蘑菇AV

Microsoft bets big on AI and cloud, but TikTok acquisition could reshape its ad strategy: Investors weigh future growth against spending risks and competition.

Spain's digital advertising is booming, outpacing many European peers and gaining momentum worldwide.

Though TikTok鈥檚 days in the US could be numbered based on what could be a lengthy legal battle, its impact on search marketing is here to stay. Talk of the ban isn鈥檛 doing much to hamper TikTok investment. Brands like Rare Beauty and e.l.f. Beauty are deepening their ties to TikTok Shop, and TikTok remains one of the top three social media platforms by ad spending.

Convincing performance marketers who focus on other channels such as search engine marketing to give CTV won鈥檛 necessarily be easy鈥攂ut if tvScientific鈥檚 approach is successful, CTV could take market share from other performance marketing stalwarts.

In 2025, there will be a stronger focus on performance marketing as advertisers seek to prove their efforts are worth the investment.

Two-thirds (66%) of local ad agencies used search engine marketing as part of their local marketing efforts in 2023 and nearly a quarter (24%) plan to increase their spend on the channel in 2024, according to a November 2023 survey from Borrell Associates cited by Inside Radio.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss how the judge thinks Google is, and isn鈥檛, an illegal monopoly, the most likely outcomes from this ruling, and who stands to benefit the most. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman, and Senior Analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

AI-chatbot-based search engines could change the search marketing game completely. Google CEO Sundar Pichai called Google鈥檚 Search Generative Experience (SGE) a 鈥渃lear quality win鈥� on an earnings call last week, but experts aren鈥檛 so sure. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 seen it improve in the months I鈥檝e had access to [SGE], and it still gets many basic things wrong.

Another result of increasing digital touchpoints is that marketers are no longer relying on paid search alone to reach consumers, said Timothy Jensen, senior search engine marketing specialist at M&T Bank. Spread it out: 鈥淧aid search is [still] fundamental to any advertising strategy,鈥� he said, but marketers are diversifying across multiple platforms, whether that be social media, video, or mobile.

鈥淚f a bank is only able to offer a particular product or rate in a specific geographic area, and they were previously using a ZIP code to do it, they will now need to switch to another form of geotargeting to cover the proper area,鈥� said Timothy Jensen, senior search engine marketing specialist at M&T Bank. But it won鈥檛 be impossible.

Retailers and tech giants are rushing to roll out AI-powered search.

Digital ad spending will continue to accelerate in 2024. Retail will be a main driver due to its large ad outlays and growing contribution on the supply side.

AI Overviews are a key reason to update your Google strategy: Their prominent placement changes the value of Google鈥檚 varied ad space.

Search and advertising come under fire as the CMA takes a proactive approach to regulation while the US DOJ focuses on punitive remedies.

For media brands, search engine marketing would lose its efficacy. But for other industries, search will remain a staple digital ad format. Facebook and Instagram user losses will be marginal. News articles make up less than 3% of what Canadian users see in their Facebook feeds, and users tell Facebook they actually want to see less news, per Meta.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss how to increase basket size, how to break out of category while staying true to brand identity, and how to respond to TikTok trends without seeming like a brand responding to a TikTok trend. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Vice President and Principal Analyst Suzy Davidkhanian and the CMO of True Religion Brand Jeans Kristen D鈥橝rcy.

In 2024, a perfect storm of technology, business, and consumer behavior trends will conspire to intensify the challenges of protecting brands on digital media.