📺 Digital's QVC

This is the first edition of the newsletter! Thank you for subscribing. The goal is to outline the 5 most important developments in Digital Marketing. And deliver it to you in just a couple of minutes every Friday 💨

I hope you find this useful.

#1 Pinterest to debut QVC-like ‘Pinterest TV’

Creators will tag products they are showcasing during live (and on-demand) videos on Pinterest TV. Then, every Friday, one brand will host an exclusive product drop. All Birds is one of the brands confirmed to be taking part.

📺 Takeaway: eCommerce is crucial for social media apps post-iOS14. Both Pinterest and YouTube are competing to become the digital version of QVC.

#2 Google launches Performance Max campaigns

A single Performance Max campaign serves ads across several Google-owned platforms: Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, Discovery Display & Gmail.

🤖 Takeaway: Google gets to serve more ads across its properties. Advertisers, on the one hand, are giving up control over their campaigns. On the other hand, advertisers may get better performance by aggregating data for Google’s machine learning algorithm to work to.

#3 Google to half Android app subscription fee

For every app subscription you pay for right now, either Android or iOS takes 30%. Just 70% goes to the app creator. That’s a big cost for businesses that the likes of Spotify & Netflix have to pay. Particularly when Apple has its own competitor equivalents. But next year Android (Google) will decrease that fee to 15%.

⚖️ Takeaway: Apple is already under regulatory pressure globally for being perceived as a Monopoly. Google just raised the pressure on Apple and encouraged app developers to focus on creating/improving Android apps.

#4 Google helps searchers find deals ahead of the holidays

Google has created a feed for discounted products within the ‘Shopping tab’. The ‘Deals’ feed is shown to users for searches like “Black Friday” or when selected from the Shopping tab menu.

🛍️ Takeaway: Google is catering to the huge consumer demand for deals and discounts. Aiming to become the online destination for holiday shoppers versus the likes of Amazon, who have become synonymous with Black Friday.

#5 US supermarket giant, Kroger, opens up shopping data to advertisers

Advertisers can now serve ads across the web, targeting based on Kroger’s first-party sales and loyalty program data. Kroger serves 60m US households annually and therefore has an enviable first-party data set.

🛒 Takeaway: The phasing out of cookies has of course made first-party data more valuable. Expect more non-traditional businesses to look to cash in on their data by opening it up to advertisers for targeting. Amazon has led the way, but retailers like Kroger, Target & Walmart are all looking to enter the market.

Snippets for the road

  • The “tripoloy” Google, Facebook & Amazon are expected to account for 64% of US Digital Marketing spending.

  • Netflix is releasing games to its members on Android (Tech Crunch)

  • Lastly, for the first time, Instagram contributes over 50% of Facebook’s US ad revenue.