Executive Briefing: Monday 21 September

Today's briefing highlights significant shifts in data control and marketing strategy. The acquisition of LiveRamp by Publicis Groupe introduces new considerations for data neutrality and advertiser oversight, impacting Google Marketing Platform users. Meanwhile, Google is escalating its efforts to block data scrapers, affecting competitive intelligence and SEO tools. Marketers can enhance conversion tracking and bidding performance by leveraging Google's Enhanced Conversions with consented first-party data, while successful brands like Owala demonstrate how effective product design can fuel organic short-form creator marketing. Publicis acquisition reshapes data independence Publicis Groupe's acquisition of LiveRamp is poised to alter the landscape of data independence and advertiser control within the marketing ecosystem. While Publicis and LiveRamp assert continued neutrality, the integration of a critical identity resolution and audience definition provider into an agency holding company raises practical control concerns for advertisers. LiveRamp's RampID and Authenticated Traffic Solution support key workflows across the ecosystem, including Google PAIR clean-room matching in DV360. This consolidation means the same company could control both media execution and the underlying identity infrastructure, potentially complicating independent verification and influencing budget allocation through reporting paths and attribution logic. This mirrors prior regulatory scrutiny of large agency combinations focused on competitive concerns arising from agency scale and data infrastructure. Google intensifies blocking of data scrapers Google appears to be increasing its success in blocking AI scrapers, search scrapers, and third-party tracking tools, with notable changes observed around September 13th. This shift coincides with recent Google updates and methods to counter non-human behaviour in search results. Certain data collection tools have reported significant drops in data availability, with one vendor noting an 80% reduction in data from Google Search. While some major tools like Ahrefs and Semrush show signs of adapting, others like Sistrix are operating at a reduced data collection rate. This ongoing challenge for data providers suggests marketers relying on these tools for competitive intelligence or SEO analysis should exercise caution and verify data accuracy. Enhanced Conversions improve first-party data utilisation Marketers can leverage Google's Enhanced Conversions to bridge gaps in conversion tracking caused by browser restrictions and cross-device journeys. This feature uses consented first-party data, such as hashed email addresses or phone numbers, to accurately measure conversions that cookies alone might miss. When linked with Google Ads or Marketing Platform accounts, properties have reportedly seen a 23% lift in conversions and a 10% drop in cost per conversion. Enhanced Conversions also improves media audiences by enabling the building of Customer Match audiences in Google Analytics, providing a privacy-resilient approach to optimising bidding algorithms and attribution models. Product design fuels short-form creator marketing Owala's success in short-form creator marketing demonstrates how thoughtful product design can become a powerful marketing asset. The brand's FreeSip water bottle, developed over seven years, features easily demonstrable elements like dual drinking modes and a push-button cover, which are ideal for short-form video content. Creators naturally showcase these features, turning product education into engaging content. Beyond functional demonstrations, Owala builds a continuous creator system through colour releases, limited editions, and collaborations, giving creators ongoing reasons to feature the product. This strategy, combined with ambassador programmes and social listening, generates sustained attention and community engagement, moving beyond isolated sponsorships to a consistent presence across feeds.