Hey There!
Unless you’ve been isolated from all news sources, how can you not have heard and be curious about the Twitter Bots and Elon’s claims? Bot news has greatly increased over the last week with the potential acquisition. Go ahead and Google Twitter Bots if you like…it’s hot news!
Good Bot, Bad Bot!
So what are bots and are there good bots? Here’s the one liner definition: “A bot — short for robot and also called an internet bot — is a computer program that operates as an agent for a user or other program or to simulate a human activity. Bots are normally used to automate certain tasks, meaning they can run without specific instructions from humans. ” This article provides a solid overview and highlights a study from last fall on the threats and attacks out there.
And Yes there are good bots. But not as many as bad bots roaming the internet. The above article and the study by Barracuda from last year cite that 67% of bad bots are generated in North America, imitating human interaction by falsely clicking on ads etc. Bad bot. Bad.
So what’s a good bot? Here’s a quick comparison from the above article:
And then there’s fake bots that create ad fraud, faking clicks, views and visitors to sites, stealing money from advertisers and publishers in the process….which was the emphasis of my email last week. Once you start looking and are aware of the dangers of walled gardens, the pros and cons of Adtech and problems with programmatic, it’s hard to ignore.
As the Cookies Crumble
One of the other trending topics over the past year plus is what are advertisers (and publishers) going to do when the use of cookies crumbles with the new privacy policies? Hopefully nothing but strip 3rd party cookies and data providers from the adtech marketing mix. Sounds harsh, but read the article in the above link by Dr. Fou that he posted this past Sunday, it should alleviate some of your anxieties ! (And it has a positive ending.)
First Party Data Rules!
Many if not all of you are well aware of this and have opt-in email programs, mobile apps and ecommerce / online ordering integrated in your CRM. Or you’re working on it with your organization’s digital transformation.
Here’s a positive article from Forbes from last year with a nice overview and take on where we all need to be heading: “The move to first-party data affords brands and retailers a chance to connect with customers on their own terms, with their consent, while at the same time emboldening publishers who have been at the forefront of first-party data for years.”
Have some Fun!
Of course one of the keys mentioned above is “connecting with customers” — we recommend having some fun through storytelling, compelling ad campaigns (yes creative really matters!) and promotions. As such, we’re working with a tech partner on a really simple promotional tool that allows brands to engage customers via email and mobile with fun and easy promotions. We’d be glad to share if you’re interested.
Back to Advertising!
Next week I’ll refocus on advertising and the positive marketing trends that we need to be thinking of.
In the meantime, we still kill it on the media front and have for 40 years, and we have a solid creative team. If you’re looking for additional exposure or entering new markets…we’d love to help in any way.