Delhi-based Manisha Singh, a 28-year-old professional with a discerning eye for skincare, has long depended on Instagram ads to discover products tailored to her acne-prone Indian complexion. However, with Meta’s recent overhaul of its advertising strategy, she might find herself navigating a more convoluted path to her ideal regimen, with brands saying they would now find it tougher to reach her.
Meta’s now-reduced “detailed targeting” feature has been a linchpin of its ad ecosystem, offering marketers a scalpel-like precision in reaching users. This capability enabled advertisers to zero in on consumers based on a wealth of information, including demographic profiles, interests, behaviours, and even nuanced life events. Such granular targeting is instrumental in crafting personalised ad experiences, significantly enhancing both engagement and return on investment, says Yasin Hamidani, director at Media Care Brand Solutions.
A scaledown of this feature represents a big shift in the advertising landscape, the effect of which will be felt across the Indian digital advertising sector— that stands at `62,045 crore and is expected to grow at 24% till 2025. This adjustment will challenge brands to rethink their strategies.
The long & short of it
The company’s latest policy shift has already stirred displeasure among some advertisers.
Ambika Sharma, founder & chief strategist at Pulp Strategy, notes that this exclusion has introduced significant hurdles in forecasting both current and future campaigns. “For our clients, particularly those in niche markets or industries that relied heavily on hyper-targeted ads, the absence of detailed targeting has made it challenging to predict and execute effective campaigns,” she explains. This would compromise the effectiveness of ad campaigns as costs to maintain engagement levels will shoot through the roof. “The reduced relevance of ads and the resulting lower-quality engagement are compelling brands to focus on broad-appeal content to attract a larger audience,” says Saqibur Rahman, chief marketing officer at RedoQ.
What would be affected most is personalisation, points out Delphin Varghese, co-founder & chief revenue officer, AdCounty Media. If the audience segments are less defined, it would be difficult for advertisers to track and measure the effectiveness of campaigns. Broader messaging, as opposed to hyper-personalised ones, often dilutes the impact of ads leading to conversion issues.
On its part, Meta has offered some alternatives such as broader audience segments, lookalike audiences (a way for ads to reach new people who are likely to be interested in a business because they share similar characteristics to existing customers), Advantage+ (which uses Meta’s advanced AI to find campaign audience), and machine learning-driven optimisations. The company also states in a blog post that the median cost per conversion was 22.6% lower when not using detailed targeting exclusions compared to when detailed targeting exclusions are used. It refused to elaborate when contacted.
The reception to these tools has been mixed. Sahil Chopra, founder and CEO of iCubesWire, remarks, “While these alternatives offer some promise, they are not perfect substitutes. They work well for high-level campaigns but fall short in delivering the granularity needed for targeting niche markets.”
Add to that, detailed targeting options are still available on other ad platforms like Google, claims Hamidani. Google Ads provides a range of targeting options, including demographics, interests, in-market audiences, and more, allowing advertisers to reach specific user segments. Additionally, Google’s Custom Audiences feature enables brands to create highly tailored audiences based on user behaviour, search intent, and other factors.
Hamidani adds that this flexibility allows for precise targeting similar to what Meta previously offered, making the platform an appealing alternative for advertisers seeking to maintain targeted, personalised campaigns. However, as privacy regulations evolve, even these platforms may face future targeting limitations, he admits.
If the future of precision targeting in digital advertising appears shaky, how must brands move ahead? The key is to adapt. “I also anticipate a growing emphasis on first-party data—brands will need to develop stronger direct relationships with their customers to maintain targeted advertising capabilities,” Pulp Strategy’s Sharma says. She adds that she expects platforms like Meta to continue investing in AI and machine learning to enhance ad personalisation without relying on invasive data practices.
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