Edition #393 ChatGPT chat drowns out Super Bowl, Netflix branded content and bad digital ads. All this and more in this weeks note. Can you not send a newsletter this week and only talk about ChatGPT. Ok. But people are asking because they’re curious, and there’s new lingo and it is potentially exciting. And it is something new to talk about, to look forward, to re-imagine the future. After this sustained period of things are rough, the future… Continue reading
Edition #392 On austerity measures, the easing economy and Uber Ads. All this and more in this weeks note. You may recall my top trend of the year was getting back on the tools. This week Bloomberg reported that Meta is asking many managers to get back to making things or leave. Yet another sign of, getting back on the tools. Austerity is the way. https://giphy.com/gifs/disneyplus-star-wars-the-mandalorian-madalorian-Ld77zD3fF3Run8olIt It’s also where companies are focusing, how can we get… Continue reading
Edition #391 On how liquor companies can’t own the outlets they are sold in – and what that means for Google. AI content and loads of stories this week. I’m on page 33 of the Department of Justice’s complaint against Google and its practices in the ad tech space. It is worth giving it a read, to see exactly what the complaints are and their rationale. It is also curious, to see how a narrative can be… Continue reading
Edition #390 A breakdown on how Substack is driving subscribers, fonts in content and DHL helps rescue big cats. If you want to get a new newsletter subscriber, the best way, is to get a mention in another newsletter. The same for a podcast. Why? Because the subscriber has already made the first decision, to subscribe to that newsletter, why not another? It’s also why every YouTube host asks you to ‘like and subscribe’, to feed the recommendation… Continue reading
Edition #389 A Youtube masterclass on strategy, TikTok is cheaper and Robinhood to launch new media arm. This week YouTube announced free streaming channels. “A YouTube spokeswoman said the company is running a small experiment that lets a subset of viewers watch free, ad-supported channels and is using it to gauge viewer interest. “We’re always looking for new ways to provide viewers a central destination to more easily find, watch and share the content that matters most… Continue reading
Edition #388 What Wall Street thinks will happen this year and what that might mean for marketers. Investment banks like Goldman Sachs release annual outlook reports, to keep their clients informed and to drum up business ????. This years report from Goldman is titled Heavy Fog. I thought I’d take a peek, from the lens of a CMO. What can their POV on the markets, provide as intel for marketers. After all, businesses march to the beat of… Continue reading
Edition #387 Final thoughts on 22 and the year ahead. Top searches of the year & what is the color for 23? We finished out last years note, sending some NFTs out. Which was a fun exercise. I occasionally pull out my phone, and gaze at my NFT. But seriously, it was fun, make an image, mint it on the Solana blockchain, get folks addresses, send them out. However, I don’t think we’ll be doing that… Continue reading
Edition #386 On why content rights will plague ChatGPT, ad growth slows in 23 and universities as the new media companies. ChatGPT debuted last week, to much fanfare, the NY Times called it “social media’s newest star”. How it works is, you can give it a prompt, and chat with the AI bot. Finding answers, writing scripts, or even interactive games. Leading to StackOverflow to ban AI-generated answers. Many calling that it may replace Google Search… Continue reading
Edition #385 On Netflix coming into ads too late, Cognizant branded content and personal brands. This week I dive into a few loose threads, the absolute mastery behind Netflix’s timing on advertising. Why ROI is an education problem not a technical one. And will Twitter cause a flood of engagement to newsletters. Excuse the long note, we’re a couple of weeks behind 🙂 If you like it more, let me know. Maybe we look to make them more… Continue reading
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
