Advertisers on Facebook have not been deterred by the recent data privacy scandal the social media platform was engulfed in, a major ad company said.
According to Publicis Media CEO Steve King, Facebook’s trust among its users was damaged following allegations that consulting company Cambridge Analytica misused the personal information of tens of millions of users for fake news and other political dirty tricks.
However, advertisers have not been scared away and sentiment among them remains unaltered, CNBC writes.
“Each of these issues has had a different reaction,” King said, referring to scandals that have plagued Facebook. “Unlike the brand safety issue, none of our advertisers have paused their advertising” because of Cambridge Analytica.
Publicis Groupe, the world’s third-biggest advertising group and the parent company of Publicis Media, has faced major difficulties in recent years due to shrinking client budgets and fierce competition from Facebook and Google, numbers from eMarketer show. King said that Facebook remains the second largest advertising platform Publicis Media partners with.
However, some big advertisers have indicated they are frustrated with the lack of transparency around metrics used to measure the effectiveness of a campaign on digital platforms like Facebook and Google.
Procter & Gamble, the world’s largest advertiser, said this year that not long ago it cut over $200 million in digital ad spending as those ads were ineffective. In February, Facebook acknowledged there were flaws in its calculations and announced changes to simplify and clarify its metrics to appease advertisers.
King also noted that eroding trust in the platform among users and increasing uncertainty over how personal data is being used has become a growing concern.
“If we see the level of engagement or people deleting Facebook if that becomes a trend over the coming months, then absolutely it will have a causation and effect on the perception and investments from our clients,” King said.
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