A look at how companies try to reach potential customers.
Advertising
Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Bolster Transparency of Political Advertising
Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and John Yarmuth (D-KY) introduced the Fair and Clear Campaign (FCC) Transparency Act (H.R.5897) to require the Federal Communications Commission to modernize reporting requirements related to political advertising aired by broadcasters by making reports machine-readable. The FCC currently requires TV and radio broadcast stations to publicly report broadcast time sold or given away for political advertising.
Wireless Carriers Are Winning 5G Customers for the Wrong Reason
Investment bank Morgan Stanley published the results of its ninth annual broadband and wireless survey on Oct 18. Among the findings were that only 4% of respondents cited “innovative technology” such as 5G as an important factor in their choice of service. That number was unchanged from the previous year’s survey—despite an unremitting onslaught of marketing from wireless carriers and device makers for the next-gen wireless standard. Customers appear to be driven more by old-fashion promotions than cutting-edge technology.
How Many Users Does Facebook Have? The Company Struggles to Figure It Out
Facebook is struggling to detect and deal with users’ creating multiple accounts on its flagship platform, according to internal documents that raise new questions about how the social-media giant measures its audience. An internal Facebook presentation in spring 2021 called the phenomenon of single users with multiple accounts “very prevalent” among new accounts. The finding came after an examination of roughly 5,000 recent sign-ups on the service indicated that at least 32 percent and as many as 56 percent were opened by existing users.
The Economic Impact of the Market Making Internet
This study, commissioned by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and led by a researcher from Harvard Business School, assesses the impact of the internet on US gross domestic product (GDP). Key findings:
A number of major technological changes on the horizon will have a significant impact on the future of online advertising. These changes include web browsers phasing out third-party cookies and mobile operating systems altering how third-parties can access device IDs. How will these changes impact online advertising in Europe for both consumers and businesses?
A panel discussion about how online ads work, what data they use, how they deliver value for advertisers and consumers, and what kinds of technological developments are changing the nature of targeted online advertising.
Subsidizing Universal Broadband Through a Digital Advertising Services Fee: An Alignment of Incentives
With the transition of millions of children and post-secondary students to online-based emergency remote teaching and the widespread need for online telecommuting, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for nationwide reliable broadband access. A fixed, landline Internet connection is critical not only for education, but also for locating and applying for a job, working remotely, and partaking in telemedicine treatments.
FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for August Open Meeting
Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the August Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 5, 2021:
Mobile marketing booms, but consumer privacy concerns remain
The Mobile Marketing Association and WARC's new joint "State of the Industry" report found that while mobile marketing budgets boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, connsumer privacy concerns remain a significant barrier to growth. The top-line finding of the report is that two out of three marketers boosted their mobile marketing budgets over the past year, at least partly due to the acceleration of ecommerce following the pandemic. And while marketers appear to be more optimistic about almost every potential barrier to further mobile marketing budget growth, consumers' concern over their p