Publicis and The Trade Desk Pair-up to Take on Google

The Trade Desk (TTD) is a demand-side platform operating in the digital advertising space.  Recently, Google has been threatening to remove cookies from its browser experience, which is an important way digital marketers recognize and market to people on the internet today.  In response, The Trade Desk has been developing an open source, alternative cookie approach, Unified ID 2.0.  This is a direct response to Google's actions, but a service that others would be able to use at no cost.

One of the largest ad agencies, Publicis Groupe, is the latest company to endorse Unified ID 2.0 and partner with The Trade Desk.  One of the risks with The Trade Desk's approach was adoption, especially given it was a bit of a risk and large capital expenditure for the company to develop this for the benefit of the industry, given they do not expect to turn this into a revenue stream.  With endorsements like this one by Publicis Groupe, this risk looks like it is on the path to being mitigated.

What Fyre Festival teaches us from its marketing strategy

It is unfortunate that one of the most successful marketing campaigns – the Fyre festival – ended up a disaster. I summarize some take-aways I had based on the class discussion and further reading:

·         What Fyre marketing sold was not a product or a service – it was a feeling. It successfully created an aura and mystery. I realize how helpful it can be to zoom out and take a holistic view while designing a campaign. Consumers will buy a product if you can convince them it will make them feel how they want to feel. 

·         The Fyre festival successfully built hype, which can be very critical in creating engagement. Instagram influencers shared posts of orange squares that spread like “wildfyre,” creating hype and ultimately selling out the event.

·         To initially create buzz, the marketers chose Instagram. Given the demographic that they wanted to reach, that of urban wealthy millennials, this was a well-chosen social platform.

·         When it comes to finding influencer partners, Fyre was equally aligned. Brands should only work with influencers who are a natural fit, have an engaged following, and a trusting audience. Beyond that, the influencers’ followers should align with the brand’s target market.

·         The Fyre Festival influencer marketing also showcased the strength of a well-orchestrated influencer marketing strategy. The influencer campaign itself was staggered. A few influencers created the initial buzz, but the influencer campaign continued, eventually involving more than 400 influencers.

·         Fyre Festival influencers demonstrated just how much their opinion matters to their vast Instagram audience. It clearly signaled the power of influencers.

·         Influencers need to be mindful on the impact that they can have. The bulk of the influencers with respect to Fyre violated FTC guidelines by not acknowledging the money they were paid in exchange for their endorsement. They also gave their audience a false impression by buying into an event without any proof of an end product.

Facebook Adding Labels to Posts

 https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/8/22373291/facebook-label-news-feed-page-posts-fan-satire-public-official

I can understand why Facebook would want to test out labeling posts so that users have a better understanding of what is legitimate news and what is not.  I wonder how effective such labeling will be, however, if news publications or companies may try to find ways around it.  I am also curious as to how this labeling will affect native ads that are usually more subtle, as they normally do not show a “sponsored” caption.

Can Brands Reinvent New Forms of Social Media?

 

In a previous article, we covered how some high end fashion and luxury brands are quitting social media.

For instance, earlier on this year, Bottega Veneta left all social media, as they were judged too “mainstream” and incapable of expressing the true essence of the luxury brand.

At the same time, most brands were embracing a more aggressive social media strategy, doubling down on their TikTok and Clubhouse efforts.

 

However, it is comforting to know that the brand was not leaving the digital realm for good: Bottega has been implementing a strategy to differentiate itself in the social media environment, and has recently launched its own media platform: a digital journal featuring articles, music and a series of lively video stories, that are meant to replicate a brand book in the digital world.

 

The success of this differentiation strategy still needs to be seen, as Bottega Veneta will have to rely on its own client data base (client lists, influencers, collaborators, and fans) to spread the word of its digital title. Will this strategy achieve an impact comparable to social media presence?

 

https://www.businessoffashion.com/news/marketing-pr/bottega-veneta-launches-online-magazine

https://www.issuedbybottega.com/#page-2

Building Brand Trust and Affinity by tapping into Psychological Levers

 In the recent years, it has become known of the power of Educational content in building brand trust and affinity.  In a study done by conductor (R1), it was discovered that a week after reading some education content from a brand, there was a 9% increase in the number of consumers who identified the brand as "trustworthy".  In addition, there was an 8% increase in positive brand perception.  Furthermore, it was also discovered that consumers who read an educational content from a brand were 48% more likely to buy one week later.

These study insights lead to a more fascinating dive into the underlying psychological principles that affect customer behaviour.  Upon discussing the findings with a leading web psychologist Nathalie Nahai, some  root psychological levers were uncovered:

• familiarity principle
• reciprocity
• likeability based  on values

These findings are interesting and puts a new light on existing marketing activities such as social proofs which encapsulates these levers.  Intuitively, it makes sense that if you portray familiarity, tap into an innate desire to reciprocate, and align with customer core values in your messaging, the conversion outcome will be a lot higher.  

Like in Leadership where there are many different styles of leading (value-based, servant, etc.), so too are there different approaches to marketing your business. Personally, I feel good marketing comes down to building trust through a strong value proposition and how you communicate it authentically and effectively to align your vision with customers perceptions.

References:

https://www.conductor.com/blog/2017/10/building-brand-trust/

https://www.nathalienahai.com/books/

Why TikTok Can Easily Produce Viral Content

TikTok provides a great platform for both customers and creators. For customers, it makes use of long-tail model, customizing content for users with different tastes. Its algorithm and data set, currently second to none, are good at feeding them what they love and are trained to get better and better.

For creators, barriers to entry are low and they can gain followers more quickly than on any other platform. They do not need to have a strong fan base. The only thing matters is content. TikTok employees label multiple characteristics for each video and make sure they can target and connect right micro-cultures.

Therefore, every video can be categorized into specific labels and then reach as many users who may have interest as possible. A lot of customers and creators are attracted. According to CNBC, as of August 2020, TikTok had about 100 million monthly active U.S. users, up nearly 800% percent from Jan.2018.

Moreover, the users are most under 24. At this age, people usually have the highest desire to create or comment. They spend a lot of time on the platform and actively participate in various challenges.

Another important point is that the contents in TikToks emphasize authentic. It is all about capturing unfiltered, unstaged real life. They are generally filmed in bathrooms. Bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens, so customers will feel relaxed and easily empathize in these familiar places.

All in all, customization, youthfulness and authenticity are key points making videos easily go viral.

Watch Brands Go Digital. (No, It’s Not 2010.)

I found this article interesting because it highlighted the challenges faced by luxury brands and there ability to adapt to a digital world. Historically, most luxury brands limited their advertising efforts to produce a sense of exclusivity and mitigate the dilution of the brand. Specifically, watch companies like Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemar Piguet relied on brand legacy and word of mouth among the elite. How does this strategy translate to the digital age where a lot of potential customers who are high earners rely on digital channels to determine what is cool (e.g., Google engineer). Leveraging social media channels to access a new breed of HENRYs (i.e., High Earners Not Rich Yet) that use the likes of Instagram as their main medium for information on the latest fashion trends will be crucial for all brand moving forward. Interesting to see how luxury watch brands are attempting to adapt.   

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/10/fashion/watch-online-sales-digital.html

 

Clubhouse Already In Hot Water with Regulators

A few months ago, Clubhouse burst onto the social media scene as one of the fastest growing new platforms. However, it didn’t take long for regulators to take notice. The French data privacy regulator has already started an investigation into how Clubhouse is handling user data. European countries are known for their much stricter data privacy laws relative to the US. Clubhouse’s specific offense relates to their secret downloading of all of a user’s contacts when users sign up.

General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, has been used to restrict the dissemination of user information among the public and for advertisers. Nothing strikes more fear into the hearts of major tech companies who traffic in enormous amounts of personal data than the prospect of GDPR becoming a framework for regulation in other countries across the globe. The flow of data into and out of these platforms is the lifeblood of their business, and any restrictive regulation would be very, very bad for that business.

Failing to comply with the regulations could cause companies to be shut out of entire countries or regions. Given that their valuations are often based on high future growth, this could be devastating to their ability to borrow money or issue equity to keep the business afloat. Clubhouse immediately issued a statement that they are happy to be transparent and work with regulators, a common tactic from platforms. Try as they may to avoid regulation, it seems almost certain that, given the high profile societal problems blamed on the platforms, further regulation in the US and elsewhere is inevitable. The companies and their investors should take notice.

 

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/clubhouse-investigated-french-regulator-cnil-gdpr-privacy-data-2021-3

Google to stop tracking individually: Part 2

As a continuation of my previous post on Google's decision not to allow individual tracking (https://alittleclass.blogspot.com/2021/03/google-to-stop-tracking-individually.html), I saw an article in WSJ on how one of the Big 3 advertising conglomerates, Publicis Groupe, is partnering with Trade Desk Inc. in providing a combined databank of personal IDs between Trade Desk and Publicis Groupe's, through their data marketing agency, Epsilon. On a side note, it's personally funny because as someone who works for one of Publicis Groupe's agencies, Epsilon was just a team that had signs in our office but no one knew what they were truly doing. Good to know it's a real thing and a light is being shown on them.

Back to the topic. This is exactly what the original article predicted. How the decision from Google will not stop individual tracking, but will open up new marketshare for companies that has a wealth of proprietary customer data. I actually got a company newsletter from Publicis Groupe's CEO, Arthur Sadoun, on this exact announcement, trumpeting how this deal will provide real personalized marketing opportunities to our clients. So, what's meant to deter personal tracking, might open up a world where it becomes uber personalized. Again, going back to what the people from 'Social Dilemma' were saying, all of this is has good intentions, making our daily lives more effortless and creating the type of utopia that we all read about as a kid. It's only when these tools and inventions are used by companies and organizations that are trying to manipulate the user for their benefit, it becomes harmful and create social issues.

It seems I'm actually part of the issue, since I work for an advertising agency, so I'll end here.

Here's the article to the partnership between Publicis and Trade Desk: https://www.wsj.com/articles/publicis-groupe-signs-on-to-use-trade-desks-alternative-to-cookies-11617883217

Gap, Get it Together!

With 54% YoY growth ($6B), Gap recognized significant increase across its digital footprint with 50% of traffic and 75% of sales arriving through mobile channels.

With this surge in demand spurred by broader macro e-commerce trends due to the pandemic, Gap is now playing catch up as it aims to match the loyalty programs of its competitors - specific to the customer fulfillment process.

Over the last few decades, Gap has struggled to maintain relevancy as the "Americana identity" brands (a la America Eagle and Abercrombie) have been overtaken by European fast-fashion (Zara and H&M) and the rise of online DTC brands.

It's shocking to me that Gap is only now addressing core customer-service initiatives relating to fast-shipping and general lifetime value. It's not as if Amazon's key success driver has been a secret for the last decade.

Article: https://www.retaildive.com/news/gap-tiered-fulfillment-customer-loyalty/597898/

Zuckerberg Unhappy over Apple's New Privacy Update

Mark Zuckerberg openly criticized Apple's new and upcoming privacy update that will allow users to give or deny permission to be tracked when using certain applications. Apple is doing this to provide users with more control over how their data is handled by third-parties, amidst a time when data sharing and privacy has been a controversial topic.

In mid-March, Zuckerberg expressed his disapproval and concern with Apple's incoming policy change, while also stating that he is "confident" Facebook will be able to manage the new landscape. He is, however, not sure that small businesses and developers will be able to navigate the new tracking environment as easily.

In a time where data sharing and privacy is a hot topic, it is very interesting to see these types of changes being introduced by big tech companies when it comes to, what seems like, limitless sharing of user's personal data and online behavior. With Google introducing FLoC as well, it will be very important for digital marketers to continue to stay up to date on newly introduced regulations in order to continue to innovate and avoid using strategies that have gone stale.

Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-criticizes-apple-on-clubhouse/

IAB: Digital ad revenue rose 12% in 2020 amid rebound from pandemic

• Digital advertising revenue in the U.S. rose 12% to $139.8 billion last year, a sign of resilience as marketers coped with the negative effects of the pandemic on their media plans. Digital video saw the highest growth at 21% to $26.2 billion, expanding its share of total internet ad revenue by 1.3% to almost 19%, according to a report commissioned by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and conducted by PwC.
• Social media ad revenue also was strong, rising by 16% to $41.5 billion to make up 30% of all internet ad revenue. As more marketers bought ads through automated exchanges, programmatic ad revenue rose 25% to $14.2 billion for the year.
• After digital ad revenue fell 5.2% from a year earlier in Q2 as marketers canceled or delayed campaigns during the onset of the pandemic, it bounced back by 12% in Q3 and by 29% to a record in Q4. The growth was attributed to political ad spending and the need to spend budgets that had been paused during the first half of the year, according to the report.

The strong rebound in digital advertising during the second half of last year came as people spent more time consuming media through connected devices like smart TVs and mobile phones. As marketers sought to reach consumers who were spending more time at home and shopping online, especially as the holiday season ramped up, the second half of the year completely erased the weakness of the second quarter.

"The clear and resounding message here is: The industry as a whole is very healthy," CJ Bangah, principal at PwC, said in an online presentation for the report. "All players at this point in time appear to be benefitting from that growth, and while the top 10 companies in terms of revenue continue to gain share, the industry as a total is growing."

Those top 10 companies include Google, Facebook and Amazon, which all reported double-digit growth in ad revenue for the year. Among the three, Google did see the first decline in ad revenue in its 26-year history during the second quarter, but ended the year with record sales that included a 46% jump for video-sharing site YouTube. Facebook said its ad revenue surged 21% from the prior year to $84.2 billion as marketers targeted consumers who had increased their social media usage. With more people shopping online, Amazon expanded its share of the U.S. digital ad market to more than 10% for the first time, according to a separate study.

While digital advertising on desktop computers surpassed $40 billion for the first time last year, mobile platforms showed stronger performance, PwC's Bangah said. As more consumers sign up for higher-speed 5G service, mobile's share is likely to grow, she said.

"It's unquestionable that mobile is cannibalizing the percentage of ad spend," Bangah said. "With the innovation we're seeing in 5G, and with the expectation that consumers really start getting out a bit more, the mobile growth or mobile percent of share could potentially move up."

As more consumers shifted their viewing habits from traditional linear TV to digital video platforms, marketers boosted their spending on those channels. As ad-based video-on-demand (AVOD) services like the Roku Channel, Pluto TV and Tubi expand their audiences, digital video ad spend is likely to grow.

"When we break it down by format, digital video was a clear breakout star of last year in terms of their growth overall and their increase in share," Bangah said. "If you look at the formats between 2019 and 2020, you're still seeing search, display and other [categories] also grow in total, but digital video just had the most significant growth."

Social media also is poised for continued strength, Bangah said, helping to confirm a study by Pew Research Center that found about seven in 10 Americans use social media, a percentage that has remained stable in the past five years.

"Advertisers [are] looking for safe choices, performance choices, outcome-based marketing and really things that allow increasingly personalized ads and ads that are increasingly targeted to very specific demographics that enable very specific business outcomes," Bangah said. "That does seem to have benefitted social media advertising in total. We're also seeing consumers continue to spend a lot of time with their social devices across a number of apps and with a number of different brands."

Source: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/iab-digital-ad-revenue-rose-12-in-2020-amid-rebound-from-pandemic/598019/

Alternate strategies for retargeting

 RETAIL REVOLUTION

With the death of third-party cookies, it's interesting to read this article that shows the range of opinions about retargeting from Google will figure it out or that retargeting will change for good with a focus on impact vs scale.

It will be interesting to see which huge company becomes the dominant player in this space to provide data and come with a rich first-party id for advertisers to use as a signal for retargeting. I think there are many companies sitting on the fence who are still to get into this space as a data provider. 

https://digiday.com/media/brands-search-for-retargeting-alternatives-as-third-party-cookie-demise-looms/

CODED BIAS

 "Our ideas about technology and society that we think are normal are actually ideas that come from a very small and homogeneous group of people," a striking statement shared by data journalist and NYU professor Meredith Broussard in the Netflix documentary Coded Bias. Meredith explores how the unconscious biases of technology leaders are inherently embedded in the technology that they create.  She does this by highlighting how an artificial intelligence program recognizes lighter faces but not darker faces.  A test of facial recognition tools developed by IB, Microsoft, and Google revealed that the programs performed better on male faces than on female faces. Why? Because the data used to train the a.i. algorithm was mainly images of white men. 

Like The Social Dilemma documentary, Coded Bias highlights the need to challenge our unwitting dependence on technology and the asymmetrical power wielded by the entities and develop and use the tech. 

Marketplace of Marketplaces

 Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/17/style/amazon-brand-flippers.html 

With the rapid rise of e-commerce and marketplaces, we are now seeing companies like Thrasio build PE like firms buying up and consolidating third party sellers to sell on these marketplaces. In other words, what is new is old, and what is old is new. As I read this article, I couldn't help but think that as much as things have changed, no matter what happens, the cycle remains the same, specifically: Decentralize --> Centralize --> Decentralize and so forth. Before the internet, there was so much concern about monopoly type power, too much centralization with department stores or drug store chains. Post the internet boom, and with the rise of Amazon, Shopify, etc, anyone could turn themselves into a business. Business was once again, democratized. Over the past few years however, with so much dry powder, many have identified the opportunity of buying these individual businesses for a small premium, and through economies of scale, aiming to earn a larger payback with recurring revenue. Thrasio reached $1B valuation in just 18 months since its inception. The question becomes, how will this be decentralized again? The true winners though are the marketplaces that have achieved scale and dominant market share. No matter how much consolidation happens behind the scenes, in the end they still get a cut of everything thats sold, and thats all that matters to them. 

Amazon's Amazin' Actual Acquisition of Ad Market Share (in the US)

 The alliteration was simply for fun and had no other purpose. But, this blog post does have an intention and purpose! 

Amazon Surpasses 10% of U.S. Digital Ad Market Share - WSJ

Amazon's share of the U.S. digitial ad market has continued to grow and chip away at Google and Facebooks share on a % basis. 10% marks the latest milestone -- and Amazon's share is projected to continue to grow. 

Amazon's share is almost entirely derived of Ads on their own marketplace platform, which is kinda funny and shows how dominant Amazon is as an ecommerce player.

It also points to the continued overlap of the major US tech players as each seeks growth in the others categories -- a sort of friendly but foe relationship as both partners and competitors. 

Digital Ecosystem, Influencers and MLM's

 It's so interesting to continue learning about the new and existing challenges around digital marketing and consumers. There are so many angles to look at, each with positive and negative traits, each with a world of possibilities.

This time I explored the use of social media and nano-influencers to grow already existing, or new, MLMs. What once was a pyramid scheme, where people were approached to sell products to family and friends and were incentivized to add members to the so call community, now became a lot easier by treating their work as 'influencer' related. 

We now need to pay attention if companies approaching so called influencers are in fact part of a multi-level marketing scheme. I am interested to find out how their business grew this last year where a lot of people were approached to become 'ambassadors'. How many were in reality MLM's trying to recruit more members?

Drawing a connection between both will be beneficial and hopefully will be public and people become aware. e-commerce and influencers work well as long as it's transparent, and the more I study the subject, the more I realize how little transparency is there in all of this.

Article: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/age-pyramid-schemes-influencers-fighting-164122078.html

Voice search provides the quick and easy way to engage customers

Imagine it is a hot summer afternoon, you are driving on the highway and craving an iced coffee, what is the easiest way to find the coffee shops with a quick detour? You can simply say "okay Google, find me a coffee shop nearby" to trigger Google Map's voice search. 

Voice search has gained a lot of popularity over the past several years. According to Mobile Marketer, the voice search for shopping needs will reach $40 billion by 2022. For non-sophisticated purchase decisions (e.g., buying an iced coffee), customers seek convenience and speed over the abundance of choices. As a result, the local listings search, covering places to visit, hotels to stay, and restaurants to eat, etc., contributes most of the voice search usage. 

For marketers, it is extremely important to understand the voice search and keep up with the fast growth. Having a voice search strategy is the starting point. Because the voice queries tend to be longer than text searches (again given the convenience of saying vs. typing), the keywords should be in the form of short phrases. Meanwhile, because the voice search is typically triggered by a question, the question keywords should be targeted as well, such as how, what, why and where. 

With voice search on the rise, it is time to start investing and utilizing voice search for all businesses. Ranking better for voice will soon become as critical as text searches. 

iPhone Apps will start asking to Track you!

iPhone and iPad apps will start asking permissions to track your information starting from iOS 14.5, the next software release. Apps that track users data for advertising purposes will be required to show the users a prompt asking permission to track. Basically, you will be getting pop-ups! There are two options to choose; "Allow" or "Ask App Not to Track." Interestingly, Apple itself had a strong commitment to user privacy which made it difficult for the advertisers to use cookies to track people in the safari browser on iOS and Mac devises. Note that Apple is not an advertising company like Facebook and Google which I though it make sense to allow the users to control their privacy.

I thought this was very interesting that more and more companies are now more concerned about privacy controls which means that it will be a lot harder for digital marketers to find the right target market. Given that Apple has its own device and a platform, privacy control by the users are a lot more easier than Facebook and Google.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/iphone-apps-asking-to-track-you-answers-to-your-ios-14-5-privacy-questions-11617800400?mod=hp_lead_pos12

Ad placement in mobile gaming apps continues to gain traction

 As the pandemic shifted the way we interact with the physical world, the mobile world saw its opportunity to shine and took over. As stadiums and movie theaters were closed during 2020, global mobile gaming app installs jumped 45% and dating apps showed an average 20% surge in usage -- and July, August, and September 2020 showed a 25% year-over-year increase in app usage overall. While this change is transformational by itself, advertisers did not sit idly by as consumers latched to their phones during quarantine. 

With nearly 5.2 billion unique mobile users worldwide (nearly 67% of the population), advertisers saw the potential to deliver customized ad content right beneath the consumer's nose. As 5G proliferates across the globe, a richer mobile experience is likely to lead consumers to spend more time on their phones, not less. As a result, targeted advertising is likely to become increasingly targeted. 

As consumers sought entertainment outlets during the pandemic, interest in mobile gaming spiked. As a result, advertisers began to place ads at "logical stopping points between levels, taking up the entire mobile screen without disrupting play." As we know, mobile ad placement is not limited to gaming apps and the already powerful nature of mobile ads is only likely to increase over time with new platforms seemingly being launched every quarter. 

While mobile advertising is here to stay, the challenge for advertisers will be to produce the highest quality and most diverse content in order to attract a diverse set of consumers over time. Businesses with the most scale are likely to continue dominating this area of digital advertising, though there will always be room for new competitors. 

Source: https://digiday.com/sponsored/how-brands-and-publishers-are-capitalizing-on-mobile-video-ad-trends-in-2021/

Amazon Gains Share in the Digital Ad Market

In 2020, Amazon's share of the total digital ad market in the US increased to about 10% (from about 8%), partly due to the impact of COVID-19 and the fact that advertisers were trying to reach customers who were shopping online.  Overall, Amazon's ad business increased 53% to $15.73B and is expected to grow another 30% to surpass $20B in sales this year.  Analysts expect that this growth will continue as marketers buy ads across Amazon's platforms, from it's e-commerce site to its streaming services (Twitch, Fire TV, and IMDb).  This growth is most threatening to Google's ad business, which is expected to lose share from 29% to 27% by 2023.  Google's Search business, however, is projected to grow this year to $14.52B (19% market share) and increase to over 20% market share in 2022. 

In response to this, Facebook and Google are trying to gain traction within e-commerce and have both added features to their platforms.  Google has updated Google Shopping with features that drive traffic to retailers and Facebook has added more shopping features to Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.  It's interesting to see how real the threat from Amazon is to the other digital titans but if they want to complete in the e-commerce space they will need to continue to add features as Amazon has a clear lead here, which further entices marketers to advertise on their platforms where they know customers will be frequenting.

Article Reference: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/emarketer-amazons-share-of-us-digital-ad-market-hits-10-for-first-time/597922/

 TikTok: The Future Of Digital Marketing

TikTok has invaded and taken over many social media platforms. Many people will notice that TikTok videos are now inundating platforms like Instagram and Facebook. I personally do not have a TikTok, but I see endless posts on Instagram watermarked with the notable TikTok monacre. 

TikTok has invaded other social media platforms and they are changing the way people are buying products. In a hybrid mix of subliminal and attention hyperactive, people are being exposed to advertisements from viral videos of users. 

The advertising method could be considered borderline disingenuous targeting people based on many inborn behaviors. The short length of every video begins by appealing to users with short funny videos that allow you to fit the most amount of videos into a single minute. But as you continue you will see anything from scantily clad influencers to "Trust Fund Flexes". 

No other form of digital advertising has blatantly taken over other platforms. This different type of business model that cannibalizes competition will be a force to be reckoned with in the near future. 

https://www.insidehook.com/article/internet/tiktok-future-digital-marketing

 GoPro: User Generated Marketing 

GoPro's commercials typically fall by the wayside but everyone who has seen one remembers them for what they are, user-generated and a proof of concept for its product. The brand does an excellent job of using user-generated content to show off the quality of videos. The case study attached focuses on letting your audience express themselves. 

GoPro has done a great job maintaining consistency and reducing costs by letting your users become part of the spotlight. TikTok recently took a page out of the GoPro playbook and used the famous video of the man skating (DoggFace) and drinking cranberry juice to clarify to the public what their brand was. 

As the internet continues to grow and NFTs like DoggFace's video sell for egregious prices, it's important to remember your customer and let them do some of the work for you, if you can convince them. 

https://krows-digital.com/go-pro-marketing-strategy-case-study-7/

Lawmakers press Instagram on its plans for kids because Zuck needs to advertise to more addicted users

 After watching The Social Dilemma, I have been fascinated with how to world (i.e. consumers and legislators) would respond to the overwhelming data that shows that the very technology that was supposed to "bring us together" is in fact dividing us, isolating us, and making us depressed...especially children. 

This week, a group of legislators wrote a letter to Zuck which focused first on privacy concerns, and children's ability to circumvent barriers to get around both privacy and age barriers, and interact with the world at large. Additionally, there was a bi-partisan call to action to better understand what Facebook and Instagram were doing about the growing concerns affecting mental health. 

Most importantly to our class efforts, congress asked that Facebook and Instagram to "commit to not targeting kids with ads" and remove "behavior-shaping features designed to make apps more addictive" if they want to keep their younger user base. 

This will be an ongoing battle as both age, feature design, and targeted advertising will come into sharper focus and the outcome will influence the future of the entire digital marketing design landscape. 

https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/06/markey-letter-instagram-kids/

AI/ML used in Marketing - China Case Study

 Computer vision will be another frontier for marketers to tap into. There are now retail stores in China that are equipped with cameras using facial recognition and are able to collect biological data too. 

In the US, we are now familiar with using our face to unlock our phones, but in China they use it to pay for groceries, pass security checks at train stations, and monitor Covid symptoms. 

Biometric data could lead to even more precise advertising and allow marketers to know more about the consumer than the consumer knows about themselves. 

Facial recognition can also be unnoticed by consumers, allowing marketers to bring in more targeted ads without the consumer knowing what data the algorithm is pulling from. 

Personalization and nailing more specific consumers tastes is the promise of leveraging things like computer vision and China is leading the way.

https://marketingtochina.com/great-examples-of-ai-in-marketing-in-china/

https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/2104046966/