Apple’s ad business will explode in popularity
In 2023, Apple will finally take steps out in the open to expand its ad business, and marketers will be chomping at the bit to get involved. The tech giant has historically been quite secretive about its ad business, humbly pointing to search ads in the App Store as its only skin in the game. But throughout the year there were signs that Apple was looking to grow its ad business, namely, through job listings that detailed a demand-side platform and “innovating on some of Apple’s most confidential and strategic plans.”
The secrecy will not last much longer, and soon Apple will begin providing advertisers new ways to buy media by tapping into the ad potential of its various products. Expect integration with Apple TV and Apple Maps, as well as programmatic opportunities within apps themselves.
If Apple is looking to take maximum advantage of the economic slowdown, it could even develop a sophisticated supply-side platform for publishers. This would round out its ad business a la that of Amazon and Google, and propel services revenue far beyond its current track.
The scrutiny of digital privacy will expand beyond the internet
Digital privacy’s primary touchpoint with mass consumers has been in the realm of the internet, where tech giants like Facebook and Google indisputably maintain control over absurd amounts of customer data. Here’s a shocker: Internet companies aren’t even close to the only ones who exploit you for your data. This will become far more widely understood in 2023.
Highly trusted entities like Apple leverage troves of data on their customers, as do connected TV services, health applications, morally dubious financial firms and cloud companies. Brands, too, are responsible for persuading consumers to surrender their data whether they truly know how it’s being used or not.
As people become more data literate, they will realize just how important their data is to a wide variety of entities. This is scary, but should also be empowering because you have something so many companies want. The time is nigh for users to come to the table and renegotiate the collection of their data on their terms, and with privacy top of mind.
