Marketers have grown more fearful of artificial intelligence since the pandemic began, according to R.R. Donnelley research. Concern that AI or machine learning would limit their personal growth grew from 14% in late 2019 to 59% in mid-2020. Worry that AI and ML would reduce creativity and intuition grew from 27% to 68%. Lots more here of interest.
No-code app builder Airtable has raised a $185 million Series D, bringing its total to $355 million. The company also announced more automation and data management features plus “low-code” custom apps that require writing JavaScript. Make of that what you will.
Our final pairing is GumGum and Dentsu Aegis, who partnered to find that contextual ads are more cost-efficient than behavior-based placements. The test was exceptionally well-designed and documented, which isn’t always true for such studies. The answer matters because many advertisers are wondering whether contextual targeting can replace behavioral targeting, which relies heavily on those soon-to-vanish third party cookies.
Procrastinators of the world can throw a party whenever they get around to it: Google has once more pushed back complete third-party cookie deprecation. The new target is “early next year.” Reasons for the delay include concerns expressed by U.K. data regulator Information Commissioner’s Office, an ongoing inquiry by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, and widespread discontent in the advertising ecosystem.