new business, according to a new survey by Campaigner.

    The power of first impressions should not be something that online retail marketers should overlook. This new survey illustrates the importance of a marketers first email message, right after someone provides their email to a brand.

    The survey revealed that 39% of marketers send a thank-you-for-subscribing message and 50% of those companies say that 21% of their new subscribers engage with their welcome emails. That’s quite the engagement rate and is reflective of the fact that marketers typically offer enticement deals in these emails such as free shipping, free items with purchase, extra percents off for new customers, etc. These offers almost always are only available for a limited amount of time and are offered on first purchase only. Frequent online shoppers know that providing their email will result in these deals so they are accustomed to subscribing before purchase.

    “It takes just seconds within meeting someone to form a lasting impression,” said EJ McGowan, general manager, Campaigner. “Unsurprisingly, first impressions for brands are just as critical and time-sensitive. Marketers who quickly deliver engaging welcome emails to new subscribers will see greater success in conversions, while also building brand reputation.”

    Of brands surveyed, 55% offered news and content and their main incentive to entice subscriptions while 49% offered promotions.

    It’s also important for brands to send a timely welcome message after a new subscription with 62% reporting they send their welcome emails within 24 hours. In my experience most major brands send their welcome emails immediately while the potential shopper is actively engaged with the brand. It is absolutely a horrible idea to wait as long as 24 hours, so I suspect the survey didn’t offer shorter response times as options. As I indicated above, it is an extremely effective sales strategy to send a welcome email with true and exclusive deals just for the new shopper, but it is also very important to send those while your customer is thinking about you and likely still on your website, in order to maximize their likelihood of becoming a customer.

    In general, the survey found that it’s best for retail marketers to send their emails before 2 p.m. and 35% say that between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. is ideal in order to generated the best response. Only 25% said that between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. is best. Again, the welcome email should be sent immediately following the subscription, even if it is 3 a.m., or you risk losing a hot prospective customer to your 24 hours a day online retail business.

    Interestingly, 60% of marketers reported that they aren’t doing everything they can do to make their welcome emails most effective. The survey asked questions as to what marketers are doing to improve results in their emails:

    • Eighty-seven percent of marketers are including images in their welcome emails, while 26 percent are including videos.
    • Nearly a third (31 percent) of marketers report that geo-targeting is important for initial emails to contacts.
    • Additionally, more than half of the marketers ranked personalization and segmentation as the most successful tactics in driving conversions.

    The survey shows that (unfortunately) even though email marketing is still a very powerful platform to gain new customers, it faces the challenge of the spam and clutter folders. Marketers reported that 47% of their emails to their own opt-in customers did not hit the inbox! Wake up Google and Outlook and other email platforms, when people subscribe to something they are expressly saying they WANT TO GET EMAIL, even if, and maybe especially if, they are sent offers and promotions.

    Give us your feedback on using email for marketing on the WebProNews Facebook page.

    Here’s the Infographic on this survey provided by Campaigner:

    beat-the-heat-v1

    Give us your feedback on using email for marketing on the WebProNews Facebook page.

  • Mozilla Has Decided Not To Block Cookies In Firefox Just Yet

    Online advertisers have been nervous the past few weeks as Mozilla moved forward with its plans to block third-party cookies by default in its Firefox browser. Some advertiser groups have even claimed that Mozilla’s policy will “undermine American small businesses.” It seems that Mozilla listened as it has decided to postpone the implementation of its policy.

    In a blog post from Thursday, Mozilla’s Brendan Eich said that Mozilla has delayed the implementation of its new anti-cookie patch in Firefox so that it can test for false positives and false negatives. As you may know, the new anti-cookie policy is meant to block third party cookies from sites you haven’t visited while leaving cookies from previously visited sites intact. Eich says that fales positives and false negatives may get in the way of how this policy is meant to work:

    False positives. For example, say you visit a site named foo.com, which embeds cookie-setting content from a site named foocdn.com. With the patch, Firefox sets cookies from foo.com because you visited it, yet blocks cookies from foocdn.com because you never visited foocdn.com directly, even though there is actually just one company behind both sites.

    False negatives. Meanwhile, in the other direction, just because you visit a site once does not mean you are ok with it tracking you all over the Internet on unrelated sites, forever more. Suppose you click on an ad by accident, for example. Or a site you trust directly starts setting third-party cookies you do not want.

    The anti-cookie patch will be turned off by default in the Firefox 22 beta will Mozilla works on these issues. Users on the beta will be able to turn on the patch, however, and mess around with the settings. Mozilla, of course, encourages feedback as it works on it. Those who are using the Aurora release will find that the anti-cookie patch is turned on by default however.

    In the end, Eich says that Mozilla’s work on the patch doesn’t represent any change to its previous anti-cookie philosophy:

    We have heard important feedback from concerned site owners. We are always committed to user privacy, and remain committed to shipping a version of the patch that is “on” by default. We are mindful that this is an important change; we always knew it would take a little longer than most patches as we put it through its paces.

    For those who read this as Mozilla softening our stance on protecting privacy and putting users first, in a word: no. False positives break sites that users intentionally visit. (Fortunately, we haven’t seen too many such problems, but greater testing scale is needed.) False negatives enable tracking where it is not wanted. The patch as-is needs more work.

    [h/t: PC World]

  • Mozilla’s Cookie Policy Writer Slams Advertisers, Says They Refuse To Negotiate

    It was revealed in March that Mozilla would start to disable third-party cookies by default in its Firefox browser. The non-profit says it’s only doing it to protect consumer privacy, but advertisers have hit back hard saying the policy will only hurt small businesses. Does the man behind Mozilla’s anti-cookie policy care though? Nope.

    In an interview with AdExchanger, Jonathan Mayer, privacy advocate and Mozilla’s cookie policy maestro, says that the current Do Not Track negotiations forced his hand in writing the anti-cookie policy. Those negotiations, which were previously reported as being in danger of breaking down, see both sides not being able to agree on what Do Not Track means. Mayer indicates that it’s worse than that as both sides are refusing to negotiate:

    The advertising side would be expected to reevaluate their hardline “We’re not going to negotiate” stance and rethink their strategy. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. So I’m not too optimistic on negotiated terms for Do Not Track, but I’m increasingly optimistic that by virtue of the browsers’ efforts, consumers will get the choices they want. It looks like consumers will get some pretty good privacy in the near term. If the W3C’s process is unsuccessful in developing a consensus on what the standards are, companies could be in a difficult spot, but consumers may be okay because of the technical countermeasures that are starting to be drawn over browsers.

    In other words, Mayer is saying that it’s up to the browsers to give consumers the choice that privacy advocates are fighting for in the “Do Not Track” negotiations. Of course, that choice comes in the form of either “Do Not Track” being turned on by default in Internet Explorer 10, or Firefox outright blocking all third-party cookies. Advertisers don’t take well to either of those scenarios, but are apparently unwilling to negotiate for more favorable terms.

    What would happen if the advertisers were to give in then? What system would Mayer want put into place? He’s still all for third-party cookies being blocked as the default option, but he also calls upon advertisers to prove to consumers that they’re trustworthy:

    Consumers don’t have a great handle on what’s going on in terms of how their data is being collected and what it is being used for. Therefore it makes sense to shift the burden of explaining to the user what is going on to those who are in the best position to do it. Advertising companies have an incentive to convince users that they’re trustworthy and that users should allow them to collect data.

    By setting those default settings to Do Not Track, we give interested parties the incentive to educate consumers about the impacts of those choices. We allocate to them [those parties] the responsibility of getting consumers to give them access.

    It’s unlikely that the advertising lobby will give in though. Some even fear that Web sites will begin blocking browsers that block cookies. Some sites already block browsers with AdBlock software installed so it’s not much of a stretch to see some advertisers going the extra mile.

    It would be truly unfortunate if it were to reach that point. As always, advertisers have a right to the Internet just as much as anybody else does, but they should be held to a consumer friendly standard. Maybe it’s time they started paying more attention to the “acceptable ad” idea.

    [h/t: Business Insider]

  • Microsoft Advertises Do Not Track In Internet Explorer

    Microsoft has been one of the strongest proponents of Do Not Track since it announced that Internet Explorer 10 would turn it on by default. Advertisers didn’t exactly like this, and even threatened to ignore all signals from Internet Explorer if Microsoft didn’t back down. Despite the threat, the Redmond giant didn’t back down, and is now even marketing Do Not Track as a key feature of Internet Explorer.

    Microsoft released a new ad for Internet Explorer today that talks about the differences between information you want to share with others and information you want to keep private. It never explicitly states browsing history as the kind of information you want to keep private, but it does say that it keeps your data private with Do Not Track.

    The Do Not Track debate is far more complicated than what Microsoft has presented in its latest ad. Microsoft may have implemented Do Not Track into Internet Explorer, but that doesn’t mean that advertising companies will suddenly stop tracking your online movements. In fact, these companies have even threatened to ignore all Do Not Track signals from Internet Explorer until Microsoft backs down.

    Since then, the Do Not Track debate has grown exponentially with Congress getting in on the action with some Congressmen saying that the government needs to introduce Do Not Track laws. Of course, such debates in Congress will probably fall victim to the same problem plaguing the debate between private companies and privacy advocates – what does Do Not Track actually mean?

    Still, it’s strange to see Microsoft advertising a feature that’s not only very divisive, but also possibly ineffective. There’s no legal mandate stopping advertising firms from ignoring Do Not Track signals, and Microsoft’s insistence that it be the turned on by default may actually do more harm than good until there’s a consensus on what Do Not Track actually means.

  • Are There Any Winners In The War On Ads?

    Are There Any Winners In The War On Ads?

    Advertising is a key component of the Web economy as it keeps many of the Web sites and services you use free. Facebook, Twitter, and even the very words you’re reading right now are all free because of advertising.

    For years, this model of advertising on Web sites in exchange for free content worked well. That very model, however, has been under attack for the past few years. The two factions in this war – the pro-ad and the anti-ad factions – have been going back and forth, but no clear winner has ever emerged. Two recent events have helped reinvigorate the discussion, but both threaten to take us even further into a war that can’t be won.

    Where do you stand in the war on ads? Are you pro-ad or anti-ad? Let us know in the comments.

    Earlier this month, Mozilla, makers of the popular Firefox browser, came under attack by the ad industry. The Interactive Advertising Bureau claims that Mozilla’s plan to automatically block third-party cookies in Firefox will hurt small businesses and Web sites that rely on these cookies track consumer’s Web activity and deliver relevant ads.

    Mozilla claims that its anti-cookie policy is all about protecting the privacy of its users. A noble endeavor if there ever was one, but what about Web sites that rely on these cookies to make money from advertisements? Mozilla says that “collateral impact should be limited,” but encourages Web sites to make the necessary code change to accomodate the new policy.

    In response, IAB President and CEO Randall Rothenberg says that the policy won’t help consumers in the least, especially in the realm of privacy.

    In 2012, the Obama administration endorsed the work of the Digital Advertising Alliance, of which the IAB is a part, for creating a robust self-regulatory program to protect consumer privacy rights and expectations in the advertising-supported internet. This program gives more than 5,000 participating internet publishers, marketers, and other advertising industry companies clear ground rules for activity and exerts penalties if not adhered to. The principles of the program come to life most visibly through a small icon adjacent to advertising that’s delivered to a user based on the educated guess that the ad will be relevant to them. This icon links users to a page with information about how user data is collected and used, and gives them an opportunity to opt-out from the practice. More than 1 trillion of these icons are delivered to U.S. consumers each month.

    If third-party cookies are blocked, this program will no longer be effective. A third-party cookie is the technology that tells companies a user has opted out of interest-based advertising through the program; it’s the sign that says, “I’ve chosen not to be tracked.” Cookies can easily be deleted by users through any browser. They are also transparent—any user can find out which ad-supported companies are present in his or her browsers and cherry-pick which cookies they will allow to track their site usage. Today, third-party cookies empower consumers to control their own privacy on an internet-wide scale.

    The threat of Mozilla’s anti-cookie policy is still a ways off as Firefox 22 won’t be in use by a majority of Firefox users for another 12 to 18 weeks. This gives the advertising industry some time to meet with Mozilla and come to a consensus on advertising so as to satisfy its need to generate revenue while letting Mozilla feel like its protecting the privacy of its users.

    As Mozilla and the ad industry duke it out, the relationship between publishers and consumers are continuously being strained by the use of ad blockers. The debate over the use of the controversial technology came to a head recently as Google removed all ad blockers, including Adblock Plus, from the Google Play store.

    Google’s move to protect a major stream of mobile revenue isn’t the first time this year that ad blockers have caused a stir. Earlier this month, Niero Gonzalez, publisher of Destructoid and other online publications, said that half of his site’s readers use ad blockers.

    The debate over the use of ad blocking software isn’t new. Back in 2010, Ars Technica ran an experiment that would remove content from those using ad blocking software. The results were immediate:

    Starting late Friday afternoon we conducted a 12 hour experiment to see if it would be possible to simply make content disappear for visitors who were using a very popular ad blocking tool. Technologically, it was a success in that it worked. Ad blockers, and only ad blockers, couldn’t see our content. We tested just one way of doing this, but have devised a way to keep it rotating were we to want to permanently implement it. But we don’t. Socially, the experiment was a mixed bag. A bunch of people whitelisted Ars, and even a few subscribed. And while others showed up to support our actions, there was a healthy mob of people criticizing us for daring to take any kind of action against those who would deny us revenue even though they knew they were doing so. Others rightly criticized the lack of a warning or notification as to what was going on.

    Those who want to block all ads regardless of its impact on publishers reflect poorly on the intentions of those creating ad blocking software. In early 2012, a New York Times report said that the popular Adblock Plus software would be introducing an exception in its software for “acceptable ads” to help counter the negative effect its software has had on Web sites. In essence, “acceptable ads” are those that don’t distract the consumer with flashing visuals or noise.

    Unlike Mozilla’s destroy all cookies philosophy, Adblock Plus hopes to promote simple ads that respect consumers. The makers of the software realize the importance that advertising plays in the Web economy, but also want said advertisers to respect those they’re targeting. If successful, it would encourage more users to unblock ads on Web sites.

    Are you an ad blocking maximalist? Or should ad blockers only be used when the situation calls for it? Let us know in the comments.

    As it was said at the start, the “war on ads” has been raging for years with no winner in sight. That begs the question – will there ever be a winner? There won’t be as things currently are. It will require a concentrated effort on the part of consumers, advertisers and publishers to make sure that everybody emerges as winners.

    Some Web sites are already being incredibly proactive in this space. Reddit comes to mind as the popular Web site recently said that it has partnered with a new ad provider to deliver ads that are “as useful and non-intrusive as possible.” Reddit says that it already enjoys a user base that overwhelmingly whitelists it in ad blockers. The new ad system respects user choice as well by giving readers the option of hiding ads:

    For example, if you dislike a particular ad in the sidebar, it is now possible to hide it from showing again. If you hover over a sidebar ad in /r/sports, a new “thumbs up” / “thumbs down” overlay will appear. If you “thumbs down” an ad, we won’t display it to you again, and you can give us feedback to improve the quality of reddit ads in the future.

    There’s a desire on the part of consumers to work with publishers and advertisers to keep the ad economy healthy for years to come while respecting their right to an enjoyable experience on the Web. All those who rely on the Web need to take this into account if they want to survive.

    Should consumers play a larger role in the ad industry? Can everybody become a winner in the ad wars? Let us know in the comments.

  • Mozilla Under Attack By Ad Industry For Planning To Block Cookies By Default In Firefox

    Over the past few years, Mozilla has emerged as a company dedicated to the privacy of its users. It’s going to take that to the next level with Firefox 22 as the browser will start blocking cookies by default. The ad industry isn’t particularly happy about it.

    The Interactive Advertising Bureau sent out a press release this week claiming that Mozilla is “undermining American small business” by choosing to block cookies by default. The group says that the makers of Firefox are also undermining consumer choice by automatically blocking cookies, instead of giving users a choice.

    “Thousands of small businesses that make up the diversity of content and services online will be forced to close their doors,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “This move will not put the interest of users first. Nor does it promote transparency or ‘move the web forward’ as Mozilla claims in its announcement. It will not advance Mozilla Corporation’s objective, as stated in its bylaws, of ‘promoting choice and innovation on the internet,’ but will, instead, impede both.”

    As Consumer Affairs points out, Firefox isn’t the first browser to block third-party cookies by default. Apple’s Safari has been doing it for quite a while as well. It’s also not like Mozilla will be blocking all cookies anyway. It will only be blocking cookies from Web sites that users don’t frequently visit. What that means is a user’s one time visit to a blog covering the world of decorative dog sweaters won’t see any tracking cookies installed on their browser.

    This isn’t the first or last time that advertisers will be upset with browser makers over controversial pro-privacy practices. Microsoft was caught in the middle of a controversy last year over its decision to make Do Not Track the default option in Internet Explorer 10. That decision has yet to break the Web or online advertisers, and Mozilla’s move will probably not affect much either.

    That being said, advertising has a valid purpose on the Internet, and shouldn’t be blocked just because. Many of the things we enjoy for free are paid for with advertising. That’s why there needs to be choice in the matter, and Mozilla will hopefully make that choice clear when it starts to block third-party cookies by default later this year.

  • U.S. Online Advertising Hits Record High In Q3

    The Interactive Advertising Bureau and PriceWaterhouseCoopers announced on Wednesday that Internet advertising revenues in the U.S. reached $9.26 billion for the third quarter, marking the biggest quarter on record.

    Revenues climbed 18% year-over-year. In the third quarter of 2011, revenues hit $7.8 billion. The revenues also mark a 6% increase from Q2, when figures were $8.72 billion. Here’s a look at the growth dating back to 1996:

    Online ad growth

    “These historic investments in interactive point to the strong results that marketers are receiving from digital marketing,” said IAB President and CEO Randall Rothenberg. “It is a highly effective medium for interacting and engaging consumers, who are no longer passive, but are active participants in contemporary media online, through social media, and on-the-go with mobile.”

    Sherrill Mane, SVP, Research, Analytics & Measurement at the IAB added, “Sustained growth in internet ad revenue despite economic head winds is a testament to the value marketers get from using digital media.”

    “This uptick goes beyond a significant year-over-year increase at 18 percent, and also shows a climb from last quarter as well,” said PricewaterhouseCoopers partner David Silverman. “Clearly, digital advertising is continuing its positive trajectory with incredible momentum as it heads into seasonally strong Q4.”

    It’s been a good year for online business. This comes after huge amounts of online spending on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

  • Verizon Will Give You A Coupon If You Let Them Sell Your Data To Advertisers

    Have you heard of Verizon Selects? It’s a new data collecting initiative from the carrier’s Precision Marketing portfolio that seeks to collect consumer info for targeted ads. It’s completely optional, but Verizon knows exactly what will make consumers give up their personal info – a coupon.

    Verizon will begin sending messages out to its customers this week asking them to sign up for the Verizon Selects program. It’s entirely optional and the carriers says that opting out of the program will carry no consequences – negative or otherwise. Those who do opt in will get a coupon to an unnamed retailer.

    Let’s say you opt into Verizon’s data collection service. Here’s what Verizon says they’ll be doing with your personal information:

    Simply put, Verizon Selects will use location, web browsing and mobile application usage data, as well as other information including customer demographic and interest data, to create specific insights. Verizon Selects analyzes this information about customers to see whether they fit into certain audiences Verizon or third party marketers are trying to reach. Depending on the results, participating customers will receive marketing messages or offers that may be of more interest to them than what they see or receive today. These messages could be delivered in various ways such as email, text, postal mail or online or mobile advertising.

    Verizon notes that it will not share any personally identifying information with anybody outside of the company. That’s vague, and kind of scary considering that law enforcement is trying to push for greater access to mobile carriers’ records, especially SMS.

    Regardless, it’s entirely optional at this point. If a coupon is worth a company potentially making millions off of your personal information, you can sign up for Verizon Selects here. Concerned customers can also opt out of it and other targeted ad networks at the above link.

    [h/t: Droid Life]

  • Do Not Track Negotiations In Danger Of Breaking Down

    Do Not Track Negotiations In Danger Of Breaking Down

    Do you remember Do Not Track? There was a big push earlier this year to standardize a method that would allow Internet users to opt out of ad tracking. Privacy advocates and lawmakers welcomed the move, but have yet to make any solid progress on the matter. A new report suggests that progress won’t be made anytime soon either.

    CNN Money reports that both sides in the Do Not Track debate have hit a wall in negotiations. Privacy advocates and online advertisers have been meeting for the past six months to discuss DNT and its implications. It would appear that the major blockade is that neither side is able to agree on what Do Not Track actually means.

    Where does that sound familiar? Oh right, Microsoft has been having the same issue since it announced that Internet Explorer 10 would have Do Not Track turned on by default. In response, the advertising industry told Microsoft that it was going to flat out ignore any DNT signals sent by IE10.

    To further complicate the issue, politicians have been exerting pressure on the advertising industry to accept the privacy advocates’ version of DNT. The Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus called out the advertising industry back in early October, and accused it of putting “profits over privacy.” The caucus says the only solution is to pass legislation that defines what information advertisers can and can not collect online, especially when it comes to children.

    As for the advertising industry, the Direct Marketing Association has started an anti-DNT campaign called the Data-Driven Marketing Institute. The goal is to educate consumers on the benefits of targeted advertising. It argues that a majority of the online services consumers currently enjoy for free to little cost are supported by the same targeted ads that privacy advocates want to reign in.

    All of these different opinions on DNT have led to the stalemate we’re currently in. The whole DNT project faces an early death if these groups can not come to a compromise. That’s why the group overseeing the negotiations – the W3C – has hired Peter Swire, Ohio state law professor and former privacy official for both the Obama and Clinton administrations, to oversee the talks. His job is to push the parties into a compromise, and get a DNT plan up by the end of the year. That’s not likely to happen, and DNT is more and more likely to die the longer it stays like this.

    So what’s the plan from here on out? The W3C is now saying that it’s going to push all parties towards a consensus whether they like it or not. Ian Jacobs, spokesperson for the W3C, told CNN Money that the W3C “always seeks consensus, but when we can’t, we get votes and make decisions.” He said that one group simply saying “I don’t like this” isn’t going to be enough anymore.

    From the looks of it, the Do Not Track issue is going to be a thing well into the new year. The online advertising is unlikely to budge, and neither are privacy advocates. It will be interesting, however, to see if the W3C’s strategy of forceful intervention will work or not.

  • Online Ad Revenues Reach Historic High

    The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has released a report on Internet ad revenues, which the organization says climbed to an all-time high of $17 billion in the first half of 2012. This is, in fact, a 14% year-over-year increase (compared to the previous high of $14.9 billion in the first half of 2011).

    The second quarter alone also saw a 14% year-over-year increase, hitting $8.7 billion (up from $7.7 billion during the same period last year).

    Here’s a look at the yearly increases for the first half of the year since 1996:

    First Half ad revenues

    “This report establishes that marketers increasingly embrace mobile and digital video, as well as the entire panoply of interactive platforms, to reach consumers in innovative and creative ways,” said IAB President and CEO Randall Rothenberg. “These half-year figures come on the heels of a study from Harvard Business School researchers that points to the ad-supported internet ecosystem as a critical driver of the U.S. economy. Clearly, the digital marketing industry is on a positive trajectory that will propel the entire American business landscape forward.”

    IAB SVP, Research, Analytics and Measurement, Sherrill Mane, added, “Solid double-digit growth in a stagnating economy is a significant accomplishment. There is evidence that CPMs are maintaining, and even increasing, further substantiating the vitality of the internet ad market.”

    Mobile nearly doubled year-over-year for the first half of the year, rising 95% to $1.2 billion, compared to $636 million from the same period last year. Digital video increased 18% year-over-year, reaching over $1 billion in revenue (up from $900 million from the same period last year).

    “The tremendous growth of mobile advertising revenue over the past year is an indication of the importance of location to advertisers and mobility to consumers,” said David Silverman, a partner at PwC US, which prepared the report for the IAB. “Bringing the power of the internet to mobile devices has opened up a world of possibilities to both consumers and marketers.”

    Search revenues totaled $8.1 billion, up 19% from $6.8 billion. Display revenues hit $5.6 billion, up 4% from $5.3 billion in the same period last year, and accounting for 33% of the first half of the year’s ad revenues.

    You can find the full report here.

  • Social Media in the Middle East [Infographic]

    Yes, we know a social media presence is an absolutely vital component of any successful marketing effort in United States, but how are other countries coming along with adopting the current trends in online media?

    This next inforgraphic from, Middle Eastern online jobs giant, Bayt.com fills us in on how social media is doing in North Africa and the Middle East. Things are looking a little different over there and a new poll sheds some light on where there’s room for improvement.

    According to the recent poll by Bayt, a majority (almost 47%) of people feel that social networking is not being used correctly by companies in their region. Despite the fact that more than half (51.1%) of corporations are using social, a huge majority (81.6%) believes it could be potentially damaging to the company’s reputation.

    The challenges they see companies facing as obstacles to successful when using social media promotion include not responding to feedback in a timely manner, failing to get the tone of the message right, failing to monetizing presence, and failing to become educated about using various platforms overall.

    Lama Ataya, CMO of Bayt.com comments on the results of the poll:

    “When asked what they consider to be most important in a successful corporate social media page, more than a quarter of respondents said that they want content that is ‘informative and educational’. Companies looking to implement a successful social media strategy should bear this in mind when launching a new page,”

    “Social media is a dynamic force that is being manifested today in both the personal and professional realms. Bayt.com provides essential statistics and tools to assist employers and job seekers in building the most successful online profile in order to boost their recruitment and personal or corporate brand potential.”

    Here are a few highlights from Bayt’s poll on Social Media Advertising:

    • A majority of respondents (46.8%) believe that social media is not being used effectively by the region’s companies.

    • Eight out of every ten respondents (81.6%) claim that the potential for social media to damage a company’s reputation is one of the biggest challenges to overcome.

    • More than half of the respondents (51.1%) say that their company uses social media.

    • Nine in ten (86.1%) respondents would participate in their company’s social media activities, if given the chance.

    • majority of respondents (39.1%) say that their company updates its social media pages once a day, compared to 27.9% who say that the social pages are rarely updated by their company.

    • Almost of the respondents (47.6%) say they actively follow other companies along with their own on social media.

    • The majority of respondents (29.8%) are looking for content on social media that is educational and informative.

    Check out the infographic:

  • VEVO Sees Increase in Facebook Traffic

    VEVO Sees Increase in Facebook Traffic

    Music video distribution service VEVO had said it planned to expand in 2012 back in March, and launched in 6 new countries, and also unveiled a redesign. And the new look and functionality has worked, as the platform has seen a 600% boost in Facebook-published content viewership.

    VEVO’s new player has taken advantage of Facebook’s Open Graph, and saw six times as many Facebook-watched videos since February, putting the latest count at 4.5 million. New user regristration is also up by 142%, with the platfrom adding 500,000 new members. VEVO Facebook impressions were up 181% as well, at 171 million.

    As a whole, VEVO logged 254 million video streams worldwide during Q1, 2012, a 32% jump from Q4, 2011. iPhone and iPad views were up as well, at 28% and 22% respectively. Engagement is also up as well, with viewers watching an average of 4.3 videos in March, up from 3.8 in February, spending 15.2 minutes on the site, up from 13.1.

    Like all things associated with Facebook, there is typically a bump in exposure – thing is, it’s not yet clear if the social network will figure out a way to better monetize this sort of thing, mainly via its ad content. It’s IPO has turned into a bit of snafu, and its stocks are doing far less than stellar. Time will tell how things play out for the potential next Myspace.

  • Are Banner Ads Still Working? [Infographic]

    Banner ads have been around for almost a decade. Their design is actually very intelligent; colorful and eye-catching the viewer is compelled to click on them to see where they lead. Well, as the saying goes, “I’m not gonna fall for that old trick”. Could it be that we have learned to ignore these fantastically annoying and colorful ads?

    Of course we have. Clicking on these ads has caused us all sorts of problems from taking over our screens with endless pop-ups to giving us a nasty virus. Besides, most of us are too busy to be distracted by endless product promotion. We are completely disillusioned with banner ads. But, are they totally useless to advertisers? Hell no, you can still get somebody if you’re picking the right stuff.

    If it’s something new and different or something I already wanted to buy, but they can offer me a better deal on, I’m game. This next infographic from Prestigemarketing.Ca shows us the ins and outs of banner ads and most importantly, an array of things more likely to happen than any of us clicking on one of those pesky banner ads.

    Take a look at what they came up with: