What Apple’s latest letter to Congress means for mobile advertising
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Another chapter has begun in the big-tech antitrust lawsuit against Apple. Late last week, it was announced that Apple is taking new steps to protect the App Store from legislation that would require iPhone and iPad users to install apps outside of the App Store. This would then disrupt its revenue sources, customer base and products. As reported by Reuters, Apple has sent a new letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, Republican Republican Chuck Grassley, Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, and Subcommittee Republican Mike Lee, in an attempt to to argue the case.
This letter serves as a follow-up message—Apple sent its first letter to lawmakers in January—further detailing how new legislation would make it difficult for the company to uphold its consumer privacy stance, and subsequently affect its Transparency feature. app tracking (the main topic that has kept the digital media industry going for several months now). This decision could fundamentally change the way marketers and advertisers move forward, despite the struggles they’ve endured since Apple initially shared its sign-up requirements.
The digital marketing industry needs to keep a close eye on this space as these antitrust decisions affect the progress of many brands’ paid media strategies. Essentially, it could further develop the targeting and inventory options. It’s telling about how much influence companies like Apple have in the marketing industry, as well as at the federal government level.
Here are some key considerations for the marketing industry to recognize as antitrust lawsuits progress.
Volatility will continue
Brands and advertisers are constantly experiencing repercussions based on how the top technology platforms evolve. For example, eMarketer found that ad spend on iOS devices decreased as more users installed iOS 14.5 and later, with anti-tracking updates from Apple. In fact, Apple’s share of ad spend went from 43.84% in February 2021 to just 29.71% in June. The company’s App Tracking Transparency feature single-handedly fueled massive campaign shifts and caused a stir among marketers as they were forced to change the strategies and tactics they depend on every day. Tangential to this, Google recently announced it will allow consumers to minimize the data shared with third parties and prevent marketers from using cross-app IDs.
Clearly, marketers want access to accurate targeting and measurement capabilities. However, as the focus on consumer privacy continues to grow, new platform fluctuations leave marketers picking up the pieces and constantly “doing it.” We’ve heard screams in the industry for the idea of stability, but how are we going to get there?
Mid-funnel marketing can be promising
There has been a lot of innovation in the industry over the past year and a half. We’ve seen a renaissance in the power of creativity and messaging, helping to support stronger contextual consumer engagement. With these successes in mind, marketers and advertisers need to diversify their approaches and focus more on mid-funnel marketing approaches. Today, most marketing efforts are either top-of-bottom-of-funnel efforts to increase brand awareness or conversions, respectively. Going forward, there will be a new focus on combining brand awareness and calls to action, as well as driving conversions. A good example of this is the increasing trend to include QR codes in TV ads, or rich media videos with a ‘tap to find a retailer’ feature.
With Apple’s new letter sparking developments on how marketers may or may not engage users, the digital marketing industry is holding its breath again. It’s clear that a diversified approach and a nuanced path forward are needed to find stability and ensure campaign goals can be met, despite new regulations on how the biggest technology platforms do business.
Advertisers will branch to new platforms
In reality, we all know that Apple, Facebook, Google and Amazon have a huge influence on how the industry moves forward. Interestingly, a report from eMarketer found that Google, Facebook and Amazon account for 64% of all digital ad spend. This shows how most brands and advertisers stack up when it comes to running digital campaigns – and that’s a problem.
From where I sit, the advertising products from Google, Facebook, and Amazon will become less valuable to marketers as these antitrust issues gain more attention. The constant disruptions will encourage marketers to move beyond the walled gardens and test new tools and platforms to better engage the public.
With the biggest players in the digital advertising ecosystem offering less value and more headaches, there will be a significant reduction in platforms created for the sole purpose of monetizing audiences. This reality is paving the way for platforms focused on delivering high-quality, curated inventory that supports successful probabilistic targeting. Marketers who diversify and branch out from the “traditional” range of ad spend will be better positioned for long-term success.
Ken Harlan is founder and CEO of MobileFuse.
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This post What Apple’s latest letter to Congress means for mobile advertising
was original published at “https://venturebeat.com/2022/03/08/what-apples-latest-letter-to-congress-means-to-mobile-advertising/”
