Today's News

Google: If Your Ad’s Not First, It’s Last

YouTube Rolls Out ‘Add Yours’ Sticker for Shorts

The Ad Boom: What’s Fueling 2024’s Spend

Bluesky (Finally) Lets You Post Videos

Gen Z’s Shopping Playbook

Meta’s AI ATE

Mikey’s Back, Back Again

Google: If Your Ad’s Not First, It’s Last

In the world of YouTube ads, first impressions matter. Google announced today that First Position is now available across all YouTube content. This feature ensures your ad is the first in-stream ad viewers see.

Live and ready to roll

Previously, First Position was limited to YouTube Select inventory, bookable through Google Ads and Display & Video 360 at a fixed rate CPM. Now, the feature is expanding to all YouTube content with dynamic pricing through Display & Video 360.

The feature is now live for any market with First Position.

YouTube Rolls Out ‘Add Yours’ Sticker for Shorts

As First Position locks in your ad's prime placement, YouTube is pushing users for more interactive engagement with its new ‘Add Yours' sticker for Shorts.

A familiar feature

This feature invites viewers to participate by creating their own versions of Shorts clips. If it feels like déjà vu, it's because it's the same feature on Instagram, which was also inspired by TikTok's duet option.

YouTube has been testing the feature with select users for the past couple of months, and now the ‘Add Yours' sticker for Shorts is being expanded to all users.

The Ad Boom: What’s Fueling 2024’s Spend

Despite economic concerns, ad spend in the final months of 2024 looks promising.

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the number of advertisers worried about a slowing U.S. economy has dropped by 11% from November 2023 to August 2024. They also forecast a 12% increase in U.S. ad spending, up from the 9.5% growth predicted last November.

eMarketer reports today that there are four driving factors boosting the ad industry for the rest of 2024:

1. Rise of retail media

Retail media networks are leading in ad share, with the IAB increasing its growth forecast from 22% to 25% fueled by increased spend in consumer packaged goods and beauty sectors. These networks leverage rich first-party data and expanding partnerships, making them highly attractive to brands.

2. Focus on value-based messaging

Consumers are prioritizing value, particularly for consumer packaged goods. As a result, brands are boosting their ad spend to target cost-conscious buyers.

3. Surge in political spend

Political advertising is expected to exceed $12 billion this year, about 3% of total media ad spend. Much of this will be concentrated around the Q4 presidential election. This, combined with events like the Olympics, is boosting linear TV, according to the IAB.

4. Connected TV Monetization

Connected TV is benefiting from increased ad spend, with platforms expanding their inventory to capture a share of the almost $29 billion forecasted for CTV in 2024.

Bluesky (Finally) Lets You Post Videos

This may be your sign to get your brand on the Twitter competitor Bluesky: the platform now supports video.

Bluesky announced yesterday that users can share clips up to 60 seconds long on desktop and mobile.

Videos will autoplay by default, but there’s an option to turn this off in the settings menu. You can also add subtitles and apply labels to manage content like adult material. There are, however, some limitations, you’re capped at 25 video uploads or 10GB per day.

Safety first

The platform will require email verification to help combat harmful content and spam. If users breach community guidelines repeatedly, their video posting privileges might be revoked. Videos will also be screened by Hive’s AI and Thorn, a nonprofit that fights child sexual abuse, to check for illegal content or media that needs a warning.

To check if you have video access, refresh your Bluesky desktop site or update your mobile app. Note that this feature is rolling out gradually, so it might not be available immediately.

Gen Z’s Shopping Playbook

Gen Z has ushered in a new era of shopping. According to a new report from eMarketer today, here are three standout ways their purchasing journey is changing the game for marketers.

1. Gen Zers put thought behind their purchases

The TikTok gen isn’t just clicking ‘buy’ on a whim. With less cash to splash, they’re scrutinizing every purchase. They’re leveraging digital tools—think Reddit reviews and mobile apps—to vet products before buying. They’re also more likely to check out a brand on social media, with 20% of them doing so versus 7% of older shoppers. Plus, 45% will consult family and friends before finalizing a purchase.

2. TikTok is their go-to for discovering and researching products

This year, 70% of all U.S. Gen Zers will use TikTok monthly.

They will spend 57 minutes per day on TikTok, more than any other age group.

Two-thirds discover new brands and products on TikTok. Instagram ranks a close second.

3. Brick-and-Mortar still matters

Despite their digital prowess, Gen Z hasn’t abandoned physical stores. According to eMarketer's survey, half of Gen Zers recently purchased a product they discovered in-store.

For this generation, physical stores were the leading source of brand awareness across nine product categories, including:

Clothing

Shoes

Accessories

In-store shopping remains the most common method for Gen Z to make purchases, outpacing:

Websites

Mobile apps

Social media

Meta’s AI ATE

When you thought your ‘throwback Thursday' posts were just a trip down memory lane, it turns out Meta's AI had different plans.

Meta has acknowledged that since 2007, all publicly posted text and photos by adult Facebook and Instagram users have been used to train its AI models. Australia’s ABC News recently reported that Meta’s global privacy director initially denied using user data for AI training during a government inquiry but later admitted it after further questioning.

Data hoarding 101

David Shoebridge, a Green Party senator, pressed Meta's privacy director during the inquiry.

Meta's ironically titled privacy director responded with “Correct.”

The tech giant’s privacy center and blog posts clarify that it uses public posts from Facebook and Instagram for training generative AI models and does not use content that is not set to ‘Public.'

No opt-out zone

European users can opt-out due to local privacy regulations, and Meta faces a ban on using Brazilian data for AI training. But, users in other regions can't opt out if they want to keep their posts public.

Meta's privacy director could not confirm if opt-out options will be available in the future.

Mikey’s Back, Back Again

Speaking of throwbacks, Life Cereal has resurrected a classic with its first marketing campaign in years, by bringing back a 70s ad icon for its latest campaign: Mikey.

Mikey first debuted in 1972 with the catchphrase, “He likes it! Hey Mikey!” The original ad, titled “Three Brothers” became such a phenomenon that it ran for more than a decade.

“Newstalgia”

Now, Life Cereal is tapping into “newstalgia,” blending nostalgia with a modern twist, according to the VP of meal occasions at PepsiCo, Life's parent company. Instead of a simple 70s ad reboot, the VP emphasizes the brand’s aim to combine familiar elements with a contemporary context.

As for the famous dialogue? It's still the same.

The new spot airs today across multiple platforms, including:

Disney+

Amazon

YouTube,

TikTok

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