In this MadTech Podcast episode, ExchangeWire Editor Aimee Newell Tarín is joined by Head of Content John Still and Kiessé Lamour, Global Head of Media, Commerce at VML to discuss the latest in media, marketing and technology. 

They look at what the future could hold for Perplexity’s advertising model, TikTok’s rivalry against Amazon in the e-commerce landscape and the FTC’s report denouncing the data collection/use practices of social media platforms. 

Perplexity in talks with top brands on ads model (Financial Times) 

AI search engine Perplexity is in talks with big brands regarding its new advertising model. Brands involved in the talks reportedly include Nike and Marriott. The ad model will allow brands to bid for a sponsored question featuring an AI-generated answer already approved by the advertiser.  

TikTok Shop takes on Prime Day (Retail Gazette)

‘For You Days’, TikTok’s first week-long sales event in the UK, is currently on. Running from 23rd to 30th September, it features live selling events and one-off discounts from brands including L’Oreal Paris and Sweaty Betty. This follows the US launch of the event this summer, and comes a month before Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days next month. 

FTC Report Finds Large Social Media and Video Streaming Companies Have Engaged in Vast Surveillance of Users with Lax Privacy Controls (FTC)

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a report denouncing the way social media platforms collect and profit from user data. The FTC called their practices out as being a “vast surveillance” programme, which can “endanger people’s privacy, threaten their freedoms, and expose them to a host of harms, from identity theft to stalking”. The investigation examined Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Reddit, SnapChat, TikTok, X, Twitch, and YouTube. The FTC called on Congress to pass comprehensive privacy legislation to increase regulation in the US.