Still from the new Facebook advertising campaign, “Good ideas deserve to be found”.
the Facebook
Facebook is continuing its public defense of personalized advertising with a new ad campaign called “Good ideas deserve to be found”.
The company says the campaign aims to “help people understand how the personalized ads they see help them discover new things they love and support businesses in their community”. It will appear on TV, radio and digital platforms starting on Thursday.
Facebook executives said the initiative aims to support small businesses that are struggling during the pandemic.
But Facebook has another reason: Apple is making a change to the iPhone that is expected to revolutionize the mobile advertising industry, making it harder for advertisers to target ads to mobile phones and monitor their performance. The move will basically require a privacy option for users to share their advertising ID, or “IDFA”, which was previously buried on users’ phones, and place it in front and center when they open an app. The change is expected to affect Facebook’s business this quarter, the company warned in a recent earnings report.
Facebook executives have been publicly criticizing Apple’s move for months. Facebook even launched a print ad campaign last year, arguing that the move would hurt small businesses and suggesting that online content creators will have to resort to subscriptions to replace lost ad revenue, forcing users to pay for what was once free.
When Apple’s changes take effect in early spring, Facebook will begin showing a warning to encourage users to share their information. The company began testing prompts last month that say Facebook uses this information to “provide a better ad experience”.
The new advertising campaign is partly designed to encourage users to say “yes” to this warning.
Facebook company’s marketing chief Andrew Stirk said the company’s survey found that 47% of small businesses fear they will not survive in the next six months or are unsure how long they will remain afloat, as the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent blockages devastated everything from retailers to restaurants.
But he said Apple’s changes “add some urgency to that,” he said.
“The goal is to help people understand the role that personalized ads play for small businesses, because of their ability to grow and prosper, and also the role they play in helping to discover ideas that might not have existed otherwise, that they don’t could find, “he told CNBC in an interview this week.
What the new campaign involves
The campaign will last 12 weeks on and off Facebook platforms. Includes TV commercials made with the agency Droga5, directed by David Wilson and voiced by Grace Jones. They present real companies and include the phrase: “And yet, for every great idea that has won wide acclaim, there are many others that never found their fame.”
TV ads end with the text “Good ideas are worth finding. Personalized ads help you find them.”
“We want to make sure that [small businesses] are aware of the tools we offer and make this experience as positive as possible, “said Stirk.” And for consumers, we want to raise awareness of the role that personalized ads play for small businesses and the ability to discover ideas. ”
The company said it is providing more information about how personalized ads work on Facebook and Instagram panels, and that the campaign’s ads will be targeted to those centers. On Facebook, companies will be able to post with the hashtag #DeserveToBeFound, and on Instagram there will be a sticker with similar text.
Facebook said it is also trying to make it easier for small businesses to start marketing. The company is waiving certain fees for companies that use Facebook’s online shopping platform until at least June this year and for paid events until at least August.
Annette Njau, whose House of Takura lifestyle brand is featured in the campaign, joined Facebook executives on a conference call. She said that personalized advertising in its current form helps it advertise as a larger company, but fears that the change in Apple’s IDFA will impact it.
“I’m not Louis Vuitton or Chanel now … We can’t just throw money away blindly,” she said. “So what Facebook did with the ads, leveled the playing field for us.”