‍‍Google Is Deprecating Similar Audiences

Starting in May 2023, Similar Audiences will no longer be available within Google Ads. If you are still getting familiar with Similar Audiences, it is an audience type that allows you to show ads to users who share characteristics with people who have been to your website. Moving forward after May of 2023, marketers will need to rely on Optimized Targeting, Audience Expansion, and Smart Bidding to reach a similar audience. With all the privacy changes happening in the advertising world, this upgrade will allow advertisers to utilize more robust and durable automated solutions to help them achieve their campaign goals while leveraging first-party data.  As third-party cookies continue to be phased out, this is a step that Google is taking to help advertisers continue to target relevant audiences in a privacy-first way. 

• Timeline of Changes: 

• May 2023 - No longer able to build similar audiences
• August 2023 - Any campaigns still utilizing existing similar audience segments will have them removed from their targeting

‍Streaming Service Breakdown

There are many streaming services, some ad-free and some advertising-supported. This article shares some statistics showing that there is almost a 50/50 split between people willing to pay for the ad-free streaming service and those with the ad-supported services. These numbers help support the need to run on these streaming platforms. 

‍How the Continued Microchip Shortage will Impact 2023

Microchip shortages have been impacting new vehicle sales for the last few years and are expected to continue into 2023, as it is taking time for microchip production to ramp back up to meet the industry demand. This is causing automotive manufacturers to alter their production plans for 2023, even though plants that make the chips are expected to see a rise in capacity next year of around 20%. Demand for new cars will continue to grow, and car dealerships will need to focus on used vehicle sales. 

‍Political Ad Spend On Connected TV

As the U.S. Midterm elections are in full swing, we are seeing higher ad spending than in previous elections, with connected TV expected to see between 14% and 17% of that ad spend alone. Political ad dollars are moving toward CTV because of the reach it can provide for their campaigns as streaming numbers continue to trend upward across the nation, as well as being able to pinpoint target audiences better. As the relevance of reaching people on connected devices rises, and we get closer to the next presidential election in 2024, we expect to continue to see political ad spend on CTV rise during the upcoming races.

‍Get Connected: The Evolving Living Room in 2022 and Beyond - MediaPost Sponsored Webinar from Tremor Video

This webinar we attended touched on the importance of connected TV in the current advertising landscape. Looking at 2023, 73% of marketers who plan to increase their CTV are pulling those budgets from their linear TV buys ad streaming video is an excellent complement to what you are already doing on linear. As time spent on connected TV devices continues to rise nationwide, it also allows marketers to get creative with the ads they develop to run in that space. While there isn’t an environment where the user can click on the video ad, using a QR code in your advertising allows users to navigate to your website when they scan it. 

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