Meta Announces Removal Of Targeted Advertising Tools

On November 9, 2021 By emmaspaethIn ads, Data, facebook, Marketing, Social MediaLeave a comment

Facebook, now known as Meta, announced its plans to remove advertisers’ ability to create targeted ads and promotions based on data including race, religion, sexual orientation, geographical location, gender, and political affiliation. These changes will also be implemented in Meta’s apps including Facebook, Instagram and Facebook Messenger.

The removal of data based advertising is planned to take effect on January 19th. Meta explained the changes to its targeting tools are to limit targeted advertisement abuse. In the past, there has been huge controversy surrounding abuse of data by advertisers.

In one case, advertisers were using Facebook’s ad targeting tools to market body armor, gun accessories and rile enhancements to far-right militia groups on the platform.

In another instance, Department of Housing and Urban Development sued Facebook in 2019 for permitting landlords and property sellers to restrict certain demographics from viewing their property postings based on users’ data like race, religion and ethnicity.

Meta vowed to involve outside parties who took part in the legal settlement, including the American Civil Liberties Union, to test its ad systems to ensure the removal of ad based housing discrimination. They have also agreed to meet with groups and experts every six months over the next three years to continue testing.

In response to complaints surrounding its ad targeting tools back in 2018, Facebook removed 5,000 ad targeting classifications to prevent advertisers from excluding certain demographics.

Graham Mudd, a vice president of product marketing for Meta, announced, “We’ve heard concerns from experts that targeting options like these could be used in ways that lead to negative experiences for people in underrepresented groups.”

This is a drastic change to Meta’s business model as advertising accounts for $86 billion in annual revenue. This change is widely controversial as millions of businesses use the social network’s marketing and advertising tools to promote their businesses and expand their audience reach. Meta’s advertising technologies have proven more effective and affordable than traditional television commercials.

~Club Zoom is in effect~

On April 30, 2020 By Aidan PlunkettIn Consumer behavior, coronavirus, Marketing, Media Covergence, Social Media, Streaming, Technology, ZoomLeave a comment

During the current era of social distancing, we have seen many artists, musicians, and DJ’s bring their performances to video conferencing platforms such as Zoom in order to give fans and supporters concerts, or content, or share tricks of how to create or be creative when it comes to music or art, or whatever the topic may be. With everyone streaming something from their home, we are seeing new ways of doing things that are currently just not possible, nor are they safe. For instance, at the moment you can’t really go grab a drink at your favorite bar, but people are coming up with alternatives.

We’ve heard of Zoom happy-hour with friends or family, but have you heard of a Zoom nightclub. Well, this article from Bloomberg Business says that they’re here, and no, they are not free. People are actually paying money to get into Virtual nightclubs on Saturday nights amidst the pandemic. The Zone, a 16 room virtual nightclub has been hosting people on the video conferencing app. A bouncer greets guests in the waiting room where they are inspected to make sure they have on the proper attire, as well as beverages in hand. The guests are then let into ‘dance rooms’, where there are different costume themes and a live-streamed DJ. Later, guests are invited to the ‘hot tub room’ where swimming attire is a requirement.

I wanted to write about this because I found it to be an interesting idea/concept. Personally, I think it’s a bit ridiculous that people are paying real money to get into these virtual nightclubs. I could maybe understand if it was set up by a particular nightclub and how friends or people who frequent it are simply trying to support a business they do not want to see go under. Not everything can be streamed and have a virtual session be the same as the interactions people had in person, and dancing in your living room is not the same as dancing at the Borgata. I respect the idea behind it and see how it fulfills a current need for the frequenters of clubs and those who need the gratification of being ‘exclusive’, but I am very interested to see if this type of nightclubbing will last.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-14/virtual-nightlife-grows-past-dj-livestreams-to-paid-zoom-clubs

Facebook Just Invested 5.3 Billion Into An Indian Company–It’s Largest Investment To Date

On April 22, 2020 By Kirsten BeachIn Brand, Data, Distribution, facebook, Marketing, Media Covergence, News Media, Social Media, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Yesterday, Facebook made its largest single investment into Jio Platforms of India which was a huge bet on the developing company.

Because Facebook wants to appeal more to the Indian audience, they felt the investment was essential, especially since over the past four years, more than 388 million people in India have been connected to the internet.

Mark Zuckerberg spoke on this in a Facebook post saying,

The country is in the middle of a major digital transformation, and organizations like Jio have played a big part in getting hundreds of millions of Indian people and small businesses online…With communities around the world in lockdown, many of these entrepreneurs need digital tools they can rely on to find and communicate with customers and grow their businesses.

Jio Platforms itself is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries (which is one of India’s biggest multinational companies and a major provider of cellular and internet services in the country,) therefore, the investment proves to be something that will propel the company forward and will ultimately help the Indian people to stay connected through the internet.

Although the Coronavirus pandemic has created a very fragile time for large tech companies when it comes to moving forward with investments, Facebook felt that taking a risk with Jio Platforms was necessary during this time and wants to display perseverance during this difficult period.

With this deal, Facebook will incur a 9.9 percent stake in Jio Platforms, and the respective money from Facebook will help Reliance to reduce some of their debt and invest further into its network (which it needs to do after regulators delayed approval of a high-profile $15 billion deal to sell 25 percent of its energy business to the Saudis.)

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/technology/facebook-jio-india.html

The Department of Defense is Warning People Not To Use Tiktok And Here’s Why:

On April 13, 2020 By Kirsten BeachIn Cable, China, Consumer behavior, Content Restriction, Distribution, Gaming, Marketing, Online Safety, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The App Tiktok has taken over social media it seems, with tens of millions of Americans downloading the app just this year, but with these increased downloads came a great deal of controversy surrounding the app.

For those who are unfamiliar with the app, TikTok is a popular social media app that allows users to express themselves by uploading and share short-form videos. However, because the app is developed by a Chinese company, there has been a lingering concern that information of U.S. citizens could be compromised or revealed. For this reason, the Defense Department is particularly worried–especially as it relates to military personnel.

Specifically, The Department of Defense created an advisory memo in regards to the app which stated that:

TikTok (formerly Musical.ly) application 12.2.0 for Android and iOS performs unencrypted transmission of images, videos, and likes. This allows an attacker to extract private sensitive information by sniffing network traffic.

Now, although changes have been made to the app since then that claim that user information is safe, there have still been national concerns surrounding the app and security.

If you are an avid Tiktok user, how does this make you feel?

How Antigua and Barbuda Plan To Both Encourage and Capitalize Off Of Americans During The Covid-19 Pandemic

On April 5, 2020April 5, 2020 By Kirsten BeachIn Brand, coronavirus, Environment, Instagram, Marketing, Social Issue(s), Social Media, UncategorizedLeave a comment

It seems as though the Covid-19 pandemic will be our reality for the next few months now, and other countries (or should I say islands) are well aware of this too. So, as an effort to make Americans and other people around the world feel a little bit more secure and happy during these unprecedented times, Antigua and Barbuda created a social media campaign called, ‘Message in the Sand’.

As bored, lonely tourists in the wake of the Coronavirus crisis imagine where they’d like to be or where they might go once the green flags fly again, a pair of Caribbean destinations are using social media to send an S.O.S. to the world.

Antigua and Barbuda are islands in the West Indies that rely specifically on tourism to drive their economies–in saying that they have decided to launch this social media campaign to not only spread kindness and encourage people in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic to keep their heads up but to also encourage travelers to keep Antigua and Barbuda in mind for future trips when the pandemic subsides.

For their first post, they took to Instagram to write the message, “Be well” in the sand, followed by this caption:

𝘚𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦. .

𝘉𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 365 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮. .

𝘉𝘦 S𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘦 W𝘦𝘭𝘭. .

#𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 #𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘢 #stayhome #staysafe

You can view each message across all of Antigua’s social media channels and interact with them as well! In my opinion, this is an incredible marketing strategy that I am interested to see whether or not it will increase tourism activity in the respective locations when people are allowed to travel freely again.

Sources: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnscottlewinski/2020/04/05/antigua-and-barbuda-kicking-sand-on-social-media-during-covid-19/#5c1b7eec3b2d

Coronavirus Anxiety Causes Grocery Frenzy And Empty Shelves

On March 16, 2020March 16, 2020 By Kirsten BeachIn Brand, Consumer behavior, coronavirus, Marketing, Media Covergence, National coverage, News Media, UncategorizedLeave a comment

With the number of coronavirus cases growing by the day, anxieties have risen to new heights–causing people to take drastic measures.

As President Trump declared a national emergency last Friday, hordes of shoppers rushed to various grocery stores across the country–filling their carts completely and emptying shelves to prepare for the unknowns surrounding the coronavirus.

For many stores (such as Target and Walmart), hand soap, sanitizer, toilet paper, and other necessities like tampons and cold and flu medicine were completely sold out. People flooded stores trying to obtain some of these items only to find that they were completely cleared from shelves by other anxious shoppers around the country. Stores were not only being cleared of their resources, but they were also overwhelmed with long lines of stressed customers waiting to check out their large quantities of groceries.

“Soon after the 9 a.m. opening on Friday of the Trader Joe’s in Hoboken, N.J., a line of nervous customers stretched along the block in the rain, waiting to pick through the mostly bare shelves inside. There was no chicken available, nor garbanzo beans, coffee or chips. The store was restocking regularly, but many of its registers were unstaffed” (NY Times).

Unfortunately, this grocery store frenzy has gotten so bad to the point where stores are beginning to ration products and put limits on how much a customer may buy. Even online grocery shopping resources have been affected by the coronavirus panic–making it that much harder to obtain groceries in a timely manner if using those grocery shopping sites.

I wonder how much longer this panic will last, and if we will ever be able to buy more toilet paper.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/nyregion/coronavirus-panic-buying.html

Why Food Giant ‘Unilever’ Has Vowed To Stop Marketing Its Ice Cream Products To Children

On March 9, 2020March 9, 2020 By Kirsten BeachIn ads, Brand, Content Restriction, Data, Marketing, Uncategorized

Food giant, Unilever announced recently that they were going to change the way they market their products to children due to the rising childhood obesity rates in America. According to their company,

“By the end of 2020, we will stop marketing and advertising foods and beverages to children under the age of 12 in traditional media, and below 13 via social media channels…We’re implementing strict controls concerning the placement and content of our ads, and we won’t use any influencers, celebrities or social media stars who primarily appeal to children under the age of 12.”

The company plans to implement a “Responsibly Made For Kids Promise” specifically for their ice cream business that ensures all ice creams will be responsibly communicated, responsibly sold, and responsibly developed. What this means is that they are shifting their advertising to speak to parents and caregivers – the people they feel should be the decision-makers when it comes to their children having a treat. In addition to that, they are going to sell their products with a “Responsibly Made For Kids” logo to further communicate their promise, and by the end of 2020 they are going to make sure that every ice cream in the kids’ range will have no more than 110 calories and a maximum of 12g of sugar per portion.

By making these positive changes, Unilever strives to promote a company that is not only transparent with their consumers but who also puts children at the forefront.

Source:

https://www.unilever.com/news/news-and-features/Feature-article/2020/why-we-are-changing-the-way-we-market-products-to-children.html

They’ve Gotta Have Us

On February 6, 2020March 23, 2020 By David SonIn Diversity, Marketing, Media Covergence, National coverage, Netflix, Streaming, Television, UncategorizedLeave a comment

A new documentary series on Netflix has just been released yesterday. It takes a deep dive into understanding how African-Americans were portrayed in media entertainment. Ever since the #Oscarssowhite movement that took place around five years ago, anti-discriminatory notions have taken over social media. With African-Americans feeling they have not been properly acknowledged for their part in the movie entertainment industry, They’ve Gotta Have Us looks into how the perception of having people of color in films has changed.

This documentary series discusses the effects having African-American cast members had earlier in the movie industry. The idea that having people of color in movies would result in less sales and less popularity across seas is changing. Notable African-American films are having major success such as Moonlight’s and Get Out. These films have changed the script for African American producers dreaming to make it big in the film industry. (“The color the really care the most about is green.”, Don Cheadle) The film industry will really change for what the people want.

Another highlighted point of this documentary is that having African Americans in front of the camera is not enough. More recognition has to be made for the African Americans who are also excellent producers and writers. Essentially, the directors and producers are the ones who call the shots. They make the big decisions and in order for African American people to be shown true appreciation, the people behind the cameras need their recognition.

With the growing number of streaming services, more creators of any color will have the opportunity to put their work out there.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/entertainment/theyve-gotta-have-us-black-movie-history/index.html

The Commercial That Stole The Show On Football’s Biggest Night

On February 4, 2020February 4, 2020 By Kirsten BeachIn ads, Brand, Commercials, Data, Google, Marketing, Media Covergence, News Media, Search Engine, Social Media, Sports, UncategorizedLeave a comment

It’s quite evident that football’s biggest night is the perfect opportunity for companies to persuade all who are watching to utilize/buy their products through the use of captivating commercials. In saying that, this year’s Superbowl had commercials that ranged from happy, to humorous, to serious/emotional, to completely strange and seemingly pointless.

To get a professional opinion on these commercials, KDKA sat down with Shannon Baker–the president of a local ad agency to get her opinion on which spots were the winners and the losers on football’s biggest night. Baker is president of the Gatesman Agency in Pittsburgh and has 18 years of experience in the ad business (so she knows a good bit about how companies and clients can accurately convey a message that resonates with audiences and further persuades them to either adopt an idea, utilize a software, or buy a product.)

According to Baker, she believes that if you craft a story that is short, tight, and memorable, it is going to make people feel something–which is critical to the success of the commercial.

She says Google set the bar very high with its emotional “Loretta” ad, and many others would agree. Millions of people were raving about the heartfelt tearjerking ad that was based on a true story. For those who didn’t get to see the commercial, it begins with a man typing into Google “how to not forget,” and then asking his Google Assistant device to show him photos of his late wife named Loretta. The man continues to ask Google to remember certain things about her, like the fact that she hated his mustache, loved going to Alaska, and always snorted when she laughed. In the end, Google recites all of the things the man had asked the device to remember. It closed out with the man saying, “remember I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

Overall, Baker and many others believe that Google set the bar very high with their ‘Loretta’ ad because not only did it tug on the emotional heartstrings of audiences, but it also marketed the product in a simple yet compelling way.

Sources:

Pittsburgh Ad Agency Says Which Super Bowl Commercials Were The Most And Least Impressive

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/unruly-ranks-google-tearjerker-loretta-as-the-most-effective-ad-of-super-bowl-2020/

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a30751020/super-bowl-google-commercial-ad-true-story/

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