December 23,2020ByDAVID VEGA

Apple vs. Facebook: The Battleground of iOS14 and What It Means For You

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It’s no secret that Apple and Facebook are clashing. In Apple’s upcoming iOS14 update, changes will be made that directly impact Facebook advertiser’s ability to track, optimize, and target customers as they currently do. But it’s not all bad! Let’s break down what we know, what we can do, and why this may not be as dark as it initially seems for advertisers. Apple and Facebook Clash Over Ad Tracking Opened Ads Manager recently? You’ve likely seen this scary notification pop up: ❗Upcoming Impact to Your Marketing Efforts Apple has announced product and policy changes that may significantly impact the way you can run ads, measure performance, and engage your customers. Grim. What We Know about Facebook and Apple’s iOS14 ✅ We know the update to iOS14 is announced to happen in early 2021 and will require all apps to explicitly ask for permission to gather data and track users across mobile apps and websites. ✅ We know what this question will look like when presented to users, and we know that the majority of them will select “Ask App not to Track”, prioritizing privacy over a custom ad experience. ✅ Most Facebook users that have an Apple device will receive the notice –– those with iPhones, iPads, etc who use the Facebook app, and those who use Safari. Instagram will also be impacted for those users. Those who use Chrome, an alternative browser, or use the Facebook app on their android device are safe (for now). ✅ We know that less than 20% of people worldwide use Apple devices and/or the Safari browser. ✅ We know that losing that tracking information hinders our ability to provide a targeted ad experience to users. ✅ Some impactful changes have already taken place. iOS13 limited the tracking of cookies to just 7 days, so Facebook is already limited to attributing conversions to actions that occurred within only a week’s time. Custom audiences are impacted by this as well. In that sense, this information isn’t new, it’s the next step in privacy. ✅ We know that Facebook needs us, the advertisers, on their side. Chances are you’ve already seen their ads about “Speaking Up For Small Businesses.” However, the relationship between Facebook and its users & advertisers is a tumultuous one! Facebook’s policy support team leaves much to be desired. Their policy checking is next to robotic, resulting in harsh restrictions and bans that impact nearly every advertiser at some point. But we love Facebook advertising! We love it because it is impactful and extremely cost-effective –– probably the most effective ad platform there is right now from a targeting and tracking perspective. And we think even with these changes from Apple, Facebook advertising will continue to be impactful for marketers and businesses. How to Prepare for iOS14 and Facebook Ad Management Now, more than ever, it’s vital to take a step back, look beyond the stats of Ads Manager, and take in the whole picture of your digital marketing strategy. Pay Attention To Your Own Data Ads Manager isn’t currently 100% accurate, and it’s only going to get worse. It’s crucial to have a pulse on your month-over-month return, so you can make informed decisions for your accounts. Look at what you spent and what worked overall, then come up with a personal data strategy that works for YOU. Don’t get caught up in the day-to-day mantua, because conversion tracking is going to be off. Finetune Your Targeting There will be less user interaction data when those Apple users opt-out. It’s up to us to build a customer avatar that knows what our audience’s interests are, their age groups, genders, etc. Who is your customer and how does what you offer help them? You’ll need to use that avatar to inform your targeting as options like lookalikes become less powerful. Optimize for Facebook Standard Events Make sure you are following, using, and optimizing for standard events with conversion campaigns. Standard events being those predefined actions like “add to cart”, “purchase”, “view content”, etc. Facebook will likely phase out things like custom conversions, and it’s possible that they will automatically turn them off for us as they become obsolete. Do the Very Least Verify your domain in Business Manager. Now. Go. Our Thoughts on iOS14 and the Future of Facebook Ads Cookies have been around for a long time now, and play a primary role in how we track our audience. As marketers, we are staring at a potentially massive change in terms of how to best optimize. Will cookies be a thing of the past in 2-3 years? How different will they look? Part of marketing is adapting. We must be able to innovate and shift to get our messages to our customers. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket and don’t be a fairweather advertiser. Diversify your digital marketing portfolio and stay flexible with your strategy. This is just one of many changes we’ll see in our advertising lifecycles, and we’re here to play the long game. Check out our latest episode of Ultimate Marketer Podcast to learn more about this and all things marketing! Available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Author: Holly King...

December 17,2020ByDAVID VEGA

Apple iOS 14: How It Impacts the App Industry?

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Start preparing for the impact of Apple iOS 14 changes. The absence of an IDFA will hit ad campaigns hard because advertisers will be driving blind. Now, some small Digital Marketing exclusive shops will be out of business. After all, there’s an absence of user data essential for optimal advertising. Advertisers will not be able to optimize their campaigns and target users based on behavior, control a campaign’s recency or develop retargeting campaigns. Apple has announced iOS 14 to impact how we receive and process events from tools like Facebook. Once these changes take effect, website domains currently sending events will be initially configured by Facebook to send no more than eight default events per domain. Any ad sets optimizing for events outside of this new event limit will be paused. Learning about these changes and preparing for them can help you prevent your ad sets from being co-paused and may help you minimize any adverse effects on your campaigns’ performance. What will this impact directly? Attribution will be harder; obviously, frequency capping and retargeting will be off the table as we know them. Advertisers impacted in two main areas: Ad Retargeting – Any retargeting to users (based on device-level targeting) will no longer work for users that have opted out of sharing their IDFA. Platforms like Google and Facebook have other deterministic variables to identify devices (email, phone number). Still, other programmatic platforms that don’t have such deterministic ID graph information are likely to see a reduction in targetable audiences. Ad Measurement – Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs) built its measurement and fraud capabilities around the IDFA identifier. While Apple has announced a replacement API (SKAdNetwork) that will allow for conversion data to be passed back at the campaign level, we’re still going to see a reduction in the fidelity of data that MPPs have to identify fraud and performance across mobile campaigns. Wrapping up: What to do? “First-party data is still king, specifically email database. Industry advice to all advertisers is to start the process of creating a usable identity graph of customers and prospects with an email address and/or phone numbers as your primary key to ensure your business/organization can continue to market on a 1 to 1 level across ad products.” The IDFA “opt-in” functionality in iOS 14 represents the most significant shift in the mobile advertising industry to date. It’s going to change how apps spend money and make money fundamentally. The future belongs to apps and companies that provide real value to users because the value exchange we’ve always discussed with consumers will now be front and center. From a publisher perspective, it means we have to work on our 1st party data more so we can leverage it effectively. Brands that directly relate to customers and deliver excellent customer experiences should have no problem adapting to the changes announced. Brands and Businesses that are looking for Digital Marketing help and need implementing changes in Paid advertising (PPC)? Let’s connect. https://www.tridence.com/digital-marketing-strategy...

December 10,2020ByDAVID VEGA

Wham Bam Fest is a 3-day and night music and arts festival

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Wham Bam Fest is a surprise three day and night music and arts festival that will be held at St. Johns’ County Fairgrounds, December 11th thru 13th, 2020, by and for St. Augustine’s creative community. These are the people who inspire, entertain, and make our little city a unique and exciting place to visit, explore, and call home. Most people and businesses have seen better times and, with an economy that relies on tourism, the hospitality and entertainment industries have been hit particularly hard. For the sake of everyone’s well-being and health, we all feel it is time to bring the music back, to get the artist working, and to encourage the people to dance again. Tickets On Sale Tickets at the gate (not purchased online) will increase the day of event. Limited RV Space Available. Prices subject to change. Buy online: http://www.famjamfest.com/Purchase-Ticket.php Proceeds from ticket sales will be distributed among local musicians who participate in making this event happen. Event website: http://www.famjamfest.com...

December 1,2020ByDAVID VEGA

Uber Eats and Postmates are officially teaming up.

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Uber Eats and Postmates are officially teaming up. On Monday, Uber and Postmates officially announced they’re $2.65 billion mergers, scheduled to close in Q1 of 2021. The food delivery market is quickly changing, and restaurateurs nationwide are left wondering how this evolution will affect their industry. This means the U.S. third-party delivery market has slimmed from four major players to three, with Uber/Postmates becoming the second-largest behind DoorDash. Uber Offical Release. According to Second Measure – Consumer Transaction Data, Door Dash occupied 44 percent of the delivery market in May, followed by 23 percent for Grubhub, 22 percent for Uber Eats, and 8 percent for Postmates. Although Postmates is fourth-largest among its competitors nationally, it holds the biggest market share in Los Angeles with 35 percent. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the deal is expected to “drive significant efficiencies and cost savings” for all sides of the marketplace, including customers and restaurants. “We believe that over time, we can offer a wider selection and lower prices for consumers, generate increased demand, lower costs, streamlined operations with fewer tablets for restaurants, and provide more work opportunities and improved earnings for delivery people,” Khosrowshahi said during a conference call. However, Lunchbox CEO Nabeel Alamgir says he doesn’t see how the merger will benefit drivers, customers, or restaurants because of the reduced competition. He views the consolidation as a survival mode. “None of those companies are profitable,” Alamgir says. “… Not only are they not running a sustainable business, but I also don’t think they plan to run a sustainable business. They plan to get to the top of the mountain, and hopefully, only two groups are left so they can hash it out then.” As restaurants continually to find ways to survive, one major shift has occurred—3rd party fees and online food and delivery system per transaction. The successful restaurateurs are shifting away from 3rd party fees and 3rd party web automation transactional fees, bot tools, and bringing it in-house fully or with 1st party website development and tools intact. Note: DoorDash quietly launched its own online ordering system to build native websites and apps for restaurants, which Lunchbox does exclusively. DoorDash plans to go not only to third-party ordering but first-party ordering, as well. It’s another signal to the industry that we need to invest in this because consumer sentiment changes. In summary: If you are looking to bring in an in-house system and or restaurants looking for help, the Tridence Web Development team can offer solutions. Vist: https://www.tridence.com/web-development-software/...

November 20,2020ByDAVID VEGA

Chicago Holiday Train Is Coming This Year — But You Can’t Ride It – 2020

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Chicago – The traditional Christmas (holiday) train will still be decorated, but people won’t be able to board. Instead, Santa will wave at children and their families. The holiday train and bus are beloved traditions in Chicago, bringing holiday cheer to travelers around the city. The train will return on Nov. 27, complete with decorations and Santa. But there will be a big change due to the coronavirus pandemic: People won’t get on board. Instead, the heavily decorated bus and the train will roll by, with Santa waving to children and families as they watch. CTA Press release: “We agreed to make the following temporary changes to the 2020 CTA Holiday Fleet: The CTA Holiday Train and CTA Holiday Bus will travel “out of service”, meaning that customers will not be able to board. All photo sessions with Santa will be temporarily suspended this year. Fortunately, as many can attest, the mere sight of the CTA Holiday Tran & Bus is enough to brighten anyone’s day – and we couldn’t agree more, which is why we felt this was the best approach to keeping the tradition of delivering holiday cheer and goodwill throughout the city. “Because our No. 1 priority is the health and safety of our customers and employees, we wanted to find a way to spread holiday cheer across the city, but do so responsibly,” CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. said in a news release. “Though customers won’t be able to get on board, we know that seeing the CTA Holiday Train and Bus in neighborhoods throughout the city will bring much-needed smiles, joy, and hope for everyone.” The train will feature six cars festooned with thousands of lights, signs, and other decorations. Santa and his reindeer will ride on the outside, as usual.” Train schedule In 2020, the CTA Holiday Train will travel out-of-service, meaning that customers will not be able to board the train. The train will travel all eight rail lines beginning Friday, November 27 (the day after Thanksgiving) through Monday, December 21 In order to help avoid crowding at stations and on platforms, look for the CTA Holiday Train during afternoons on the dates and rail lines listed below: Green Line: November 27-28, December 1 Brown Line: December 2-5 Orange Line: December 2-5 Red Line: December 8, 10 and 12 Purple Line: December 9, 11 and 12 Pink Line: December 15, 16 and 19 Blue Line: December 17-19 Yellow Line: December 21 Up to date information can be viewed at https://www.transitchicago.com/holidayfleet/ Everyone have a safe and enjoyable holiday in these unprecedented times. We will get through this....

November 18,2020ByDAVID VEGA

Jacksonville Beach – Deck the Chairs is back

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Jacksonville Beach, Florida: Deck the Chairs is back November 21 – January 1! To promote the arts and foster community pride and involvement through a creative display of public art featuring lighted iconic lifeguard chairs. A favorite Beaches Holiday Tradition! There’s Magic in the Chair! Jacksonville Beach Deck The Chairs (JBDTC) is an annual lighted sculptural exhibit using lifeguard chairs. Marking its seventh year in community service, JBDTC gathers the community to decorate and display the Beaches lifeguard chairs during December to promote local business, instill public pride, and share cultural diversity through creative expression. Free and open to the public, the light display aims to provide a wholesome and festive downtown during the holidays. Deck The Chairs, Inc. is a qualified nonprofit organization under IRS Code Section 501(c)(3). Venue — Downtown Jacksonville Beach Latham Plaza Latham Plaza is located in the heart of downtown Jacksonville Beach at the corner of First Avenue North and Second Street North. During JBDTC, Latham Plaza will be home to 22 of the decorated lifeguard chairs. Seawalk Pavilion Area The Seawalk Pavilion area is adjacent to Latham Plaza between First Street North and the beach. Home to an outdoor amphitheater, the area, will boast the iconic 30-ft handcrafted DTC Musical Tree, over-sized decorated displays, the Kids’ Creative Space, as well as Opening Night, Digital Light Shows, Night of Music and Dance, and other performances during the month-long event. Latest Event information: https://deckthechairs.org/...

November 2,2020ByDAVID VEGA

Chicago Restaurants With Cold-Weather Outdoor Dining

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CHICAGO — The continuous targeted towards hospitality and restrictions placed on restaurants due to the China Pandemic in Illinois, as indoor dining and drinking banned, many Chicago restaurants had to improvise. They made heated patios, tents, or other alternatives a priority. Chicago, let’s keep supporting local restaurants. Below is a map showing restaurants around the city that offer heated patios or other cold-weather outdoor dining forms. #protectlocal Note: The above map is a work in progress, and they intend to add suburban restaurants. If you have an addition to make to the list, follow the CBS link and add the info below. https://tridence.link/chicago-outdoor-restaurants...

October 30,2020ByDAVID VEGA

76th ANNUAL TAXSLAYER GATOR BOWL – DATE AND TIME ANNOUNCED – 2020

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla., October 30, 2020 — The TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, TaxSlayer, and ESPN announced today that the 76th Annual TaxSlayer Gator Bowl will be played at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville on Saturday, January 2, 2021, at Noon EST and will be televised nationally on ESPN. “TaxSlayer is excited to be extending our partnership as the title sponsor of the historic TaxSlayer Gator Bowl,” said Brian Rhodes, President and Chief Executive Officer of TaxSlayer. “Now in its 76th year, the bowl represents a rich history and a commitment to tradition. We are truly honored to align our name with such a prestigious event that connects us with college football fans in Jacksonville and across the country.” The 2021 game will be the first in a six-year deal which will feature a team from the Southeastern Conference that will serve as the anchor team and will face an opponent from the Atlantic Coast Conference, which also includes the University of Notre Dame. “We are honored to have extended relationships with our great partners at TaxSlayer, the Southeastern Conference, and Atlantic Coast Conference,” said TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Chairman, John Duce. “The 76th TaxSlayer Gator Bowl game is perfectly positioned to kick-off a strong day of college football programming leading into the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl and culminates with the Capital One Orange Bowl. We look forward to hosting the participating teams and their fans in Jacksonville on January 2nd.” In compliance with city guidelines and following the precedent of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Florida vs Georgia game, the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl will seat approximately 25% of the stadium capacity for this year’s game. The health and safety of all guests is our number one priority, and as such, face coverings that completely cover your mouth and nose will be required at TIAA Bank Field. To learn more information about tickets or stadium policies and procedures for the 2021 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, visit www.taxslayergatorbowl.com....

October 22,2020ByDAVID VEGA

Chicago will once again shut down indoor bar service.

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Chicago will once again shut down indoor bar service and force non-essential businesses to limit hours as city officials warn a second surge of the coronavirus is underway. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the new restrictions during a Thursday briefing, suspending indoor bar service just weeks after reopening such establishments as colder weather begins to limit outdoor options. The newest restrictions, which take effect at 6 a.m. Friday and continue for at least two weeks, include: Business curfew on non-essential businesses beginning at 10 p.m. In effect nightly from 10 p.m. -6 a.m. Last call for serving liquor at 9 p.m. Take-out and curb-side pick-up at restaurants still permitted Bars, breweries, and tavernswithout a food license are prohibited from operating any indoor service Increasedemphasisof current guidelines Max. 6 people in your personal bubble(e.g., no household gatherings >6 people of non-household members) Face coveringsin all indoor and outdoor public settings Once again, the lack of leadership and mayor’s Lightfoot incompetence will undoubtedly kill the remaining businesses, still trying to operate in already razor-thin lines....

October 20,2020ByDAVID VEGA

Jacksonville’s oldest brewery says it will be shutting down in a month – Engine 15

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In a Facebook post. Engine 15 said,“Today, we have some unfortunate news to share. We have been trying to negotiate an extension of our current lease with our landlord at our beach location, but regrettably, we have been unable to agree with them. Our current lease expired in May, and we were permitted to stay on a month to month while we negotiated a new lease.” Engine 15 is one of the oldest craft breweries on the First Coast, opening its doors in 2010. The brewery is known for its Nut Sack Brown Ale and J ‘Ville Lager. But, due to increasing competition and production down, the china pandemic may shutter another fine establishment. Still, the owners are optimistic about finding a solution. If not, the brewery’s last day will be Nov. 15. Without more demand on the distribution side — where margins are thin, and volume has plummeted during the pandemic — the Engine 15 downtown location might not survive either. Protect local by joining Eat Local Jacksonville in COVID-19 era....