Adam Ortman

Metaverse advertising is the Wild West, and getting a head start toward future success means making these moves now.

With Google’s recent announcement that it’ll phase out third-party cookies in 2023 to launch Google Topics, the world of cookies is in the midst of an evolution. Or a meltdown, depending on whom you talk to.

Advertisers fidget en masse when a change is announced in the digital world. Suddenly, there’s no milk or bread in the grocery store and Armageddon is upon us — or so this is how many advertisers react. So, given that millions of ad professionals currently rely on third-party cookies… Show more

With Google’s recent announcement that it’ll phase out third-party cookies in 2023 to launch Google Topics, the world of cookies is in the midst of an evolution. Or a meltdown, depending on whom you talk to.

Advertisers fidget en masse when a change is announced in the digital world. Suddenly, there’s no milk or bread in the grocery store and Armageddon is upon us — or so this is how many advertisers react. So, given that millions of ad professionals currently rely on third-party cookies for targeted advertising, Google’s phaseout will be either a major catastrophe or a pioneering opportunity. Show less

Despite the rise of streaming, video broadcasts will still be available over the air for anybody with an antenna, but the strategy to reach audiences will change. With more than half of YouTube viewers watching on connected TVs and NBC’s Peacock bulking up to provide one of the most extensive streaming services, the need for holistic video strategies in which linear and digital TV coexist is clear. Here are three.

The past few years have taught the world that a lot can change in 12 months, especially with a global pandemic in the mix.

At the end of 2020, fewer brand-building tactics meant more focus on short-term activation and sales. Consumers were flocking to social media in record-breaking numbers to maintain some semblance of human connection amid quarantine, isolation, and uncertainty. Where consumers go, advertisers follow, so it was hardly surprising when, according to eMarketer, digital ad… Show more

The past few years have taught the world that a lot can change in 12 months, especially with a global pandemic in the mix.

At the end of 2020, fewer brand-building tactics meant more focus on short-term activation and sales. Consumers were flocking to social media in record-breaking numbers to maintain some semblance of human connection amid quarantine, isolation, and uncertainty. Where consumers go, advertisers follow, so it was hardly surprising when, according to eMarketer, digital ad spending surged 38% in 2021.

In 2021, new consumer privacy laws (and the tighter enforcement of existing ones) sharpened brands’ privacy policies and pushed publishers and advertisers to relinquish their reliance on third-party cookies. Then, the video streaming space further matured as more consumers cut the proverbial cord. According to eMarketer, the average adult internet user in North America was subscribed to 8.8 subscription video-on-demand services by the second quarter of 2021, compared to 6.9 at the end of 2020.

Now, experts agree that in just a few years, U.S. digital spending is expected to make up more than 75% of all media spending, surpassing $300 billion. And we needn’t look further than the rising investments in video, connected TV, and e-commerce ads, as well as the expanded usage of programmatic channels, to understand why. As CTV platforms continue refining their targeting and measurement abilities, fraud detection, and programmatic inventory, we will see the programmatic share of CTV ad spending skyrocket. Show less

The TLDR version? The adtech industry is continuously evolving, and both advertisers and brands will have to stay on their toes to get the results they seek.

Personalization is nothing new to marketing. For a while now, brands have been tailoring their messaging and promotions to groups of consumers who meet specific sets of characteristics. The extra effort improves engagement and increases the chances of a purchase. Besides, people like it and expect it. In fact, according to Accenture, 91% of consumers say they’re more apt to shop with brands that provide relevant offers and recommendations. Localization is a more recent development in the… Show more

Personalization is nothing new to marketing. For a while now, brands have been tailoring their messaging and promotions to groups of consumers who meet specific sets of characteristics. The extra effort improves engagement and increases the chances of a purchase. Besides, people like it and expect it. In fact, according to Accenture, 91% of consumers say they’re more apt to shop with brands that provide relevant offers and recommendations. Localization is a more recent development in the marketing realm, especially when it comes to national brands. The strategy still retains many personalization elements, but the campaign now speaks to hyperlocal markets. It’s about making your brand more accessible without feeling forced or disingenuous by figuring out which touchpoints along the customer journey would benefit from localizing. Lululemon went local with its marketing, going so far as to enlist local ambassadors, whose pictures and bios appear on its website, social media pages, and in-store materials. Celebrating individuals from the community helps create more authentic relationships with local consumers, improving engagement and boosting sales. Whole Foods is another brand with a local marketing approach, not only carrying and promoting local goods but also providing “contextual” experiences by geotargeting — sometimes geo-conquesting — shoppers with special offers on smartphones. The brand also created regional giving programs to make itself a true partner in the community. Show less

Marketers are buzzing about the potential of Google's Target CPA bidding, which pairs machine-learning and AI to deliver cutting-edge insights and results. It gathers as many conversions as possible at a specific target cost per acquisition, so it's quickly gaining popularity in marketing.

There are two major reasons for that:

First, Target CPA uses real-time signals, such as browsing history and location, to serve ads. Rumor has it that the technology even accounts for weather… Show more

Marketers are buzzing about the potential of Google's Target CPA bidding, which pairs machine-learning and AI to deliver cutting-edge insights and results. It gathers as many conversions as possible at a specific target cost per acquisition, so it's quickly gaining popularity in marketing.

There are two major reasons for that:

First, Target CPA uses real-time signals, such as browsing history and location, to serve ads. Rumor has it that the technology even accounts for weather trends, the stock market, and IoT devices.
Second, it conducts auction-level bidding faster than humanly possible. Campaign managers can't bid on every impression at every second of the day, but artificial intelligence makes that a reality.
Google is leading the way in allowing a variety of campaigns to use the Target CPA bidding strategy, and brands are eating it up. After all, advertisers are always trying to find ways to optimize campaigns and hit one of their most important goals: meeting the bottom line.

But marketers must first make sure Target CPA is a strategic fit. Show less

In May, Instagram announced a new feature that gives users the ability to add up to four pronouns to their profiles. LinkedIn similarly rolled out a new feature that enables users to display preferred pronouns alongside their names.

Today’s column is written by Adam Ortman, VP of growth and innovation at Generator Media + Analytics.

When it comes to advertising, the internet reigns supreme. Digital media accounted for nearly half of global ad spend last year, and it will almost certainly eclipse the 50% mark by the end of 2021. But where do the rest of the ad dollars go?

According to industry forecasts, much of that money will be aimed at traditional TV advertising, according to eMarketer. This fact might… Show more

Today’s column is written by Adam Ortman, VP of growth and innovation at Generator Media + Analytics.

When it comes to advertising, the internet reigns supreme. Digital media accounted for nearly half of global ad spend last year, and it will almost certainly eclipse the 50% mark by the end of 2021. But where do the rest of the ad dollars go?

According to industry forecasts, much of that money will be aimed at traditional TV advertising, according to eMarketer. This fact might sound counterintuitive to brands chasing the attention of niche audiences on TikTok and YouTube, but there’s a good reason for it.

For everything that linear TV lacks when pitted against digital media, it still presents cost efficiencies in terms of reach that no other channel can match. As new, tech-enabled attribution approaches continue to be tested and refined, it’s getting easier to quantify the value that TV advertising provides. Show less

The iOS update that sparked a war between tech giants is shaping up to be of tremendous consequence for advertisers.

Last year, Apple announced sweeping new measures to protect user privacy in iOS 14.

The changes, which ask users to opt-in for app-based tracking rather than forcing them to opt-out, were officially released with iOS 14.5 in April.

While the update includes a number of bells and whistles, marketers are nervous about the App Tracking Transparency (ATT)… Show more

The iOS update that sparked a war between tech giants is shaping up to be of tremendous consequence for advertisers.

Last year, Apple announced sweeping new measures to protect user privacy in iOS 14.

The changes, which ask users to opt-in for app-based tracking rather than forcing them to opt-out, were officially released with iOS 14.5 in April.

While the update includes a number of bells and whistles, marketers are nervous about the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, which will require all apps to get permission from users to track their data across other apps and platforms.

When users open an app on their iPhones, a pop-up asks whether they want the app to be able to track and share their data using their unique device ID. Show less

With startups disrupting nearly every industry, brands must rethink their segmentation approach to stay competitive and begin to slice and dice the valuable data in their CRMs. The practice can offer insights into untapped markets with great potential for sales, writes Adam Ortman, director of innovation and technology, Generator Media + Analytics.

In marketing, data is king (and will continue to be king). But for the king to reign well, there must be privacy. Legislators are increasingly working to protect consumers’ personal information, and second- and third-party data will become less accessible with time. Even tech companies like Apple are implementing privacy protections and, as a result, creating challenges for brands like Facebook that rely on consumer data to do business successfully.

The Biden administration will likely… Show more

In marketing, data is king (and will continue to be king). But for the king to reign well, there must be privacy. Legislators are increasingly working to protect consumers’ personal information, and second- and third-party data will become less accessible with time. Even tech companies like Apple are implementing privacy protections and, as a result, creating challenges for brands like Facebook that rely on consumer data to do business successfully.

The Biden administration will likely continue to push these privacy initiatives, which means marketers must determine how to have a robust CRM to manage personal data while still using it to further their marketing efforts.

To do this, companies must use the power of automation to close the gap between media and data. Using first-party data from a brand’s CRM to fuel marketing automation efforts isn’t just efficient — it’s transformative. It allows marketers to provide a better customer experience and generate more positive outcomes. Show less

Agencies can use technology to manage campaigns more efficiently, drive better results, and deliver deeper insights to their clients. But they’ve also seen clients take their advertising efforts in-house because the same technology enables them to handle all marketing independently.

Platforms like Google, Facebook, and Twitter make it relatively easy for businesses to do this — at least on the surface level. In reality, these tools aren’t built exclusively to help businesses maximize… Show more

Agencies can use technology to manage campaigns more efficiently, drive better results, and deliver deeper insights to their clients. But they’ve also seen clients take their advertising efforts in-house because the same technology enables them to handle all marketing independently.

Platforms like Google, Facebook, and Twitter make it relatively easy for businesses to do this — at least on the surface level. In reality, these tools aren’t built exclusively to help businesses maximize their advertising ROI; the primary goal of these platforms is to generate revenue. If you dig into Google’s fully automated dynamic campaigns, for example, you’ll realize that many of their match types and budgetary pieces are wide-reaching and wasteful in their cost structures, especially at the outset. Show less

Between the election, a pandemic, protests against racial injustice, and an unusual holiday season, brands face no shortage of challenges communicating their messages. Media buyers have been competing with a lot of noise. It has forced them to get creative and lean on the wealth of knowledge they have about consumers to create original, flashy, engaging, and attention-grabbing content that draws eyeballs. Adam Ortman, director of innovation and technology at Generator Media + Analytics, offers… Show more

Between the election, a pandemic, protests against racial injustice, and an unusual holiday season, brands face no shortage of challenges communicating their messages. Media buyers have been competing with a lot of noise. It has forced them to get creative and lean on the wealth of knowledge they have about consumers to create original, flashy, engaging, and attention-grabbing content that draws eyeballs. Adam Ortman, director of innovation and technology at Generator Media + Analytics, offers advice for advertisers who aren’t sure how to navigate the chaos as 2020 comes to a close. Show less

Right as TikTok became the biggest thing to hit social media, it also became the center of controversy. The platform’s bumpy relationship with the Trump administration keeps unfolding, and it’s unclear how this battle will resolve. Meanwhile, brands and their agency partners are left worrying about the marketing dollars they’ve funneled into the platform and what this means for their futures.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put the U.S. economy through the wringer, and the impact has sent shockwaves through the agency world. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, 46% of media buyers, planners, and brands were forced to adjust their ad spend this year — and 24% of them halted spending altogether.

Are paid cable and linear TV on the way out? The numbers would certainly suggest it. There has been a massive migration from linear TV packages to subscription-based services, with more than 6 million cable and satellite subscribers cutting the cord in 2019. By 2021, an estimated 50 million people will abandon their cable and satellite subscriptions. In response to this shift, numerous broadcast companies have released their own digital offerings: Disney+, Apple TV+, CBS All Access, HBO Now… Show more

Are paid cable and linear TV on the way out? The numbers would certainly suggest it. There has been a massive migration from linear TV packages to subscription-based services, with more than 6 million cable and satellite subscribers cutting the cord in 2019. By 2021, an estimated 50 million people will abandon their cable and satellite subscriptions. In response to this shift, numerous broadcast companies have released their own digital offerings: Disney+, Apple TV+, CBS All Access, HBO Now, and countless others. Show less

With billionaire candidates controlling traditional spend, brands must test new ground to cut through the clutter

Each year, it seems like the list of marketing conferences grows exponentially, which isn’t a bad thing. After all, they serve as an effective means for keeping abreast of what’s trending in the industry.

At conferences, you can learn about best practices, the latest technologies, and upcoming tools in the marketing world. You can also rub elbows with influential people. If you sponsor a conference or are lucky enough to speak at one, you’ll gain exposure that’s second to none.

The new decade offers an exciting market for many businesses. With so many consumers actively shopping online, it’s the perfect opportunity for digital ads and promotions to lure consumers away from the competition.

The warning signs of a recession are all around. Economic growth slowed down earlier this year, Treasury yields are down, freight shipments are slowing, and 60% of economists surveyed by the NABE expect a recession by the end of 2020.