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Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 6/9/23 - 6/15/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
Anyone else feeling a bit “you never know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone” over Reddit the past few days? ICYMI, many of the platform’s communities have gone dark in response to the introduction of a fee for its once-free third-party API, and the drastic drop in traffic has cost Reddit’s marketers a lot of niche-but-valuable attention.
Google is in the doghouse with European regulators yet again, with Wednesday marking the tech behemoth’s fourth recent charge for violating European antitrust laws. This time, the European Commission is accusing Google of leveraging its dominance in digital advertising to undermine its competitors.
Are advertisers barking up the wrong tree when it comes to the privacy-first future? The piece outlines the true questions at the heart of our industry’s identity crisis and clarifies how advertisers can avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
According to a recent report, digital ad spend is forecast to increase by 8.4% in 2023—but any concerns over “single-digit growth” should be considered in the context of the size and maturity of digital over the past decade and a half. Drivers of this growth, per the report, include retail media, connected TV, and digital out-of-home.
Authentic cultural representation matters—whether we’re talking about films, TV shows, advertisements, or any other kind of media. For brands looking for tips on how to do it right, the newest film in the Spider-Man franchise offers several important pointers.
Show off your marketing chops with our question of the week. This week’s hot topic: data privacy.
Like Taylor Swift, third-party cookies have a big reputation. What percentage of consumers say that data privacy is a growing concern?
Click here for the answer and to—ahem—Swift-ly learn about an important solution for weathering the identity crisis using lessons from a certain pop star who’s current enjoying her Eras era.
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Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 6/2/23 - 6/8/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
Elon Musk may insist that most of Twitter’s advertisers have returned, but the numbers appear to tell a different story: US ad revenue is down 59% from a year ago. It’s likely this decrease has been driven by factors like the increase in hate speech and problematic content on the platform, which recently led Ben and Jerry’s to stop paid advertising on the platform (a development that speaks to the larger problem at hand).
Twitter isn’t the only social giant losing ad spend: In response to turbulence both related to the economy and within the world of social media, some advertisers have shifted their spend away from platforms like Snap and Meta, leading to an uptick in spend in OOH and DOOH. This piece explores the latest numbers, as well as the reasons behind these trends.
At its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple unveiled Apple VisionPro, its new AR/VR headset. While its advertising capabilities are yet to be known, one thing is for sure: The $3,499 price tag had conference attendees clutching their pearls, not grabbing their Apple Wallets.
In the wake of other cost-cutting strategies, including some major layoffs, Amazon reportedly plans to join the ad-tier streaming world, à la Netflix, Max, and Disney+. TV advertising is one fast-moving drama these days, no?!
We know, we know, the looming loss of third-party cookies and the implications of our industry’s larger identity crisis is a stressful topic. But you know what makes it less stressful? Taylor Swift. Yup. Here, forget your stress and enjoy a Billboard Hot 100-worthy love story between privacy-friendly advertising and advertising automation (it’s more romantic than it sounds, we promise!).
Show off your marketing chops with our question of the week. This week’s hot topic: CTA conversions.
True or false: It’s best practice to offer multiple choices to audiences when crafting a CTA (i.e., offering different levels of services or methods to sign up).
Get the answer, plus a deep dive into 15 best practices to increase CTA conversions, right here.
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Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 5/26/23 – 6/1/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
Recently, several companies have received backlash for high-profile LGBTQ+ partnerships. While some brands have doubled down on their support of the community, others have responded by distancing themselves, resulting in understandable outrage from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. This piece explores why it’s important for companies “to get clear about what they actually stand for, and what they stand against.”
April 2023 saw the downward trend of ad spend continue, including lower ad revenues for some social media platforms and losses in legacy media. That said, April’s drop is the smallest since September 2022, and certain media formats (see: digital and out-of-home) are experiencing growth. It has experts wondering: Could these be signs of a possible rebound for the ad market?
It’s a wild world out there for travel marketers. Learn all about the key challenges travel marketing teams should be aware of—from increased demand for personalization, to heightened awareness of prices, to the need for an omnichannel approach—and get strategies marketers can use to address them.
Just weeks after introducing former NBCUniversal media exec Linda Yaccarino as its new CEO, Twitter has begun testing the sale of mobile ad inventory through adtech marketplace Inmobi, signaling a potential move away from its former walled-garden status.
In his most recent newsletter, advertising luminary Rishad Tobaccowala explains how successful individuals and companies can decide how best to use technology—with the most successful marrying the magic of tech with the mystery of humanity to differentiate, innovate and turbo-charge talent. (Psst: Be sure to check out more from Rishad on the AdTech Unfiltered podcast!)
Show off your marketing chops with our question of the week. This week’s hot topic: the 2023 upfronts.
What fraction of ad spend did digital video account for in this year’s upfronts?
A. Two-thirds
B. One-half
C. One-fourth
Get the answer here, as well as a breakdown of how advertisers should approach TV in this moment given the writer’s strike, industry personnel churn, streaming convergence, and more.
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Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 5/12/23- 5/18/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
The convergence of the streaming TV market continues: Comcast will now reportedly sell its 33% stake in Hulu to Disney at the beginning of 2024. This news comes on the heels of last week’s announcement of a “one-app experience” that will incorporate Hulu content into Disney+ as soon as the end of this year. As one famed cartoon rodent would say, “Oh boy!”
And that’s not all that’s newsworthy in the world of TV: From the writer’s strike to the muddled measurement market, this year’s upfronts are proving to be almost as dramatic as the latest episode of Succession. This overview can help marketers make sense of the "swirling mass of uncertainty.”
The seventh annual IAB US Podcast Advertising Revenue Study is officially hear here. Unsurprisingly, podcasting continues to be one of the digital advertising’s fastest growing channels (two times faster than the overall market). Still, one of the biggest stories at the recent podcast upfront was how ad spend is disproportionate to growth in listenership. Check out the full study to learn more.
You can find tips for building a successful media strategy anywhere, if you look hard enough! Weezer fan or not, we think you’ll enjoy this explanation of how therock band has been secretly doling out advice for us digital marketers their entire career.
Show off your marketing chops with our question of the week. This week’s hot topic: TikTok.
What percentage of TikTok users say they’ve purchased a product or service because of the app?
A. 11%
B. 25%
C. 33%
D. 49%
Click here to get the answer and to discover more nuggets (Sound on or off? Full funnel or just upper? Raw or polished creative?) that advertisers should know about TikTok. Consider it your Basis FYP—"For You Post.”
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Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 5/5/23 – 5/11/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
If the last few months are any indication, it’s clear that artificial intelligence will play a big role in shaping the SEM landscape. What do marketers need to know to thrive in an era of generative AI? No need to ask ChatGPT—one of our top search experts lays it all out here.
There are more than 470 bills targeting LGBTQ+ rights across the country. For advertisers, that means that it’s more critical than ever that Pride month campaigns be backed by advocacy and action. This opinion piece explores how brands can do it right.
Pressure is mounting for publishers to start paying more attention to the size of their carbon footprint—and to begin decreasing it altogether. Though carbon emissions are not yet “sealing deals,” more and more agencies and brands are intentionally setting standards for how much carbon they allow their campaigns to generate.
Are podcast hosts the new influencers? A new study would suggest so, revealing that among listeners, 75% view podcast hosts as the most influential figures shaping their beliefs and decisions. For brands, this deep trust and receptiveness to podcast ads create a perfect opportunity to tune in.
Despite the headlines around the tech-related job market, employment is up at ad agencies, PR agencies, media buying, and other advertising-related organizations. Also on the rise: in-housing, with 82% of Association of National Advertisers (ANA) respondents using in-house agencies.
Show off your marketing chops with our question of the week. This week’s hot topic: digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising.
Which of the following is not true about DOOH advertising?
Get the answer, plus a deep dive into how marketers can embrace it within their campaigns, right here.
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Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 4/28/23 - 5/4/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
Geoffrey Hinton, one of the pioneers of artificial intelligence, has quit his job at Google to “freely speak out about the risks of AI,” expressing some regret in his life’s work. This piece explores what exactly Hinton is concerned about.
After a rocky 2022, many anticipated 2023 to be a year of serious cutbacks to ad spending. But the numbers tell a different story. Learn more about the latest forecasts and financial updates and what they mean for advertisers.
Like many aspects of digital advertising, search engine marketing is undergoing a dramatic shift. Learn more about the factors driving this change, how paid search advertisers can adapt to the present, and what they should do to prepare for the future.
Looking for the lowdown on TV, tech, publishing, and social media updates from the 2023 upfronts and NewFronts? Check out this continually updated list for the latest.
It’s been two years since Apple detonated a digital advertising bomb better known as App Tech Transparency (or ATT), which led to an overwhelming majority of iPhone users opting out of app-based tracking. But while ATT resulted in steep revenue declines at social media companies like Meta, it has decidedly not slowed the growth of online advertising.
Show off your marketing chops with our question of the week. This week’s hot topic: TikTok ad spend.
What fraction of advertisers plan to increase their TikTok spend over the next year (assuming there’s no ban, of course)?
Get the answer, plus a rundown of all the most important search and social advertising news from the past month, right here.
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Happy 4/20! Thanks to the many layers of regulation, marketers navigating the cannabis space may end up feeling lost in the weeds. To make sure your cannabis campaign doesn’t go up in smoke, check out these five highly useful tips that any brand can use to build an impactful cannabis marketing strategy.
Google Ads published the results of an experiment designed to test Google’s interest-based audience solutions, including Topics API, first-party publisher IDs, and contextual data. The results: “Lukewarm optimism,” according to AdExchanger. Meanwhile, Marketing Dive further explored the (many) caveats to the study’s relative success.
Google is sprinting to bring new AI-powered features to its search engine under threat of competitors like the new Bing (which Samsung may reportedly ditch Google for). But even as Google rushes to keep up, the CEO of OpenAI has warned the research strategy on which their chatbot is based is “played out.”
How have publishers performed against their goals of increasing diversity among their workforces in the past few years? Candidly: not great. This piece explores some of the latest trends and reports. P.S.: Check out the latest episode of AdTech Unfiltered to learn how marketers can support a more diverse media ecosystem.
After suffering a precipitous fall from grace back in 2021, legacy measurement firm Nielsen was redeemed this week when their National Television Audience Measurement service was reaccredited. Here's what advertisers need to know about the development—including an important caveat.
Show off your marketing chops with our question of the week. This week’s hot topic: podcast advertising.
In 2023, US podcast ad spend will reach $2 billion. What percentage of total digital audio ad spend does that number represent?
A. 15.2%
B. 29.5%
C. 41.4%
D. 52.8%
Click here to get the answer, plus a rundown of four key things digital marketers need to know to make the most of their podcast advertising in 2023.
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Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 4/7/23 - 4/13/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
Even as advertisers consider how to navigate a potential TikTok ban, companies like Apple, Pepsi, DoorDash, and Amazon have increased their spend on the platform.
By now, you’re likely aware that greenwashing is a marketing no-no—but what do you know about digital advertising’s carbon footprint? Here’s what consumers are paying attention to, and how marketers can start to minimize their carbon emissions in a way that's also beneficial for overall campaign performance.
The IAB has released its much-anticipated annual report on internet ad revenues. Among its findings: US digital ad revenue surpassed $200 billion for the first time, ad spend grew by 10.8% YoY, and buyers are diversifying their spending to direct more dollars toward digital video, digital audio, and programmatic. Also of note: Ad spend in the US will grow more than initially expected this year, per S&P.
Flexibility: It’s been a huge buzzword in the TV world the past few years—which means that, like many buzzwords, what people actually mean when they use it is a bit up for debate (synergy, anyone?). This piece explores how executives are using the terms “flexibility” and “fluidity,” and what it might signal about changes to the upfront cycle.
Show off your marketing chops with our question of the week. This week’s hot topic: TikTok.
According to TikTok executives speaking at SXSW back in March, what percentage of all product discovery now happens on the app?
A. 8%
B. 15%
C. 27%
D. 36%
Get the answer, plus 30 other TikTok-related stats and a look at all the reasons why the platform continues to be the talk of the digital advertising town—both good and bad!
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TikTok has reshaped the social media landscape.
With over 150 million monthly users in the US, it has revolutionized how consumers watch videos, discover products, engage with brands, and connect with creators. From its beginnings with dance challenges and viral trends, TikTok has evolved into a powerful entertainment platform offering marketers unique opportunities to reach their target audience.
In this webinar, TikTok Agency Partnership Manager Justin Liut and Measurement Partner Yangdi Li join host Ryan Manchee to discuss critical strategies and the latest best practices around how marketers at companies of all sizes can leverage the platform effectively.