Meta Banned From Serving Targeted Ads

Following the decision of the EU to ban Meta from serving targeted ads in EU countries (see article for more info here), it is possible you see a drop in performance on your Meta investments coming. How long will it be until US follows suit?

Be ahead of the curve by knowing you have better options

I want to highlight that I personally believe in the power of diversification from a Digital Marketing point of view (only Google Search or only Youtube/Meta investments render sub optimal results when evaluating total ROI), and we always recommend continuously benchmarking your digital marketing investments over all available platforms.

That being said, we fear the drop in performance could be so significant for Meta advertisers that I want to introduce our alternative for your social investments: Demand Generation campaigns.

Google’s new Demand Generation campaign aims to connect your business to new potential customers on our Youtube (including Youtube Shorts) & discovery inventories. Using signals it gathers from our other platforms like Google.com, our AI identifies high intent audiences to target. Besides that, Youtube can boast a higher willingness of users when it comes to being open to brand sponsored content.

Other companies have seen great results when testing these campaigns:

• Toyota has seen 60% lower CPAs & 83% higher Click-Through rates when benchmarking vs their other social investments.

• Samsung has seen a 400% uplift in Click-Through rates & 70% lower CPCs when benchmarking.

• Naranja X has seen 3x the Click-Through rates & a 61% lower CPA versus their social campaigns.

I’m adding a detailed overview of this new campaign type with additional claims, case studies, and best practices here.

Toyota Case Study:

THE CHALLENGE
Toyota is the world’s biggest automotive manufacturer, and it’s been a pioneer in the hybrid vehicle segment. In today’s world, consumers have to go through a complex decision journey and have multiple interactions with different brands before making an auto purchase. Toyota wanted to improve its engagement and retention with customers across multiple channels, as it was a critical challenge for the company to
strengthen consideration for its car lines.

THE APPROACH
Toyota tested Demand Gen campaigns to accomplish its goals. It combined Google’s AI and its own audience data to connect with potential customers throughout their journeys and deepen engagement. Toyota also used in-market segments to reach users who were shopping for sports cars, and look-alike segments to reach more prospective customers based on first-party data. Partnering with The & Partnership: The & Partnership brought Toyota’s top-performing ad, image, and video assets into the Demand Gen campaign, and included various cuts to maximize coverage on YouTube to help Toyota drive more users to its website.

THE RESULTS
The Demand Gen campaign successfully outperformed Toyota’s previous Discovery and Video Action campaigns, and exceeded benchmarks across all key metrics. Demand Gen drove 60% more qualified traffic to Toyota’s website at a 60% lower cost per action (CPA). Toyota also achieved a 63% lower cost-per-click (CPC) and an 83% higher click-through rate (CTR). Based on the results, Toyota will expand its use of Demand Gen campaigns to increase interest around its other flagship vehicles.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have been impacted by this regulatory change, or if you want to test what this new campaign type can do for your business.

“Thanks to Google’s AI, Demand Gen has helped us stimulate more customer interest across Google and YouTube in the most effective and efficient ways to earn more qualified traffic on our website.”

FAUSTO D’AMORE
General Manager – Communication & Digital Experience, Toyota Motors Italia

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have been impacted by this regulatory change, or if you want to test what this new campaign type can do for your business.