My oldest kid is at sleepaway camp this week which meant that my chauffeuring duties were cut down to nearly nothing. This in turn meant a super productive week all around. I cooked dinner every night for 6 nights in a row (this never happens here), I went on two walks, I cleared off my work to do list, interviewed a job candidate (we’re hiring for a Search Conversion Manager FYI), I wrote my second quarter home builder marketing benchmark report, and best of all, we had our in person marketing team day on Wednesday. We covered so much ground, got organized, made plans, and executed on some new ideas.
Tonight, I pick up my kid for the weekend before sending her back for next week (thanks to Covid weekend overnight camp is a no go). Before I head into my weekend I bring you the news of the week. I’m covering home building obstacles and market info, updates on that state of Google’s FLoC, and some promising Facebook ads info.
NEXT HOUSING MARKET ISSUE
Just as the lumber crisis seems to be headed towards better days, word is out about the labor shortage. Not that it’s new news, but it’s now being brought to the forefront of the conversation alongside the general conversations about “the Great Resignation” that’s transpiring across all verticals. The pandemic has made a lot of people rethink their jobs and careers and the pay associated with them. The employment problem in housing is looking to become larger as we move forward.
HOUSING MARKET COOL DOWN
While new home demand remains strong, there is good news in the overall housing market. Bidding wars were on the decline in June and resale home availability has risen. Increased availability of resale homes and a cool down of the bidding wars points to an evening out of the market which should allow home builders to catch up on their efforts a little, even if there is a labor shortage and lumber is still pricey.
FLoCs
Google’s going back to the FLoC’s drawing board. Turns out all that negative feedback has got them rethinking how to handle a world without cookies. The truth of the matter though is that we need something like a FLoC in order for ads of value to be delivered to people. In a quest for privacy, consumers could be cutting off their noses to spite their faces in my opinion. Without all that data, the ads you see could be irrelevant and more annoying than the ones you see now.
One company who seems to have found a cookieless solution is Facebook. And they seem to have recovered from the iOs 14.5 ATT hit. The fear was that remarketing audiences in particular would dissipate. But current data indicates that didn’t happen. Between their Conversion API and the data network they have built over the years, audience numbers remain steady. The same can be said for ONeil Facebook ad clients.
That’s all she wrote for this Friday. A shorter than usual Edit but it’s packed full of useful info, and don’t forget to check out the aforementioned second quarter benchmark report.
