Today, technology is rapidly evolving and is drastically upping the stakes regarding the outcome of innovation. Some new technologies could potentially threaten the Facebook, Google, Amazon triopoly, while other developments might help the firms continue to dominate digital advertising and e-commerce. Other changes are likely to create thorny challenges across the digital advertising industry.
Blockchain technology that could let publishers share data is just one example of how new advancements could threaten the three powerhouses of marketing. Currently, the three organizations' ability to gather data based on individuals' web searches, online purchases, and other activities has allowed the companies to dominate the advertising industry. Their networks furthermore, allow them to capture revenues when online publishers and other websites display advertising.
Yet, blockchain networks could accommodate the sharing of data among publishers, thereby eliminating the role that the big firms play in pushing out targeted advertisements across websites, reports Nasdaq. In theory, a handful of publishers could gather data on individuals’ activities on each firm’s respective websites. By sharing the data, publishers could then display advertisements that are highly targeted to web surfers’ interests.
By doing so, they could cut Facebook, Google, and Amazon out of the picture. That could benefit publishers’ profits because they would no longer have to share revenues with advertising networks. AdLedger, which is a consortium of advertising and publishing executives, is already working to develop an interface that would facilitate peer-to-peer data sharing with blockchain technology.
Yet, Google, Facebook and possibly Amazon may benefit from a recent enhancement by Apple. The firm took steps to block the tracking of web surfers’ activities across multiple websites, reports Fast Company.
In June, Apple announced it was developing its Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature for the latest version of its Safari web browser. Not surprisingly, the advertising industry took notice. The Internet Advertising Bureau complained that the technology could prevent the deployment of digital ads that support publishers.
The technology uses artificial intelligence to spot and then block tracking activities. By doing so, it might help the biggest advertising firms maintain their stronghold on the industry.
Indeed, the three firms are able to compile data without tracking activities at multiple websites. Google can use key word searches and web clicks while Facebook can use “likes,” “shares” and page views. Amazon, for its part, gathers massive amounts of data simply through its e-commerce.
Privacy concerns, meanwhile, are likely to continue to challenge the advertising industry. Ad blockers, of course, have been a long-term problem for marketers, but other developments are also noteworthy. A recent article from Creative Boom urges readers to dump Google search and instead use DuckDuckGo. It emphasizes that DuckDuckGo doesn’t track web activities, while Google trackers are lurking on 75% of websites.
The article also explains that personal data stays in Google indefinitely and it can be released when lawyers submit subpoenas associated with civil cases such as divorce. For web browsers, Safari is preferred because it’s owned by Apple which has strong privacy policies. Firefox is also appealing because it owned by Mozilla, which is a non-profit with no need to track activities.
Change is also occurring within the advertising industry as marketers try to maintain a favorable image with the general public. The Network Advertising Initiative (PDF), which consists of third-party digital advertising companies, is developing an online opt-out tool. By using the tool, consumers can notify 109 websites that they don’t want to be contacted with targeted advertising.