Finally, we’ll note that Nielsen has backed down on its plan to include Amazon data in its Thursday Night Football audience measurements, at least for purposes of ad billing. This particular tale has more twists than an arthritic rattlesnake; I’m only mentioning it here since our last report said Nielsen was steaming ahead and we want to keep the record straight.
Next comes news that advertisers will be able to connect Epsilon’s individual-level CORE ID with LiveRamp’s RampID. The integration will expand the reach available to advertisers because CORE ID tracks identifiers that RampID does not. It’s all based on first-party data without third-party cookies or mobile device identifiers.
What a difference three years makes. IBM, which in 2020 told Congress it would stop offering “general purpose” facial recognition in response to concerns about resulting racial profiling, has just signed a $69.8 million contract with the UK to develop a national biometrics platform. The purpose is to provide facial recognition capability to government immigration and law enforcement – but IBM stated this is not in conflict the 2020 promises because it won’t be used for public surveillance.
The IAB is forecasting that digital video will capture some 60% of total TV/video ad spend this year, a growth of 100% on its share five years ago. The new 2025 Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report also notes that CTV saw a 16% increase YoY in ad spend growth. CTV and social video will be the top “must-buys” for advertisers in 2025.