Why EA’s ad server is kind of a big deal

Today’s Social Media advertising rates are invited to the cookout:

↗️ META: $9.12 | ↘️ TIKTOK: $1.94 | ↗️ SNAPCHAT: $5.78

In this week’s edition: 

• 🚨 Do this by Monday or your Meta ads could stop delivering

•  EWhy ChatGPT’s LiveRamp deal is a game-changer 🧠

• ☠️  Social Media Death Watch: UK Edition

But first…

🎮 Why EA’s ad server is kind of a big deal

For the first time, the big-budget, major-studio end of the gaming universe is making its inventory accessible to media buyers on their preferred terms. That’s right: AE is launching its first ad platform, EA Advertising, opening up gameplay through placements such as stadium signs and in-game custom content. 

In the past, if a brand wanted to run campaigns across multiple games, it had to be custom-built studio by studio, which often meant it became bespoke, unscalable, and invisible to a media buyer's standard tools. But now with the launch of EA Advertising, EA has a few ways for brands to reach audiences and measure performance.

• Brand Partnerships and Gameplay Integrations: Custom integrations through options like in-game challenges, branded content, and the potential to opt-in for customized vanity items.

• Ad Units in 3D Sports Simulations: Reach fans in select EA SPORTS games, including scoreboards and digital ad boards.

• Enhanced Targeting and Measurement Capabilities: Brands can connect with audiences using targeting from EA’s new proprietary ad server and SDK.

• EA SPORTS Partner Program: A select group of partners get access to special opportunities to engage with EA’s sports communities through events like EA SPORTS Presents Madden Bowl, in-game integrations and creator tools.

The Inside Scoop🍦: Now trending in performance media

♾️ Meta has added a profile grid rearranging option to Instagram. We’re ready to throw a ticker-tape parade for the hero who made this happen. The feature allows users to rearrange posts on their profile grids, increasing the control users have in how their content is presented.

🚨 Buyer Beware: On Monday, June 22, Nielsen’s DMAs will be removed from all Meta targeting and reporting.

• All existing campaigns using Nielsen DMAs for targeting will stop delivering and will need to be updated with the relevant Comscore Markets replacement before the campaign can be restarted.

• Meta’s MMM data (both exports from Ads reporting and via API) will switch from Nielsen DMA to Comscore Markets®.

• Nielsen DMAs will be removed from Ads Manager reporting, Insights API, and Advanced Analytics.

🔎 Google is updating its bidding systems for campaigns that use a target-based bid strategy, such as Target ROAS. Today, when your campaign has a "Limited by budget" status, if you use a Target-based bid strategy, some campaigns that have been “overperforming” on bidding targets may see performance fluctuations when budgets are adjusted. After August 17, campaigns that are limited by budget that use a target-based bid strategy will more consistently perform toward your bid target, including when you make budget adjustments.

• Example: If your campaign's Target CPA is $10, but your recent actual CPA performance is $5, your campaign will deliver more closely to a $10 actual CPA after August 17. You’ll avoid this by updating your target CPA to $5 to maintain your recent performance.

💡 Google also announced it’s launching Promotion Mode in beta for Search and PMax campaigns. This feature lets you schedule temporary changes to your ROAS tolerance and add additional daily budget during peaking periods, helping you maximize performance during seasonal events, flash sales, product launches, and more.

📺 YouTube has launched “Music Nights,” a new global live concert series featuring intimate performances and fan experiences; the inaugural artists include Kacey Musgraves, Isaiah Rashad, and Bleachers. The initiative reinforces YouTube’s role in music discovery and artist engagement, while expanding opportunities for fans to connect with artists through live events, Shorts, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content. Think of this as a natural, YT-branded extension of live streams like Coachella and other major music festivals and concerts.

• While TikTok remains a leading platform for music discovery, YouTube continues to play a critical role in helping artists build deeper relationships with fans. Between July 2024 and June 2025, YouTube says it paid out $8 billion to music publishers and has grown YouTube Music and Premium to 125 million subscribers.

⏰ TikTok reps have indicated that advertisers will be forced to use Smart+ for traffic objectives in all accounts by the end of June or early July. This has API implications in terms of ad level reporting. We are still inquiring about how many accounts can get on the opt-out list and how long it will last. 

🚨 TikTok has recently updated their ad policies for several new verticals to the platform, including the following:

• Social Casino

• Real Money Gambling

• Business Verification

• GLP-1 Weight Management

• Weight Management

• Explicit Content: Music Videos

• Alcohol

• Gambling: Gaming Registration

• Political Advertising

• Blue Tick Account Verification

• TikTok’s Full Advertising Guidelines

💼 LinkedIn partnered with Bain & Company on a new report highlighting the importance of “buyability” in B2B marketing. The research found that purchase decisions are often driven less by product features and more by whether decision-makers can confidently defend their choice to peers and stakeholders.

• According to the report, 40% of deals stall because buying groups cannot reach consensus, with one key finding noting that buyers would often rather do nothing than risk making a decision that could negatively impact their career.

• The study also found that customer advocacy plays a major role in influencing buyers, with prospects three times more likely to choose a vendor recommended by peers or customers than one offering a better product or lower price. 

For B2B marketers, the findings reinforce the value of case studies, testimonials, and industry-specific success stories in building trust, reducing perceived risk, and driving revenue:

🐦 X has introduced new updates to Ads Manager aimed at simplifying campaign setup, measurement, and optimization:

• Google Tag Manager Integration: Enables advertisers to set up Pixel and CAPI directly within ads manager through a no-code integration.

• Unified Developer Tools: Consolidates all Conversion API resources within events manager for easier access.

• Real-Time Conversion Diagnostics: Introduced a live dashboard with visibility into Pixel and CAPI health.

💾 Microsoft Ads now lets advertisers target audiences by LinkedIn job seniority across Search and Audience campaigns.

• The update is available at both the campaign and ad group level, and allows advertisers to target users based on 10 standardized seniority levels.

• Available in the following regions: Americas (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, U.S.), EMEA (Egypt, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa), APAC (Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam).

🧠 OpenAI is partnering with LiveRamp, meaning advertisers running ChatGPT campaigns can now use LiveRamp’s Conversions API Hub. This partnership could help advertisers address concerns about targeting and measuring ChatGPT ad campaigns, including being able to connect conversion actions to their campaigns.

☠️ Social Media Death Watch: Following Australia’s landmark decision last year, the UK has officially announced its plan to ban teenagers under 16 from social media apps. Under this new model, major networks like TikTok and Instagram face blocks, while messaging platforms like WhatsApp will not be affected. The UK government noted they intend to “learn the lessons from Australia’s experience,” where many Aussie teens have continued to access social media through digital loopholes.

Thanks for reading! We’ll be back next week to fill your inbox with more tips, tricks, and treats from the addressable universe.

In the meantime, stay up to date with the latest performance marketing intelligence by following us on Linkedin, Instagram, and X.

This week’s edition of the Thread was created by Jess Dashner, Anoushka Madan, Mariya Samardzhieva, Sabina Saktaganova, Sims Wilson, Kiara Quigley, Lara Spijkerman, Kayleigh McDonald, Caitlin LaValle, and Carly Carioli.