Cheap Ads and other Big Opportunities

DIGITAL ADS ARE ON SALE, BUT ARE THEY WORKING?

It feels like we’re at a crossroads right now when it comes to digital marketing, or at least the ad business. If you’ve been buying a decent volume of media recently, you’ve likely noticed that the numbers are looking really promising right now - I have good news, bad news, and an optimistic take:

First, the good stuff: You’re right, ads have gotten cheaper. A recent study by AdRoll found that “(the) cost of advertising, as measured by CPM (cost per thousand), fell by 33%… There was also a 13% increase in website visitors.”

Why the drop in prices? It could be because there’s just less money chasing those impressions. According to the US Ad Market Tracker, spending on digital ads has decreased ten months in a row. Pair that with a Gartner report that says 71% of CMOs don’t believe that they have enough budget to effectively execute their strategies in 2023 and we start to get a picture of an industry where the demand isn’t keeping up with the supply.

The bad news is that conversions have also been dropping. It seems that website visitors have been keeping a lock on their wallets this year because the number of purchases did not keep pace with the increased website traffic, it actually declined.

One way of reading that data is that ads work – when spends go down, so do conversions. That may be true, but it certainly seems that there is a macro trend here, where economic uncertainties and rising interest rates are causing both brands and individuals to look a little more closely at their budgets.

Here’s that bit of optimism I promised: Our businesses are not macro trends. We are individual and specific, meaning that if we have a product people want, need, and/or love, then a decline in ad rates is great news. All of the ideas we had just got cheaper, and our audiences have fewer competitors vying for their attention.

Every market brings with it both opportunities and challenges, but this is yet another example of how great brands that have invested in their communities get advantages no matter what conditions arise.

8 PREDICTIONS FOR AI’S IMPACT ON MEDIA

WE CAN’T KNOW THE FUTURE, BUT THESE SEEM PRETTY SMART

Every site on the internet seems to be filled with predictions for AI’s impact these days, but the folks over at Axios have built their reputation on the ability to provide brief summaries that cut through the garbage and get right to the point. This week, they did what they do best and published the following 8 predictions:

1. Expertise. The days of gaming social media algorithms are coming to an abrupt — and needed — end. Commoditized or general interest content will fade in value. Any company betting only on high traffic seems doomed. The demand for subject matter expertise will rise fast.

2. Trust. AI will rain a hellfire of fake and doctored content on the world, starting now. That'll push readers to seek safer and trusted sources of news — directly instead of through the side door of social media.

3. Direct relationships. Consumers will soon get awesome, fully written search results with ChatGPT-like technologies. You'll get smart answers — not links. This will slow or even cut off a highly valuable pipeline of web traffic for companies like Axios and force publishers to tighten our direct relationship with you, the customer/consumer.

4. Inbox platforms. Newsletters will rise in importance, as Microsoft and Google make emailing magically easy by helping you write, answer and sort emails. The inbox will be a more indispensable content destination and repository.

5. Healthy content. There's simply too much doom and gloom on TV and many news sites. Consumers want and deserve a better mix of content, including healthy and helpful content.

6. Efficiency. Consumers want most news and practical information delivered as efficiently as possible. This will be even more true as new technology tricks and toys fight for your attention.

7. More depth. As most content gets shorter, consumers will have a little more time for podcasts and deep-dive content like magazine-style articles. But the demand for those to be truly excellent and consumer-first will rise, too. The middle — boring stories journalists write for themselves or to fill holes on a website — will die.

8. Information inequality. There has never been a better time for discerning readers to get high-quality content delivered exponentially more efficiently. This trend will accelerate. At the same time, there has never been an easier time to create and spread distracting, disgusting or deceitful information at scale, for peanuts. This trend will also accelerate.

What do you think? Did they miss on any of these? Which are you most excited about? Hit reply to let us know.

25-DAY GOOGLE ANALYTICS REMINDER

IF YOU HAVEN’T MADE THE SWITCH YET, NOW IS THE TIME

Google is great at so many things, but communication is not always at the top of the list. For the past year they have been shouting that the current version of Google Analytics, knows as UA (Universal Analytics) is going away and will be replaced by a completely re-imagined version called GA4 on July 1, 2023.

That date is just around the corner, so this is your reminder to make the changeover, because you will be losing all of your data from the legacy version so the sooner you do it, the better.

Of course, Google has published lots of resources, but here are the most straightforward how-tos that will get you up and running today:

• If you already have UA installed, and just need to upgrade, this article is for you
• If you don’t have any Google Analytics running on your site and want to get started, use this article
• If you’re more of a visual learner and would like a video tutorial, go with this 6-minute walkthrough

PEOPLE OVER LABELS

Are you a Boomer brand? How are you connecting with Gen Z? Should we be afraid of Gen Alpha? Who cares? It’s all made up anyways.

Pew Research’s job is to analyze and understand demographic data, and this week they put out a report that says, in effect, that generational targeting is a red herring.

They offer 5 tips to think about age groups that are much more interesting than lumping an entire cohort of people into a single stereotype:

1. Generational categories are not scientifically defined
2. Generational labels can lead to stereotypes and oversimplification
3. Discussions about generation often focus on differences instead of similarities
4. Conventional views of generations can carry an upper-class bias
5. People change over time

Our take: Rather than focusing on a generational label, consider what your best audience has in common, regardless of age, then make adjustments based on tech-savviness, media literacy, and pop culture references as necessary.

Read the full article here

A FEW FOR THE ROAD

MORE NEWS TO KEEP YOU ON THE CUTTING EDGE

• Bluesky, the decentralized social media platform, adds custom algorithms
• A new study examines the relationship between online reviews and purchases - and they’ve published the results in infographic form
• TikTok just added a search widget for iPhone – it’s available now in the US

Written by Conner Galway, Junction Consulting