1. The pet care sector is booming in China as an increasing number of people are becoming more affluent and keen to pamper their furry friends. This has led to a proliferation of pet-related businesses, ranging from luxury pet hotels to gourmet pet food stores. There are now around 100 million pets in China, including 60 million cats and dogs, and the market is worth an estimated $5 billion. This presents
a wealth of opportunities for businesses looking to tap into the Chinese market. One key trend is the growth of online retail. The Chinese pet care market is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 18% between 2016 and 2020, with online sales accounting for around a third of total sales. This provides a major opportunity for brands to reach consumers through e-commerce platforms such as Tmall and JD.com. (The Drum)
2. Meta announced they’re releasing Advantage+, their ad automation tool, to advertisers worldwide. According to Meta, Advantage+ will remove manual steps from ad creation and automate up to 150 ad combinations at once, maximizing ad performance and lowering spend.Meta says its two new features will
help small businesses in particular save time and money: AdCreative selects ad creatives based on factors like audience, context, and brand voice; and AdSettings automatically applies the most effective settings for each campaign based on historical data. In a release, Meta CEO Anthony Clamen said: "Advantage+ is a huge win for small businesses that don't have the time or resources to manage their ads manually." We'll see if this new tool lives up to the hype!
3. VeraViews, an adtech company built on the principles of open ledger technology, announced today that the VeraViews adtech stack has delivered the first third-party developed ad-support plugin for the Brightcove Web Player. The plugin, which is currently in beta testing, provides a seamless way for publishers to insert advertising into their video content while maintaining full control over the user experience. According to VeraViews CEO, David Blakey,
theplugin represents a major milestone for the company. "This is a big step forward for us," said Blakey. "It's proof that our technology can be integrated with leading video platforms, and it opens up a whole new world of opportunity for our customers." Blakey went on to say that VeraViews is committed to providing publishers with the best possible experience, and that the company plans to continue expanding its platform in order to support even more video platforms in the
future.
4. If you're not a fan of YouTube, then you're in for some good news. A federal district court in California denied Google's motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the company is violating antitrust laws. This means that there's a chance that Rumble, a YouTube competitor, will be able to see parts of Google's secret search ranking algorithm. And that's not all-rumble has also alleged that Google gives itself an unfair
advantage by rigorously enforcing its terms of service while turning a blind eye to similar infractions by YouTube users. So if you're tired of YouTube monopolizing the video-sharing market, then this lawsuit is worth keeping an eye on.
5. It's been a while since we've seen prices falling on e-commerce sites. In fact, the last time prices were this low was before the pandemic started. According to Adobe Digital Price Index,
e-commerce prices were down by 2% in July compared to June. This may not look significant, but it's the first price decrease since before the pandemic started. Out of 18 categories, 14 have shown a downturn in pricing, including electronic gadgets and toys. In fact, electronic gadgets have seen the biggest yearly drop of 9.3%. Apparel had the biggest monthly drop of 2.4%. But it's not all doom and gloom – food and beverage prices actually rose by 0.2%. So if you're looking to save some money,
now might be a good time to do your shopping online.
6. Instagram has been facing a lot of backlash from its user community recently, after it announced plans to release a new feature that would boost recommended videos. This new feature was very similar to the one used by TikTok, and many users were not happy about it. They felt that it would turn their display feed into something that was all too reminiscent of the video app,
and that it would promote videos over photos. As a result of the backlash, Instagram has now halted the release of this feature. It remains to be seen whether or not they will go ahead with it in the future, but for now, users can breathe a sigh of relief.
7. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) apps have been growing in popularity in recent years, and that trend continued in the first half of 2022. According to data from Sensor Tower, a
record 10 million people installed BNPL apps on the App Store and Google Play during that period. The apps are particularly popular in the UK and Germany, where users have been quick to adopt them. In fact, installs of BNPL apps were up 339% in Europe during the first half of 2022 compared to 2019. So why are these apps so popular? Well, they offer a convenient way to pay for things over time, without having to put down a lump sum upfront. That can be helpful for big purchases, or for people who
are short on cash. And with more and more retailers offering BNPL options, it's becoming easier than ever to use them. So if you're thinking about signing up for one of these apps, you're not alone. Millions of people are already using them and finding them helpful.
8. Amazon is no stranger to first-party data. It has been collecting data on its customers for years, and it knows a lot about them. This gives the company a unique
opportunity to deliver a personalized metaversal experience to its customers. By mashing together everything it knows about you from the real world, Amazon could craft a virtual version of your home, stocked with what it knows you like, and build from there. It could be like Minecraft for grown-ups! Of course, this would require a significant investment of resources, but given Amazon's deep pockets, it seems like something that could easily be accomplished in a short period of time. And
the potential rewards are huge. Imagine being able to shop in a virtual world that is tailored specifically to your taste! It would be a game-changer for the retail industry. (Media Post)
9.It's easy to get caught up in the debate around third-party cookies and forget that there are
other industries that are successfully building scaled and addressable advertising ecosystems without them. One such industry is the CTV industry. The CTV industry has been working for years to develop a robust infrastructure for addressable advertising that doesn't rely on cookies. And, it's succeeding. There are a number of reasons why the CTV industry is succeeding where others have failed. First, the CTV ecosystem is relatively closed, which makes it easier to control and manage
data. Second, the TV industry has been working on this problem for much longer than the digital world and has invested heavily in it. Third, the CTV industry has strong partnerships with data providers, which gives them access to high-quality data that can be used for targeting. The success of the CTV industry's addressable advertising ecosystem should be a lesson to all those who are working on similar problems in other industries. It's possible to build a scaled and addressable ecosystem
without cookies - it just takes time, investment, and partnerships with quality data providers.
10. DALIA GANZ has joined WARNER RECORDS as SVP/Digital Marketing, based in LOS ANGELES and reporting to Co-Chairman/COO TOM CORSON. “DALIA is a widely respected expert and bold innovator in the digital space who knows how to adapt in a constantly changing landscape and isn’t afraid to break the mold to try something new,” said CORSON. “She
has a deep understanding of how social media can be used to connect with fans and break artists in new and exciting ways, and we are thrilled to have her on our team.”
11. Hootsuite is the latest social media marketing firm to make headlines for large layoffs. The company has cut its workforce by 30%, a move that CEO Tom Keiser says is necessary to 'refocus' the business. While Hootsuite has not provided any specifics on what changes
are being made, it is clear that the company is looking to streamline operations and focus on profitability. This comes as a growing number of social media marketing firms are struggling to compete in an increasingly crowded marketplace. With brands moving away from traditional advertising, Hootsuite and other companies are feeling the pinch. The layoffs are a sign that the social media marketing industry is undergoing a major shakeup, and only the strongest firms will
survive.