蘑菇AV

D2C brands facing the declining effectiveness of search and social ads must use new strategies outside of the traditional D2C growth playbook.

Since Google debuted its Search Generative Experience AI-based interface in beta three months ago, it鈥檚 made a lot of updates to alleviate early concerns from testers. But according to search expert Lily Ray, Google still has some work to do to fix issues with its new AI-driven experience. Meanwhile, Microsoft鈥攚hich is still a very distant rival鈥攃ontinues to innovate on Bing Chat, which Ray called 鈥渢he best AI product that鈥檚 out there right now.鈥�

TikTok鈥檚 retail ambitions will go head-to-head with Amazon鈥檚 ecommerce dominance, while LinkedIn鈥檚 ad appeal grows with tech-powered enhancements. Here鈥檚 how our analysts predict the changing social landscape will impact advertisers in 2024.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how much audiobooks can move the needle for Spotify, how engaging its app is versus Netflix and TikTok, and how much of its podcast success is tied to Joe Rogan. "In Other News," we talk about how badly AI can hurt your company's customer service and why Google has called for a ban on personalized ads for minors. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Daniel Konstantinovic.

Meta made only two acquisitions in 2023, while Alphabet (parent company of Google and YouTube) made none, per Luma Partners data provided to 蘑菇AV.

Big Tech is responsible for some of the most popular online destinations among consumers. Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Alphabet-owned Google will attract almost two-thirds of US digital ad dollars in 2024, according to our forecast.

A Google versus OpenAI search engine showdown is taking shape: A race to develop AI search engines raises questions about whether the tech can shake up the market.

Bing's new features take aim at Google: Microsoft is betting that ChatGPT-powered Bing Chat Answers and an image generation feature could keep recent search converts in the fold.

Big Tech (Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft) will attract nearly two-thirds of US digital ad dollars this year, according to our October 2023 forecast.

Cookies were used for 78% or more of US programmatic ad buys across industries as of Q3 2023, according to a November 2023 report from 33Across.

Our take: A lackluster search function means Reddit is ceding ground to Google, and an upgrade is in order. A better search function means Reddit can finally become the defacto way to search itself, keeping users on the platform鈥攁nd exposed to the ads Reddit is trying so hard to convince advertisers to buy.

US ad spend dropped 8.0% YoY in February, according to a MediaPost analysis of Standard Media Index鈥檚 US Ad Market Tracker. That marks eight months of consecutive YoY decline as part of a trend that began in July 2022.

Retail media is outpacing non-retail media in growth in US search ad spend. As performance-driven advertisers push closer to the point of sale, companies like Amazon benefit. Here鈥檚 what鈥檚 behind retail media鈥檚 search success.

With the rise of TikTok and all its copycats, there鈥檚 a lot to keep track of in terms of paid advertising. Creators frequent TikTok, Reels, Shorts, and Spotlight in some capacity, but the ad ops on each platform vary. Here鈥檚 a quick guide to what鈥檚 available on each platform.

The impact of third-party cookie deprecation goes beyond changes to ad targeting and tracking. As the industry moves away from these identifiers, new challenges and trends have cropped up: IP addresses may be more difficult to access, retail media as an addressable channel is growing, and there鈥檚 greater focus on frequent media mix modeling (MMM) adjustments.

Super Bowl 2024 ads leverage celebrity allure and nostalgia, balancing entertainment with subtle political commentary: The messaging was a reflection of advertising's evolution.

Podcast US ad revenue projected to hit $2.3 billion in 2023, up 43%. Why Google鈥檚 double-digit growth is 鈥榥o longer a reasonable expectation鈥�. 5 advertising takeaways from this year鈥檚 upfronts. Yesterday鈥檚 Chart of the Day: Mobile AR sets the bar.

But responses to its chatbot, Bard鈥攚hich opened for public access on May 10鈥攈ave been generally negative, and it鈥檚 unclear how long users will have to wait for generative AI to be integrated into Google Search. If Google can鈥檛 recover from its AI fumbles, its site traffic might continue to slowly erode. ChatGPT itself is also winning a lot more traffic.

Most smart wearable users in the US are between ages 18 and 44, but the fastest-growing audience is older.

Creator platforms like YouTube have started folding generative AI tools into their products. That means creators and marketers could be using generative AI tools without even realizing it. Advertisers on YouTube have already been taking advantage of AI through recommendations, optimization tools, and other ad solutions, said Tara Walpert Levy, vice president of Americas at YouTube, speaking at Advertising Week New York 2023.

Gen Z consumers are tech-savvy digital natives that feel more comfortable searching for products on social platforms like TikTok over traditional search engines like Google. Even when they鈥檙e shopping in-store, they employ technology to help them, browsing mobile phones and using self-checkout to make the shopping experience more seamless.

The flip side: The reluctance of some CMOs to jump on the AI train is slowly fading as more marketers recognize the value of this technology and as tech giants like Google dive further into genAI features with advertising resources like Demand Gen. 47% of CMOs who have adopted genAI see a significant benefit for tasks like campaign evaluation, per Gartner. 84% of high-performing companies rely on genAI

Despite complaints, marketers who use Google for analytics need to understand Google Analytics 4 (GA4) because it鈥檚 not going away. 鈥淭his is Google鈥檚 world, and we鈥檙e just all living in it,鈥� said Colleen Harris, director product manager at Ansira. Here鈥檚 what marketers need to know in order to maximize GA4鈥檚 potential.