Apple’s initial courtroom victory over Epic Games’ challenge to its app store payment policies was largely reaffirmed in an Appeals Court ruling, The court apparently concluded that requiring apps to pay Apple a hefty commission isn’t monopolistic because people can always switch to Android if they object. People chose phones largely for their app store payment rules, right?
Tech budgets increase pretty much no matter what, but spend on creative is more volatile. Lions Advisory found that 53% of brands expect to reduce creative investment this year, while just 17% expect an increase. They’re blaming the prospect of recession, not AI, in case you’re wondering.
Anti-trust rules are tougher outside the U.S. Google Play Store has been required by both EU and UK regulators to allow alternative payment options for in-app purchases. Google resisted, of course, but they ultimately have to comply. They just released a proposal for doing that in the UK. App owners will be incented to favor the Google payment system but aren’t required to use it.
Incrmntal has released its Explorer platform, which uses “causal AI” to estimate the incremental impact of advertising investments. What’s magic is the incremental measurements happen without marketers needing to set up incremental impact tests. The system can also suggest the best place to spend your next ad dollar.