Catherine Perloff is the platforms reporter at Adweek, an American publication covering news related to the brand marketing ecosystem. In this episode, Catherine gives us the latest news on what’s happening within the murkiness of cookie depreciation and the advertising industry’s no-ID world. She also discusses emerging trends from AI-powered media buying to retail media and more.

At Adweek, Catherine focuses on how media buyers and brands spend their marketing budgets, what channels are most effective for them, and what struggles they encounter in buying the best media to reach the right audience. She also covers how publishers monetize effectively with digital marketing tools. 

Questions Catherine answered in this episode:

• What does ‘platforms’ mean from the perspective of a marketing reporter?
• What's the feedback from the industry on Meta’s AI-powered Advantage+?
• Besides the impacts of privacy, what other trends do you foresee happening this year?
• How do you stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the marketing space?

Timestamp:

• 0:52 Catherine’s background
• 4:39 Unpacking the platforms
• 7:33 ATT’s impact on Meta for advertisers
• 11:00 The scoop on Meta’s AI-powered Advantage+
• 13:46 What’s happening in the no-ID world
• 15:45 The future of AI-driven media buying
• 17:10 Retail media and connected TV
• 21:25 ID bridging: shady business?
• 25:44 Resources

Quotes:

(7:39-7:59) “I think that there was a mindset that you could build a whole business on Meta, like that would be your main channel – and after ATT, I think a lot of businesses, especially DTC brands, realized they had to diversify.”

(15:01-15:20) “The purveyors of premium inventory are always going to say that high-quality inventory will be performative. I don’t think that’s true, but it’s definitely harder to prove. It’s often said that if you can’t track it, it’s branding.”

(16:47-17:07) “AI is being used for creativity in the advertising space. Is generative AI going to replace creative agencies? Is it going to replace copywriters? It poses a real existential threat to media agencies if more of the technology is doing the decision-making.” 

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Catherine Perloff’s LinkedIn
• Email: catherine.perloff@adweek.com
• Twitter (X): @catherineperlo1
• Adweek