How The Facebook Ad Boycott Is Affecting The Industry with Mike Kujanek

Aug 13, 2020

Mike Kujanek is the Founder & CEO at Magnitude Digital, an award-winning full-service digital marketing agency based in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Mike joins the show to talk about how to best navigate the ever-changing world when it comes to digital advertising and social media platforms. Mike and I talk about the Stop Hate for Profit campaign and how big brands pulling out of Facebook ads may affect the entire industry. We also discuss the need to diversify advertising strategies and how we can both participate in social justice and advocacy without taking away necessary revenue.

 

Takeaways:

• Facebook has been criticized for sharing and monetizing misinformation. In June of 2020, a group of civil rights organizations including the Anti-Defamation League called on businesses to “hit pause on hate” and not advertise in July.
• Some of the larger advertisers may pull their advertising off Facebook indefinitely until the site is more aggressive against hate speech.
• The larger brands may be able to not use Facebook, but they have much more support than most small-to-mid-sized companies. Some companies cannot afford to get off Facebook, as they rely on it as one of their main revenue streams.
• We are in a duopoly where many advertisers are dependent upon the big two: Google and Facebook for their revenue and brand recognition.
• Brands must learn to not be so beholden on Facebook and treat it as a great communication device, but not the only source of connecting with their customer.
• It may seem like things are slow and will never pick back up, but this time is just a test of leadership. Keep your will and your drive high, and we will get through this!

 

Quotes:

• “The world might be coming unglued, but you have to keep commerce and business moving.”
• “Brands have to be smarter about advanced analytics.”
• “People who have been pulling themselves up by the bootstraps over the course of time might not have an easier journey, but we are more equipped to handle this adversity.”

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Stop Hate for Profit

Mike Kujanek