Public Relations
Communication firm receives recognition for its work on the 2021 Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Day campaign.
DATA TARGETING
Targeted advertising: looking beyond the data at social and cultural value
By our News Team | 2021
Targeted ads power much of the web. Their effectiveness has driven advertisers away from many traditional forms of media.
Targeted digital advertising is vital to the African economy. It also has a larger social and cultural value that is often overlooked and not accounted for in conventional statistics.
Photo by Radu Minhai at Unsplash
Targeted advertising is a way of placing ads based on demographics, on the consumers’ previous buying history, or on known behaviour. Examples of targeted advertising include having consumers choose which ads to view, placing ads on specific social networking sites, and even billboards that vary depending on who is viewing them.
This means more people are out there collecting and sharing information about us. This is typically without our awareness or consent.
IAB Europe’s Daniel Knapp, the organisation’s Chief Economist, has issued a new paper. It warns against a blanket ban on targeted advertising. Such a ban was earlier this year proposed in Europe by the European Data Protection Supervisor.
IAB Europe is the continent’s association for the digital marketing and advertising ecosystem.
What has targeted advertising ever done for us?
Knapp highlights targeted advertising’s beneficial role in three areas:
- Enabling the proliferation of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). These include sectors which have special cultural value and wider positive effects on regional social structures
- As an instrument to help regions (whether Europe or Africa) find their place in a new digital world. This could be encouraged by large industrial policies or continental champions
- Supporting a strong, diverse and independent media.
Africa is particular in its reliance on SMEs that have strong roots in their local communities. As these small producers become involved in the digital age, targeted advertising does more than just support business growth.
By enabling these companies to compete for customers online, it helps preserve the uniqueness of local clusters of SMEs, the culturally significant goods they produce, and the social structures that have grown around them.
“We need a constructive debate on how the benefits of targeted advertising that uses data can be best combined with social values and cultural norms that allow [regions] to foster long term prosperity,” says Knapp.
Source: IAB Europe
Corporate Social Responsibility
Many firms leverage social initiatives to generate positive publicity, to attract the best talent, and to keep pace with their competitors.
Marketing Spend
The knee-jerk reaction in a recessionary environment is to reduce spending on marketing. But study finds it’s detrimental in the longer term.
Market Insights
Consultancy says it aims to get beyond the tactical and generalist research to drive more impact and business transformation.
Personal Branding
He made Tesla a household name. But a tangled private life, provocative comments and the Twitter no-deal may be taking a toll on the brand.
Brand Values
MTN surges up the Kantar BrandZ ranking to take the No.1 spot for the first time as South Africa’s most valuable brand.
Shopping Trends
Easy online shopping is leading to overconsumption. Encouraging a stronger movement to buying pre-loved goods is therefore vital.
Consumer Outlook
New polling by Ipsos across 28 countries finds that in many markets the public expect recent cost of living pressures to continue.
Television Advertising
As spending on traditional advertising starts to increase again, marketers must ensure consumers don’t ‘zap’ their TV ads.
Marketing Ethics
Research by Australian academics shows how companies are using the growing TikTok platform to push unhealthy eating amongst kids.
Outdoor Advertising
One-time civil engineer promoted to take over the reins of outdoor advertising giant’s South African business.