Renewed Interest In Search; Streaming Video Audiences Dislike Ads

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Search For Attention

Search advertising has been a sleepy mainstay of digital marketing mixes for the past half-decade, but this year “is poised to experience a late-stage renaissance,” writes Forrester associate analyst Brandon Verblow. For one thing, search budgets will benefit because other ad channels will be hampered by Europe’s GDPR regulations and Apple’s anti-tracking updates for Safari. Brand safety concerns about video campaigns and programmatic exchanges likewise make search advertising a relatively attractive option. While Forrester still expects search to shrink within the total marketing mix over the next five years, voice search and commerce-related search from Amazon and other online retailers means marketers will tune into search, despite its declining share of spend. More.

The Unreachables

Streaming video audiences have voiced a clear preference when it comes to advertisements on their platform of choice: Don’t have them. Seventy-two percent of streaming service users in an eMarketer survey said ads reduced the viewing experience, and only 9% thought personalized ads were an improvement. The number of people who use either Netflix or Hulu as their primary means of watching video rose from 24% to 31% in the past year, but those huge gains in consumer attention are upsetting the balance of paid media investments.

The Google Chrome-osome

Google Chrome is the dominant way people access the internet across all devices – analytics firms believe it has 60% market share – and its weight is beginning to tell. “Google has been at the center of a lot of ‘works best with Chrome’ messages we’re starting to see appear on the web,” writes The Verge senior editor Tom Warren. Groupon, Airbnb and Seamless have responded to site service complaints by suggesting users switch to Chrome. And while Chrome developers may recommend businesses build for all browsers, Google didn’t seem to get the note. Google Meet, Allo, YouTube TV, Google Earth, and YouTube Studio Beta block Edge and Firefox browser users with notices to download Chrome. And Google.com, the world’s most popular web page, prompts non-Chrome users up to three times to download Chrome. More.

Not Easyware

Tech giants are breathing life back into the Consumer Electronics Show, set to kick off next week in Vegas. Google will have a booth at the event for the first time since 2015, and Amazon and Facebook are beefing up their attendees, reports Bloomberg. Why the renewed interest? To conquer emergent internet-of-things, virtual-reality and augmented-reality hardware industries. “Hardware, specifically component hardware, is hot at CES because that is what’s keeping VR, AR, and AI from reaching their pinnacle,” says Patrick Moorhead, president of consulting firm Moor Insights & Strategy. More.

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