Advertisers in the EU, beware—Meta’s advertising tools may have taken yet another hit.

On Wednesday, regulators in the EU ruled that the way Meta receives user consent for personalized advertising violates EU data privacy rules. Currently, users who agree to Facebook’s or Instagram’s terms of service grant Meta permission to collect personal data for personalized ads, essentially forcing users to accept targeted advertising, a violation of EU rules. The company was hit with fines totaling 390 million euro ($414 million) and given three months to deliver a compliance plan.

Big picture: The ruling stems from the passage of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a privacy law that places restrictions on how tech companies collect and use personal data. Irish privacy regulators began investigating Meta the day the law went into effect in 2018.

Meta said it plans to appeal the ruling. “We strongly believe our approach respects GDPR, and we’re therefore disappointed by these decisions and intend to appeal both the substance of the rulings and the fines,” Meta said in a blog post.

How big of a deal is this? The decision could force Meta to ask for permission from users if it wants to use their data for advertising, a practice that underpins the company’s entire business model. It could put “5%–7% of Meta’s overall advertising revenue at risk,” according to an analyst who spoke to the New York Times. Europe is Meta’s third-most profitable advertising market, where it reported $5.7 billion in ad revenue in Q3 2022.

“If they do have to ask for consent, then that’s obviously a big problem for them,” Robert Bateman, head of content at GRC World Forums, a company that runs events on governance, risk, and compliance, told Marketing Brew.

Read the full story here.—RB

When one imagines the scene at a top-tier marketing event, the sun-soaked French Riviera may spring to mind sooner than Las Vegas in January.

But at this year’s CES, which will attract an estimated 100,000+ attendees, quite a few exhibitors and attendees are central to making the marketing and media world go ’round: Amazon and Google, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery, Snap and TikTok. Even Netflix, which in November debuted an ad-supported tier, has a presence here. It makes sense: CES serves as the unofficial beginning of upfronts planning and dealmaking.

First things first: What do people do at events like this? Brad Simms, CEO and president of the agency Gale, considers the conference an opportunity to set the agenda for the rest of the year.

• “This is an opportunity for us to talk to media agencies, technology platforms, clients, and really listen [to] what they have prioritized, where they think things are going, what they view as important,” he told us.
• He said that means asking questions like: What’s on your priority list? and what are the two or three things you want to accomplish in 2023?

One big thing on marketers’ minds? The all-but-certain recession looming over the industry is expected to hit marketing budgets hard.

• “You have to optimize,” Don McGuire, svp and CMO of Qualcomm, said during an onstage conversation Wednesday. “We have to start thinking differently about how we can still accomplish our goals…but we also have to do it smarter and more efficiently because our budgets are being challenged.”

Some other interesting developments so far:

• Roku unveiled its own line of TVs
• Pinterest is partnering with LiveRamp Data Hub on clean rooms for select Pinterest advertisers
• TikTok and Vevo are partnering on a weekly show that will stream on Vevo’s FAST channels

I’ll be here all day, so if there’s something interesting on the ground I should check out, or if you want to meet up, shoot me a note.—KS

“It’s all about who you know” used to mean networking and shaking hands. Now? That friendliness happens on social media, usually starting with a little personal branding. There’s a reason 80% of marketing executives are actively developing their own brands—it can be truly career changing.

I can tell ya from experience that building a personal brand can get you in the room. Tweeting advertising analysis and social media breakdowns grew my Twitter followers to 50,000, followed by many career opportunities. My job conversations at R/GA, Twitch, and even Morning Brew all started from bosses sliding in my DMs. A Spotify PM reached out after reading my threads and hired my agency to work on several product launches. As I start freelancing/consulting for the first time, I’m counting on my social presence to bring in business.

But my focus won’t be on Twitter anymore. I hit LinkedIn hard last year and realized it’s the more effective, healthier, and cleaner way to build a professionally minded personal brand. More importantly, the type of content that wins isn’t all that different.

Let’s talk about why you should show off that brain of yours on LinkedIn.—JA

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Five stars: Here are 18 online review statistics that might come in handy for marketers.

Get searching: How to research “key topics and angles” for your brand to help maximize content engagement.

Give it away now: Check out these 11 ideas for Instagram giveaways.

Which headlines are real marketing news, and which one is fake?

1. Doritos just unveiled a brand new, slightly sweet flavor for 2023
2. Miley Cyrus pays homage to Hannah Montana in new T-Mobile ad
3. Neutrogena, Nourished use AI to craft customizable 3D printed gummies
4. Kenan Thompson cuts up as a ‘Lil Intern’ for Old Navy

Keep scrolling for the answer.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• What to expect from the streaming industry in 2023, according to experts
• Agencies are still hiring—here’s what they’re looking for in 2023
• Vox Media “formalizes” ban on fossil-fuel ads