Today in Digital Marketing - How Do You Solve a Problem Like Doja Cat?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Today, how Taco Bell pulled off a two-year ad campaign that feels like anything but an ad. Why one company is paying consumers to say no to third-party data tracking. TikTok unveils a new crowdsourced branding content tool. YouTube launches a new frequency capping solution. And do we trust Meta yet? When their own data indicates Facebook is still spreading misinformation? It's Wednesday, May 18th. I'm Todd Maffin. Here's what you missed today in digital marketing.

Starting point is 00:00:28 This is the story of how an angry tweet turned into a national ad campaign. It all started when Taco Bell dropped the Mexican pizza from its menu and the musician Doja Cat tweeted to bring it back. She wasn't working with the brand, just apparently a big fan of the menu item, and that is when the partnership was formed. In every tweet between the two, the brand and rapper injected Mexican pizza into the conversation. Doja Cat tweeted numerous times last year asking for the item, while Taco Bell delivered playful comebacks,

Starting point is 00:01:00 all part of a marketing strategy, of course. And after almost two years of this back and forth, Taco Bell is indeed bringing the Mexican pizza back tomorrow. Today on Ad Week, there is a great piece up that explores why Doja Cat is actually the ideal brand partner for Taco Bell, despite her being the average marketer's worst nightmare. For instance, leading up to the Super Bowl, she posted a TikTok where she claims she's being forced to make the video for Taco Bell while expressing utter disinterest in the brand. What's up, guys? It's Doja Cat, and I'm being forced to make this video for Taco Bell because they're saying that they have something in the works for you and for me. And I don't feel special because they're not telling me what it is. So what am I doing? The partnership was designed to keep fans on their toes. Doja Cat's leak of Taco Bell's Super Bowl spot, for example, was a scripted stunt.

Starting point is 00:01:52 Also, Doja Cat was very blunt about not wanting to create a Mexican pizza jingle that she was assigned to to perform on her social media. During an Instagram live, she warned fans that if they see a jingle go live, they should be aware that it's contractual. While this might have been a red flag for some brands, Taco Bell leaned in, tweeting, Congratulations, Doja Cat, on your big win. We mean it, not just because we're contractually obligated to. So why is this kind of anti-campaign working? According to the Adweek piece,

Starting point is 00:02:23 quote, Taco Bell's love-hate affair with Doja Cat reflects two diverging aspects of a trend across social media marketing. The adjacent content that doesn't let outdated brand safety policies get in the way of something playful, unquote. That said, Doja Cat is one of the biggest pop stars on the planet right now. Would this same strategy work for a micro-influencer endorsing your brand? Last week, we mentioned that it appeared that Meta had changed the way users' privacy settings worked on its platform. If someone opted out of tracking on Instagram, but not Facebook, they were automatically opted out of both by default. Or at least that was the speculation.

Starting point is 00:03:06 Corey Dobbin was one of those on Twitter who speculated that if you saw a performance dip in the two weeks after they may or may not have turned this on, this might be why. He tried digging up documentation with more information about this change. Couldn't find any. Apparently it came informally from a rep. This is how we get most of the product announcements from Meta these days. Either a rep casually mentions, Oh hey, we're going to block all vowels next week. But anyway,

Starting point is 00:03:30 about your campaign, have you tried increasing your budget? Or they just put the new system in place and rely on people on Twitter to screenshot and post it. So someone in our podcast Slack community, which you should join, by the way, it's free today in digital.com slash Slack or tap the link in the show notes. This person runs a lot of ad campaigns and he has access to actual human beings at Meta. So he thought he would ask both of his two reps. Rep one said, quote, opting out of one platform's tracking does not opt out of all apps and platforms, unquote. But rep two told them, quote, if a user has linked their Facebook and Instagram accounts, their opt-out will now be applied to all of their linked accounts, unquote.

Starting point is 00:04:13 We asked Meta for the official ruling on this earlier today and had not heard back by deadline. So, assuming both can't be true, which is it? I'm inclined to believe the latter. If only because the text that came back from Rep 2 was lengthier. It read more like it came from some kind of official template. Looked like it went through a communications committee, you know what I mean? Phrases like, we recognize that this might impact your campaigns.

Starting point is 00:04:36 We appreciate your understanding. But also from a policy and legislative point of view, Meta probably wants to be more on the privacy side of things. So, anyway, looks like this is indeed why performance dipped. and legislative point of view, Meta probably wants to be more on the privacy side of things. So anyway, looks like this is indeed why performance dipped. Meta is opting users out of tracking

Starting point is 00:04:52 across its whole ecosystem if they opt out from one app. Unless they aren't. I mean, come on, how much more clearly do they have to make it for you people? Jeez.

Starting point is 00:05:04 Ahead of the cookiepocalypse, one company is rewarding consumers for saying no to third-party data tracking. In order to give consumers a better sense of what's happening with their data, SMS and email marketing platform Klaviyo has created a campaign where it pays people $100 to decline cookies. The company launched its Buy Cookies, Hello Cash Giveaway campaign yesterday, where through May 31st, the first 40 entries will receive a $100 gift card. All participants have to do is send a screenshot of themselves declining cookies and emailing it to nocookies at klaviyo.com. Through the contest landing page, the initiative aims to inform people about what

Starting point is 00:05:45 cookies are, how they work, what it really means to accept all cookies on a website. Klaviyo says it is committed to educating consumers about what they're accepting and opting into. A company spokesperson said that while the company is running posts on its social media promoting the contest, no money has been spent on running ads. Going to go out on a limb here, maybe because they don't have a way of targeting people now? Well, if all that talk about Doja Cat and self-deprecating marketing partnerships has piqued your interest, TikTok has launched a new tool that may be able to help you get started. Today, the social media app unveiled Branded Mission,

Starting point is 00:06:28 a new ad tool that allows advertisers to crowdsource content directly from creators on TikTok and turn top-performing videos into ads. For marketers, Branded Mission enables brands to invite creators to contribute to a campaign. TikTok says advertisers can engage the community to participate in these branded campaigns, let the creators tell the most relatable brand story in an authentic way, and deliver a diverse ecosystem of creators who are the main drivers of culture on TikTok. Basically, the platform has cut out the middle person by eliminating the need to go through an influencer agency and instead go straight to the source. your financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. YouTube unveiled a new ad frequency

Starting point is 00:07:33 capping tool for marketers at its Brandcast presentation yesterday. The new frequency capping tool will let advertisers using Google Ads set weekly limits on how often their spots appear to viewers. That, according to Google's president, might be a solution for one of connected TV's lingering problems. Viewers seeing the same ads repeatedly in a single viewing session. Previously, capping was per campaign. The new solution allows weekly capping. And with this solution, an advertiser can also ensure that a viewer saw their ad three times a week, not just on average. This doesn't only apply to YouTube, but all connected TV inventory that can be purchased through Google Display and Video360, which covers

Starting point is 00:08:15 over 90% of ad-supported connected TV households, those numbers from Adweek. The president of Google also noted that DoorDash's use of this tool led to a 50% increase in driver signups. Meta released its latest version of its widely viewed content report yesterday, which continues to be a bit of a dumpster fire. The report details some of the most popular posts on Facebook in the US. And while Meta claims that the most popular links, quote, ranged from humor culture to DIY, unquote, its own data indicates that misinformation, divisive content, and other material that violates its policies are still gaming Facebook's algorithm. Out of the most widely viewed links, two of the top 20 shared URLs were eventually found to be in violation of policy after receiving about 30 million views each.

Starting point is 00:09:13 But it gets worse. Meta has also updated its methodology to ensure that it more accurately reflects what users are actually seeing. This means links that don't render previews are no longer even being counted. With the new methodology, six out of the top 20 shared links on Facebook were eventually found to be in violation of Facebook's policies. The videos had received a collective 112 million views before Facebook's moderators removed them. As the report shows, Meta is amplifying questionable content, but we have no way of knowing what it is or was since Meta doesn't report those details.

Starting point is 00:09:58 Google's Russian subsidiary plans to file for bankruptcy after authorities seized the company's bank account, preventing it from paying employees and vendors, according to Reuters. A note posted on Russia's official registry today stated that the Google subsidiary was intending to declare bankruptcy and since March 22 had foreseen an inability to fulfill its monetary obligations. The tech giant, which has already paused ads in Russia, says its free services will remain available for Russian users for the time being, including Google Search, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, and more. A few small items to wrap up today. First, a new report has found

Starting point is 00:10:41 that over half of marketers have lost revenue since Apple's IDFA changes. Google's phasing out of third-party cookies, new privacy updates, and changing ad regulations. The report from Bango argues that these issues are the four horsemen of the app-ocalypse. Get it? And are changing the face of app marketing forever. Two-thirds of marketers also worry about the implications of Google removing third-party data on their user acquisition strategy, while nearly 60% agree that user privacy is a top priority for their company this year, and agree they have to rethink their acquisition

Starting point is 00:11:15 strategy. Next, as Elon Musk's takeover drama continues, Twitter has lost three more senior executives. This time, though, they weren't asked to leave. According to Bloomberg, the three executives all chose to exit on their own. And finally, 10 years ago today, Facebook went public. As investors feared its pivot to mobile would not work, they were wrong. Now the company is in a similar situation, but this time it's betting it all on the metaverse. Metaverse's foggy future is only one of many reasons why the company's stock has dropped almost 50% since its high in September.

Starting point is 00:11:50 Ten years later, the company has a new name, same man behind the curtain, and a familiar problem. Will meta be able to stay relevant this time? And this is the last day for this classified ad. Fed up with your slow WordPress host and sucky customer support? Then try WPX. Independently proven as the fastest WordPress host out there. With stellar customer support, according to thousands of real WPX customers on Trustpilot.com, get 75% off the first three months until June 12th.

Starting point is 00:12:22 That's WPX.net. It is windy. We are in the middle of a huge windstorm right now. So much so that I moved our car because it was close to trees. The grocery store has no power. The recycling place wasn't even taking in recyclables because their system couldn't count it. It was just nasty out there. Anyway, if there's no podcast tomorrow, it means I've been bonked on the head by a tree. I'm taking a few days off. All right, talk to you tomorrow.

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Today in Digital Marketing - How Do You Solve a Problem Like Doja Cat?

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