Just when you think you have a grasp on how to market to your clients in a digital age, something changes. If only my home internet was this fast! Here, we look at some of the upcoming changes all digital marketers should be aware of.
We Interrupt Your FireTV Show…
…to bring you ads purchased through a third-party. Amazon has announced a partnership with The Trade Desk and Dataxu, allowing these third parties to sell advertisements on FireTV.
The move is a win-win for all parties involved. For Amazon, it’s an opportunity to deflect some of the regulatory scrutiny it and other digital brands are facing (Haggin, 2019), while also being better able to compete with brands like Roku and Google. For the media companies, it allows them to have greater control over pricing and relationship with its clients, while having better access to the results of the campaigns it publishes, all of which should be positive for its customers (Sloane, 2019). For anyone concerned about privacy protection, Amazon claims to not share information with third parties.
“Alexa, play an ad”
Said no one ever. And yet, that’s where Amazon is heading. While recent tests came back with lukewarm results, we all know that Amazon is not a brand that gives up. In fact, it plans to test ads through the end of the year, especially as the holidays approach (Sloane, 2019). This makes me wonder if the recent times Alexa provided us with unsolicited gibberish between songs was part of this test. If it was, it failed in our household; we were confused more than anything else, and we completely missed the message.
While not great for consumers, if Amazon makes this work, certainly the ease of shopping through Alexa could drive greater sales. Imagine hearing an ad for a specific shampoo, remembering you are out of shampoo, and asking Alexa to add it to your Amazon shopping cart. The difficult part is in getting consumers to purchase the specific brand or item advertised (Sloane, 2019). The shampoo ad could instead trigger a reminder to purchase your favorite shampoo. I can’t imagine Herbal Essence will be happy that Pantene got its sale. This is definitely one to keep an eye on, or rather, an ear out for, as the holidays approach.
Facebook & Instagram: Changes on the Horizon
Facebook and Instagram are also making changes to advertising on their platforms. Following on its design update, Facebook is also updating its ad format. The new format, which allow for less text and smaller height of photos, should actually help brands to strive to be more effective with less in their advertisements. It will also help streamline advertising between Facebook and Instagram.
And while on the topic of Instagram, it seems to be testing a feature that highlights stories that tag particular users. The new section, titled, “Stories About You,” while beneficial to brands and influencers, might be more helpful to those not using social listening tools. However, since there are no public details about this new feature, only time will tell exactly how marketers can use it.
So, there you have it, some of the latest changes in digital marketing. Be sure to keep on your toes, as I’m sure this will all change by next week!
References:
Graham, M. (2019, July 26). The Trade Desk hits 52-week high on deal to sell video ads on Amazon Fire TV. CNBC. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/26/the-trade-desk-hits-52-week-high-on-deal-to-sell-video-ads-on-amazon-fire-tv.html
Haggin, P. (2019, July 26). Amazon opens streaming TV ad sales to outside buying tools. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-opens-streaming-tv-ad-sales-to-outside-buying-tools-11564165476
Hutchinson, A. (2019, July 20). Marketers take note: Facebook is changing its ad format next month. Social Media Today. Retrieved from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/marketers-take-note-facebook-is-changing-its-ad-format-from-next-month/559169/
Hutchinson, A. (2019, July 25). Instagram is testing a new listing of stories mentions to notify users. Social Media Today. Retrieved from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-is-testing-a-new-listing-of-stories-mentions-to-notify-users/559467/
Sloane, G. (2019, July 26). Amazon opens way for apps on Fire TV to sell ads with The Trade Desk, Dataxu. AdAge. Retrieved from https://adage.com/article/digital/amazon-opens-way-apps-fire-tv-sell-ads-trade-desk-dataxu/2187056
Sloane, G. (2019, July 24). Amazon tests audio ads on Alexa Music – and here’s a look at its pitch deck. AdAge. Retrieved from https://adage.com/article/digital/amazon-tests-audio-ads-alexa-music-and-heres-look-its-pitch-deck/2185811