CTO and Co-Founder
Obviously
1) Maturing by the moment, Gen Z is even more native to social media than Millennials. This generation is quickly growing into their full purchasing power and influence as trendsetters. For advertisers, traditional marketing may not be as effective with this rapidly rising base of Gen Z consumers. Now more than ever, content truly is king, and a strong content strategy is essential to robust marketing. Speaking as a CTO, it also means brands need to think like all of us engineers and computer scientists on the tech side, and build digitally native pathways to brand experiences for long-term brand affinity. In order to thrive, brands must quickly identify and adopt the latest digital products and trends; think TikTok and in-app purchases. Adaptation is the only way modern brands will survive in the ever- evolving, fast-paced online ecosystem.
4) Though gazing into the crystal ball is a tricky proposition, we nonetheless ask you for any forecast you have relative to content creation and/or the creative and/or business climate for the second half of 2019 and beyond.
We don’t need a crystal ball for this one. TikTok is exploding! Content creators are focusing on video now more than ever. Other platforms are too; we’re starting to see a shift from static to dynamic content across social. With more short-form videos online, content once again feels more “raw,” even if it’s deliberately so. The polished aesthetic that is a hallmark of Millennials resonates less with Gen Z users. TikTok trends may be fast and fleeting, but we’re certainly excited to see that unbridled creativity continue in the months ahead.
6) Women are driving advertising today, especially with digital and influencer content. Across industries, they’re the creators, the taste makers, the innovators. At Obviously, women are leading our team and engineering our technology. Our staff is incredibly diverse, representing numerous identities, genders, and speaking a number of languages. So for us, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our success. It is truly in our DNA. We nurture and defend these tenets, and believe others must too in order to succeed in the modern professional world. As influencer marketers, young talent is our life blood. Age is irrelevant in our business. Creativity, passion and exploration are hallmarks of the influencer industry, and native to our company.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More