The industry responded to the ACCC’s final report in its adtech investigation which revealed “significant” competition concerns in the sector.
The report highlights Google’s dominance in the adtech supply chain, which ACCC says “hurts businesses and consumers.”
CEO of the IAB Gai Le Roy says the report has implications for many aspects of the adtech industry.
“The IAB looks forward to working constructively on behalf of the industry with the government on the key issues it raises and to continue to build confidence in the ad technology ecosystem,” she said. declared.
“The digital advertising industry strives to ensure that advertising technologies prioritize consumer privacy and accountability in the development of targeting, measurement and attribution solutions.
“We recognize the critical importance of transparency across Australia’s advertising technology supply chain and are actively working to develop measures that work for advertisers and publishers, as well as consumers. “
Managing Director of Guardian Australia Dan Stinton welcomes the ACCC findings.
“The ACCC has done a great job identifying the main issues caused by the opacity of digital advertising and the data that makes it work, including Google’s dominant role throughout the process,” says Stinton.
“We’ve been asking for more transparency in advertising technology for some time, both to ensure that publishers can get fair prices for our inventory, but also to ensure that advertisers’ campaigns are as effective as possible, so we welcome ACCC recommendations in this area.
“In addition, we strongly support the data separation measures recommended by ACCC. This will protect consumer privacy by starting to untangle the invasive collection of consumer data.
“We urge the government to act swiftly on these recommendations, while finalizing the Attorney General’s review of Australia’s woefully inadequate privacy regulations. Australian businesses and consumers. “
Sophie madden, CEO of Media Federation Australia, which represents media agencies, recalled the findings on transparency issues.
“It is encouraging to note that in its report, the ACCC recognized the important role that agencies play for advertisers, as well as the work that the industry has always done to seek to hold advertisers accountable by providing advice on this. that they have to wait and ask in their dealings with agencies, ”says Madden.
“Specifically, the MFA Transparency Framework for Agencies and Advertisers, the AANA Media Contract Model, and the PWC Transparency and Disclosure Trademark Checklist.
“In recognition of this work and the competitiveness of the Australian media agency industry, the ACCC further concluded that government intervention is not currently required to address issues of transparency and conflict of interest. related to the conduct of advertising agencies. “
Joe frazer, Half Dome’s Managing Partner and Growth Leader, says that while the results are “not surprising”, they are not exhaustive.
“I would like to note that the conclusions of the report do not appear to be exhaustive. For example, there doesn’t seem to be any mention of Google Campaign Manager’s tight integration with Display and Video 360 (Google’s DSP), as well as the workflow and capacity differences made to their own technology stack. advertising based on this integration which I know has influenced technology decisions in major holding groups for years, ”said Frazer.
“There is also no mention of the exclusivity of certain tracks received by their ad server – especially the reporting capabilities offered by the Google O + O inventory, including search, should be noted. Google and YouTube in their Campaign Manager ad server. “
John Vlasakakis, co-founder of Next & Co, also welcomed ACCC’s recommendations in the report.
“Sometimes it is difficult to understand the supply chain when it comes to pricing, even for agencies making purchases, because with some suppliers it is not clear,” says Vlasakakis.
“It’s for the best and more transparency will lead advertisers to choose options that are better suited to their business. Any monopoly dominating any market is a concern as it causes them to expose companies to a tremendous amount of risk if they are not configured for media spending diversification. “
Joan warner, Chairman and CEO of Commercial Radio Australia: “We welcome the ACCC report and its recommendations.
“We support increased transparency about how Google’s ad technology services work, including how it collects and uses data, the fees it charges users and publishers, and Google’s claims regarding the benefits of Google. its advertising technology services. ”
CEO of Free TV Bridget fair: “This report highlights the significant problems caused by the lack of competition for ad technology services.
“We have called for tough new rules to address these concerns and we are very pleased that the ACCC has recognized the urgent need to act.
“Ad technology services are essential in the digital economy. The current situation where one player dominates in all parts of this vital supply chain is unsustainable and causing real harm to publishers and advertisers. This, in turn, hurts Australian consumers.
“In fact, ACCC found that 90% of all ad impressions in 2020 went through at least one Google service. This level of dominance cannot be left unchecked, and action to address the damage caused by this unprecedented market power is now long overdue.
“Advertisers and publishers need to know that the prices they pay and their access to ad technology services are competitive and unaffected by a company’s market power.
“This is why we have consistently called for industry specific rules to prohibit market-leading companies along the supply chain from prioritizing their own services. Importantly, this includes controls over the use of consumer data obtained from the provision of advertising technology services to be used to gain a competitive advantage in the provision of other services.
“There will be benefits economy-wide measures, including improving price and performance transparency, which will help ensure innovation is promoted, advertisers pay less to reach consumers and customers. publishers receive higher ad revenue to fund high quality online content.
“The ACCC found that in 2020, almost 30% of ad spend was spent on ad technology service fees. In a $ 2.8 billion market for ad technology services, lowering those fees means less money wasted for advertisers and more money for publishers to invest in great local content.
“We urge the government to accept all of ACCC’s recommendations and pass the necessary legislation as quickly as possible. ”
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