Search Engine Journal | July 09, 2020
After a couple years of waiting patiently, TikTok has announced they are rolling out their self-serve advertising platform globally.The tools will give advertisers access to their tools for creative, targeting, and flexible budgeting.They also note there will be business accounts that provide additional tools, but have not specified them at this time.Advertisers have expressed curiosity, along with some frustrations about the inability to simply test ads on the platform.The meteoric rise of users over the past 2 years made it desirable real estate, particularly as younger users departed Facebook and began to disperse among other apps, TikTok being one of them.Previously, advertising on TikTok required access to a rep and a commitment via an insertion order (IO), or to be whitelisted for the self-serve product.
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DISPLAY ADVERTISING
GroundTruth | November 20, 2021
GroundTruth, the leading location-based marketing and advertising technology company, announced today that it is expanding product-related advertising capabilities with the launch of In-Stock Local Ads. By increasing its ability to ingest and analyze massive levels of product supply data, GroundTruth's next generation of in-stock marketing technology allows national and local retailers and CPG brands to manage inventory shortages at scale. In-Stock Local Ads works by serving shoppers similar product options for items that may not be available at specific store locations or by redirecting shoppers to alternative stores with higher levels of product availability.
35% of shoppers are willing to substitute a similar brand or product for the out-of-stock items on their shopping lists1. "The impact of a true marketing strategy for out-of-stock items is much more meaningful than capturing a short-term sale," said Dan Silver, Senior Vice President of Marketing, GroundTruth. "The real danger lies in brand switching. Having a highly localized solution in place can prevent the more significant loss of a loyal customer and their lifetime value."
2021 Marketing Investments Could Be at Risk This Holiday Season
In the first half of 2021, total U.S. media ad spending grew by 32% year-over-year to reach $130 billion2. In fact, GroundTruth data reveals that for the first time in July 2021, the number of 'repeat visitors' outpaced 'new visitors' to retailers since July 20203. With the emergence of supply chain shortages, those marketing investments to get consumers back into stores and increase brand loyalty are at risk as consumers look to spend more this holiday season. With consumers traveling an average of 10-more miles to retailers than they did in 20193, GroundTruth's In-Stock Local Ads allow brands to dynamically serve ads based on product availability at nearby stores to reach shoppers who are willing to drive the extra mile for products.
About In-stock Local Ads
GroundTruth's hyper-local, store-level targeting capabilities inform consumers about digital offers and store information that are most relevant to them, including product availability and in-stock inventory. GroundTruth's in-stock product marketing technology was introduced in 2020 to help CPG brands address limited supplies for essential products, such as toilet paper and cleaning supplies generated by the onset of COVID-19. By layering GroundTruth's Neighborhoods technology, powered by MRC accredited visitation data, with its in-stock tracking solution, GroundTruth's new In-stock Local Ads flips conventional thinking from "out-of-stock" notifications to "in-stock" notifications. These trusted location-based ads give brands a way to ensure their advertising spend creates a positive shopping experience for their customers.
GroundTruth is a 2021 OmniShopper Award recipient in the Best Digital Mobile Activation category from the Path to Purchase Institute for implementing CPG in-stock ads for a major fresh meat brand. The campaign focused on driving visits to Walmart locations with inventory availability. The initiative drove shoppers to locations with stocked shelves and led to a 24% increase in sales of their product, showcasing the impact that dynamic In-stock Local Ads have in maximizing marketing spend to drive more sales.
About GroundTruth
GroundTruth is the leading location-based marketing and advertising technology company. Brands, agencies, small businesses, and non-profits trust their performance-driven solutions to help them reach consumers during moments of intent that generate important business outcomes. GroundTruth's suite of geo-contextual display and video advertising products and services are available at scale through their self-serve omni-channel advertising platform, managed services, and industry reseller partnerships. GroundTruth's marketing platform is powered by a unique data set called "visitation data" accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC). Their proprietary cleansing processes combine contextual mapping technology (BlueprintsTM), owned and operated properties, and third-party mobile location data, together yielding over 30 billion visits annually.
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Google | June 03, 2020
Global Disinformation Index recently reviewed 49 sites running baseless claims about the virus, and found Google placed ads on 84% of them.
Search and social platforms have had a lot to contend with when it comes to COVID-19.
There is another side of Google’s advertising web that had been somewhat flying under the radar until now: where display ads show on its network of sites.
From struggling monetization to constantly evolving ad policies, and blatantly false information slipping through the cracks in approval, adapting quickly has been the name of the game.
What is Google’s Ad Network?
When a visitor lands on a website and sees advertising, it’s a symbiotic relationship. The brand is paying to have their ad shown, the site owner makes money, and different platforms (like Google) broker that relationship.
Sites that use Google to automatically supply ads from buyers are part of their advertiser network.
In the age of disinformation, this creates questions around the responsibility of ad networks when it comes to which sites and what content it powers advertising for.
Sites vs. Page Content
A report this week from Bloomberg shows this gray area is rearing its head again.
A research group called the Global Disinformation Index found that in 49 sites running disinformation, 84% of them had Google ads on them.
Example of the ads and website pairings include:
-Veeam ad appearing on an article citing claims that Bill Gates’s charities relating to pandemics are part of a plot for world domination
-Microsoft Teams ad appearing on an article that Gates attempted bribery on Nigerian lawmarkers for a COVID-19 vaccine
-O2 communications ad showing an an article claiming links between the virus and 5G networks
When questioned, Google responded by highlighting that they monitor specific page content, and not necessarily a site at large.
We are deeply committed to elevating quality content across Google products and that includes protecting our users from medical misinformation. Any time we find publishers that violate our policies, we take immediate action.
- Christa Muldoon, Google spokesperson
Brands that use Google’s network can create a blacklist of sites they do not want their ads on, but it raises the question of where the responsibility truly falls.
In a world with billions of sites, who owns the responsibility for not only the brand association, but the monetization of sites that feature false information?
Brands vs. Information
This isn’t the first time Google has faced backlash for where its ads run, including a very public debate over its ads appearing on Breitbart.
As they continue to expand monetization opportunities across both YouTube and websites, they face a unique offshoot of this issue:
If a creator is banned, do you police their appearance at large?
Case in point: David Icke, a British conspiracy theorist who had been on YouTube for over 14 years.
Read more: Google tests ‘Curbside Pickup’ badge for local shopping ads to help during COVID-19
He was finally banned from the platform recently due to spreading misinformation about COVID-19. Now, he can be seen and heard in other YouTube channels, and in commercials for a streaming network around Yoga called Gaia.
A Google spokesperson confirmed that as long as the videos don’t break rules, blocked creators may appear in other videos owned by other accounts.
As the world marches on with creators joining platforms every day, and more information than ever being pumped out over the internet, these questions will continue to permeate the landscape. Should there be monetary reward for disinformation, and how does a platform selectively choose when and how to enforce that?
There may never be an easy and swift answer, but the debates will continue on.
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