1.Google's augmented reality (AR) search features are now available to help you make decisions about your holiday shopping. The tech was showcased at an event in New York City Wednesday evening, and it was positioned as a way to enhance gift planning as consumers do more of their shopping online. Launching today (Nov. 17) in the U.S. is a photo library
that helps people match makeup foundation to their skin tone. The AR capability draws on shots of 148 models encompassing a range of ages, genders, face shapes and ethnicities and lets users apply 2,000 shades from various brands. Also rolling out is an AR try-on for sneakers that lets shoppers fiddle with a 3D rendering of specific shoe models overlaid in real space. Saucony, Vans and Merrell are early partners, but Google said that any company with 3D assets of their products can participate.
(MarketingDive)
2.It was a good month for TV in October, with a heavy sports slate and the lead-up to the midterm elections pushing overall viewing up. Streaming remained viewers’ favored delivery method for the month, and broadcast outlets grew, but cable’s share declined a little. Nielsen's monthly snapshot of TV use shows streaming platforms commanding 37.3 percent of viewing time in the United States, up from 36.9 percent in
September. Streaming has grown for eight straight months, according to Nielsen, and has led all platforms for four months in a row. (THR)
3. The NFL is turning to makers of a hit action movie for its next wellspring of content. The league struck a deal with Top Gun: Maverick producer Skydance Media to create documentaries, as well as fictional movies and shows. The goal? To develop broadly accessible content and a
complement to HBO’s Hard Knocks, which follows one NFL team per season. The league hopes to develop broadly accessible content and a complement to HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” which follows one NFL team per season. The NFL will make a substantial investment in Skydance Sports. Skydance was valued at more than $4 billion on a $400 million funding round last month. RedBird Capital Partners, KKR, and Tencent Holdings participated in the round. While the league itself is expected to be the core source of
content for the venture, NFL chief media and business officer Brian Rolapp indicated that the team-up will explore other sports as well.
4. We've all heard about paywalls—the practice of charging for content online. It's a great way to make money, but there's one major problem: people don't like them. And when people don't like something, they'll do whatever they can to get around it. A recent study found that 53% of consumers attempt to
bypass paywalls, and 69% avoid clicking through when they know the site has one. That's where Sesamy comes in! Their new service, SmartID, lets visitors bypass paywalls by paying per click—and we're not talking a lot either. You can pay just $0.99 per article you read! So what makes this model different from other ones that failed in the past? Well, for starters, SmartID has software to show which articles and for which readers pay-per-click should be an option—something that older
services lacked. They also provide an easy way to charge per click while protecting your subscription revenue—a challenge that may have doomed previous models to failure. (MediaPost)
5.It’s the end of 2022 and time to wrap things up. We know you have a lot on your plate right now, but it’s critical that you take the time to look back on your year and plan for next year.
So, what can you do to make sure you're ready for 2023?
Before
we get into the nitty-gritty details of this checklist, let's go over the top 4 areas of 2022 where we recommend focusing your attention:
1. Conduct an analytics review for the year
2. Identify your BEST clients, customers, and referrals to support in 2023
3. Clean up your data and databases
4. Speak with stakeholders about 2022 performance and 2023 goals
(SpotOnDigitalMedia)
6. Are you ready to take your small business to the next level? Well, Meta is here to help! Meta has launched a series of resources for small businesses, including: A holiday marketing guide, which provides tips and tricks for getting the most out of your holiday marketing
efforts.
Try my Reel, a series of Reels templates for the holiday season designed by top creators found in Instagram’s template library.
#BuyBlackFriday campaign, providing training and guidance for Black-owned businesses. Smallday Showcase, a 2023 guide to Facebook’s select few small businesses that are utilizing the full potential of the platform’s features.
7.The Digital Services Act (DSA) is here.. It's anew set
of regulations that should place larger online platforms under a “unique new transparency and accountability framework,” among other things. Who will be impacted by DSA: The act will impact all online services, but the big guns will be under more scrutiny. The EU will first determine which platforms fall into very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs) categories – if they do, they’ll have tougher oversight and an extra layer of regulation.
According to the EU, any platform or search engine that has more than 10% of the EU population—or 45 million users—falls into the “very large” category. You’ve guessed it – Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon all tick the boxes. What will be the impact: The act focuses on “limiting the spread of illegal content and products online, increasing protection of minors, and giving users more choice and better information.”
8.Tom Ford is
joining forces with Estée Lauder Companies, the New York Times reported Tuesday. The deal is valued at $2.8 billion and will allow Estée Lauder to expand its product offerings, bringing apparel to a company that has been strictly focused on beauty — particularly luxury perfumes — thus far. Ford's beauty line, which he introduced in 2006, largely drove the sale, and Estée Lauder said it's expected to outperform industry growth over the coming years. The company said it expected Tom
Ford Beauty to achieve annual net sales of $1 billion over the next couple of years.
9. If you're getting ready to tackle the holiday shopping season, you might want to reconsider your email strategy. According to a recent study by Pollfish and Airship, 53% of consumers said that the most annoying part of holiday shopping is an incessant stream of irrelevant emails. And if that's not enough to convince you, consider this: only 48%
said they dislike Christmas music starting too early in the season (like in October), and 47% are frustrated by broken or hard-to-use app and website features. In other words, it's time for ecommerce brands to take notice—because this could be the year when consumers finally get fed up with all the noise. Only 20% of those surveyed plan on spending more this year than last year. 44% will hold to their current levels, and 34% will reduce their spend—or eliminate it entirely.
(MediaPost)
10. There's no reason to panic if Meta is your main marketing channel. Facebook DAUs were 1.98B on average for September 2022, an increase of 3% year-over-year. And monthly active increased by 2% on a yearly basis. nstagram engagement is plummeting? TikTok usage is growing at Meta’s expense? Let's look at the facts: TikTok expansion isn't reversing Meta's growth, it's just depressing it. Moreover, aggregate time
spent on Instagram and Facebook is up year-over-year both in the US and globally. Maybe TikTok won't overtake Reels, but they're not being destroyed by it either! Sensor Tower data reported by Morgan Stanley shows that TikTok usage appears to be plateauing while Reels usage is growing across Facebook and Meta. And oh yeah—advertising isn't dead yet! Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy was a big hit to Meta’s advertising, but it’s far from dying out completely. There are still plenty
of ads on Facebook, and there isn’t another alternative that can compete with them at top-of-funnel advertising yet!
10.If you’re not into football, it might be easy to miss the 2022 World Cup. It’s being held in Qatar—which is far from most people’s idea of a fun holiday destination. And with all the news about human rights concerns and environmental issues, it can be hard to see what all the fuss is about. Snapchat wants to change
your mind about that. They’ve announced that they are going to be covering the games in an entirely new way: through immersive AR experiences! According to a statement on their website, Snapchat is "thrilled" to bring fans "the ultimate fan experience" around the World Cup by offering up custom AR experiences and comprehensive content coverage that includes highlights from every game in over 30 countries. They’re also letting users try on different kits before they buy online so they can get
into the spirit of things! This is an opportunity for marketers looking for ways to drive sales over the next few months.
11. Things are not going well for Elon Musk, and it’s unclear when they will get better. As the billionaire continues to struggle with his takeover of Twitter, he has now had to pull the plug on a key feature that gave users access to a verification checkmark. The feature was rolled out earlier this month as part
of Musk’s plan to reimagine Twitter’s verification process. However, it didn’t take long for the public outcry against it to grow louder than ever before. In what appeared to be a response to this criticism and the marked increase in trolling and abuse of the system, the feature was quickly pulled in a move that no doubt left Musk rather red-faced. It also left users who had already paid for their subscription extremely disgruntled, as they discovered that their checkmarks had disappeared only
days later. Musk confirmed yesterday that the feature will be once again available to users, with a planned relaunch on 29 November.
12. As more brands reimagine how affiliate marketing programs can play a greater role in engaging loyal customers and connecting with new audiences, we’re likely to see more retailers reimagine their loyalty programs by flipping the funnel, with affiliate strategies at the center of their larger marketing
efforts. Brands that align affiliate program goals with business objectives, and diversify their partnerships while optimizing existing ones, will be best positioned to take advantage of the benefits of affiliate marketing now and in the future.
If you’re not looking at the true incremental value of your affiliate marketing program, you should be. There are a number of ways to do this, but brand marketers need to first determine what the true ROI and incremental value
of their partnerships and program are to their overall business. The ‘set it and forget’ days of affiliate marketing are long gone, and there’s no time like the present to ensure your brand is following newfound best practices and is equipped with the data and strategy to leverage the full potential of affiliate marketing to drive the highest possible return on investment.
