Today in Digital Marketing - Soon, We Will All Deliver for Amazon 😞

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's Monday, June 26th. Today, Amazon tries to disrupt delivery again, but this time in the most bizarre way. How Adobe plans to ease your AI legal concerns, Google's new search feature is aimed squarely at Reddit, and a special update about this very podcast we are hiring. I'm Todd Maffin. That's ahead today in Digital Marketing. So who are Amazon's latest delivery partners? Well, basically now any business with a vehicle. The biggest e-commerce company in the world has started recruiting thousands of small businesses across the U.S. today to deliver its packages. These businesses include coffee shops, grocery stores, florists, retail stores, and pretty much everyone else.

Starting point is 00:00:48 Previously, Vox reported that the company was secretly recruiting ma and pa shops in several states to join a pilot delivery program to handle deliveries within a 10-mile radius. Now, Amazon's new program, called Hub Delivery, is no longer on the down-low. Axios reports that the company plans to partner with 2,500 small business drivers by the end of the year. The program is launching in 23 states and also targeting businesses in densely populated cities like Boston, New York, and LA. Here's how it works.

Starting point is 00:01:19 Participating businesses will be asked to deliver an average of 30 packages per day, seven days a week, excluding major holidays. Amazon will drop these packages off to businesses daily for distribution. Compensation is based on completed deliveries. Axios estimates this will be about two and a half dollars per delivery, although the exact rate remains undisclosed by Amazon. Meanwhile, Amazon continues to expand its fulfillment options with plans to reopen enrollment to its seller-fulfilled Prime program later this year. The program let sellers handle fulfillment independently while still providing one-day and two-day delivery for Prime customers,

Starting point is 00:02:05 which had been previously paused due to not meeting shopper expectations. The requirements are pretty steep, though. You have to ship more than 99% of your orders on time, offer nationwide delivery coverage, and include weekend pickup and delivery. Sellers must also complete a trial period to prove that they can meet their requirements. An expert in the field told Retail Dive today that during Amazon's enrollment pause, many sellers caught up to the company's high fulfillment expectations, but he added that while the program gives sellers more control over their brand, inventory, and customer data,

Starting point is 00:02:40 it's not suitable for everyone. For instance, sellers in the program should have enough inventory to cover a footprint of three fulfillment centers. According to Amazon, seller-fulfilled Prime is best suited for companies that sell high-value items, products with variations, seasonal products, or items with unpredictable demand. We are taking a bit of a pause here with some news about us. And joining me here with the big secret is our associate producer, the intrepid Steph Gunn. Hello, Steph. Hi. So we've been keeping a secret for months now.

Starting point is 00:03:15 And what is that secret? I'm having a baby. Yay! When? When are you having the baby? The baby's due August 26th. So really, really could be any time now. It'll be eight months this week. Oh my God.

Starting point is 00:03:33 Well, that means we will be on the lookout for someone to cover Steph during her one-year math leave. And that role will likely grow from the position that we are currently hiring for, a lineup producer. So every morning we wake up to about 75 potential stories in the digital marketing space, and the lineup producer's job is to pick the six or seven that are most relevant and write some of the promotional copy. Both me and the associate producer then write the script. Lineup producer, this is an important role, but it only takes one hour each weekday.

Starting point is 00:04:04 The work is done between 8am and 9am pacific time. We are fully remote and we are looking for someone who might be interested in that role. As I mentioned, after the summer, that role has the possibility of taking on Steph's work during her mat leave as well. Who qualifies? Someone who has a pretty solid background in the practical day-to-day work of digital marketing, probably in the range of four to five years of in-the-trenches work in the digital marketing space. If you are interested, or you know somebody who might be, the URL for more information or to apply is b.link slash lineup. That's b.link slash lineup. There's also a link in the show notes. Thank you and back to the show.

Starting point is 00:04:50 Adobe is pushing marketers to use AI-generated art in their campaigns. With copyright issues looming large over AI-generated content, the company's introduced an indemnity clause to address legal concerns from enterprise users. The clause says that Adobe will assume responsibility and cover any copyright claims associated with works created using Adobe Firefly, that's its generative AI art creation tool, meaning that if a customer faces a lawsuit over Firefly generated content, Adobe will pay the claims. Even though the court has not yet ruled on copyright issues related to generative AI content,

Starting point is 00:05:28 a spokesperson for the company says it's comfortable taking this position because Firefly has been trained on images from Adobe stock images, openly licensed content, and public domain content where the copyright has expired. Unlike other companies like OpenAI, Adobe says it does not train on the open internet, only on content it can legally use. Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit? 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.

Starting point is 00:06:19 Microsoft is notifying marketers to review and adjust their Microsoft ad campaigns ahead of significant policy updates scheduled for later this week. Starting July 1st, Microsoft will introduce a new policy that outlines different impacts on your ad account, including ad and ad component disapprovals like keyword, ad copy or landing page, store or product disapproval, a three strikes violation policy, and immediate suspension for egregious violations. Microsoft is also expanding its advertising identification verification program to all supported markets. Advertisers must complete the verification process by August 1st, and notifications will be sent to those who have not done so. It'll also launch a new ads

Starting point is 00:07:06 library next month. This lets users view ads shown on Bing that may have had impressions within Europe. Microsoft also confirmed policy updates that affect marketers in sectors like health and gambling. Those updates include vitamin and supplement ads now being allowed with some restrictions on certain claims and landing page requirements. Gambling ads are also now allowed, provided advertisers have the required licenses, obtain approval through the gambling enablement process, etc. As of July 1st, though, gambling ads will be banned in Belgium. Advertising for gambling in Ireland will also face greater restrictions. And on August 1st, Microsoft will prohibit advertising for clinical trials or experimental treatments globally across all ad types. Google's new Perspective tab feature has started to roll out.

Starting point is 00:08:00 We previously reported that the new search filter had been in testing. It shows different perspectives and content from various sources like videos, images, and written posts on shared discussion boards. The layout on mobile looks a lot more like Pinterest than traditional Google search results. The Verge suggests that the perspectives feed, which initially appeared as a carousel for certain search results, is trying to discourage users from solely relying on appending Reddit to their searches to find information from real people. The strategy, of course, less effective because of Reddit communities going dark in protest against API changes. That said, many subreddits have since reopened and can now be accessed directly through search. Although given the ongoing conflict between subreddit moderators and Reddit, some speculate that Google might be trying

Starting point is 00:08:49 to capitalize on an opportunity to encroach on Reddit's territory with this new feed. Or the timing could be coincidental. The new feed is rolling out now on mobile devices. And finally, here's a guerrilla marketing campaign that will make you sweat, literally. Netflix has made interactive billboards to promote its new movie, Extraction 2, that, I can't believe I'm going to read this sentence, that drip Chris Hemworth's sweat onto pedestrians. I mean, it's just water, obviously. And rather than putting them up on

Starting point is 00:09:26 streets and highways, the marketing installations were set up on sidewalks so that people walking by could take selfies with the posters and feel Chris Hamlet's perspiration at their fingertips. Yeah. See slash lineup. There's also a link in the show notes as well. I'm Todd Maffin. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow. Oh, you'll never catch me sleeping on the job. I'll be the first one and the last one on my way.

Starting point is 00:10:22 My mom told me working hard is how you make a life. I do this all day.

Today in Digital Marketing - Soon, We Will All Deliver for Amazon 😞

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