In late January, the US Department of Justice, joined by eight states, sued Google for allegedly operating an ad-tech monopoly and violating antitrust laws.

The deeply detailed case, which reads almost like a history of the internet, claims that, on average, the company pockets at least 30 cents from every advertising dollar that flows from advertisers to publishers through its ad-tech tools. It alleges Google’s sweeping control over how ads are bought and sold online has created an environment that’s “raised barriers to entry to artificially high levels, forced key competitors to abandon the market for ad tech tools, dissuaded potential competitors from joining the market, and left Google’s few remaining competitors marginalized and unfairly disadvantaged.”

Specifically, the DOJ is seeking to order google to divest from or sell its sell-side business—the tools it offers to publishers to run ads and help monetize their sites. Like everything in ad tech, the case is complex—there are servers, exchanges, and references to header bidding—and many predict that it could be years before there’s anything close to a resolution.

So far, Google has responded with a blog post written by Dan Taylor, Google’s VP of global ads, in which he wrote that the lawsuit “ignores the enormous competition in the online advertising industry.” Marketing Brew spoke with Taylor about the case and how it might impact publishers. Read our conversation here.—RB

Each Tuesday, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Jon Perera is CMO of Highspot, a sales enablement platform. Earlier in his career, he held marketing roles at companies including Adobe and Microsoft.

Favorite project you’ve worked on? I’ve really enjoyed helping to create and execute Highspot’s international expansion strategy. Four years ago, we were a US-only company. We knew that there were massive, untapped markets outside the US that would benefit from sales enablement. I’d never opened an office in a different country and found it to be both an exciting and gratifying experience, from literally turning the keys for the first time in our London office to buying our first set of computers. We’ve subsequently opened offices in Munich, Paris, and Sydney.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? Anything that makes me laugh out loud. Humor is such a powerful tool to engage audiences authentically. “The League” commercial featuring former Seattle Seahawk Marshawn Lynch is both funny and painful—for Seahawks fans, at least.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile? Growing up, I always wanted to be a high school English teacher. With a degree in American literature, I had visions of leading exciting classroom discussions on the classics and spent a good deal of time auditing classes and sitting with teachers as they honed their craft. No surprise—I learned that teaching is not only one of the most important careers in our society, but it’s also one of the hardest. I have great respect for our educators.

What’s one marketing-related podcast, social account, or series you’d recommend? I find tremendous value in staying connected with the CMO community. I’m part of several communities, from Slack and Salesforce to in-person communities. I’ll move around a lot on my calendar to get the chance to engage with CMOs in the B2B space. I’m also a big fan of Simon Sinek, especially for his insights on leadership. I listen to him most on TikTok, in addition to some of the more well-known podcasts. A runner-up would be Revenue Vitals with Chris Walker, which is focused on B2B demand generation—lots of good CMO insights here.

Those used to shopping in standard grocery stores filled with conveyor belts and long aisles may realize they’re not in Kansas Kroger anymore when they step into Pop Up Grocer. The store has swapped out muted tones for pops of color and checkerboard tiling, generic category names for terms like “Breakfast-ish,” and heritage brands for up-and-coming Instagram CPG favorites.

After nearly three years of short-term stays across the country, Pop Up Grocer is finally ready to do things slightly more like a traditional retailer by settling down in a permanent location in New York City.

The traveling grocer, founded by CPG branding expert and Chobani alum Emily Schildt, first popped up in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood in 2019. The pop-up’s goal was to create a destination for shoppers, influencers, and even retail buyers to discover emerging CPG brands that follow three criteria: being new and interesting, responsibly made, and visibly appealing. It eventually headed to cities like Austin, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles before returning to its hometown to put down roots in Greenwich Village, with a store opening March 3.

“Having done this for three years now, in more or less the same format, I’m really itching to do something different…to reach more people, to provide more exposure and visibility to our brands, maybe eventually taking some shelf space away from some of the bigger guys and bigger retailers,” Schildt said. Read the full story on Retail Brew here.—EC

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

Optimize it: This list breaks down 20 technical SEO tools and how they can be useful.

Autofill: Find out how to automate DMs on various social media platforms and why it might be beneficial for marketers.

Off topic: Read up on Facebook’s plan to discontinue hashtag topics in Facebook Groups next month.

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In 2022, women represented around what percentage of marketers at companies that are members of the Association of National Advertisers?

1. 38%
2. 48%
3. 58%
4. 67%

Keep scrolling for the answer.

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

• How soccer star Ali Riley navigates brand deals
• Congress is considering bills that could regulate how advertisers interact with children
• Saw an ad for an EV? Good luck buying it