Or… What iOS14 means for you.
Should consumers have a right to know what information is collected about them and how it is used? Yes.
Should publishers of dubious content that is designed to generate traffic to increase advertising revenue be ‘punished’ (Tim Cook’s words) for causing real world harm? Probably yes.
Should small businesses who use personalisation and micro-targeting to get a better return on investment for limited marketing budget have their business impacted by a spat between oligarchic tech firms? No.
The CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, had some surprising things to say recently. Apparently, traditional broadcast advertising – the kind you see on TV and Apple billboards is perfectly fine and there is no need to collect personal information to make it better. Perhaps that’s because Apple can’t do it very well.
Benefitting from the position of being an already loved brand with lots of cash in the bank, Apple is changing the way apps track user behaviour on iOS devices. As if being an app developer wasn’t hard enough – there are now a bunch of new rules.
For those living in Europe, these rules are not much different from GDPR – and in reality, there will be a group of consumers who will prefer a more private, less personalised experience versus the status quo.
The degree to which advertisers are impacted may come down to the messaging. According to Facebook – The Apple prompt also provides no context about the benefits of personalized ads.
The downside of this move, is that some smaller businesses who rely on the Facebook Ad Network to deliver personalised advertising to micro-targeted audiences may not get the same access to the market. In turn, this may have a flow-on effect to companies like Shopify, who have grown rapidly thanks to tight integrations between SaaS Ecommerce shops and the Facebook platform.
Away from the public rows between CEOs, Facebook has been ‘Speaking up for Small Business‘ – and in this case, I agree with them:
“One of the big reasons this is possible is because the internet has made marketing accessible and affordable. Dozens of platforms exist to support small businesses with setting up websites, payments, logistics, and financing, but you need to find customers to grow a business. On Facebook, you can run a campaign with a phone and a few dollars — you no longer need an expensive agency, a five-figure budget or fancy production equipment.”
It seems to be a backwards move to provide customers with a less personal, less relevant experiences.
I don’t feel too sorry for the app developers who stuff their games with ads and force me to watch 30 second promos either for things I already have and use or for things for which I have seen an ad over 100 times and am still not interested in downloading it. This experience is not good for users and it is not very good for advertisers.
As a user I want more relevant ads and as an advertiser, I want to know if someone has seen my ad hundreds of times but never downloaded it.
I don’t feel too sorry for content developers who create click-bait headlines or rage fuelled, incendiary arguments in order to make ad-revenue.
I do feel sorry for all the SMEs and entrepreneurs who are able to compete using more targeted advertising to a specific audience for a specific product or service. I feel a bit sorry for all the small businesses who bought into the deep integration between Shopify and Facebook Ads.
I’ve always said in our Digital Marketing Training courses – do not put all your promotional eggs in one basket.
Keep your eye on the Facebook business and Apple pages for updates, or subscribe to our newsletter for more.