The Week Kick-off: Irn-Bru break

Facebook removes a significant chunk of ad-targeting capabilities, Alicia Keys adorns the first ever joint UK-US Marie Claire cover, and Irn-Bru steals the show at the Cop26… Join us for another whistlestop tour of the week in media! 

Facebook removes ad-targeting via race, religion, and sexual orientation

Meta has announced that its Facebook and Instagram platforms are removing the ability for advertisers to target users based on their race or ethnicity, religious practices, or sexual orientation. The ban also extends to targeting users by way of political beliefs or links to specific health causes, and will come into play on 19 January 2022. 

In a statement made on the Meta blog, Graham Mudd, VP Product Marketing, Ads, said: “It is important to note that the interest targeting options we are removing are not based on people’s physical characteristics or personal attributes, but instead on things like people’s interactions with content on our platform.” Full story here. 

First ever joint UK & US Marie Claire cover features Alicia Keys

Following Future’s acquisition of Marie Claire US earlier this year, the UK and US versions of the publication have teamed-up to publish a joint cover for their November digital issues. Award-winning singer-songwriter, actress, producer, author, and entrepreneur, Alicia Keys, was chosen as the face of the new issue.

It’s the first time the two publications have united on a joint cover, and Andrea Thompson, Editor-in-Chief for Marie Claire UK, said that the opportunity to work in unison across the pond presented an attractive proposition: “Alicia Keys is a global icon, trailblazer and activist who resonates with Marie Claire audiences across both markets. It’s wonderful to be able to work together to spotlight such a powerful female role model.” Full story here. 

Special Bru of leaders at Cop26

Media Tech reporting behemoth Mark Sweney gives us an excellent piece in the Guardian, titled ‘An emblem of Scotland’: how Irn-Bru stole the show at Cop26’. At the event the First minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, gave a can to visiting US Congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez AKA AOC, which provided a much shared snap from the conference floor. Sweney writes: “The subsequent social media explosion and acres of online and print column inches have given the brand a golden marketing moment that millions of pounds of advertising couldn’t hope to emulate.”

Spotlight on secretive Shein

And speaking of great articles… the BBC’s Lora Jones takes a deep-dive look at ‘Shein: The secretive Chinese brand dressing Gen Z’. “Although it’s based in China,” writes Jones, “the firm mainly targets customers in the US, Europe and Australia with its cut-price crop-tops, bikinis and dresses, costing just £7.90 ($10.70) on average.” The firm is huge on social media, with 250m+ followers, but has come under criticism for its use of fast fashion and consequently low sustainability credentials.  

Paul Keenan appointed to the Bauer Media Group Board

In a week that was big on appointments, Paul Keenan has joined the Bauer Media Group Executive Board as COO. There’s also a new Editor of BBC Music magazine, and Glamour has named new Editorial Directors for both Europe and the Americas. You can read the latest on FIPP.com here. 

As for FIPP…

Our new report, ‘Third party cookies and what will replace them’ is proving immensely popular on the download front, as the digital advertising world begins to look beyond its dependence on the sugary snack. The in-depth study explores the options available to publishers in the post-cookie world, and is exclusive to FIPP members. You can find out more here.