Google's Monopoly on the Digital Ad Market Under Fire in Major Lawsuit

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In Today's Email:

1. Google's Monopoly on the Digital Ad Market Under Fire in Major Lawsuit

2. LinkedIn's New Toy: The Recommendations Tab - Proceed with Caution

3. Disney+ Gets a Magic Touch from Hulu's Ad Targeting Tools

WHAT SMART PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT TODAY 👀

#1 - Google's Monopoly on the Digital Ad Market Under Fire in Major Lawsuit

Looks like Google's ad-tech empire is in hot water, as the US Justice Department and a posse of states are gunning for the search giant's business in a lawsuit alleging illegal monopolization of the digital advertising market.

The complaint, filed in a Virginia federal court, has some big guns behind it, with states like New York, California, and Virginia joining in on the action.

The Justice Department's antitrust chief, Jonathan Kanter, stated in a press conference that the lawsuit aims to hold Google accountable for what they see as its long-standing monopolies in digital advertising technologies.

But Google hit back, claiming in a blog post that the lawsuit is an attempt to 'pick winners and losers' in the highly competitive advertising technology sector.

This lawsuit marks the first major case challenging a tech giant by the Biden administration, and one of the few times the Justice Department has called for the breakup of a major company since the Bell telecom system in the 80s.

It's a high-stakes game for Google, as they dominate the $278.6 billion US digital-ad market, controlling the technology used to buy, sell, and serve online advertising.

The Justice Department claims that Google's dominance allows it to keep at least $0.30 out of every dollar advertisers spend through its online advertising tools.

But the final showdown could be a ways off, as a resolution in the case could be years away."

#2 - LinkedIn's New Toy: The Recommendations Tab - Proceed with Caution

LinkedIn's latest addition, the "recommendations tab," is like the flashy new toy you didn't know you needed. But before you start adding the LinkedIn audience network to all your campaigns, hold your horses! The claim that it can increase video views by 600% might be a little too good to be true.

Google started this whole "recommendations" trend, but let's be real, they're just throwing darts in the dark without truly understanding your biz and strategy. Sure, they want you to spend more, but it's at the expense of your actual metrics that matter, like revenue.

Now, don't get us wrong, some recommendations aren't terrible. But a lot of it is just noise that doesn't factor in the important stuff. And the scary part? People will blindly follow these recommendations without understanding why they shouldn't.

So, our advice? Don't be a sheep. Don't blindly follow these recommendations, you'll thank us later. Some recommendations are useful, but a lot of it is just noise. So, weigh your options before making your next move.

#3 - Disney+ Gets a Magic Touch from Hulu's Ad Targeting Tools

Disney Advertising held its annual Tech and Data Showcase and spilled the beans on their plans to bring Hulu's ad targeting capabilities to Disney+. You see, when Disney+ launched its ad-supported tier last month, advertisers were left in the dark about who they were advertising to. But now, with access to Hulu's ad-targeting tools, advertisers can finally learn a user's age, gender, and location, making their ads more effective and bringing in more moolah for both the ad agencies and Disney.

Disney Advertising president Rita Ferro said Disney+ would be getting Hulu's ad targeting capabilities in April, and by July, the full suite of tools will be available across Disney's streaming portfolio, including ESPN+. Unlike other streaming services, Disney built its own proprietary technology for digital ads, which means they have more control and can focus on delivery behavior for its ad partners.

The Disney Ad Server (DAS) allows the company to use first-party data. The Disney Ad Server delivers nearly half a billion ad impressions per day, noted Jeremy Helfand, Executive Vice President, Advertising Platforms, Disney Media, Entertainment & Distribution. Helfand also said that Disney+ will soon get features like biddable on programmatic capabilities and 18+ targeting later this year.

CHUCKLE OF THE DAY 😂When the DOJ says they want to break up Google