Why Advertisers Need to Pay Attention to Algorithms – And Why Google and Facebook Don’t Want You To
James McDonald
Managing Director at Audience Group - I know that advertising works but I'm not sure I always know why it works.
Advertisers are blindly trusting black-box algorithms, and it’s time to wake up. Let’s face it: tech giants like Google and Facebook have built empires on data, and it’s tough – if not impossible – for anyone to see what’s really going on behind the scenes. When it comes down to it, their algorithms are as clear as mud.
When I write algorithms here, I mean the targeting analytics being used in many widely adopted ad platforms. I’m not necessarily referring to bespoke data sets and applications designed within or for a particular business. (But you have to know what they’re doing too.)
Advertisers pour money into Google or Facebook’s ad platforms, cross their fingers, and hope the mysterious algorithms serve up the right audience. Advertising budgets are entrusted to these platforms which financially benefits these technology giants, but how much control does the advertiser actually have?
Now, with the Australian Privacy Act updates cracking down on data use and automated decision-making, advertisers who don’t take a good, hard look at these algorithms are playing with fire. Especially as regulators are starting to ask questions about just how fair, transparent, and compliant automated decision-making systems really are.
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It’s time to pull back the curtain and ask: Are these algorithms working for you, or are they just padding the profits of tech giants? The brands that succeed in this new era of privacy regulation will be the ones that demand transparency, build their own ethical ad strategies, and stop blindly trusting these systems.
It’s about taking control before the system bites you back.
How to take control and ensure that the data used for your advertising decisions and media strategy is handled responsibly and compliantly? Build your own algorithms for advertising. Better yet? Work with us and our partners (like Chalice AI ) to build proprietary algorithms customised for your brand’s objectives and its focus on privacy.