Edition #384
Strategy first decision making, thanksgiving and BuzzFeed earnings.
Heading into Thanksgiving week, I’m reminded of a study we did a few years ago. We went deep on analyzing where and how content was consumed on Thanksgiving, and other things like Super Bowl. One takeaway was how the device engagement changed through the day, desktop tended to be higher in the morning, then adjusted to mobile through the day. Which when you think about it, isn’t too surprising.
But when it comes to large populations of people and their behaviors, it is easy to overlook these things. Populations don’t behave the same as each individual person, which is a common mistake marketers make. This comes amongst this piece from the UK, via Gartner that marketers are looking to analytics teams to find more efficiency. And they’re right, analytics folks, this is their time to shine. Helping their companies find pockets of opportunity and areas to invest more effectively. But to also frame up data in a way that makes sense - and aids decision making.
This is an area that I think needs continual investment. Especially amongst younger marketers, who have grown up in a world of light analytics provided to them by social networks. In one respect, the analogy of being spoon fed shallow insights from a social network, who spoon feeds little dopamine nuggets is too perfect. Which is a pity. Education is vital, to give marketers & advertisers better skills and capabilities. Yes a new entrant to the market can get started but a lot of money can be lost without that upskilling.
That in itself is not new, this sector changes so rapidly, that there is always a need to upskill on underserved areas, it’s just that this is the area for right now.
Notable stories this week
Creators query whether platforms punish branded content and linking out.
How the buy-side of the ad industry is now defining ‘premium’ content.
Pixability extends brand suitability analytics to CTV.
Netflix with ads isn’t that bad. < this is a good preview of the experience.
[Cartoon] By bots, for bots. This is too good.
Nike continues decade of innovation with its new Web3 platform .Swoosh.
[Long form] The unbearable lightness of BuzzFeed. Continue reading
Ben Young
November 18, 2022
