“We always have cyberattacks,” Shvo said. “This week, the volume was so much bigger.” Hacker groups from around the world have claimed credit for cyberattacks on both Israeli and Palestinian websites and apps, Bloomberg reported.
To prevent cyberattacks, Zoomd is blocking traffic from websites based in countries known for them, which is hurting organic traffic.
“On a regular daily basis, we get leads to the company, and that went down by 50%” since the beginning of the war, Argaman said.
Zoomd is also decreasing its paid advertising globally by 50% partly because the company has fewer staff—10% are fighting in the war—to process and, ultimately, pitch for new clients. And Zoomd is pausing partly in an effort to not advertise too aggressively, especially to Israeli consumers mired in conflict. Argaman doesn’t anticipate long-term impacts to this advertising pause unless the conflict expands beyond the Middle East.
Companies based in Israel that advertise to Israeli consumers have generally rapidly decreased their advertising efforts, two ad-tech executives said.
Delaying products, testing and 2024 plans
At Primis, executives not only paused launching a new marketing campaign but are also delaying making plans for next year, an activity typically done during the fourth quarter, Shvo said.
At mobile app-focused demand-side platform Bigabid, the conflict not only affects routine business strategy but also requires adaptation to macro industry changes.
The company had been testing solutions for Apple’s iOS 17 update, the operating system released last month that will make it even harder to target ads to users, as well as testing Google’s Privacy Sandbox, a suite of solutions intended to replace the third-party cookie.
“We stopped any type of experiment,” said Bigabid founder Ido Raz. “It’s definitely something in the road map and our strategy. Hopefully, it will only be a month.”
Despite these setbacks, Israeli ad-tech executives said that clients have been understanding, with two executives saying clients reached out proactively before they even had to email. “They understand that some things will be delayed,” Raz said.
Still, as Israeli ad-tech companies find some support in the international community, several executives speaking to Adweek said their staff is avoiding the conference circuit—an opportunity for driving leads—preferring to be close to their families.
“It’s a celebration. You want to go meet friends and partners and celebrate and go to dinners and parties,” said Shvo of the conference atmosphere. “It’s not something anything of us can really imagine doing right now.”
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