After the last few dramatic weeks, this one has been blissfully quiet in digital marketing. Google is bowing down to increasing pressure from consumers regarding privacy concerns, there’s still talk about cracking down on rogue digital marketing professionals and the ACMA is beginning the process set out by the government’s media code.
Still haven’t seen last week’s stories? We go into more detail about the Media Bargaining Code, another code of conduct between tech giants and some sneaky SEO updates.
Google made a commitment to removing all identifiers from Chrome, saying it will not build an alternative identification system even when third-party cookies are phased out.
This is all in reaction, obviously, to growing privacy concerns and backlash regarding how technology companies use and store data.
In typical Google fashion, the news was announced via a blog post in which they said they acknowledge that other companies and sites may still continue to track users across the web. However, they “do not believe these solutions will meet rising consumer expectations for privacy” and said they are not likely to be a “sustainable long-term investment”.
Google seems to be bowing to consumer pressure over privacy issues.
NEWS
After all the fuss and bother over Facebook pulling news from Australian news feeds and then ever so quickly reinstating it again, it seems like the Code has quietly come into play.
We let you know last week that the Media Bargaining Code passed federal parliament on Thursday 25 February, and now the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has allowed news businesses to register.
The ACMA has a list of eligibility criteria and guidelines applicants are expected to meet, and will assess all businesses who apply in the coming weeks.
Many companies, including big player Seven West, were quick to sign deals with Facebook when it agreed to allow news back onto Aussies’ news feeds.
DIGITAL MARKETING
We spoke about this last week, but a few more comments from Kate Carnell have emerged and so it’s worth a re-visit.
The Small Business Ombudsman last week issued a call for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to get tougher on the digital marketing industry.
Carnell says COVID-19 forced small businesses to undertake “10 years of digitisation in 12 months” and many were simply taken for a ride when they searched online for help.
Some key players in the industry, they allege, are promising results and delivering very little to clients. Other issues include freelancers based off-shore who are ‘fleecing’ businesses – taking their money and then simply never doing any work.
In many cases, dodgy transactions like these are never taken to the ACCC because the amounts of money are just never large enough, and so, people and businesses continue to get away with it.
They’re pushing for the mandatory code of conduct to have in-built arbitration power so parties can be forced to comply.
Here at Ambire, we’ve seen our fair share of reliable and reputable business owners who simply got hoodwinked by deals that were simply too good to be true. It’s a timely reminder to all of us to beware of promises which seem outlandish from the outset.
