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Category: Commentary

Commentary; our thought leadership, newsletter notes and long form pieces.

Spicy takes

Edition #432 Spicy takes on Googles Sandbox this week, MrBeast tests X video & LiveRamp makes a big acquisition. Curious to see MrBeast drop a video on X, openly wanting to see how it performs. It’s already been documented how the view count threshold was dropped on X, meaning the view count doesn’t equate to similar elsewhere. Reminds me when at a point in time, scrolling past a video on Facebook counted as a view. Nonetheless, I… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
January 19, 2024

Predictive analytics

Edition #431 How predictive solutions provide a path forward, branded content trends & how are the uncookied Chrome users performing. In Toolkits themes for the year ahead, we heard from Nativo’s Erin Tye talking on how in a world where the cookie is going away predictive audiences offer an alternative solution. And I think this call is bang on. Where something can’t be directly measured, predictive models will take their place. And that’s a good thing! Predictive… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
January 12, 2024

Stapling jelly

Edition #430 Stapling jelly on the wall, OpenAI offers pubs payments & we hear more on Threads. I heard a wonderful saying on the FT Morning Briefing, ‘trying to stick staple jelly against the wall’. The hosts referring to the challenges investors had during 2023, trying to get investment theses to stick in a changing environment. I mean, our industry is all about throwing ideas against the wall to see if they stick ha. What things… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
January 5, 2024

2023 Fin

Edition #429 The last note of the year, themes of note from the year that’s been. The final note of the year! I wasn’t even sure if I sent one. As I mentioned in the last note, it’s been one of the busiest q4’s since before covid. Whilst I imagine, more people this year are already on holiday, compared to Dec 22nd of 2019. I thought I should. It’s not going to be a regular edition, I thought… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
December 22, 2023

Anti AI

Edition #428 Gartner predicts brands will adopt an anti-AI stance, Reelshort, Hivestack acquired & X to pick up Amazon ad demand. AdtechGod tweeted, “It’s supposed to slow down not speed up in December!!!!!” which has certainly been the feeling, I don’t recall a December that’s been this busy in a while. It’s good, I enjoy that end of year rush, to get everything done, before decompressing ahead of the new year.  In New Zealand, it’s quite… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
December 15, 2023

Podcast theatre

Edition #427 On the podcast theatre trend & podcasting in general, Yetis year in preview & will Reddit IPO? It’s a tired trope, guy (usually white), talking into a mic in our feeds, it’s part of a wider trend I’m calling podcast theatre. I even saw a thread about can we get a content blocker for these guy speaking to podcast mic videos? Half the time I don’t even think they’re on a podcast, they’ve just set it… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
December 8, 2023

Losing trust

Edition #426 Mega post-thanksgiving edit, Idris Elba goes searching for gold, what does losing trust in media & AI have to do with one another? And would you pay for branded content? This week Shareen Pathak, Co-founder & EIC, at Toolkits is our guest editor (yay!). I’ve long been a fan of Shareen’s work, since Digiday times, and at Toolkits they have been releasing super interesting data around brand publishing & brand content. So I thought I’d… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
December 1, 2023

The Website

Edition #425 An ode to the website, branded content trust, we’re on a podcast – and more. This week AdExchanger shared the conversation I had with James Hercher, on rugby, analytics & more. Would love your feedback and thoughts. I’ve been having a few chats with various search marketers the last month or so, which prompted me to revisit our search data, and overlay it with our scroll data. In many instances, of our top ranking content,… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
November 17, 2023

Glue

Edition #424 On AI as glue, Apple on hard work & brandguard API.  This week we extended an invite to ex Nudge member Gustaf Stenlund. Now head of marketing at Scriptrunner, he has a riff on how AI & integration has the opportunity to improve our work. Gustaf here, I’m filling in for Ben this week. At Scriptrunner we build products that revolve around three key pillars: automation, integration, and customisation. Recently I’ve observed that, while… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
November 10, 2023

$37

Edition #423 Meta says yes to Ketamine, AI executive order – and would you pay $37/month for your fav social network?  If you’re seeing this note for the first time, my apologies there was a snafu where people who signed up to the newsletter, weren’t receiving it! We fixed that. But so please enjoy. Meta is leaner and earning more money from ads, having neutralized any loss by a switch in consumption to Reels. From earnings… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
November 3, 2023