On today's episode, we discuss Facebook and Apple's next virtual and augmented reality moves, Netflix cracking down on password sharing, whether Google and Facebook killed the concept of "free," what Americans will do with their stimulus checks, how ESPN+ will do on Hulu, where in the world there is a giant plughole in the ocean, and more. Tune in to listen to the discussion with eMarketer forecasting analyst Rini Mukhopadhyay, senior analyst Sara M. Watson, analyst Blake Droesch, and principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Jeremy Goldman.

When we spoke with experts in publisher ad monetization in January, most of them expected the field of identity solutions to narrow over the coming year as adoption continues, but they felt it was unlikely that a single identifier alone would replace third-party cookies.

On today's episode, we discuss Google's recent announcement not to build alternative user-level identifiers or support them in their ad stack. How does this change the upcoming cookieless landscape, how does FloC fit in, and how might these changes affect consumer privacy? We then talk about whether The Trade Desk's investments may help it better compete with Google, Facebook lifting its political ad ban, engagement with misinformation on social media, and what to make of The Walt Disney Co.'s new ad exchange. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Nicole Perrin.

Within digital media channels, probably the longest-standing gap in measurement information lies with the walled gardens—a group that includes Google, Facebook, a host of other walled social platforms, and Amazon. Some in the industry are also talking more of walled gardens—or attempts to build them—in the connected TV (CTV) or over-the-top (OTT) space.

eMarketer principal analyst Nicole Perrin and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Eric Haggstrom discuss Google's Q4 performance and what's driving it forward. They then talk about YouTube's shift to connected TVs, whether Americans are becoming less tolerant of digital ads, and what to make of the UK watchdog's investigation into Google replacing cookies.

Consumers’ growing willingness to get their financial services from non-FI providers is spurring consumer brands to embed financial elements in their products and services. But this new form of finance will mean dramatic changes for incumbent and startup FIs.

Experimenting with advertising channels can yield up to 3% better advertising performance, research shows.

During the pandemic, consumers made fewer local searches, and local search advertising dropped dramatically.

In this year’s “Key Digital Trends” report, we examine changes coming to the digital media and technology landscape in 2021—including legislation, privacy, entertainment, social media, and more—and why they matter to marketers.

Advances in AI and predictive analytics are using consumer scores to automate business decisions to predict things like risk and fraud. But concerns over fairness mean companies need to make scores transparent to consumers.

A majority share of consumers are now taking to marketplaces first when shopping online. According an August 2020 survey from ecommerce ad agency ChannelAdvisor conducted by Dynata, 53% of US adults said they began product searches at Amazon when planning to make a digital purchase.

Though many companies struggle with diversity and inclusion in their advertising, some are making strides.

Though several of the largest smart speaker developers—including Amazon, Google, and Apple—and other retailers hope to entice more shopping and buying via voice, consumers are not nearly as enthusiastic. As a result, we have downgraded our forecasts for smart speaker shoppers and buyers from previous years.

Today’s sociopolitical events have lit a fire under brands to address social injustice and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in deeper ways than they have in the past. Companies are using marketing and advertising to respond to and support discussions about systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter protests, the fight for LGBTQ rights, the #MeToo movement, the COVID-19 pandemic, and issues of immigration reform, to name a few.