Google has a lot on its collective mind, from renaming its FLEDGE ad targeting API (now Protected Audience API) to watching another nine states join the anti-trust lawsuit   filed by eight other states and federal Department of Justice.   But they still had time to join the verification parade with a new, blue badge for advertisers.  The spread of verification seems to reflect a broad social worry about knowing who to trust, but maybe I’m over-thinking.

Martech keeps taking larger bites out of marketing budgets: 17.3% last year, 19.9% this year, 23.5% next year, and 30.9% five years from now, according to the latest CMO Survey. This despite barely more than half (56.4%) of current tools being used and nearly half (48.8%) of the survey respondents reporting worse-than-expected results. Oddly enough, marketers rate selecting marketing technologies as the thing they do best.