What happened in Marketing: Meta and TikTok unite, Snap is healthy and Australia's future plans
This Week: TikTok secret briefing is out, Meta & TikTok are protecting teens, Snapchat too. But all of them are in serious trouble, what?
Finally a week with not so much going on with Instagram. But a lot of new changes are here to change your future experience. That aside, Next Saturday is full of events.
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Top 6 Updates of the Week 🧦
The transcript of the secret briefing that kicked off the TikTok law. (AN)
Meta, Snapchat and TikTok team up to detect and moderate suicide and self-harm related content. (FG)
Snapchat offers new tools and guidance to older teen users 16+ for responsible public sharing. (SP)
Google has partnered with Wayback Machine to show archived links. (YH)
42 state AGs endorse federal plan to add warning labels on social media. (EG)
Meta announces they will begin training their AI on public content in UK and Brazil. (FB)
Trending 🍦
Australia moves to ban young people from social media. (AR)
Rage bait is working well on Threads App. (BN)
More people need to realise that it’s also the disruptive text format and reading patterns causing more drama on platforms like X, Threads and Bluesky. None of them are completely free from rage and weird takes.
Pinterest launches new promotional ad campaign titled ‘It’s Possible’ to promote ad tools. (NJ)
Australia threatens fines for social media giants enabling misinformation. (NJ)
And, Elon Musk blasted Australia as ‘fascists’ over this new social media misinformation law. (FT)
Snapchat’s new independent study shows their platform has positive impact on well-being and friendship closeness. (NR)
Meanwhile: New Mexico sues Snapchat over sexual predation of minors.
Google simplifies data privacy advertisers with Confidential Matching. (GB)
Apple Music gets Kendrick Lamar for Super Bowl half-time show. (NS)
OpenAI introduces o1, a new LLM with ability to reason like Humans. (IX)
Newspapers in Hawaii are replacing Journalists with AI-generated newscasters. (4M)
In partnership with Supermetrics
How to study and analyze social media analytics?
For Influencer Marketing, Track metrics such as cost per acquisition (CPA), look for an increase in website traffic, or even the influence’s engagement rate (IER).
For Instagram Content, Track Profile visits to Instagram followers conversion ratio. Most importantly track user follower vs non-follower engagement to see if you are consistently reaching new audiences.
Paid Social Media, Keep an eye on metrics like the click-through rate, cost per click, reach, and so much more. You can also use reports from tools like Varos and Meta and TikTok itself to find recent CPC benchmarks for paid campaign.
Use Competitor growth and marketing data to figure out what your rivals are good at, what they’re bad at, and how you can take advantage of these opportunities. You can use freemium options from tools like SparkToro and Hypeauditor to check on a competitor’s social progress.
Measure the emotional sentiment in comments and compare your recent posts engagement to older ones to analyse your brand health.
You analyse trends and hashtags data for an upcoming campaign. There are free options to see recent hashtag trends using online websites or you can use Instagram Insights connector from tools like Supermetrics to gather public data and track your own content.
Follower count is considered a vanity metric, and these analytics are best viewed in tandem with performance metrics. Most freelance marketers include the follower growth in performance reviews for their clients. Other than that, focusing on FC isn’t that important for strategy building.
If you are on YouTube or TikTok, viewer retention and watch time tracking is the main part of social media strategy building. Low watch time means you have work to do in terms of editing and storytelling, and need more curiosity gaps to keep people hooked.
Try Supermetrics Connectors and Templates to analyse and make the best of your social media analytics!
Reddit publishes 2025 Marketing Moments Planning Guide. (LN)
Warner Bros. Discovery expects Max subscribers to rise more than 6 million in Q3. (BN)
Taylor Swift endorses Harris/Walz Presidential Campaign and discusses her fears around AI. (IG)
Walmart leverages Fubo’s new CTV ad format to connect content and commerce. (MD)
Roblox and Shopify partner to sell physical products in the metaverse. (RD)
‘Go woke, go broke’ not true for brands, says global advertising study. (TG)
JCPenney launches ‘Really Big Deal Reveals’ Prime video campaign during Gameday. (BN)
UK’s Labour Government to ban junk food TV ads from October 2025. (MN)
The Brandtech Group launches ‘Bias Breaker’ AI tool to address AI biases. (AW)
Kendall Jenner and Alexander Skarsgård play starring roles in latest Calvin Klein Campaigns. (GH)
Google’s new initiatives to help small businesses grow with AI. (GN)
Bose premiered new star-studded campaign during VMAs this week, starring Tyler, Central Tee, Don Toliver and Lisa. (LB)
Dentsu launches ‘House of Creators’ to support next generation of creators. (KM)
Doja Cat stars in Brisk Ice Team’s latest nature power ad campaign. (TV)
Capri Sun used Internet controversy to gain over 100k followers on IG and TikTok. (FE)
Apple made a slow-motion music video for The Weeknd, shot on iPhone 16 Pro | Ad Age Creativity. (GB)
Apple will need to pay $14.4B to Ireland in crackdown on ‘Sweetheart Deals’. (WR)
Snapchat now serves on average more than 1.5 million monthly users in New Zealand. (SP)
Mandy Moore leads Perelel campaign urging Congress to fund women’s health research. (TD)
Amazon is quietly bringing ads to Rufus, its GenAI Search Engine. (AW)
Heineken ‘0.0’ and World Champion F1 driver Max Verstappen bring ‘Player 0.0’ virtual gaming competition to US. (PR)
Cornetto ends summer season with a playful and creative ad campaign, using their iconic wrapper. (LB)
X name change has wiped off $5bn in brand value. (JS)
TikTok 🎶
TikTok and Monumental Sports & Entertainment announce new partnership. (TT)
TikTok becomes Official platform partner for 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. (LM)
TikTok publishes Trending report, unpacking Autumn’s biggest trends. (TT)
TikTok faces crucial court hearing that could decide fate in US. (KO)
Sky News investigation finds over 70k TikTok posts using Nazi recordings. (more)
TikTok’s invite collaborator feature seen again in the wild. (LG)
TikTok adds ability to mention others in a story after it has been uploaded. (24)
Instagram & Threads 🗂️
Instagram adds new dedicated section for ‘Add Yours’ sticker templates in Stories. (TR)
Instagram testing Carousel Mode for Reels. (TR)
Threads adds simplified Fediverse connection options. (TR)
The Desperation of the Instagram Photo Dump. (NY)
IG shares new tips on managing broadcast channel. (TV)
87% of branded vape posts on Instagram violate FDA guidelines. (RC)
Meta is now showing ad placement options for Threads feed and FB notifications. (JL)
IG working on a feature to Add AIs to Group Chats. (AH)
Meta 😅
Meta Marketing API adds Instagram reminder ads. (FB)
Meta publishes new holiday marketing guide for Reels Ads. (CL)
Meta to restrict data in Business Tools, impacting ad targeting. (SL)
Meta wants Mike Huckabee’s Fake CBD Ad lawsuit tossed. (VG)
Parents ‘don’t use’ parental controls on Facebook and Instagram, says Nick Clegg. (TG)
WhatsApp brings Meta Verified, customized messages to SMBs in India. (TC)
Facebook and Instagram are making AI labels less prominent on edited content. (TV)
WhatsApp rolling out a transfer ownership feature for communities. (IH)
Meta scraped all public Facebook and Instagram posts since 2007 for AI training. (MC)
WhatsApp testing a message drafts feature. (IF)
X (Twitter) 🕹️
X is possibly working on a new feature that lets you save and download videos. (FV)
Elon Musk’s X deemed too small for EU’s DMA crackdown on Big Tech. (BG)
X is working on the search feature for the posts in the communities. (KL)
X rolls out new block option only for DMs. (EG)
X is adding Analytics to Communities. (ST)
X working on ability to format your text on X for iOS. (CN)
X hires Angela Zepeda as their new Global Head of Marketing. (DN)
Youtube 🔊
YouTube rolls out ‘Add Yours’ sticker for Shorts to all users. (HJ)
YouTube First Position Ads now available across Display & Video 360. (SL)
YouTube expands username languages, adding more options for users to customise their handles. (BG)
Google 🔦
Google Ads bug hits GCLID conversion tracking. (SL)
Google adds Spam Warning to indexing API Documentation. (SJ)
Google tests more noticeable ad labels in search results. (SL)
Google is hiding search data from advertisers and profiting. (SL)
Google tightens verification for lawyers in Local Services Ads. (GH)
Google expands video structured data options with new property. (SJ)
EU’s top court upholds $2.7 billion fine against Google. (SL)
Agency News
Havas acquires DMPG, UK-based global digital data agency. (MB)
WPP acquires New Commercial Arts in potential £40m deal. (PN)
Papa Johns appoints Bicycle London to handle creative and media accounts. (CL)
Irn-Bru kicks off creative ad account review. (MB)
Barclays picks Omnicom manage customer marketing and B2B. (CL)
Dentsu Creative appointed as Agency of Record for Ferrero UK. (JL)
Peroni appoints McCann Worldgroup as global agency of record. (ML)
KFC removes MullenLowe as lead US Creative Agency. (AN)
N Brown selects MediaVision as its Digital PR partner. (PN)
WPP’s OneInfluence appointed as Influencer agency for L’Oréal Vietnam. (BJ)
SunLife names TBWA\London as creative agency. (AD)
Kenvue launches global influencer agency review. (AG)
DePaul University hires Inide Shop Novus as Media AOR. (AG)
Shadow named The Mercer’s AOR. (MT)
Dentsu Malaysia appointed as Media AOR for F&N. (CM)
Global to launch 12 new radio stations. (RT)
Barbarian acquires g-Innovations to strengthen digital capabilities. (VC)
Hawke Media acquires Mcomm Group, a B2B Marketing Firm. (TM)
IPG Mediabrands announces global partnership with Adversity, Integration platform. (LN)
Havas Media Network US expands Havas Boost. (JN)
Cannes Lions releases 2024 Creativity Report Rankings. (LH)
Brands & Ads 🏓
Favourite Ad: PayPal launches their biggest US ad campaign ‘Everywhere’ starring Will Ferrell.
Pepsi launches new stunt campaign ‘Chase Cars’ that ensures every pizza delivery should be chased with an ice-cold Pepsi. (NS)
The North Face pays homage to adrenaline junkies in high-energy ads. (YT)
Tesco’s new campaign celebrating and highlighting their Meal Deals is cool and possibly a response to Taco Bell UK’s ad trolling meal deals. (MM)
Zalando launches new autumn/winter campaign with fashion icon Willem Dafoe and Brigitte Nielsen. (MN)
Gatorade’s latest ad campaign is challenging water consumption and highlights need for their product. (LN)
Coca Cola enlists Fifty Shades actor Jamie Dornan for ‘cheeky’ Diet Coke break ad. (MD)
Amazon business’s latest ad campaign entered ‘Da Vinci Mode’ to target SMBs. (YT)
Tavern reworks steakhouse Sizzler’s vintage brand. (CR)
Life cereal brings back Mikey to ride wave of nostalgic marketing. (MK)
In latest ad film, Greenpeace says Dove needs to clean up environmental act. (YT)
Vistar Academy expands to APAC to train industry people on future of DOOH advertising. (MT)
Publicis Conseil brings refreshing dash of jeopardy to child-focussed AXA campaign. (KL)
Flavor Flav performs popcorn magic for SmartFood Popcorn. (AW)
Wrangler pays homage to America’s midwest in ‘Good Morning’ ad campaign. (YT)
Visa’s NFL spot starring the Steelers mascot tells a tale of small steps & big dreams. (TD)
Liquid Death’s Nascar campaign to award regular folks with sponsorship packages. (MC)
Apple’s latest AI campaign starring Bella Ramsey says: Apple AI is There for You. (MC)
Fenwick asks shoppers to find their taste with new campaign. (MB)
Shape History launches £150m campaign for Royal Academy of Engineering. (MH)
Dettol introduces Filthy clothing label during London Fashion Week. (JK)
Squashies partners with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice for new Halloween campaign. (MK)
Tourism Ireland launches early Halloween campaign to encourage visitors to experience Halloween where it all began. (PS)
AI 🤨
InMobi secures $100M for AI acquisitions ahead of IPO. (TC)
Google’s NotebookLM can now explain complex topics to you out loud. (KL)
Adobe shares new updates on Firefly Video GenAI Model. (KM)
Apple Intelligence comes to iPhone, iPad and Mac starting next month. (AN)
TIME’s controversial Top 100 AI list. (MG)
Google begins early rollout of Ask Photos, GenAI feature. (GB)
Replit launches new AI agents to help users with app creation and coding. (XC)
Salesforce launches new, ‘more trustworthy’ generation of AI bots. (MT)
Sony and AI Singapore collaborate on SEA-LION LLMs. (AK)
Mistral releases ‘Pixtral 12B,’ its first multimodal AI model. (RT)
NVIDIA and Oracle to accelerate AI and Data processing for Enterprises. (NB)
Verse, an AI creative app to help Gen Z design and publish expressive content. (HK)
Microsoft & LinkedIn
Microsoft cuts 650 jobs in gaming division. (MM)
LinkedIn changes ‘Subscribe to newsletter’ CTA button to ‘View my newsletter’. (TN)
LinkedIn adds ‘Share Quote’ option for Newsletter and Articles. (CD)
LinkedIn has an AI bot usage problem, people are spamming job posting. (SF)
Marketing & AdTech
LG Ad solutions introduces Native Screensaver Ads. (MM)
Media leaders, philanthropists raise $15M for local news initiative in LA. (AX)
Adnami launches ‘Sonar’ to simplify Attention Measurement in digital advertising. (SG)
Amplify launches new innovation offering, FUTURES. (MC)
DAA releases guidelines for CTV opt-outs. (NS)
gen.video expands creator commerce solutions with launch of content collaboration platform PartnrUP. (NS)
Foursquare introduces Sales Impact attribution features. (MT)
Vogue launches new app for fashionistas. (KM)
Thrive Market announces new Retail Media Network powered by Instacart. (NS)
Bluesky catches up to X with native support for video. (TC)
Spotify’s plan to pay video creators to put shows on platform, a fight against YouTube. (BG)
7UP launches new global campaign ‘Level Up with 7UP’ and refreshes brand platform. (PR)
New Whitepaper argues that AI isn’t causing layoffs at Corporate workplaces. (AS)
SearchStax and Magnolia partner to empower Marketers with Agile and Personalised search solutions. (KL)
Telegram changes its tone on moderating private chats after CEO’s arrest. (MB)
Bumble’s plan to win over users with AI features for profile creation and conversations. (TC)
Online platforms’ advertising transparency checked by EU Commission. (EN)
Oracle enhances its Unity CDP offering. (MT)
The Pulped; Market Data & Studies of the week
64% registered US voters agreed that voice cloning and deepfakes are “a major problem”. 21% thought they’re a small problem; 12% didn’t know; and 4% thought they are not a problem. (HAC)
23% of Americans say they’re annoyed by political ads, but their annoyance doesn’t carry over to brand ads that surround political campaigns. (TV)
72% of media professionals believe that skillsets within their organisations need to be ‘significantly reset’ in order to adapt to AI and the industry’s rapidly-changing environment. (Kantar)
For the sixth year running, with the exception of OOH, no single commercial media channel can reach 90%+ of All Adults per week, Commercial SVoD now has a larger weekly reach than Cinema and just under 50% of All Adults use Other Online Video each week, revealing the strong, yet fragmented video landscape. (IPA)
Automotive National TV spending increases 6.1%. (MP)
A survey of 1,000 carers of people with dementia found that 80% of those people use music regularly in their care, with music the third most popular activity behind only watching TV and chatting. (MD)
41% of HCPs now make clinical decisions with the environment in mind, by trying to prescribe products from responsible pharmaceutical brands.
Plus, over half (52%) are more likely to prescribe a pharmaceutical product if they know it is environmentally friendly. (Havas)
71% of marketers have ambitions to deliver creative excellence, yet only 37% believe their business has the right capabilities. (WARC)
75% of marketers are satisfied with how retail media has contributed to achieving their company goals, with Amazon Ads and Google Ads emerging as the top-performing channels in terms of ROI. (JK)
More Gen. Z and Millennials say they feel most like themselves ‘online’ than ‘offline’. (more)
44% of of Americans say they feel ignored by the media and most advertisers. Plus, 7 out of 10 consumers said the ads are irrelevant despite being targeted. (MT)
Metricool found brands published more than 23 million IG Stories, representing 71.92% of the data set, making it the top-used format in 2024. Accounts with 50K+ followers published Stories most frequently, exceeding 45 posts per week. (ML)
44% of U.S. consumers say they find special offers through online advertising and in-store signs. That number rises to 51% of consumers in the U.K. (MP)
According to new research, Employees often feel pressure to work while sick, leading to lost productivity, deviant behaviors such as theft and mistreatment of coworkers and intent to leave the organization. (Wiley) (EK)
Research finds sex-based differences in how brains handle threats. (McGill)
1 in 3 store-bought cinnamon samples tested have elevated lead levels. (USA)
Inflation cools to 2.5%, slowest rate in more than three years. (read)
Three quarters of Gen Z plan not to work whole life in 9-5 jobs. (TT)
New Research shows consumers confuse consensus information in polls—such as 90% prefer product A over product B—with differences in liking—the extent to which poll respondents like A better than B. (Oxford)
43% of shoppers have used perimeter self-service kiosks, and 26% of those who don’t are interested in doing so. Further, 6 in 10 shoppers are satisfied with ordering technologies when shopping in a physical store. (SP)
A recent survey claims that the age at which life, money, and the future start to feel “real” for most Americans isn’t until age 27! (SF)
54% of boomers never plan to sell their current homes — they plan to age in place and die owning them. And just 15% of boomer homeowners plan to sell within the next five years. (Report)
83% of these Australian organisations believing they are ahead of their peers in AI adoption, only 35% feel fully prepared to undertake AI projects presently.
Mixed Reactions: A majority of 59.24% of AI projects meet expectations, while 23.22% underperform and only 17.54% exceed expectations. (RB)
Only 32% of women feel confident in how to properly care for their necks to prevent signs of aging. (CD)
31% consumers log into the mobile banking or finance app they use most often every single day. An additional 22% log in multiple times a day, and 46% said they expect greater levels of personalization from the app than what they receive today. (MS)
In New Survey, 72% Americans said they feel more financially secure with more than one source of income. 50% of Gen Z and 48% of millennial respondents saying they work side hustles for fewer hours while making more money, compared to 34% of Gen X and boomers. (Quicken)
45% of Gen Z expats had left the country because they wanted a lower cost of living. (NW)
US Census Bureau data found the enrollment rate of high school graduates at 61.4% in October 2023 was slightly down from 62% in 2022. (Gen-Z vs College)
33% of holiday shoppers plan to spend less this year. (RD)
Meanwhile McKinsey reports Gen Zers, millennials report higher optimism about U.S. economy. (Glossy)
MarTech Releases & AI
Humanz - The AI-powered Creator Marketing Platform entered US market this week.
VideoGen - A new AI platform to create and edit videos for you.
Birdeye - The digital marketing management platform for SMBs and Enterprises launches Competitors and Insights AI.
Tracer's Flora - A new AI assistant built for brand protection.
Zappi - The agile market research platform.
Content Opportunities / Ideas of the week
16 September: Mexican Independence Day / International Day for the Preservation of Ozone Layer / Family and Community Day / Teenager Workout Day / National Working Parent Day / National Stepfamily Day / National Guacamole Day / Anne Bradstreet Day.
17 September: International Country Music Day / World Manta Day / World Patient Safety Day / Get Ready Day / Australian Citizenship Day / US Constitution Day / National Pet Bird Day.
18 September: National Cheeseburger Day / U.S. Air Force Day / National First Love Day / Chile’s Independence Day / 🇬🇧 National Fitness Day / Global Company Culture Day / International Equal Pay Day / World Bamboo Day / World Water Monitoring Day.
19 September: Talk like a Pirate Day / Wales International Film Festival / National Butterscotch Pudding Day.
20 September: International Grenache Day / World Paella Day / National Fried Rice Day / National Pepperoni Pizza Day / National Tradesmen Day / National Concussion Awareness Day / National Care For Kids Day / National String Cheese Day.
21 September: World Gratitude Day / National Gymnastics Day / National Chai Day / National Singles Day / International Coastal Cleanup Day / Batman Day / International Eat An Apple Day / International Red Panda Day / World Alzheimer’s Day / Zero Emissions Day / International Day of Peace.
22 September: World Rivers Day / Hobbit Day / Business Women’s Day / World Car Free Day / National White Chocolate Day / National Ice Cream Day / World Rhino Day / Dear Diary Day.
Great update as always. Thanks Jaskaran.