Let’s face it, September has been a confusing month to say the least. The month where normally Autumn is embraced, and the last few days of Summer are cherished, this year has been a mash up of mixed weather, communication and messaging. Back to work, save the economy, eat out to help out, and then a sudden reversal to work from home, rule of six and mild draconian curfews.
Journalists and Reporters aren’t the only ones that have led an exciting life, trying to keep up with all the rapid changes of the real world. The digital universe has also been at the forefront of everyone’s mind due to the ever evolving landscape. From Facebook, Amazon, Twitter to even YouTube, there have been some interesting new feature releases along with some impactful changes.
Apple’s Changes To The Advertising Ecosystem
This month Apple announced their new plan to make changes to iOS 14, which will require users to explicitly give their permission/opt in to allow data tracking for all the apps they have on their devices.
We believe these changes to privacy settings will most definitely have an adverse effect on the advertising industry on the whole, but most of all have a major impact on small luxury businesses who heavily rely on this funnel for their revenue. With the option of ad personalisation through the free flow of data collection, luxury businesses had the option of reaching potential consumers with hyper location targets in place, and other targeted variables.
When put into perspective, the usage of IDFA actually helps businesses and consumers, both, as it further promotes that the demand was there to begin with for it to be met with the relevant supply. As we are still waiting for Apple to reveal more information, we are yet to see what effect such privacy changes will have on the whole advertising ecosystem.
YouTube’s Shorts
With TikTok banned in India, YouTube like Facebook has taken advantage of the gap in their market and launched their own version of short-form video app to capitalise on that demand. Similar to its predecessors, YouTube Shorts will allow users to upload videos of 15-second or less using a set of creator tools, including a multi-segment camera, speed controls and a timer with a countdown feature. With access to YouTube’s large library of songs and feature tracks, users will be able to set music to their videos too.
With a huge database of active users, YouTube has the potential to dominate TikTok’s share of this market, especially as they are predominantly a video based platform. All the regular vloggers, who have extensive follower count could easily migrate to a short form style video to capture a new and wider range of audience.
Amazon launch their Luxury Store
The huge online giant makes another dynamic shift and forays into luxury retail, by launching with an invite only Oscar de la Renta store. One of Amazon’s known strengths is their powerful algorithm that perfectly identifies what their user wants, likes and is likely to buy based on their previous purchases and interactions. However, the question to ask is whether the same technique will work for luxury brands, as that is a completely different ball game. Luxury brand shoppers are not interested in the previous collection, or what was the best selling item; in fact, it is the complete opposite. Those who divulge in high premium brands, are those who are looking for personalised experiences, quality items, and driven by irrational decision making. So, with this in mind, we are yet to see how effective this behemoth of a platform will perform with luxury brands.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see in October!
