Monthly Brandtech Blend – November 2020

What’s been going on in the brandtech ecosystem lately? Check out everything you need to know about California’s CPRA, new steps in brand suitability, the effects of COVID-19 on this year’s holiday season, the approach France is taking on Christmas shopping to help small retailers, and the possibility that Netflix might enter the advertising competition.

Here’s what you need to know about the forthcoming California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act (CRPA)

Otherwise known as Proposition 24, the CPRA was passed this month by California voters. The goal of this new regulation is to expand the state’s current privacy protection and replace the California Consumer Privacy Act, which took effect just this year and whose ambiguity was criticized. The new regulation will apply to data collected from January 2022 and companies must comply by January 2023. Some of the major changes include going from not being able to “sell” users’ data to not being able to “share” it, and a clearer definition of “sensitive personal information”. However, there is still some debate on whether this new regulation goes far enough, as it keeps for instance the opt-out feature for user consent unlike Europe’s GDPR which is formed around opt-in consent. 

Read more on Digiday, and The National Law Review.

As YouTube adopts new standards, the transition from brand safety to brand suitability accelerates

Brand safety issues have been center stage in digital advertising for several years now. But in today’s context, it’s tough for brands to advertise on neutral content while being increasingly pressured to take positions on social and political matters. Moreover, while staying away from appearing near very dangerous content is easy, it is harder to identify content that just does not fit the brand’s basic suitability standards. As a result, advertisers are generally overly restrictive regarding the diffusion of their content.
As this is even truer for video ads, YouTube is working on a set of standards defined by the Global Alliance of Responsible Media to provide a baseline for advertisers of what is suitable across several categories. These new standards could actually be a first step towards advertisers being able to measure suitability as a metric. 

Read more on Digiday.

Holiday season and global promotional days are on… and Covid-19 makes it mark

First things first: China’s annual Singles’ Day, which takes place on November 11th, has hit the roof this year, raking in a total of $75 billion over three days, a 26% YoY increase and a huge success in bouncing back from the Covid-19 crisis. Across the pond, Black Friday also broke records this year with a revenue of $9 billion and a 22% YoY increase.
With the holiday season having been kicked off in October this year, in order to beat both Amazon’s Prime Day and the pandemic, sales are still going up. Cyber Monday is indeed forecasted to become the biggest shopping day in US history this year, perhaps because online shopping fits the bill for Holidays gifts as well as basic and daily necessities.

Read more on Tech Crunch and CNN Business.

Meanwhile in France: Black Friday is postponed to fight off Amazon

The holiday season did not start early everywhere: France took the opposite direction when the government announced the official delay of Black Friday this year in order to avoid a rebellion from small retailers, righteously claiming that Amazon had been stealing business from them since the lockdowns began. Black Friday will take place on December 4th in France this year, after the government came to an agreement with both the e-commerce giant and French retailers. Big retailers all agreed to delay their Black Friday promotions – which is the unofficial kickoff of Christmas shopping in Europe – on the condition that small retailers would be authorized to reopen beforehand.
The rapid growth of the e-commerce giant in Europe and especially in France – in 2019, the behemoth captured nearly half of all online spending – generated criticism against a style of consumerism encouraging buying frenzies and preventing small businesses from competing. This comes at a time when Black Friday has become a global trend, even in countries where Thanksgiving day is just another Thursday.

Read more on the New York Times.

Is Netflix entering the advertising race?

Historically known for being against ads as part of its strategy, the streaming giant recently announced the launch of Direct, a linear TV network in France. The goal seems simple: people do not like to spend hours looking for a show – especially in France, where linear TV is still very popular. Netflix is wagering that there’s still a lot to explore with the linear TV system, but this could also be a first step into the magic world of digital advertising, for instance by running ads before and after programs.
What’s more, as Netflix’s subscribers growth is slowing and thus providing less revenue potential, this could be a way to have viewers make faster decisions and consequently provide more data for the company, helping it decide which trends to focus on for producing or acquiring new shows. Stay tuned. 

Read more on MediaPost.