In these uncertain times …
Sorry, scratch that and let’s start again. With the ongoing pandemic, the third-party cookie debate and Apple’s IDFA changes on the horizon, it’s easy to forget that there are actually other things happening in the advertising world right now.
And this week on The Big Story we dig into them with special guest Ana Milicevic, co-founder of digital consultancy Sparrow Advisers. On the agenda is everything from antitrust in the headlines and third-party data quality issues to the challenge of algorithmic bias and what brands and publishers must do to bring some uniqueness to the sameness of the ad sales process.
Here’s a taste. Regarding the Justice Department’s imminent antitrust lawsuit against Google, Ana notes that there is an “increasing amount of ire” toward large tech platforms, mainly stemming from their stranglehold on an ever-growing amount of ad spend.
But it’s no surprise to the digital ad industry that Google was in a position to dominate.
In a recent New York Times article, a former FTC commissioner who gave his blessing to the DoubleClick merger back in the day is quoted as saying, “If I knew in 2007 what I know now, I would have voted to challenge.”
His comment struck a chord with Ana: “Maybe you didn’t know, but there were so many people in the industry who not only saw this coming, but we were even ringing the alarm bells back then, and continue to do so … maybe you’re just having the wrong advisers advise you on these issues.”
Also in this episode: We decide that “troika” is a better name for Google/Facebook/Amazon than “triopoly,” we define the term “munging” in relation to data and we share tips on how to disconnect in an overly connected world (aka, sorry, but you’re going to have to grow a beard, don a lumberjack shirt and move to the woods if you really want to get off the grid).
