Shopify ‘Audiences’ Boosts Cookieless Ads

Shopify Audiences is a data-sharing, machine-learning co-op that gives participating Shopify Plus merchants an edge in digital ads. It could be a model for cookieless advertising.

Regulators, big software companies such as Apple and Google, and many shoppers have demanded better personal privacy protection.

These demands upended the advertising industry. Advertisers and platforms alike are experiencing “signal loss” as the internet community collectively ends third-party tracking cookies.

ROAS and Relevance

Few folks would argue against more privacy in the digital world. Yet eliminating third-party cookies disrupts consumers and companies as advertising becomes less relevant to individual shoppers, increasing advertisers’ customer acquisition costs and return on advertising spend.

These side effects are at least annoying to shoppers and downright harmful to online sellers. The former see loads of ads they don’t care about or even dislike. Imagine the 22-year-old who sees spots for adult diapers. The latter — ecommerce merchants— becomes less profitable.

Shopify Audiences is a data-sharing co-op of Plus merchants.

Audiences

Shopify released Audiences in May 2022 for U.S. and Canada-based Shopify Plus accounts that also use Shopify Payments.

Audiences uses first-party data from participating ecommerce sites to create custom ad-targeting audiences for Meta, Google, Pinterest, TikTok, Snapchat, Criteo, and other large platforms. The result is better ad performance for those Shopify Plus merchants.

To borrow the example from Shopify, consider a store selling swimsuits. For this merchant, Shopify Audiences does not create a list of folks who recently purchased a swimsuit but rather shoppers who bought sunglasses, sunscreen, a sun hat, or pool supplies.

Shopify rolled out Audiences 2.2 last month. It’s a significant update, with some sellers reporting a 50% drop in acquisition costs.

This co-op approach could be a model for groups of advertisers working together to restore ad relevance and ROAS in the absence of third-party cookies.

Here’s why.

Privacy-compliant data sharing

With Shopify Audiences, merchants share anonymized data in a privacy-compliant manner. By pooling transaction data, Audiences respects privacy laws and enables merchants to collectively gain valuable insights without infringing on individuals.

First-party data sharing could be an alternative to third-party cookies so long as it respects personal privacy.

Shopping-intent signals

Meta and similar ad platforms have experienced privacy-induced signal loss, which makes ads relatively less successful, driving up customer acquisition costs.

A solution for advertisers is to upload first-party audience data. Such pooled info from co-op members could provide insights into consumer behavior and trends unavailable to individual merchants, mitigating signal loss.

Machine learning

With access to comprehensive data, merchants can improve ad targeting thanks to artificial intelligence.

Shopify Audiences employs machine learning algorithms to predict purchasing behavior so that shoppers see more relevant ads. That’s a takeaway for similar co-ops: Machine learning makes the targeting possible, as success requires crunching big data from many sellers, not a handful.

Trust

The Audiences feature works because the participating merchants trust Shopify. They believe Shopify will not misuse their data or pit one seller against another.

This mutual trust is essential for similar data-sharing co-ops.

Regulations

Shopify will presumably ensure Audiences complies with privacy regulations. Shop owners won’t need to become experts on privacy laws or rules from every jurisdiction.

Cookieless Solutions

Many inventive solutions are coming to improve advertising relevance. We can expect Meta, Google, Shopify, and others to find ways to share and use first-party, privacy-compliant data.

Shopify Audiences is one of those approaches.

iOS 17 Will Impact Podcast Ad Metrics

A change to the way Apple’s iOS operating system manages automatic podcast downloads may impact a key performance indicator for advertisers.

For years, Apple Podcasts automatically paused episode downloads when a follower’s device storage was full or when she hadn’t played any of the last five episodes for more than 15 days. Then, when the follower (i.e., subscriber) resumed, Apple would download all unplayed episodes.

But no more. In an October 2023 notice to podcast creators, Apple stated iOS 17 would not download unplayed episodes automatically once a follower removed a pause.

Apple announced a change in how it would automatically download podcast episodes.

Storage and Reality

The update has at least two advantages over Apple’s previous practice of downloading all episodes.

First, the new iOS 17 automatic download procedure preserves device storage. Episodes won’t automatically download if a follower has not played any of the last five episodes for 15 days.

Second, download counts will more closely reflect listens, improving the value of a “download” as a marketing metric.

Advertising

This iOS 17 update may also impact how podcast advertisers measure performance.

For many advertisers, the number of times an episode is downloaded indicates how many people listened and therefore the campaign’s reach.

What’s more, downloads are among the easiest podcast metrics to track and are frequently quoted along with others that include:

• Subscriber counts,
• Subscriber growth,
• Rankings,
• Reviews.

For businesses running brand or awareness campaigns, downloads are a key metric. Thus, if the goal is to get impressions — actual listeners — then the primary KPI just got better on the Apple platform.

On the other hand, the download metric is less meaningful for performance advertisers — those looking for specific outcomes, such as signups or sales. Even with iOS 17, some (or even many) downloaded episodes are not listened to. Say a podcast is published twice weekly. A follower would need to listen to just one of them in the previous two weeks for all to be downloaded.

Better Metrics

Certainly downloads will continue to be the primary podcast metric. But performance advertisers are likely better with alternative tracking methods.

Here are a few examples.

Promotional codes. Include a promotional code in the podcast advertisement. An ecommerce shop selling high-tech gadgets could include in its ad the promotional code “FUTURE20” for a 20% discount. Customers who use that code signal to the merchant it came from the podcast.

Vanity URL. Somewhat less effective for tracking performance is a vanity URL. Imagine you operate an eco-friendly home products brand. You advertise on an eco-focused podcast and include a unique URL, such as yourstore.com/eco, in the ad message. You might even offer unique content at that URL. Visitors to the URL presumably came only from the podcast.

Website traffic or sales. A business advertising in relatively few channels could likely use analytics data to identify traffic or sales from a podcast ad, especially if it is a unique offer, such as a specific product or service.

Surveys. A business might also implement post-purchase surveys, asking customers how they heard about the product or the brand. This is typically less accurate than a promotional code or vanity URL but helpful nonetheless.

Podcast Ads

An effective podcast ad before iOS 17 will remain that way afterward, regardless of the download counts. What has changed is using “podcast download” as a metric.

10 Outstanding Marketing Campaigns from 2023

Reviewing successful digital marketing campaigns can generate ideas and strategies for your own brand.

Here is a list of outstanding marketing campaigns from established companies in 2023. The campaigns feature generative AI, celebrity spots, unusual partnerships, retrospectives, looks to the future, new audiences, mission-led content, physical pop-ups, and user-generated content.

McDonald’s: Grimace’s Birthday

McDonald’s: Grimace’s Birthday

In the summer, McDonald’s ran a campaign to celebrate Grimace’s birthday. Customers could order a Grimace Birthday Meal featuring a limited-edition purple shake. McDonald’s also launched an exclusive video game and Grimace-inspired merch, and fans could visit McDonald’s Instagram story and share a picture of their favorite birthday memory via the “add yours” sticker. For every photo shared, McDonald’s donated $5 (up to $200,000) to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

In response, campaign follower Austin Frazier created a simple 10-second video on TikTok of him trying the shake, then a cut to him lying on the ground with the purple shake all around his mouth. Then Gen-Z took over, posting a viral assortment of Grimace shake horror scenes. According to Guillaume Huin, McDonald’s head of social media marketing, the campaign and resulting user-generated content created billions in reach, millions in engagements and mentions, a top trend for at least eight days on X, and the top three hashtags on TikTok. To answer all the questions from campaign followers, Huin posted an insider’s view from the social media team of what happened.

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Dunkin’ with Ben Affleck

Throughout 2023, Dunkin’ created a series of comedy spots with Ben Affleck and his production company, Artists Equity. In the spots, Affleck celebrates the Massachusetts-based brand and his connection with the area. The spots are a reminder of the power of the simple, funny video on social media with young audiences.

The campaign also highlights Dunkin’s ability to capitalize on an opportunity, as the origin for the series likely stemmed from a Saturday Night Live parody of a Dunkin’ commercial starring Casey Affleck as an actual Boston customer.

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Heineken’s ‘Not All Nights Out are Out’

Heineken launched this year the “Not All Nights Out are Out” marketing campaign, its first targeted at the gaming culture. Celebrating online entertainment and gaming socialization, its main video spot, “Just Another Night Out,” tells the story of four individuals navigating end-of-day obstacles to a fun social night of multi-player gaming and their shared digital space.

In another installment, Heineken unveiled “TH3 G4M1NG FR1DG3,” a custom-made PC designed to cool both the hardware and bottles of Heineken inside so gamers can enjoy a cold beer while keeping the PC performance high. While it isn’t actually for sale, the fridge-PC hybrid highlights Heineken’s perspective on the importance of socialization within the gamer culture, connecting gamers with the brand.

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Coca-Cola’s ‘Create Real Magic’

This year, Coca-Cola joined the generative AI discussion when it invited digital creative pros to generate original artwork with iconic assets from the Coca‑Cola archives. Built exclusively for Coca‑Cola by OpenAI and Bain & Company, Create Real Magic leverages GPT-4, which produces human-like text from search engine queries, and DALL-E, which produces images based on text.

Four AI artists kickstarted the crowdsourcing campaign by creating custom art using the platform and Coca‑Cola assets. Artists could submit their work to be featured on Coke’s digital billboards in New York’s Time Square and London’s Piccadilly Circus. A group of 30 creators were selected to travel to the company’s global headquarters in Atlanta for the “Real Magic Creative Academy,” a three-day workshop curated by Coke’s Global Design and Creative teams in partnership with OpenAI.

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Pepsi: 125 Years

On August 28, Pepsi kicked off 125 days of promotions leading into New Year’s Eve to celebrate the 125 years of the brand’s founding. Fans received free Pepsi products for texting “PEPSI125.” The campaign includes nostalgic marketing spots from the past, such as the Pepsi Challenge, and a look to the future with the unveiling of its new logo.

Pepsi deployed traditional spots, social media content, SMS promotions, and an experiential component. In October, the brand opened The Pepsi 125 Diner in New York City, which served a hybrid Pepsi-milk beverage called Pilk and a soda-infused condiment called Colachup.

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Patagonia’s ‘What’s Next?’

For its 50th anniversary, Patagonia ran the “What’s Next?” campaign, using the occasion to look forward to life on Earth and prioritize purpose over profit to protect the planet’s ecosystem. The campaign also featured a montage of moments from the brand’s mission-led history.

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Heinz + Absolut: Tomato Vodka Pasta

Heinz + Absolut

In one of the most unexpected partnerships of 2023, Heinz and Absolut Vodka launched a limited-release Heinz + Absolut Tomato Vodka Pasta sauce. The campaign celebrated the two iconic brands combining to create a much-loved pasta sauce.

The campaign is an example of how brands can join a social media discussion. The recent attention on pasta and vodka began in 2020 when influencer Gigi Hadid shared her recipe for the sauce, which went viral. The reaction created an organic opportunity for the Heinz-Absolut collaboration.

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Barbie’s Selfie Generator

Barbieselfie.ai

Ahead of the release of the Barbie movie, Warner Bros. partnered with PhotoRoom, an AI photo-editing app, to create the official filter that allowed fans to turn themselves into Barbie characters.

According to PhotoRoom, the interactive tool Barbieselfie.ai, used over 13 million times, took less than an hour to implement and provided fans with an instant, sharable Barbie-aesthetic image. Fans, influencers, and celebrities such as Rihanna and Pedro Pascal participated in the event.

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Dove: #FreeThePits

Dove: #FreeThePits

In 2004, Dove established the Self Esteem Project to ensure the next generation grows up with a positive relationship with their appearance. The company also created the Dove Real Beauty Pledge, vowing to portray women honestly and respectfully as they are in real life.

This year, Dove continued its mission to build a positive body image by launching a #FreeThePits campaign, a series of initiatives encouraging women to reject underarm stereotypes and embrace their pits in all forms. Dove ran ads on New York City’s subway lines and then ran a Dove “Pit Stop” pop-up shop during fashion week to celebrate underarms and give away Pit Kits containing Dove deodorant, free MetroCards, and other items to help women feel confident.

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Apple’s ‘Shot on iPhone’

Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign began in 2015 to highlight the upgraded 8-megapixel camera on the iPhone 6. Photos from 77 users across 25 countries and 73 cities highlighted the camera’s capabilities and users’ diverse experiences with the iPhone.

In 2023, to showcase the capabilities of the new iPhone 15 Pro, the Apple release event was shot on that iPhone and edited with a Mac. This behind-the-scenes video shows the director, colorist, and editor sharing their production experiences with the iPhone. More importantly, it inspires users to produce their own videos and share their vision.