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Bridging commentary on the art & science of content; content marketing, branded content, native advertising and the analytics, attribution and intelligence that powers it.

Grand opening

Edition #440 Even sandwich shops need adtech? Tailoring with Monocle and music videos are back.  The week before last was the grand opening of a new sandwich shop around the corner. I learnt about it, by cycling past, and saw them taking a grand opening sign being taken in. Then that Friday, on Threads, I follow @nyc_forfree, which announced that yes indeed it was opening, and they were offering free sandwiches that day! It was torrential with rain. Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
March 15, 2024

Predictions

Edition #439 Learning to ride again, predictions and Ikeas wonderful partnership with Annie Leibovitz. I’ve been teaching my eldest to ride a bike, which is pure joy. And we’re at the part where you feel they have the balance, so let go at the back of the bike, and off they go for a bit. And each time just trying to extend and getting a bit further. You’re getting that intuitive feel, and go! This got me thinking… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
March 8, 2024

Q4 Part2?

Edition #438 LVMH launches a brand entertainment division, adtech surveillance, AI rights on platforms. This week Wired has a couple of stories about Adtech being used to triangulate folks and a small Iowa newspapers domain being acquired and hijacked with AI content. The former capitalizing on the excess data from every ad auction. Turns out even if you lost the auction you could still get the data, so firms have packaged this up and sold it. Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
March 1, 2024

Curation

Edition #437 Media planners as DJs, Reddit & Google strike an AI deal & X has a bot traffic problem. Curation is having a moment, in the face of a cookieless future, curated deals are all the talk. Some compare them to ad networks, which is astute, curated deals sit on top of publishers, and are a selection of the sites/urls to match an audience, contextual target, attention thresholds etc. The reason it is compelling is you can… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
February 23, 2024

Browser appreciation

Edition #436 On Marie condo, browser appreciation and why brands say the big game. We take the browser for granted. We open our favourite each day and spend our lives using it as a portal to the internet. Every screen time report you get, how much was through a browser? A lot right. We trust that Apple is looking after us with Safari, making it faster, more private and reducing battery usage. Before that, Chrome & Firefox were… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
February 16, 2024

Goldilocks Principle

Edition #435 On the goldilocks principle, YouTube paying out $70b to creators – and will the third party cookie go? This is the week we are treated to the most delightful ads of the year. Microsoft dropped their Copilot ad, with Copilot as your assistant to do whatever you want to do. And last week Uber Eats had their teaser with the Beckhams, also good. But it’s a funny ceremony isn’t it, with maybe the biggest… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
February 9, 2024

Underdog

Edition #434 AI in branded content, Flashtalking’s big game ad & lego. Ever heard of The Hairpin? It was a beloved indie blog. And Wired highlights how someone bought the domain and has flooded it with AI content. To much dismay. Let’s dig into it. Consider these two scenarios: Scenario 1: A big publisher, automating the creation of fairly utility driven content. I.e. sports game summaries. Scenario 2: A scrappy newsletter, using AI to add extra editorial… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
February 2, 2024

Best Content Hubs Examples of 2024

This post includes all the work featured in our newsletter this year. Make sure you subscribe to get all the latest. The work is ordered top to bottom from oldest to newest. You can view all old newsletters here. Background We’ve been highlighting the best branded content since 2015. Find more inspirational pieces from previous years here: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015. In 2023 we… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
January 29, 2024

Best Branded Content & Native Advertising Examples of 2024

This post includes all the work featured in our newsletter this year. Make sure you subscribe to get all the latest. Background We’ve been highlighting the best branded content since 2015. Find more inspirational pieces from previous years here: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015. Agencies, brands & publishers use Nudge to measure the performance of their branded content initiatives, if you would like to learn more… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
January 29, 2024

2024 Datapoints of Note

All the datapoints of note from the newsletter this year. You can view all old newsletters here. This list, top to bottom, goes from oldest to newest. In November, Comscore reported that The Messenger generated 88m page views in only 7 months. Substack writer Eric Newcomer says his revenue surpassed $1m in 2023. With 75,000 free subscribers and 2,000 paid subscribers. People on TikTok are reportedly tipping as much as $11m a day. Online… Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
January 29, 2024