Is A Picture Worth A Thousand CPMs?
In this opinion piece, Jon Stubley, VP ANZ sales for GumGum tracks the revenue rise of Google and predicts how advertising and technology will combine to create big dollar markets in the future.
Google was in the news a week or so ago for what proved to be a fairly unpopular test of new search term colours. It should come as no surprise that the company is constantly tinkering with minor details like this.
After all, a few years ago it tested 41 shades of blue to see which one users preferred; and the slightly more purplish shade was reported to have earned the company an extra $200 million.
When a simple colour tweak can generate this type of additional revenue, it is easy to forget that at the turn of the century, when everyone was partying like it was 1999, Google only provided search functionality as a consumer product. Its first significant step towards monetising the search platform only came in October, 2000, with the introduction of Google AdWords.
Like most killer ideas, it was based on a simple premise. People were already entering words and phrases to the search engine, so why not try and sell keywords? As a result, search engine marketing (SEM) was born and today the market is estimated to be worth around 25 billion dollars.
Fifteen years later, Google’s colour test – and the negative responses to it – is a timely reminder that the web is no longer about just text. It has now gone visual (and mobile). More than two billion images are shared online each day, and the growth of visual-first mobile apps such as Instagram and Snapchat – not to mention Pinterest and the increasingly visual Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp – is exponential; with most of it occurring via smartphones and tablets.
As a result, many companies out there both established and emerging (my company included) envisage that the next frontier of search is working out how to monetise all these images. To get there, companies are using the kind of technology that can handle such vast amounts of pictures: a form of artificial intelligence known as computer vision, and, more specifically, image recognition, which enables computers to correctly identify what’s inside images (everything from objects and logos to scenes and faces).
What’s more, these programs learn as they go, getting smarter and more accurate the more images that they process, thanks to a method called machine learning, which is also used to train computers to do everything from translate better to drive cars.
Google is naturally a key player in this space with image recognition already being used in Google Photos, where it automatically organises them pictures by person, place, subject, activity, and other categories that previously were only classifiable by human-submitted tags. But beyond consumer applications, this kind of technology is also being monetised, in some ways similarly to the way that search words have been monetised.
Take Pinterest. When pinners zero in their cursor on a specific object in a picture – say, a pendant lamp – image recognition is used to surface other pictures containing pendant lamps. The technology is also being used to aggregate more granular information about consumer interests with a view to using these in order to deliver targeted one-to-one advertising.
For example, in photos of a specific celebrity, ads for, say, brunette hair-specific products can now appear in pictures of brunette celebrities.
Image recognition technology can also be used in less overt ways to help brands. As image recognition algorithms become smarter, they have the capability to deliver more actionable and nuanced insights. How users share images of products on social media, for example – whether or not there is any identifying text – can inform marketing strategies down the line.
Billions of images are shared on social media each and every day in the same way that billions of search terms and keywords are shared in search engines. So to me, it isn’t a question of if images will be monetised; after all we are already at the beginning of the curve with smart brands experimenting with nascent technologies and solutions.
Instead, like any emerging advertising practice, it is only the details that are yet to be wholly defined. Over the coming years, the market – and critically, the consumer – will dictate what the most popular formats will be and who will be taking the lion’s share of the revenue.
But in five years’ time, I’ll bet the farm that in-image advertising will be as ubiquitous on the average media plan as keywords are today.
Latest News
The Mars Agency Announces Latest Findings Of Retail Media Report Card
The Mars Agency has developed a scorecard that assesses the capabilities of leading platforms across key criteria required to optimally plan, execute, and measure effective retail media programs. The scorecard aims To help brands efficiently evaluate their spending options across retail media networks in Australia (and New Zealand). With spending on retail media advertising in […]
‘It’s The Lesser Of Two Evils’ – NRL Eyes US Betting Market As Aussie Regulators Circle
US betting firms will be delighted by the circa 50,000 Americans who could soon watch the NRL on their favourite app.
A-League In Deep Discussions With New Partner To Keep Games On TV After Production Company Enters Administration
The A-League's insatiable appetite for scoring own goals continues.
TV Ratings (27/03/2024): Jungle Members At War Over Concealed Lipstick
A heated argument between two jungle members did the numbers for Ten last night, with I’m A Celeb obtaining a total national reach of 1,282,000. Fans were delighted as Candice Warner and influencer Skye Wheatley got into it over a stick of lipstick, leading Warner to dub the Instagram star “selfish.” Wheatley, best known for […]
Is The Australian Music Industry In Trouble? Inquiry Launched Following Splendour Cancellation
Earlier this week, an inquiry was launched into the challenges and opportunities currently facing the Australian live music industry in the wake of multiple festival cancellations. On 25 March 2024, the Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, asked the Committee on Communications and the Arts to inquire into and report on the […]
Liana Dubois, Leandro Perez, Aimee Buchanan & More Gather For Inaugural Compadres Leadership Event
Didn't get the invite? Perhaps you're not as important as you thought.
Cathay Captures The Unforgettable Thrill Of Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, Via Publicis
Nobody does rugby like Hong Kong, apparently. Certainly nobody does it as badly as Australia.
Cocogun Nabs Christine Watts, Kirsty Reynolds & Shev Tan Bolstering Management & Creative Teams
Cocogun bolsters its team with new hires. Committed to purchasing a bigger sofa, too.
The Media Store’s Jacquie Alley & Sam Cousins Take The Plunge With Pro-Bono Work For Cure Cancer
B&T chats with The Media Store bosses about their great pro-bono work and sponsored swim.
Hawke’s Brewing Co. Taps Rocket Comms For PR Agency Following Competitive Pitch
We're expecting Rocket Comms productivity to crash in spectacular fashion following this win.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Patties Serves Up A Taste Of Home For Olympians & South Sydney Rabbitohs Recommit To Gambling Reform
While the Rabbitohs commits to gambling reform, B&T reckons the team should commit to a decent auto sponsor.
Google: “Inevitable” That Bad Actors Will Abuse Ads Platform As Advertiser Account Suspensions Double
Google maintains it's simply impossible for it to entirely stop bad people placing & paying for ads using its service.
Quantcast Expands APAC Sales Team With Appointment Of News Corp Account Manager
No pressure at all when you are appointed as a client success manager.
Publicis Sapient Tests Microsoft-Powered Gen AI Search Tool With Homes & Villas By Marriott Bonvoy
Given Gen AI's record for mangling stuff, B&T cannot see the problem with letting it decide your next holiday digs.
Volkswagen & DDB Group’s “Roo Badge” To Reduce Kangaroo Related Road Collisions
Watch out for RooBadge as Cannes Lions' most debated campaign this year.
Twilio Launches Unified Profiles & Agent Copilot Features To Boost Productivity & Engagement
Agent Copilot sounds like James Bond's less interesting cousin.
Reebok & Honda Among New Clients For onetwo agency
OneTwo finally lives up to its name with this double billing.
Ogilvy Report: Throw Out The Social Strategy Rule Book, The Rules Of The Past No Longer Apply
B&T was puzzled that all 'influencers' aren't, effectively, 'virtual', but here we are.
WhiteGREY & AKQA Merge In Australia, Lee Simpson Departs
Fortunately, the combined agencies aren't opting for a trite portmanteau for the new name.
Splendour In The Grass 2024 Music Festival Cancelled!
Music fans all over the country reportedly relieved they can pack away their rain coats and gumboots for another year.
TV Ratings (26/03/2024): “Fairy Bread, F***ing Disgusting”: Gordon Ramsay Slams Aussie Food In Food Stars Launch
Ramsay not one for mincing his words, even when it comes to minced meat pies.
Paramount+ International Boss Doubles Down On Aussie Content, Says Ad-Tier will Grow Audiences And Revenue
Good news as Paramount will not be binning I’m A Celebrity for re-runs of Frasier.
Brent Smart: Telstra Pushing For 50-50 Brand-Performance Split But Warns Numbers ‘Won’t Look Great’ Initially
The old brand vs performance debate continues. But here, Brent is firmly sitting on the fence.
Crowded House, Tones And I & Dom Dolla Win Big At The Shure Rolling Stone Music Awards
B&T staffer reports back with humdinger of a hangover & feeling seriously uncool after mixing with music types.
Opinion: Dyslexia “A Hidden Gem” For Brands & Agencies
Dyslexics offer underappreciated benefits in the corporate field, according to this op-ed.
David Jones Taps Criteo To Power Online Retail Media Arm
Want to see ads for things you probably can't afford? David Jones has got you covered with new retail media play.
oOh!media Sets Up Team To Target Business Audiences Across Airports & Offices
oOh! wants brands to harass you every minute of your next business trip.
QMS Launches Australian First DOOH & TV Partnership With Samba TV
Samba TV, of course, is not a channel dedicated to dancing. Much to our dismany.
Slew Of New Hires At Amplify
Four new faces join the Amplify offices. Team say desk scarcity becoming "acute".
Adobe Announces Content Authenticity Initiative Expansions To Counter Deep Fakes
Try as they might to enlighten them, we suspect Trump supporters will continue to watch and believe Fox News.
The PR Group Appoints TechCrunch Senior Reporter Catherine Shu As Director Of Content & Media
Catherine Shu makes the bold leap from journalism to PR. Says inevitable pay bump was "unrelated".
HERO Nabs Ebony Santin From AMPR
Rumours Santin cleared out the stationery cupboard before departing are as yet unconfirmed.
Karena Noble Checks Out Of EVT Hotels & Resorts To Launch Comms Consultancy
Noble still managed to squeezed in a continental breakfast before departing.
Canva Acquires Design Platform Affinity To Bring Professional Design Tools To Every Organisation
Canva & Adobe face off continues. We're not picking sides but keenly aware that Canva's office is next door to ours.
“Lean On Our Team To Help You Find An Audience”: Why Understanding Audience Engagement Is Essential In Journalism
Engaging the audience is critical to journos, apparently. We'd thought self-loathing & alcoholism were key.
Adobe Summit: Major Gen AI Developments, Data Concessions & Partnerships
What happens in Vegas stays there. Unless it's the Adobe Summit and then you get to read about in B&T.