Advantage+

argue the Outcomes Era is already fading, writes Joe Zappa. But the evidence suggests the opposite. The Outcomes Era isn’t receding; it’s accelerating.

Agencies are shifting away from third-party ad tech; ChatGPT is throwing all kinds of monetization spaghetti at the wall; and Axel Springer is looking to buy.

Meta says “trust the machine” – but marketers are finding out that automated ad platforms, including Advantage+, don’t always know best.

What do toasters have in common with transparency and online advertising standards? Quite a lot, actually, says Ben Hovaness, chief media officer at OMD Worldwide. No, really.

A tool popular with law enforcement can track devices to sensitive locations. Plus, black boxes are getting a bit more transparent.

The EU is preparing charges against Alphabet for breaching the Digital Markets Act. Plus: Meta’s ad platform has been quite buggy lately.

Meta’s stock jumped by nearly 7% in after-hours trading on Wednesday based on strong results, including $39.1 billion in total Q2 revenue.

On Tuesday, Meta released new products in its Advantage+ suite of automated ad products that focus on AI and video and campaigns for retail media networks.

In today’s newsletter: Big Tech may be best positioned to take advantage of generative AI’s ad tech uses; ad tech leaders waffle on investing in Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox; Google faces an innovator’s dilemma.

In today’s newsletter: Meta’s growing “other” revenue; charting the depths of Reddit and Google’s new partnership; and TikTok’s ecommerce biz doubles down on influencers.