By Stephanie Famolaro, ANZ general manager, business development at The Trade Desk
The U.S. DOJ’s antitrust case against Google has concluded, but where does this leave the digital advertising industry as we await the verdict?
The case marks the second antitrust trial the tech behemoth has faced in recent months, this time centered on allegations of maintaining a stronghold in digital advertising. Google’s ascent to the top of the ad tech landscape began with its simple search engine and expanded through acquisitions like DoubleClick – a platform that didn’t just serve and track ads, but paved the way for their influence over the vast majority of global ad transactions. During the case, the DOJ drew attention to their anti-competitive practices to maintain dominance over the full advertising cycle: buy-side, sell-side, and ad exchange.
Regardless of the outcome, the case has spotlighted something we have been vocal about for a long time: Google is playing two sides of the same coin.
I wrote an article over a year ago, highlighting Google’s conflict of interest – selling ads to advertisers while owning the ads on properties like Search and YouTube that they’re asking advertisers to buy. The question now becomes how do marketers look past Google’s lack of transparency and objectivity if they want to deliver business results?
The path to tangible business impact
For decades, the industry has relied on vanity metrics such as clicks and video completions. However, forward-thinking marketers are realising that true engagement goes beyond these metrics – marketing can be a powerful engine for driving business growth. According to McKinsey, businesses that prioritise branding and advertising strategies are twice as likely to see revenue growth of greater than 5% compared to those that don’t. This underscores the pressing need to abandon outdated metrics in favor of marketing strategies that yield business impact.
Within the confines of walled gardens, advertisers receive limited feedback on ad performance, prompting a search for alternatives that offer greater clarity and control. In stark comparison, third-party measurement providers on the open internet offer an objective and unbiased view of campaign performance, providing metrics that truly matter — from sales and brand awareness to incremental reach.
Consider the case of Stellantis, a brand aiming to convert car enthusiasts into leads for its new SUV launch in Australia. Through an omnichannel strategy across BVOD, digital out-of-home, online video, and websites, they reduced conversion time by an impressive 63%. Additionally, Stellantis cut the cost per reach by 35%, allowing them to reinvest those savings and extend their reach by another 53% without increasing the budget. This highlights the impact a cohesive, data-driven strategy on the open internet can have in boosting the bottom line.
As brands strive to understand the true impact of their marketing efforts, they are increasingly focused on reaching and engaging new audiences. Platform-independent universal identity solutions, such as Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) are revolutionising the way marketers connect with potential customers.
UID2 gives marketers enhanced control over their data and empowers consumers with greater autonomy regarding their data-sharing preferences. When brands integrate their CRM data with UID2, they can leverage their existing audience to create lookalike (LAL) strategies, effectively reaching more new and relevant customers. This innovative approach not only fosters growth but also builds a more transparent and trustworthy digital ecosystem.
The wakeup call
Beyond the wall gardens, there’s a world of opportunities on the open internet. Our report “Not All Time Online Is Equal” reveals that 37% of 18-34 year-olds report their usage of the open internet has increased in the past year, with an additional one-third expecting this trend to continue.
If the alarm bells aren’t ringing yet, consider this: Aussies now dedicate two-thirds of their time to the open internet. In conjunction with Google’s antitrust trial, this reality should serve as a wake-up for advertisers.
Now is the time to refocus on investing in a digital ad ecosystem that isn’t dictated by one company that acts as the prosecuting attorney, the defense attorney, and the judge and the jury of the online ad ecosystem. Advertisers should not be beholden to one company. It’s time to embrace the open internet, where innovation and transparency thrive, empowering brands to achieve more meaningful business outcomes.
Disclosure: The Trade Desk’s Chief Revenue Officer, Jed Dederick, provided witness testimony for the U.S. DOJ in the adtech antitrust trial against Google.
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Top image: Stephanie Famolaro