Daily Minute Master Series – September 19, 2019

Social Media

Instagram Implements New Restrictions on Diet and Cosmetic Surgery Ads

After consulting with various experts on mental health and wellbeing, Instagram has announced that it will implement new restrictions on posts related to diet products and cosmetic surgery. Various groups have raised concerns about the impact of such advertising, particularly on younger, more impressionable users. This comes in the wake of Instagram also testing the removal of total Like counts on posts in some regions, and removing graphic images of self-harm, a decision it announced back in February. In combination, these efforts seek to reduce the harmful impacts of social media, and the pressure it can place on users. In addition to the new restriction on diet and cosmetic surgery ads, Instagram has also said that any content which makes a “miraculous” claim about a diet or weight-loss product will now also be removed from the platform.

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YouTube Adds New ‘Masthead’ Ad Option for TV-Connected Viewers

This week, YouTube has announced that it’s adding TV screen-specific targeting to its prominent Masthead ads, which will show up first thing when a user opens their YouTube TV app. The Masthead ads will take up prime TV real estate – likely the closest thing to traditional TV ads on offer from a digital platform as yet. And while users can, of course, scroll past these ads, you’ll notice that there’s no skip option. That could hold more appeal for certain advertisers looking to maximize their coverage. The option, currently in beta testing, will enable marketers to purchase Masthead ads on TV screens on a cost-per-thousand (CPM) basis, with the usual custom audience targeting options available for YouTube ads. In some ways, it feels a bit ‘back to the future’, that more and more people are now connecting their YouTube and digital platform video content into their home TV sets, which is shifting us back to the traditional advertising experience.

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Facebook Announces New Portal Devices, Including TV-Connected Camera/Streaming Service

Almost a year after its initial launch, Facebook is rolling out three new versions of its Portal video calling device, including one which connects to your home TV set, which could be a major step for the device itself, and for Facebook’s broader video ambitions. The TV connected device clips onto the top of your home TV set, enabling you to make the largest screen in your home a digitally connected platform, both for video calling and video streaming. It won’t give you full Facebook functionality on your TV screen as yet, but it will give you video calling, the capacity to watch video content with friends, while connected via Facebook, and the ability to stream content from selected partners – including, of course, Facebook Watch. In addition, Facebook’s also bringing WhatsApp video calling to Portal, along with Messenger calls, which, Facebook also notes, will be end-to-end encrypted. While the device itself seems solid, seems functional, and there’s a lot like about the latest Portal updates, what seems to be holding the device back from becoming a more significant consideration is privacy, and Facebook’s various data security and misuse issues. Facebook has sought to alleviate these concerns by reiterating the privacy features of Portal. Each version of the device comes with a cover that slides over the camera, and there are indicator lights which show when it’s recording. Facebook also notes that its Smart Camera and Smart Sound tools utilize AI technology “that runs locally on Portal, not on Facebook servers”.

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Advertising

Microsoft Advertising’s product, similar audiences now available to more advertisers

Microsoft Advertising is continuing to invest in audience targeting products. Two audience solutions are now in open beta, the company announced Wednesday. Product audiences is aimed at converting past site visitors, while similar audiences can help advertisers reach more new customers. Product audiences are retargeting lists for specific products in your shopping campaigns. Triggered via product IDs, users can be retargeted with products they’ve previously engaged with on your site. This is similar to Google Ads’ shopping retargeting lists. Microsoft says early testing has shown up to 40% lower acquisition costs and 100% higher conversion rates from these audiences. These two initiatives bring parity with Google Ads offerings. Microsoft is well aware of its position in the market and the need to reduce friction for advertisers to get campaigns up and running and the importance of having parity with Google when it makes sense.

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