Command Performance
After Google released Performance Max in 2021, advertisers quickly came up with a long list of complaints.
Google is now quietly testing a feature that lets PMax advertisers opt out of its least popular inventory, and advertisers are already clamoring for access. But to understand why that matters, a little history.
Their main grievance was PMax’s overly broad targeting of branded searches. Some retailers and advertisers were paying millions to bid on their own brand names and keywords – sales they would otherwise have won organically – until Google eventually allowed branded search controls in 2023.
Another constant complaint has been that advertisers cannot exclude the Google Search Partners Network (GSP) or the Google Display Network (GDN). GSP is the network of search bars embedded on third-party sites around the web; they run on Google’s engine but return results styled to match the host site.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but GSP can be a cesspool of brand-unsuitable inventory, the type that would make marketers furious if they knew where their ads were running. Until recently, Google’s response was to require PMax advertisers to run there anyway and to withhold placement data.
So now, as Digiday reports, that some PMax advertisers have begun seeing a beta program to block GSP and GDN, media buyers are excited – and that’s putting it mildly.
So Long, Siloes
Brands and agencies often seem to forget one of the earliest lessons the rest of us learned in kindergarten, which is that sometimes you have to think about how your actions will make other people feel.
In this case, the action is carpet-bombing viewers with CTV ads, and viewers are so over it.
Most people “are not sitting there saying, ‘That brand has great frequency,’” Cadent President Doug Rozen says on an episode of the Next In Media podcast hosted by Mike Shields. Instead, he quips, they’re sitting there “[saying], ‘Make it stop!’”
Rozen proposes a straightforward, albeit self-serving, solution, considering Cadent’s business. Brands should manage their entire video strategy – from planning and buying to optimization – in a single platform, and not just CTV. Creator and YouTube content should fall into this bucket, too.
Although the ad industry is “addicted to siloing,” as Shields quips in a blog post, omnichannel platforms have been gaining traction lately, as agencies and tech vendors alike grow weary of the unnecessary complication that comes from balancing a dozen platforms and dashboards.
When frequency gets out of hand, Rozen notes, it doesn’t matter how accurately you’re reaching your desired audience. “What consumers experience is persistence,” he says, “not precision.”
Money Pleeease?
Most people come to Bluesky because they’re fed up with the “three A’s” of social media: algorithms, ads and AI. Which means that if Bluesky wants to make money, its monetization path runs straight through things its users despise.
In March, Bluesky launched a separate AI assistant called Attie, which lets users design custom social feeds. This week, the tool was expanded to include an open-ended research function, whereby people can ask for news across any app that uses the same underlying AT Protocol as Bluesky’s platform.
Except AI-assisted “research” sounds exactly like the sort of thing Bluesky’s audience would rebel against. And, as it happens, they already are, although for unrelated reasons. This week, users started posting silly misinformation en masse, mostly about submarines in the Great Lakes, in an effort to poison the well for LLMs that scrape Bluesky’s data.
Given that Bluesky raised $100 million last year and that Attie is free to use, monetization is moot for now. But eventually that funding will run out.
Which begs the question: Might Bluesky users accept ads before they accept AI? Maybe. But probably only because they really, really hate AI.
But Wait! There’s More!
Speaking of no love lost for AI, here’s why so many kids and teens can’t stand it. [Wired]
Meta, on the other hand, launched a new ad insisting that AI is the future – although the background music implies otherwise. [TechCrunch]
OpenAI President Greg Brockman agrees with Elon Musk’s suggestion that leading AI developers should meet consistently to discuss safety and security concerns. [The Information]
An AWS outage on Friday morning crashed countless major websites and services, including Apple Pay, DoorDash, Reddit, Hulu and the PlayStation Network. [Daily Mail]
More news publishers are turning to dynamic subscription walls that algorithmically tailor pricing to individuals. [Nieman Lab]
Kids don’t play with toys as much as they used to. So toy brands have a new target audience: adults. [Adweek]
New scam alert: Dropshippers are selling Christian apparel using AI-generated footage of sellers getting bullied at LGBTQ+ pride events. [Semafor]
