🔊 Google allegedly passing user data to advertisers, secretly | Excel's much-anticipated new lookup function

Plus, how you can validate your tactics before rolling them out to clients. Sep 05, 2019 Good morning marketers, is Google violating GDPR with RTB personal data sharing? New evidence has emerged in the[ongoing investigation]( by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) against Google’s processing of personal data in programmatic exchanges. Johnny Ryan, chief policy officer of privacy-centric browser Brave, alleges that[Google is enabling non-consensual data transfers with “hidden push pages,”]( which track browsing behavior for the purpose of sharing it with third parties. Hundreds (and even thousands) of companies could be leveraging this data during ad auctions, which Ryan argues is unlawful under the framework of GDPR. The new evidence against Google could strike an end to non-consensual data sharing in the EU, while also initiating[a massive overhaul to real-time bidding methods](. It’s worth noting that what happens in Europe will be influential in shaping the privacy debate and U.S. policy going forward. Despite data investigations and talks of ad turmoil on the horizon, we do have some good news. Microsoft recently introduced a new function in Excel – and it could be a big time saver for advertisers and marketers who rely on Excel for day-to-day reporting.[Aptly dubbed “XLOOKUP,” the new feature addresses many of VLOOKUP’s limitations]( with the ability to search sheets both vertically and horizontally using only three inputs. XLOOKUP will be able to replace VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, and INDEX/MATCH by enabling the selection of two columns (instead of the whole range) and allowing columns to be inserted into the desired data range without needing to change the column numbers. Essentially, this all boils down to increased efficiency and reduced workarounds for ad ops and data folks. Keep scrolling for more news, including a Pro Tip on how to use variable testing to validate your methods, which marketing executives are on the move and more. Taylor Peterson, Deputy Editor Pro Tip Validate success with variable testing before you share it with others “Whenever I suggest a new approach to a client, and the response is, ‘We tried it and it didn’t work,’ I usually find out they tried it once, it didn’t work, and so they moved on. The reverse is true when you succeed,” explains Ryan Phelan of Origin Email. ”Make sure you can validate your success by testing it different ways. Try it in different configurations. Send at different times of day, or let it run for a while to see if the newness fades. What you do must be bulletproof. This is all-important homework because you want to show your executives that your idea was a success because you thought through and tested for all the variables.” [Read More »]( Don't miss today's webinar - From Customer Reviews to Customer Insight: Best Practices in AI and Sentiment Analysis Sponsored by Chatmeter Customer ratings and reviews have become a critical brand marketing tool. Turn customer reviews into customer insights. Join our data science and review management experts as they show you how to identify and use customer sentiment at scale to make improvements to both the in-store and online experience. [Register now... »]( On the Move Goodway Group hires two execs to lead its new data science and analytics division The Goodway Group, a digital media services company, has launched a new data science and analytics division and [created two new roles]( to lead the department. Lluis Canet has been named VP of data science and analytics and Benjamin Diesbach is joining the firm as lead data insights analyst, reporting to Canet. “The new division will allow our clients to plan their campaigns more strategically by transforming their approach to data,” said Goodway Group President Jay Friedman. Canet will report to the company’s VP of Product, Marketing and Data Huanlei Ni. Prior to joining Goodway Group, Canet held data science roles at 21st Century Fox, JP Morgan Chase and PulsePoint. Diesbach most recently served as VP of analytics for Accordant Media. The global content production company [CreativeDrive]( has made two new hires. Douglas Castro is joining the firm as a managing director and will lead its Central America region, focused on growing both local market clients and digital creative solutions for CreativeDrive’s global team. Before joining CreativeDrive, Castro served as a managing director at Leo Burnett. Shaun Coulter is coming on board to oversee new business efforts in the Atlanta, Georgia and Bentonville, Arkansas regions of the U.S. Coulter joins the company from Advantage Solutions. Jerry Tomaiolo is joining Centerline Digital as [VP of digital media](. He will be based in the marketing agency’s Raleigh, North Carolina headquarters and lead digital media strategies. “We believe Tomaiolo is the perfect fit for Centerline Digital,” said Centerline Digital CEO Charles Long, “We are thrilled to welcome him to our team to amplify our digital technology and social media offerings.” Tomaiolo has held leadership roles at various agencies, including Saatchi Advertising and The Cimarron Group. Most recently, he oversaw B2B and B2C social media profiles for the luxury technology apparel company Buki Brand. What we're reading We've curated our picks from across the web so you can retire your feed reader [Google’s paid search ads are a ‘shakedown,’ Basecamp CEO says]( – CNBC [Mozilla says update to Firefox extensions API won’t kill ad blockers]( – ZDNet [Amazon tests Whole Foods payment system that uses hands as ID]( – New York Post [US plans for fake social media run afoul of Facebook rules]( – Associated Press [Deepfake concerns ahead of 2020 election include Iran, China, Instagram, and WhatsApp]( – VentureBeat [Progressive Web Apps: What Do Marketers Need to Know?]( – ConversionXL [Charting a Way Forward on Privacy and Data Portability]( – Facebook Newsroom Join Us The MarTech® Conference — Martech is Marketing Struggling to prove ROI, build a winning team, or find actionable insights from a mess of data? Join us September 16-18 in Boston, for real-world solutions to your marketing technology and operations obstacles. You'll connect with a thriving community of senior-level marketers and discover the vendor-agnostic, actionable tactics you need to succeed. [View rates and register now](! [Marketing Land] []( [Want to advertise?]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. [Unsubscribe]( [We respect your privacy.]( This email was sent by: Marketing Land - a Third Door Media, Inc. publication with headquarters at 279 Newtown Tpke. Redding, CT 06896 USA © 2006-2019 Third Door Media. All Rights Reserved.