Today in Digital Marketing - The Algorithm Made Me Buy It

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Starting point is 00:00:18 starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Today, the new agency of record. Is it real? Instagram's finally testing the ad placement so many of us want. LinkedIn offers a better way to close B2B deals. And YouTube's algorithm totally made me buy it. It's Monday, August 9th, 2021. Happy International Day of the World's Indigenous People. I'm Todd Maffin from EngageQ Digital. And here's what you missed today in digital marketing.

Starting point is 00:00:50 And parents, there is one very quick F-bomb in this episode. Middle of the summer, so not a ton of news today. So a short episode for you. And we start this week with some news for you agency people. Digital agencies have been up. They've been down. They've fractured. They've consolidated. agency people. Digital agencies have been up, they've been down, they've fractured, they've

Starting point is 00:01:05 consolidated. And now we seem to be entering an era which would bring the return of specialty agencies, those that focus only on one specific aspect of marketing. In that category, the local media agencies are picking up a lot of speed. A recent Burrell's Associate report found that almost half of the 5,500 digital agencies in the U.S. were now local-focused. Quoting MarketingDive, the media companies that plan on having digital agencies

Starting point is 00:01:33 will have built them, and the ones that don't offer digital capabilities will likely shutter as digital becomes a larger part of the media business. The remaining local media agencies will compete via differentiation, becoming experts at targeting audiences across Thank you. Unquote. One of the sector's hardest hit by COVID in our space was local ad spend. Some estimates have that spending down 17% compared to the previous year.

Starting point is 00:02:32 Second, in agency news, it's always been a feather in an agency's cap to be awarded that precious three-letter acronym, AOR, Agency of Record. It denotes a kind of deeper integration with the client brand, and usually it's the larger agencies that get this. This too has started to fracture a bit. We had digital AORs, social media AORs, and now a first, a culture agency of record. The agency is Kashmir, the client is Taco Bell. As for what exactly a C-AOR would do, that's not so clear. Taco Bell's obligatory executive quote in their news release read, There's no agency more well-equipped to build authentic connections with diverse and multi-ethnic audiences, and we feel honored to tap into their superpower, unquote. Nice words, and, you know, probably written by the agency, but no real specifics on how a C-AOR differs in their work from a regular AOR. Taco Bell has always considered itself a culture setter in marketing. They've teamed up with Forever 21 to design a clothing line,

Starting point is 00:03:33 made fun of the movie business to promote its nacho fries, even opened a boutique hotel and resort activation last summer for a month. For its part, the agency's obligatory quote was even more cryptic. We are philosophically aligned in our belief that when there is greater harmony between communities and brands, progress can be more fully realized, unquote. The fuck?

Starting point is 00:03:57 Is it possible this whole thing is just a marketing stunt in itself? And finally, in agency news, the global digital agency conglomerate WPP reported a net revenue increase of 19% in Q2 over the previous Q2. They say this recovery came faster than they expected, a lot of which from direct e-commerce campaigns. One of its arms, Group M, saw commerce-related billings climb 61% year over

Starting point is 00:04:26 year. Another area of focus, trying to find a way around the looming death of the third-party cookie, WPP merged the data units of two of its arms into a consultancy called Choreograph that's focusing on a first-party solution for its clients. Instagram has finally rolled out an ad placement long desired by e-commerce marketers inside Instagram Shops. The company today confirming it is testing the new placement, which will allow single images or a carousel. The test is happening with a handful of American brands. Instagram Shops were launched last year. They have an in-app checkout experience.

Starting point is 00:05:08 It wasn't without controversy. The new section replaced the activity tab in the bottom navigation row, which actually pissed off a surprising number of people. Some details known so far. Yes, this will be auction-based. No, you can't target desktop since Instagram Shops are only mobile. And no, you cannot get in on the test. They say they'll start rolling it out publicly over the next few months. Some potentially good news for B2B marketers who find it hard to close a deal without a face-to-face. LinkedIn has rolled out a new video function within its messaging platform.

Starting point is 00:05:43 Until now, they've built links to Zoom, Meet, Skype, of course, and the usual suspects. This will now be integrated right into its platform. It includes a scheduling tool and will display each person's LinkedIn profile information like a TV lower third, quickly create that in platform. There is screen sharing. It's a virtual background. Company says they're also working on group meetings since this new system is one-to-one only for now. It's being rolled out this week. Well, I have fallen down a home automation rabbit hole. Honestly, these days you watch like two

Starting point is 00:06:19 YouTube videos in a row on any topic and like that's all it takes. Suddenly their algorithm is all over you with, you want more? Hey, we got more. How about these 300 videos? It is a dangerous rabbit hole, this one, because unlike my other strange, curious obsessions, this one I can actually spend money on. Pray for me. Talk to you tomorrow.

Starting point is 00:06:40 When someone calls and you are out, you can be reached by dialing your Bellboy code number. When you get a close to the beach Just me

Today in Digital Marketing - The Algorithm Made Me Buy It

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