True Interactive

On March 11, Google announced some product developments intended to make it easier for publishers to use their first-party data programmatically for ad buys. You can still use your own data to buy targeted ads on Google properties such as YouTube, Gmail, and Google Search – so long as you bring their first-party data into Google through the company’s existing Customer Match product. Moreover, as we noted in a recent blog post, if you want to use your own data to serve up targeted ads outside Google’s walls, Google is developing its own cohort-based alternative to third-party cookies to help you do that. Note that brands that have relationships with publishers can pass first-party data directly to those publishers, outside the Google environment, and still manage the buy inside Google’s automated ad-buying system Display & Video 360 (often called DV360).

Thanks to the AE x Snapchat 3D Shoppable Jeans Guide, Snapchat users can peruse different AE jeans styles and silhouettes. They might view different washes, learn styling tips, and even see 3D views of how a pair of jeans looks on different body types—by “twisting the world-facing camera on their mobile devices.” Gen Z. “Gen Z is clearly looking for new ways to shop,” notes Craig Brommers, American Eagle’s chief marketing officer, who notes that approximately 50 percent of Gen Zers use Snapchat every day. As reported in growcode.com, a recent Yotpo study reveals that a whopping 72 percent of respondents say that seeing a product depicted on Instagram increases the chances they’ll buy it; almost 40 percent claim they frequently buy products they see on Insta.

Instead, Google wants advertisers to adopt cohort-based targeting, or grouping people based on their common browsing behavior as an alternative to third-party cookies. Chrome intends to make FLoC-based cohorts available for public testing through origin trials with its next release this month, and we expect to begin testing FLoC-based cohorts with advertisers in Google Ads in Q2. It’s likely that advertisers will still be able to create targeted ads based on user behavior – but the ads will be based on larger cohorts of people based on their common browsing behavior as an alternative to third-party cookies. According to a recent announcement, Unified ID 2.0 serves as an alternative to third-party cookies.

Macy’s draws on all the data it has accumulated about Macy’s customers (including customer behavior data from the Macy’s website – known as first-party data) to ensure that the above ad formats target customers based on their shopping habits. Macy’s is following a model that Amazon has already mastered via Amazon Advertising and that Walmart is developing with Walmart Connect. For instance, Amazon recently launched Amazon Live, which makes it possible for retailers to use livestreams to sell products – part of the live commerce trend we blogged about recently. We offer complete management of all Amazon Advertising products – including Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, Video Ads, and more.