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“Old news” but timely as we get more privacy laws & cookies crumble

Why Sephora’s $1.2 million settlement with California should be a wake-up call for companies / Marketing Brew

According to the settlement a sale is “the exchange of personal information for anything of value,” including third-party cookies and pixels

That means that businesses who share personal data but don’t want to be classified as selling that data need specific contracts with service providers agreeing to use that data very narrowly and only for the company they collected it for

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More from OG journo-blogger Matt Welch:

The early readers of those early blogs had an amazing connection with all of us personally in a way that’s only been replicated—in my experience—on podcasts. Because it hits you different in the ears.

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2024: the year of audio

research has shown that audio ads outperform video ads in grabbing attention and generating brand recall

The ears hit different, especially in a time of visual overstimulation.

via ExchangeWire

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Trying to decide on a color this year?

Pinterest has identified five key color palettes that will resonate with audiences this year:

  • Gummy Pink
  • Desert Orange
  • Aqua Blue
  • Moss Green
  • Mocha Brown

via Social Media Today

A picture of the Pinterest color palette with various lightnesses included
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OG journo-blogger Matt Welch on legacy media, like the Village Voice & LA Times:

Never could adapt to the new reality. It’s a success curse.

When you’re making that much money, you’re that powerful, the people who work for you—including yourselves—are not going to solve the industry once the industry turns and changes.

This is not just a media problem.

Same could be said of Google right now.

How do you change when the change threatens your business model?

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Companies have moved focus from growth to revenue since Fed rates rose above 0. Especially those that care about their market cap & stock price.

An easy way to do this is to pass a previously internalized cost to customers. If you can pass the blame, even better.

Thus: Meta is passing on the Apple tax for boosted posts to advertisers

The change stems from a 2022 App Store update where Apple extended its typical 30 percent cut of digital purchases to boosted posts.

You can add prepaid funds to your account via a web browser to get around the App Store tax when boosting in-app.

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Finished reading: John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 6: Bloodlines by Garth Ennis 📚

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Walmart is in talks to acquire Vizio, which sells a popular line of value-priced smart TVs that include an ad-supported free streaming service

which

could make Walmart a significant player in the connected-TV advertising business, competing with the likes of Roku, Amazon and Google/YouTube

via Variety

When users say “platform,” we mean software (increasingly cloud-based).

When platforms say “platform,” they mean hardware.

Every major ad platform wants a hardware platform of their own. For that sweet, sweet first-party data & to not be beholden to someone else (especially a competitor).

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I’ve been waiting for TikTok’s fall, but didn’t see them being their own worst enemy

TikTok’s aggressive growth tactics are upsetting partners, creators, and everyday users

If TikTok no longer offers a stream of fun, serendipitous videos and instead becomes a social-media version of the Home Shopping Network, users may jump ship
…
“The For You used to seem uncanny in how it would serve up content perfectly tailored to me. Now it feels like the algorithm is less a diagnostic tool of my soul and instead is assessing me as a potential consumer.”

TikTok said the quiet part out loud

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Think of some recent digital ads that caught your eye or spurred you to take action:

  • What similarities or themes are there?
  • What about them felt relevant to you?
  • What made your thumb stop mid scroll/swipe/tap?

If you’re a marketer, you now have a checklist for your next campaign.