Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
The True Ad Tech Tax
Expedia rolled out a long-awaited loyalty program this week called One Key spanning its three flagship brands: Vrbo, Expedia and Hotels.com.
This summer should be big for travel, Bloomberg reports, so travel companies are eager to capitalize on their first-party data (ahem … loyalty) programs to capture the surge.
Expedia, however, is late to the game. Marriott launched its Bonvoy loyalty program in 2019, followed by an advertising and data business last year. TripAdvisor has long had a loyalty and media biz, and Booking.com launched its program way back in 2016. Airlines and credit card companies have also made moves to consolidate their loyalty programs with ad revenue.
The holdout is Airbnb, which could have a billion-dollar sponsored listings business practically overnight from Airbnb hosts bidding for potential visitors.
CEO Brian Chesky has said it’s going to happen, although Airbnb hasn’t made any moves yet.
The drawbacks of an ad business for Airbnb are tough to calculate. Generating ad revenue from hosts could create a parasitic power dynamic.
So is Expedia’s approach any better?
By unifying its three businesses under one loyalty program and tech infrastructure, Expedia will likely sacrifice short-term gains and may lose market share to Airbnb, according to Bloomberg.
Under The Influencer
Brands are all-in on social marketing.
Organic distribution. Sponsored influencer posts. Non-sponsored free merch and giveaways. Repurposing user-generated content. Trending audio. Memes – MOAR MEMEZ.
Marketers are here for it.
But uhhh … is any of this even legal?
It’s become commonplace for brands to use meme templates. But this dude who holds up a sign is actually owned by an advertising and social content agency called Jerry Media, according to ad compliance lawyer Rob Freund, in a Q&A with social business newsletter Link in Bio.
Although “Dude With Sign” is an oft-repurposed meme, if a brand uses it – as many social media managers casually do – they’re hit with an infringement lawsuit.
It’s a new kind of copyright troll.
Marketers frequently promote posts by random users that feature their brand, especially on TikTok. But that’s a risky tactic, too, without contractual terms in place … which usually there are not.
Even organic posts to a brand’s feed are considered ads – or commercial speech, at least – so you don’t have the right to recycle and reuse memes and other user content.
Strike It Rich
Ben Thompson of Stratechery has a worthwhile take (non-paywall) on the parallel Hollywood writer and actor strikes. This is the first time since 1960 (“Hello, television”) that both unions have walked out on studios.
The meat and potatoes of the strike negotiations comes down to how films and movies divvy up revenue now that network TV residuals no longer make sense.
Part of the problem is that, unlike TV’s Nielsen ratings and public box office ticket sales, streaming content consumption numbers are kept under a tight lid by the likes of Netflix, Disney and Max (née HBO).
But they aren’t keeping mum because of privacy or technology challenges. Studios don’t want to disclose streaming numbers because it would reveal the extent of a show’s popularity, making it more difficult to justify paying peanuts to the people who created and starred in it.
Interestingly, the influx of ad revenue into streaming isn’t on the agenda, though it could affect the dynamics. CPMs are known and the number of ads served is well understood, which means it’s possible to reverse-engineer those numbers. If ad revenue is a fixed and known number, actors and writers can demand a share.
But Wait, There’s More!
The case for and against micro-influencers. [Digiday]
Meta is being sued for rejecting sexual health ads. [Adweek]
You’re Hired!
Dentsu exec Jon Dupuis has been named president of PMG. [Ad Age]
