Goodbye Cookies, Hello PAAPI

[00:00:01] It is Thursday, October 24th. Today, can retargeting exist in a world without cookies? New research suggests yes.

[00:00:10] YouTube's brand safety controls are now easier to use. Amazon hits the brakes on same-day delivery.

[00:00:16] And the board game for marketers that might give you nightmares.

[00:00:22] I'm Todd Maffin. That's ahead, today in Digital Marketing.

[00:00:27] Amid the chaos of Chrome's privacy sandbox, PAAPI might just be the underdog marketers need in a cookie-less future.

[00:00:35] New research has found that PAAPI, that's the Protected Audiences API, a proposal for retargeting on Chrome without third-party cookies,

[00:00:44] could be nearly as effective as retargeting with third-party cookies.

[00:00:47] Researchers tested retargeting across more than 2,000 advertisers, comparing three groups,

[00:00:54] users with third-party cookies, those only using PAAPI, and a cookie-less group.

[00:01:00] The cookie-less group saw a dramatic 90% drop in clicks and conversions,

[00:01:05] but PAAPI users fared better, with only a 50% decrease in ad clicks and conversions compared to the third-party cookie baseline.

[00:01:13] Now, while a 50% recovery rate might seem underwhelming, the study's lead researcher suggests if you adjust for expenditure,

[00:01:21] PAAPI actually works pretty well.

[00:01:23] Quoting AdExchanger,

[00:01:24] quote,

[00:01:25] In other words, PAAPI-powered retargeting appears only half as effective as retargeting using third-party cookies,

[00:01:32] but that's because privacy sandbox adoption is low across the ad tech ecosystem, particularly among supply-side providers.

[00:01:41] There still isn't as much ad supply with PAAPI enabled as there are third-party cookie impressions for sale, unquote.

[00:01:48] The study also found that when the research results were adjusted for ad spend and impressions,

[00:01:53] PAAPI was about 85% as effective as third-party cookies for clicks,

[00:01:58] and 80% as effective for conversions per dollar.

[00:02:02] We have a direct link to the study in today's email newsletter,

[00:02:05] which you can sign up to for free by tapping the link at the top of the show notes,

[00:02:08] or going to todayindigital.com slash newsletter.

[00:02:16] YouTube's latest update might be a win for brand safety, but an L for advertisers.

[00:02:20] The platform is adding an ad category block for channels,

[00:02:25] which will let creators block specific categories of ads from showing up alongside their content.

[00:02:31] While channels have always been able to block ads through AdSense,

[00:02:34] this feature will now be available directly on YouTube.

[00:02:37] The company says that by the end of this week, ad-blocking controls will be accessible at the channel level

[00:02:42] through YouTube Studio on desktop for creators with watch page monetization enabled.

[00:02:48] The platform warns that restricting ads could hurt a channel's revenue,

[00:02:52] but it gives creators more control over the ads running alongside their videos.

[00:02:56] YouTube also rolled out a few other updates this week, including poll stickers for shorts.

[00:03:01] You can now add poll stickers directly to your short form videos, letting viewers tap and vote on options.

[00:03:07] A new format filter has been added to the views display, letting users see a breakdown of views by content type.

[00:03:14] And YouTube is also testing super chat goals for live streams and premieres,

[00:03:19] gamifying review generation by displaying a countdown to a target on screen

[00:03:24] and offering a reward chosen by the creator for reaching it.

[00:03:33] Same-day delivery is getting booted to the curb by Amazon, at least some of it.

[00:03:38] The e-commerce giant says it's winding down its two-year-old service called Amazon Today,

[00:03:43] which provides same-day delivery from specific local brick-and-mortar retailers.

[00:03:49] Initially launched in 2022 for Prime members, Amazon Today included popular retails like PacSun, GNC, and Superdry.

[00:03:57] The service was marketed as a means to provide customers with a broader selection of products at fast shipping speeds

[00:04:03] by tapping into local store inventories.

[00:04:06] A company spokesperson told media that despite the closure,

[00:04:09] most products will still be available through other same-day and next-day delivery options.

[00:04:14] The program will continue to operate until January 24th

[00:04:18] and will offer delivery and in-store pickup services with select retail partners until then.

[00:04:27] LinkedIn advertisers now have a new way to gauge the performance of their campaigns.

[00:04:31] Double Verify, the software platform for digital media measurement,

[00:04:35] has expanded its independent media quality measurement

[00:04:38] to now include LinkedIn's premium video inventory.

[00:04:42] The platform provides independent assessments of ad campaign performance across lots of categories,

[00:04:48] letting marketers verify that their ad results align with the data reported by the platforms.

[00:04:54] Double Verify's media quality measurement provides insights into ad placement and viewability

[00:05:00] and lets advertisers verify that their videos on LinkedIn are viewable and protected from invalid traffic.

[00:05:07] Advertisers can also use DV Pinnacle, Double Verify's analytics reporting platform,

[00:05:13] to access measurement data and insights.

[00:05:19] And finally, forget risk.

[00:05:22] This might actually be the game of global domination.

[00:05:25] It's called SEO the board game.

[00:05:28] And it is a strategic showdown for two to four players where you play as an SEO expert.

[00:05:35] You buy and optimize websites, build your digital empire,

[00:05:39] and battle it out for the title of top SEO kingpin.

[00:05:44] Sounds like a game where everyone loses.

[00:05:50] Yes, we hear you.

[00:05:52] The ads have become onerous again.

[00:05:54] I'm not quite sure what happened or what went wrong,

[00:05:56] but it sounds like they're doubling up in some places.

[00:05:59] There's more slots than we intend.

[00:06:01] So we are once again kind of retooling and going back.

[00:06:03] You'll notice, hopefully, if we've done it right and the ad platform gets it right,

[00:06:07] you should only be hearing ads at the end of the show.

[00:06:10] So no pre-rolls, no mid-rolls.

[00:06:13] Hopefully, that will be a little bit less of a pain in the ass.

[00:06:16] I know, I don't like ads any more than you do.

[00:06:18] Of course, the real solution is to upgrade to the premium podcast,

[00:06:22] which you can learn more about by tapping Go Premium in the show notes.

[00:06:24] It's ad-free.

[00:06:25] It's better quality.

[00:06:26] It comes out earlier.

[00:06:26] You get access to all sorts of exclusive interviews with marketing scientists.

[00:06:31] There's my course on starting an agency.

[00:06:33] There's a whole bunch of stuff.

[00:06:33] You get invited to our regular hangout with Just Members,

[00:06:37] which is actually happening today.

[00:06:39] So todayindigital.com slash premium or tap Go Premium in the show notes.

[00:06:44] Okay, enough.

[00:06:45] That was even an ad by itself.

[00:06:47] See you tomorrow.