S T U D I O 1 2 : Ad Tech's Mad Scramble

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First Things First

February 12, 2020

By Kathryn Lundstrom

Presented by

Ad Tech Is Trying to Rebuild the Industry From the Ground Up

Kicking off a three-day conference yesterday in Palm Desert, Calif., the Internet Advertising Bureau launched Project Rearc—a call to action of sorts, focused on developing new ad targeting methods independent of cookies.

The trade organization is currently facing what's arguably the most crucial moment of its 24-year history. Earlier this year, the most widely used browser on the internet, Google Chrome, declared the days of the third-party cookie numbered, joining other providers such as Apple's Safari and Mozilla's Firefox in eliminating third-party ad targeting by 2022. These changes arose from the growing public scrutiny over how Big Tech uses data and then makes the resulting insights into billions of people available to advertisers. In the wake of data breaches and public outcry over these practices, lawmakers have started to flex their regulatory muscles.

To counter these pressures, ad tech companies are working with publishers to generate a new means of targeting specific audience segments based on first-party data, such as email addresses. These data points can then be hashed to generate a pseudonym for a user, which is then packaged and made available as an audience targeting tool for advertisers, though it's unclear so far as to whether any of these proposals are sufficiently scalable.

Dozens of Companies Withdraw From Mobile World Congress Over Coronavirus Fears

More than 20 companies have canceled plans to attend the global wireless industry's premier trade show, Mobile World Congress, set to take place later this month in Barcelona, citing concerns related to coronavirus.

Among those backing out are major industry players including device manufacturers LG, Sony and Vivo, chipmakers Ericsson, Intel and Nvidia, and various other tech organizations such as Amazon and Facebook. According to industry sources cited by Spanish newspaper El País, members of the conference's organizing body, the GSMA, will meet Friday to discuss the possibility of suspending or postponing the event.

Also in Coronavirus news: Navigating Conferences in the Time of Coronavirus

Streaming Services Are Here to Grow—More People Would Keep Watching or Add on Another

Based on a new survey of U.S. consumer sentiment, 93% say they plan to sign up for additional services or at least maintain the number of streaming services they have.

Nielsen released the survey results Tuesday as part of its February Total Audience Report dedicated to streaming, highlighting the continued room for industry growth as well as the risks for services who are unable to keep customers satisfied. According to the survey:

40% would be willing to add new services at an incremental cost,
27% would drop a current service to switch to another service and
13% would borrow a streaming service log-in from someone they knew to access additional paid services.

What to Expect From Omnicom and IPG's Annual Earnings Reports

This week, Omnicom and IPG will both release earnings reports for 2019. Adweek caught up with Forrester principal analyst Jay Pattisall to ask what to expect from the companies' earnings calls and what to anticipate from each in 2020. According to Pattinsall, there's nothing in the market that's expected to get in the way of IPG's "bullish" predictions for Q4 and concerns around an impending recession have waned. While both Omnicom and IPG have "pretty robust media businesses," he said, they both have opportunities this year in "connecting their strength in media and their investments in data to their historically impressive creative agencies."

Best of the Rest: Today's Top News and Insights

Ad of the Day: Mini Reminds Us That a Brand's Backstory Can Be Just as Beautiful as the Product Itself

60 years after its creation, Mini USA is telling the story of Alec Issigonis, the Englishman who envisioned the Mini, through a breathtaking new campaign. Created in collaboration with advertising agency 360i, Italian artist Virgilio Villoresi and illustrator Virginia Mori, "The Inner Drive" tells the story of the vehicle's creation through the art of animation, illustration and even shadows.

Promoted Content by Neustar

Reimagining Retail in a Privacy-Led, Omnidata Environment

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Agencies Share How Leadership Can Promote a Fair, Supportive and Encouraging Environment for All Employees Year-Round

"Back in 2017, J. Walter Thompson (now Wunderman Thompson) launched the 20/20, the first racial equality program in the Brazilian advertising industry and whose main goal is to change the company culture through a more plural hiring process, avoiding unconscious bias. To this end, we hired EmpregueAfro, an HR and ethnic-racial diversity consulting firm, which helped us implement the program and with whom we have an annual contract. We are also signatories to CEERT (Center for the Study of Labor Relations and Inequalities), one of the most important Brazilian organizations in the fight against racial discrimination in the labor market."

—Andrea Assef, director of communications, Wunderman Thompson Brazil

"We wanted to do something more to amplify black voices and have a lasting effect on the community, so we created a three-day incubator program called 'Blackness in Full Bloom.' Three-hour sessions each week across the next three weeks, focused on the area each business needs the most help: social/digital media plus a professional photoshoot. There will also be an installation done by florist designer, Maurice Harris, to top the month off. We're excited to work with Nappily Naturals Apothecary, a wellness shop, Behind the Sneaker, a content/experience platform, and Palette, a DTC hair styling product line and equip them with the tools to help their business bloom."

—Maya Thompson, Deutsch LA strategist and creator of 'Clear Dat Throat'

"Spark Foundry's partnership efforts with Black-owned firms is not limited to just Black History Month. Throughout the year, we help our clients invest in a variety of efforts with Black-owned firms designed to reach, engage and build relationships with this highly valued community. In addition to client-led initiatives, Spark Foundry is a long-standing member of the 4A's and AAF's Mosaic Council—actively participating as leaders in these important industry organizations promoting policy, programs and practices fair to all."

—Esther (E.T.) Franklin, evp and managing director of global strategy and cultural fluency, Spark Foundry