Today in Digital Marketing - The Unfortunate Childhood Adventures of Programmatic Ads

Starting point is 00:00:00 It is Wednesday, November 1st. Today, lessons learned. Keeping tabs on your low-quality ad campaigns is more important than ever. Your own AI chatbot coming soon, if you care, which you probably shouldn't. TikTok has tips for the upcoming Q5 quarter. And the agency trend killing off centuries of brand goodwill.

Starting point is 00:00:27 I'm Todd Maffin. That's ahead today in digital marketing. Today's episode is sponsored by Check Essentials, the top self-serve marketing security platform against ad fraud and invalid traffic. A recent study shows that over $100 billion will be lost this year because of acquisition efforts that result in fake leads. Check Essentials detects and blocks fake and fraudulent users in real time using thousands of cybersecurity tests on every user. Malicious bots, competitors, and spam, Check blocks them all, ensuring that every cent you spend reaches valid users who can convert and provide you with pure, clean data to rely on for your decision-making. Join over 15,000 companies that secure their ads and websites with Check. For today and digital marketing listeners, an exclusive 10% discount and a one-month free trial is yours.

Starting point is 00:01:21 Tap the link in the show notes or go to b.link slash go check. That's b.link slash G-O-C-H-E-Q. Media are reporting this week on an unfortunate byproduct of the digital advertising world, misplaced programmatic ads. Programmatic ads are often lower quality placements, similar to the various ad platforms' audience networks. They're usually on websites or in mobile apps using banner ads to make a little extra money. Many of those ads end up in mobile games targeting kids, which is why the ads in question are of concern to parents. One shows Hamas militants, scared Israeli families, and blurred graphic scenes. The message on the ad, quote,

Starting point is 00:02:07 We will make sure that those who harm us pay a heavy price, unquote. Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it was their government that placed the ad. They've spent at least $1.5 million on digital ad campaigns promoting Israel since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas attacked the country three weeks ago. But as for ads in children's games, they said they had no idea how the ads got there. We know, of course, it was almost certainly a broad programmatic buy. For parents, a shock. For us marketers, a reminder to check your campaigns regularly. Set it and forget it is not a good strategy during times of conflict, or really any time, really.

Starting point is 00:02:56 Google has launched new AI tools for US advertisers, hot on the heels of Amazon's similar move. These tools will be part of their product studio and allows merchants to generate product images using simple text prompts. For instance, a pet brand could type a miniature schnauzer happy in a field of fish treats and get a product image set in that scene. This was first announced in May and started testing with a handful of brands then. It's being rolled out starting today for Merchant Center Next users in the U.S. and on the Google and YouTube app for Shopify. Also, Google is introducing a small business attribute that can appear in Google Maps and Search, making it easier for shoppers to spot local, smaller stores. For those concerned about

Starting point is 00:03:41 authenticity, Google has measures in place. An executive said only genuine small businesses would have access to the tag. Well, if you've been sitting on the sidelines watching AI chatbots get a lot of hype and wondered how your brand can get in on it all, there might be good news ahead. A reverse software engineer has found code in Amazon's app suggesting that users will soon be able to craft their own branded chatbots. These personalized bots can be modeled after users' images and styles, giving them a unique voice. Meta unveiled its celebrity-influenced AI chatbot models last month. These models can be accessed via popular platforms like Messenger,

Starting point is 00:04:22 WhatsApp, and Instagram direct messages. But one thing to remember before you throw money at this, Mark Zuckerberg has an unusual fascination with virtual reality and bots. You might recall a few years back when Messenger bots were going to be all the rage and the next big thing. And while

Starting point is 00:04:39 some brands set them up and some even still have them, the focus at Meta swiftly moved on to the next shiny thing. It's not to say don't try it out. Just make sure your head stays in reality and not the virtual kind. TikTok this week published a marketing playbook designed to help you through your Q5 campaigns. Yes, Q5, the informal period between Christmas and mid-January.

Starting point is 00:05:08 It's not a financial quarter, of course, but it is a kind of special period within an otherwise busy buying season. TikTok does publish these guides fairly frequently. They delve into various strategies, showcase usage notes, case study examples, creative pointers, that sort of thing. We have a link to the playbook in today's newsletter, or you can find it on their business site.

Starting point is 00:05:32 And finally, the advertising giant WPP is retiring three of its most prestigious and historic agency brands. Set to vanish, J. Walter Thompson, Young & Rubicam, and W agency brands. Set to vanish, J. Walter Thompson, Young & Rubicam, and Wonderman. If you are in the ad business, you know these names. They have a combined legacy spanning over 300 years. And their brands will all be absorbed into VML, a customer experience agency. This will make VML the world's largest marketing services firm, boasting 30,000 employees.

Starting point is 00:06:10 Abby Dan, writing in Forbes Today, has this take. Quote, WPP may think that clients don't care about agency brands. I believe that brands matter to clients. They care about the differentiation and agencies with clear positioning and a set of values they can relate to or choose to align with. Now, maybe some clients don't care about these storied brands simply because they've had the soul ripped out of them since they were acquired. But clients clearly care about agency brands. This is why they're choosing Whedon & Kennedy, Gut Anomaly, Martin, Mischief, and others over big legacy networks that have been merged to the holding companies to within an inch of their lives. I think WPP forgets that it isn't just

Starting point is 00:06:51 the names which smart clients love. It's the people. The advertising business is just people and ideas. So yes, the names aren't important, but when they start merging different cultures, thinking it makes no difference, then they're very, very wrong. Unquote. Our agency still has one client slot available. So if you're looking for a brand to handle your incoming social media engagement, check us out. Link is in the show notes. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.

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Today in Digital Marketing - The Unfortunate Childhood Adventures of Programmatic Ads

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