CDP Institute

Advertisers often worry that automated systems like Google Performance Max (PMax) are placing ads in undesirable locations.  After months of claiming that exclusions can only be specified manually, Google has acknowledged that PMax actually allows advertisers to specify them using an API.  There’s a good chance that this will result in more exclusions and, thus, less inventory for Google to sell.

Programmatic adtech platform Viant is adding TransUnion’s TruAudience identity data to its Viant Household ID.  Viant claims Household ID can match 95% of U.S. adults.

In-store audio platform Qsic has raised $25 million in Series B funding. Qsic offers localized in-store audio ads reaching some 100 million shoppers at point of purchase, with 70,000 speakers set to deploy over the next year. Qsic uses generative AI to create localized audio ads in real time, based on retailer data with details like local pricing, inventory and weather conditions.

Google has made its Meridian open-source marketing mix model available for free to all marketers and data scientists.  Marketing mix models are an old tool for measuring marketing results, newly important as other signals are obscured by growing consumer privacy.  Google also announced a partner program of experts to help users apply Meridian.

Here’s another gift from our generous corporate overlords: Amazon Ads has made its Brand+ audience selection tool available to all advertisers. Brand+ identifies consumers likely to be in the market for a brand’s product or service within the next three months based on “trillions” of signals, and delivers ads to them on streaming services like Prime Video as well as on top video publishing websites.  You might spot some privacy concerns here, but it’s all legal since the data is collected by Amazon and surely you remember granting your consent.

Right-wing judges love to clip the authority of regulatory agencies, and if they can gut consumer rights in the process, so much the better.  A trio of Trump-appointed Appeals Court judges scored a two-fer when they vacated a FCC rule that required consumers to consent to robocalls from a specific company.  The judges’ logic was: the law doesn’t explicitly state that “prior express consent” can only be given for one named company at a time, so it must mean consent can cover calls on any topic from any number of... Read More >

Look, we don’t really care about the impact on martech vendors of the Trump administration’s suspension of Medicaid payments.  But we can’t ignore a government attempt to end medical support for 80 million Americans. Even if this particular act is ultimately reversed, it should end any illusion that Trump policies won’t affect your own business and personal life.

Visa has reportedly reached a deal with X/Twitter to allow users to transfer funds from their bank accounts into a digital wallet and to make instant payments from the wallet.  It’s the first major financial deal to advance Elon Musk’s stated goal of making X an “everything app”.  Because you really want to give Elon Musk more control over your life, right?

An era draws to a close as Nielsen plans to stop selling its panel-only TV ratings by the end of the year. For decades, the panel was the standard measurement tool for TV. Instead it will focus on its BigData + Panel offering, recently accredited by the MRC.

Act-On, the long-established marketing automation platform, has been acquired by Banzai, a special purpose acquisition company that owns a range of marketing solutions. Act-On raised a total of $93 million since was founded in 2008, maintaining a small but persistent share of its market.  Its sale in a cash-plus-stock-and-warrant deal valued at $53 million reflects the challenges now facing independent martech specialists.

As expected, Meta’s X-ish Threads platform is to begin rolling out ads beginning with a small number of advertisers in selected regions including the U.S. and Japan. Threads currently has some 300 million monthly users, with 75% of them following one or more brands. The test ads that some users will see will resemble sponsored content on Facebook and Instagram.

While only 2% of consumers worry about their data being used for personalized advertising, 80% are concerned about it being used for criminal activity, according to an IAB survey of some 4,000 shoppers. Only 40% of U.S. consumers know they access and delete their data, while 60% find privacy management inconvenient and complex. A strong majority like relevant  and personalized ads.