As predicted by Spruce Media, one of Facebook’s major ad-buying clients, that Facebook will, in the near future, be locked in a virtual power struggle with Google over advertising on the wider web. This struggle could very well shake up the current display ad world to its core, according to ‘The State of Facebook Advertising’, the Q4 report by Spruce, which tracks the pricing and performance of various Facebook ad types.
The report also mentions that Facebook might soon become capable of tracking web users from desktops, to their phones. This bit of news cannot be taken lightly as Spruce is also one of Facebook’s 12 Strategic Preferred Marketing Developers, along with being the company that handles ads for Samsung, Procter & Gamble, and the University of Phoenix.
Right now, it’s rather difficult to know if the same people are browsing the web from their phones, after doing the same thing on the laptop. But the thing is, most Facebook users have a habit of staying logged in, whether it’s on their phone or laptop. Hence their identity is easier to figure out, and they become easy targets for advertisers, even if they keep switching their devices. Though currently, PC cookies cannot be tracked in mobiles.
This makes Facebook a major threat to Google in the advertising business. This ability to track users might also boost Facebook’s total income by three times, according to Spruce Media. This Advertisement War will start as soon as Facebook begins providing advertisement services through Facebook.com and its mobile applications. This could benefit Facebook a lot, as the targets available are vast.
This news has not been confirmed by Facebook itself, and might just be a prediction, as Facebook’s test of ‘off-Facebook mobile app advertising network’ is currently on hiatus. But the test implies that Facebook is actually interested in providing advertisement services beyond the Facebook world, targeting Facebook users for advertisements on other sites or apps as well.