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Brainless Android
Most pundits agree that the Department of Justice will seek to block Google from signing exclusive search licensing deals following its successful suit. But the DOJ could also advocate for a more consequential and rare remedy.
“If the Justice Department pushes ahead with a breakup plan, the most likely units for divestment are the Android operating system and Google’s web browser Chrome,” Bloomberg reports.
That sound you hear? Alarm bells ringing in Google’s offices.
Unnamed “people with knowledge” tell Bloomberg that DOJ officials are also considering making Google sell off AdWords, its ad network business. Google would no doubt be happy to give up AdWords before its crown jewels Android and Chrome.
The DOJ might also compel Google to open up certain APIs. AdWords has a neat feature to extend Google Search keyword data to targeting around the web. The DOJ could require interoperability agreements so other search engines and search ad sellers can do the same.
Any eventual remedy, however, must be approved by Judge Amit Mehta, who ruled on the case.
And a divestment of Android is considered more feasible, apparently, based on Judge Mehta having called out the operating system as an important lever in Google’s monopoly power, since Android can force mobile operators to carry Gmail, the Google Play Store and Chrome.
Blue Skais
Criteo is reportedly in talks regarding the potential acquisition of Skai in a nine-figure deal, Digiday reports.
Buying Skai would be a sensible move for Criteo. Skai is a competitor in the sense that it offers third-party retail media ad tech, but it leans more toward retail search advertising, whereas Criteo does retargeting and audience ID-based targeting. Skai and Pacvue are direct competitors and are often in the mix with Criteo if a retailer has a short list of open programmatic vendor partners.
Skai has always been a walled garden and platform specialist. Formerly called Kenshoo, it rode the waves of social media performance marketing for more than a decade after being founded in 2006. In 2021, the company rebranded to Skai and transitioned from its focus on social platforms – which were shaking off third-party vendors like dogs with fleas – to a focus on retail media platforms.
The talks between Criteo and Skai are still ongoing and appear to have been going on for some weeks, according to Digiday.
Here To Stay
A year ago, it was an open question as to whether women’s sports was in a bubble or about to experience serious growth.
Caitlin Clark had a fun run during the NCAA tournament – but it wasn’t clear if that enthusiasm would continue in the WNBA. And although the popularity of elite female athletes, like Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky, spikes during the Olympics, would that carry over into longer-term sponsorship opportunities for other women athletes?
Answers are materializing, and they’re great for women’s sports.
Ad Age reports that demand for women’s sports sponsorship has been an unexpected accelerant for ad sales during upfront negotiations.
And it’s important to note that this isn’t about getting sports media for cheaper or cannibalizing what many often think of as “sports demand” – as in, ads for men. We’re talking about net-new brands bringing competitive demand.
For instance, the New York Liberty, NYC’s WNBA team, just signed sponsorships with skin care brand Hero, women’s designer M.M.LaFleur and RMA of New York, a fertility clinic.
Slam. Dunk.
But Wait, There’s More!
Another day, another story about how much consumers hate AI-generated content in marketing. [Business Insider]
Texas is suing General Motors for collecting driving data on 16 million drivers and allegedly selling it to insurance companies without consent. [NYT]
Inside the Snowflake-Databricks rivalry – and why they both fear Microsoft. [Bloomberg]
