Consumer privacy has become a major focus in the digital advertising industry. New regulations and growing public concerns over data collection practices have forced companies to rethink their strategies. As leaders in this field, it is our responsibility to adapt and evolve. It’s not enough to just comply with regulations. We must always serve the best interests of consumers. By adopting a “privacy-by-design” approach, we can address the growing apprehension surrounding excessive data collection, build trust and foster long-term consumer loyalty — the cornerstones of economic success in the ..read more

Adobe brought more artificial intelligence power to the masses this week, putting the Adobe Express app and AI Assistant into general release.  AI Assistant. Good news for people with too many documents and not enough time, this tool can give you the tl;dr at the click of a button.  AI Assistant is a chatbot-like helper that analyzes documents — PDFs, Word, PowerPoint, etc. — and prompts users with recommended questions. It has a custom attribution engine that provides citations for all its answers. This helps ease concerns about AI hallucinations. If you don’t feel like asking ques ..read more

It’s one of the oldest debates in lead generation: quantity vs. quality. Marketers who are judged by the number of leads they generate will push for quantity. But big-ticket purchases in B2C and B2B will help marketers see ROI with a small number of wins, which pushes some marketers toward quality.  Even with new channels and new tactics entering the fray on a regular basis, the debate around how to do lead gen rages on, including on social media channels. As social media platforms combine their vast collections of first-party data with artificial intelligence and machine learning, they ..read more

The recent shift from “conversions” to “key events” in (GA4) represents a significant change that digital marketers, especially SEO professionals, need to understand and act on. This article explores the implications of this change and insights on how to leverage it to elevate your marketing reporting. Understanding key events in GA4 On March 21, I got an email from a former student who said he’d logged into Google Analytics 4 (GA4) that morning and saw, “Analytics conversions have been renamed key events.”  Google explained: “To distinguish conversions in Google Ana ..read more

Left to right: Kellyanne Perez-Vera, Mastercard; Matthew Cullinen, HSBC Bank; and Solitaire Townsend from agency Futerra. Image: Green Media Summit. The second-annual Green Media Summit at New York’s Javits Center last week showed the promise of greener pastures for marketers and customers concerned about harmful business practices overheating the planet. Leaders in the adtech industry gathered to discuss new tools and strategies that lead to more sustainable digital advertising. “This year, our aim was to place a strong emphasis on actionable insights at the core of our discussions,” said Be ..read more

Try not to be too shocked: Businesses continue to deploy chatbots knowing they can give false answers, according to The Washington Post. It gave the example of tech entrepreneur Vivek Wadwha asking WhatsApp’s new AI “who he was, then what he’s famous for, and finally what he’s ‘infamous’ for. … In response to the last question, the bot described a 2014 blog post accusing Wadhwa of plagiarism, complete with a byline, date and formal citation. As you may have guessed at this point, the blog post doesn’t exist.” They are a “work in progress,” the companies say. User beware! Now, here are this we ..read more

In a world where cookie-dependent strategies are becoming obsolete, and privacy concerns are on the rise, leveraging first-party data is more important than ever. But establishing a successful first-party data strategy can be challenging. Join our upcoming webinar, “Data Driven Decisions: The Future of First-Party Data and Why It Will Be Critical,” hosted by AtData. During this insightful session, you’ll learn practical strategies and best practices to help you navigate the complexities of utilizing customer data effectively while addressing privacy concerns and regulations. Don’t miss this ..read more

It’s been just over a year since Google Analytics 4 (GA4) replaced Universal Analytics (UA). In March of last year, Google automatically migrated all UA properties to GA4.  The changeover was met with much gnashing of teeth, pulling of hair and some justifiable complaints. GA4 is fundamentally different than its predecessor. It measures interactions (“events”), not visits. It is designed for a digital world without third-party cookies. Understandably, marketers who cut their teeth on UA were unhappy with learning new ways to do new things.  Google didn’t help itself or its users by ..read more

Back in 2017, I wrote an article for MarTech, “Message to email marketers: Show me something different in 2018.” It popped up again while I was preparing a presentation, so I scrolled through to see if anything I advocated back then had become standard practice. The answer is, sadly, not much.  Here’s what I was looking for:  Stop depending on batch-and-blast. Use incremental innovation to create change.  Use customer data to inform email programs.  Look for something to fix instead of using the same playbook year after year. Call on vendor and tech partners to help us su ..read more

On February 1, Google began enforcing spam guidelines for bulk email senders, warning senders to keep their spam rates reported in Google’s Postmaster Tools below .01%. Here are three steps email marketers can and should take now — even if they’re not “bulk” senders — to stay on Google’s good side and keep their email compliance up to speed, regardless of their ESP. This article will lay out:  Common mistakes we still see in email campaigns. Proactive strategies to address those mistakes before Google does. Gmail and Yahoo sending requirements to know like the back of your hand. Advance ..read more