The Rebrand of Facebook Ads to Meta Ads

As you’re likely well aware by now, Facebook has officially rebranded to Meta. While the timing behind the decision was probably influenced by what has since become known as the ‘Facebook Papers’, it’s also heralded in the coming of Zuckerberg’s latest escapade: The Metaverse.

We won’t get bogged down with The Metaverse too much right now because it’s still very early in development and the world probably isn’t quite ready for some of the idealised technology just yet, but in short, it’s some sort of a digital world that you can interact with through augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR).

But what does all this have to do with how you can advertise your business on social media? Find out from a Meta and Facebook advertising agency!

What does the rebrand mean for advertisers?

In the immediate sense – not a lot.

Right now, the change is essentially a Meta sticker applied over the old Facebook logos. The reason for this is that there’s more to Facebook than just Facebook. Does that make sense?

Facebook (I mean Meta – d’oh!) own a lot more than just the social media platform Facebook. Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus VR, and Onavo, to name just a few, are all owned by Meta. So now you don’t have to confusingly call your Instagram adverts ‘Facebook Ads’ anymore as they’re just a type of Meta Ad!

There are some changes that are being implemented with the Meta Ads rollout, though. For example, Meta is restricting targeting options for any adverts that relate to:

This comes as a way to alleviate some of the negative press that Meta have been getting regarding advertisers abusing Meta’s targeting tools and their breadth of data on us all, and Meta has even sought feedback from civil rights experts and other stakeholders to make these decisions.

There’s a very brief roadmap of what updates can be expected in the near future, and as always there’s the potential that impromptu updates could pop up along the way, but for now things can pretty much be treated as normal in the paid ads sphere.

Other famous digital marketing rebrands

This isn’t the first time a big player in the paid media industry has lacquered on a fresh coat of paint through a rebrand, and as you can tell the world didn’t blow up then so it won’t blow up now either!

Google AdWords changed to Google Ads in 2018, complete with a snazzy new logo. This update consolidated all of Google’s advertising campaigns into one platform and things have moved pretty smoothly since.

Google’s change had a lot to do with representing the variety of campaign types that they offer on top of just Search ads, including Display, Video, and Shopping.

The following year Bing Ads completed a rebrand to Microsoft Advertising. In all honesty, Bing probably never took off as much as Microsoft hoped. By solidifying who they are and what they do under the Microsoft umbrella, it became clearer to the average person what Microsoft Advertising is.

Microsoft also used this rebrand as the chance to introduce the Microsoft Advertising Partner Program, a tool for agencies like ourselves to become certified experts in running adverts on Microsoft.

Advertising potential in the future

While the technology isn’t quite there just yet, a lot of big industry names are working on The Metaverse (or their own version of it) so the technology is coming along nicely.

What we do know for now is that Meta will have proprietorship of a lot of the technology behind the Metaverse, and therefore they don’t have to worry about middle-men systems like Apple, Android, and Google slapping in data protection acts to limit Meta’s ability to track data. Meta will likely have ­a lot of information on all of us, and so the potential to advertise more personally becomes much greater.

So what will paid media look like when it finally does come about? Well, right now we can only speculate but here’s some fanciful ideas (for good or bad!) from folks around the Blaze office!

‘I think adverts are going to become really immersive with day-to-day life. Companies could buy digital space and advertise through virtual billboards that are personalised to people as individuals.’

Sam – Front End Web Developer

‘Unless the technology really comes on then I don’t think it will take off. Right now, a lot of people (including me!) get too motion sick to fully use VR. But what would be good if it were like Iron Man and you could augment your reality and physically interact with virtual objects.’

Bec – Operations Director

‘I don’t think things will change that much. People don’t like to be presented with too much information because it’s inconvenient. Imagine being in The Metaverse and adverts are popping up right in front of you!’

Holly – Social Media Executive

‘There’ll be a blend between physical and digital advertising. You’ll be able to see physical adverts that are personalised based on your data so you could see something completely different to everyone else around you.’

Jordan – Digital Marketing Executive

What do you think? Sounds exciting? If the technology comes on and it’s implemented in a way that actually provides value to people rather than being just a money-making gimmick, then The Metaverse has the potential to really take off and gain a massive userbase. And if so, then advertising there will be a must.

An agency that prepares for the future

If the uncertainty of what the future of advertising looks like for Meta and The Metaverse is daunting, then sit back, relax, and leave your paid media in the hands of an expert digital marketing agency.

At Blaze Media, we’re a certified Meta Marketing Partner and keep up to date with the latest industry trends and policy changes. Get in touch with us today to start a futureproof paid media campaign!