Who Cares About Cookies? The way that the internet works is about to change dramatically, and if Google has its way, you might not even notice.

We all know and love the free and open internet, and as Google is quick to point out, that’s only possible because websites are able to make money through advertising.

One of the hottest topics of conversation in marketing circles is always how “kids these days” are consuming media, but this week we learned something even more interesting: They might actually like being advertised to.

TODAY’S TV ADS ARE EASY, CHEAP, AND POTENTIALLY REALLY EFFECTIVE

The pinnacle of advertising creativity has always been the 30-second TV spot, partly because it has been available only to the advertisers with the deepest pockets. We grew up watching Doritos, Nike, McDonald’s, and Apple build billions in brand value through a single media type. The new way that most of us watch shows today is opening up the medium to just about any marketer with an iPhone and a credit card (many platforms have $0 minimum spend).

AI (PROBABLY) ISN’T COMING FOR YOUR JOB

One of the first things that we typically do when we start working with a new client is interview everyone involved to get to know what they do, how they work, and any roadblocks that are in their way. In the hundreds of interviews I’ve hosted, not once have I run into someone who reported that they have too much time and not enough stuff to fill their calendar.

Despite years of technology adoption (or maybe because of it) our days are filled with apps, spreadsheets, forms, folders, and Zoom calls. Now here comes AI.

KEEP THAT DIGITAL-FIRST ENERGY

Just a year ago we said we’d never go back. Not that we’d all never work in a common office again, but that we had seen all of the ridiculous inefficiencies that came with blindly trudging into a centralized location 5 days a week.

Remember that before COVID, even simple things that we now count as table stakes, like video meetings, were not common. I recall anticipating some executive education and a bit of last-minute tech support crisis with nearly every video conference that we scheduled in 2019.

WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT FIRST-PARTY ADS?

2019 was a magical time for digital marketers — ads were cheap, targeting was amazing, and the platforms were able to track your every move across the internet. Turns out, that wasn’t so great for our privacy. Bad actors abused the system, and data breaches were a regular occurrence, which led most major governments to introduce data-protection regulations. But it wasn’t governments that caused the biggest shift online, it was another tech company.

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE BIG SOCIAL EARNINGS

Last week all of the biggest platforms reported their earnings, which always cuts through the spin to reveal what’s actually going on under the hood. This time they all told roughly the same story: Growth is good, and so are earnings.

In Meta’s case, the big headline was that they have crossed 3 Billion users – just another sign of their dominance as the world’s largest social network, by a lot.

THE DIGITAL ADOPTION OPPORTUNITY GAP IS BIGGER THAN EVER

“We’re a mess - our competitors’ digital strategies are so well put together, why can’t we be more like them?”

Sound familiar? It’s a near-direct quote that I’ve heard hundreds of times.

HERE’S WHAT WE LEARNED FROM YOUTUBE’S REPORT ON CULTURE & TRENDS

YouTube is an absolute beast when it comes to popular culture and people’s preferences. If you were to ask anyone under the age of 25 who their favourite “celebrities” are, the list would almost certainly contain several names that can only be found on YouTube, so when they put together a Culture & Trends report, you know it’s going to be good.