Today in Digital Marketing - Ditch the Pitch: A New Model for Digital Agencies?

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's Tuesday, May 9th. Today, roomy results. Why clutter and white space will increase your click-through rate. What does tracking even mean when most consumers clear everything out anyway? It's time for agencies to ditch the pitch. Plus Meta's new Reels initiative, Amazon's in-store incentives, and more. I'm Todd Maffin. That's ahead today in digital marketing. One simple change in your product photo compositions might be all it takes to boost conversions. New research finds that click-through rates are three times higher when items in an ad or a product image were placed close together in the center with plenty of white space around the edges. This layout also led

Starting point is 00:00:42 consumers to liking the ad more and to say that they are more likely to buy the product. According to the study's researchers, this is because white space helps our mind arrange and group items in the image, making it easier to understand and process. And when objects are situated closely together, we assume that they're linked or connected, leading us to view the products as more effective or beneficial than if they were separate. This layout is effective with multiple copies of the same item

Starting point is 00:01:10 or a group of related items. But if consumers can't connect the items, placing them close together won't be as effective. The paper was published in the Journal of Advertising. It's called How to Allocate White Space in Ad Design,

Starting point is 00:01:23 the Impact of Product Layouts on Perceived Advertising Performance. Google's cookie doomsday clock is ticking, but a new study shows that private browsing is already affecting advertisers' ability to target users as 70% of British consumers are accessing the internet in ways that hide their personal data on a weekly basis. This includes things like browsing in private mode or incognito mode, using Safari as their primary browser or regularly clearing their caches.

Starting point is 00:01:57 One in six indicated they clear their browsing history and cookie cache daily. And a fifth opt out of website tracking cookies on a daily basis. And the number of people browsing privately is increasing, with almost a third saying they spend more time browsing privately than a year ago. Ad tracking, of course, cited as the main reason why people are more aware of online privacy in recent years, more than data breaches or being targeted by online scammers. This increased awareness of online privacy is causing consumers to question the value exchange of providing free content in exchange for personal data.

Starting point is 00:02:33 While the number of respondents who believe their personal data is a fair exchange for a free service is split, the majority of people believe change is necessary. Two-thirds of respondents said that advertisers should find a better way to make ads relevant that doesn't rely on collecting personal information. And more than half of consumers said they would be more likely to choose a brand if it could prove it never collected or used personal information for advertising. The data comes from Nano Interactive's survey of 2,000 UK consumers. From ditching data to ditching the pitch.

Starting point is 00:03:12 According to a new Forrester Research report published yesterday, the agency pitching process is broken and fixing the model requires both brands and agencies to make major changes. The report's author, Jay Patisall, identifies four areas contributing to brands' dissatisfaction. First, procurement-driven reviews that prioritize cost savings. Second, marketers' lack of preparedness during reviews. Third, agencies that over-invest in pitches

Starting point is 00:03:41 and offer free IP. And fourth, conventional pitch consultant processes are bloated and overcomplicated. According to the report, agencies spend up to a fifth of their revenue annually on pitching, and this is unsustainable. Patisol suggests that brands should employ test run models that evaluate agencies based on their real work instead of flashy pitches. In contrast, agencies should embrace temporary project-based work and charge fees for the projects they complete rather than relying on pitches. To successfully implement a new model, both brands and agencies will face

Starting point is 00:04:17 significant challenges as they shift away from business-as-usual practices. While the current partner selection process has been criticized, agencies will need to consider other factors to bring real change. One of these is the need to restructure organizations and staffing models to ensure that project-based teams can be scaled up or down as needed. This, says the report, is a complex challenge, especially with shrinking marketing budgets and agency teams struggling to retain employees. But Patisol suggests that if brands compensated agencies for delivering on project-based engagements, it could significantly reduce the overhead costs currently allocated to pitching new business. Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit?

Starting point is 00:05:09 No business or profession is risk-free. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. TikTok is launching a new platform for brands called TikTok World Hub, designed to help brands learn about the app's advertising tools and marketing best practices. The platform has four areas, branding, commerce, performance, and creative. Each topic includes videos with TikTok product leaders and product roadmaps

Starting point is 00:05:43 to educate brands about TikTok advertising. The hub also breaks down TikTok's complete product suite and what products drive what parts of the marketing funnel. The platform also introduced TikTok Fundamentals today, which is a framework for brands to get the most out of their ad campaigns. Meanwhile, ByteDance, that's the parent company of TikTok, is said to be exploring the book publishing industry with a trademark application filed by its subsidiary, Lemon Inc. The trademark, named Eighth Note Press, covers a range of book publishing products and services, including an app for reading, downloading, and discussing e-books, retail bookstore services, audiobooks, and more. Well, after recently pulling the plug on its Reels Play bonus program, Meta today announced that it is expanding tests to compensate creators on Facebook Reels,

Starting point is 00:06:43 but this time based on the performance of their videos directly and not the ads surrounding them. The program called Ads on Facebook Reels started testing last year. The company is now inviting more creators to join. Those creators will be paid based on the number of plays their reels receive, meaning more views, more money, over times that it might look at other factors when determining payouts. The biggest e-commerce company in the world is luring computers to shop IRL. Reuters is reporting today that Amazon is now offering shoppers $10 to collect their purchases in-store rather than having them delivered. This as shipping costs soar. Several Prime subscribers who pay a membership fee for free shipping received emails promoting a $10 reward for picking up orders worth $25 or more

Starting point is 00:07:30 at locations like Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods, and Kohl's, with which it has a partnership. Amazon is among a number of retailers that are rethinking free shipping options. In recent months, the company has made changes to its delivery and return policies because of rising costs. We'll move over to ChatGPT. Chat JBC is here. Wendy's is welcoming our robot overlords to the drive-thru with the new AI chatbot powered by Google, the chatbot will take orders, of course, and it'll feature words, item names and acronyms unique to the franchise like Biggie Bag and JBC for Junior Bacon Cheeseburger. The AI is, of course, also programmed to upsell customers with orders sent to a human line cook, at least human for now.

Starting point is 00:08:22 I got that. You know that I got that. I got it cocked back. Aye, aye, aye, aye. I have a date with my Rainbow Six squad because I'm so close to silver I can taste it. Talk to you tomorrow. No, I got that. Cocked back. Ready to squeeze.

Starting point is 00:08:37 I feed the youth to inspiration. They selling them dreams. You see that belt? Got a bowl of skizz and metals between. Thinking we're on the same page. A hundred levels beneath. I got that. Wet, soft, hard. Outro Music

Today in Digital Marketing - Ditch the Pitch: A New Model for Digital Agencies?

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