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Coming Soon: AdsGPT?
OpenAI wants to monetize ChatGPT via ads (which isn’t a surprise, just think of the Google Search budgets waiting to be reallocated).
The company recently hired for a “Growth Paid Marketing Platform Engineer” (listing is no longer up) that :
would be responsible for “developing campaign management tools, integrating with major ad platforms, building real-time attribution and reporting pipelines, and enabling experimentation frameworks to optimize our objectives.”
There is currently an open role called Growth - AI Workflows, Martech, Creative Systems that will:
Design and launch AI-powered creative systems (dynamic content generation, automated asset production, experimentation tooling) that enable rapid, personalized campaigns across multiple channels.
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Build and scale a modern martech stack (data pipelines, automation platforms, experimentation frameworks) that supports sophisticated targeting, measurement, and real-time optimization.
Connecting ad functionality to Instant Checkout is an obvious first step. The trap is building an ad system that looks like the current heavy hitters.
Turning responses into pay-to-play performance PR outputs kills trust.
Plopping Google Search Ads style placements somewhere in the chat pane is lazy and annoying.
Utilizing the unique understanding of a user, content, and intent to create a new paradigm of contextual advertising that provides value and isn’t reliant on hoovering up user data is the opportunity.
LLMs love YouTube
YouTube is cited 200x more than any other video platform in AI search results
If SEO 4 LLMs is about showing up where the spiders are crawling, it might be time for your brand to start a YouTube channel.
Jobs report: fewer jobs, better pay?
No federal jobs data this month due to the shutdown, so ADP’s data will have to do:
Private sector employment shed 32,000 jobs in September and pay was up 4.5 percent year-over-year
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“Despite the strong economic growth we saw in the second quarter, this month’s release further validates what we’ve been seeing in the labor market, that U.S. employers have been cautious with hiring,” said Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP.
More ads in more places: Mastercard edition
Mastercard unveils a dedicated network to deliver personalized content across channels at scale.
Advertisers come to Mastercard to deliver tailored offers and content (i.e., cashback, discounts, incentives, advertisements and more) to specific audiences aligned to their own business goals.
From the landing page:
Leverage our extensive network of publishing partners to reach millions of actively engaging, permissioned consumers
A sharp deterioration in consumers’ views of the current economic situation weighed on confidence
😬
Present situation vibes dropped 7 points .
Expectations dipped (again) and have now been below 80 (the unofficial recession signal) since February (maybe giving credence to the rolling recession hypothesis?).
Consumers’ write-in responses showed that references to prices and inflation rose in September, regaining its top position as the main topic influencing consumers’ views of the economy.
The key to branding and messaging in a post-AI world? Personality
Average is easy to churn out at a superhuman clip. Stand out by saying things that only apply to your brand.
I’ve seen this advice a lot lately, this classic New Balance ad is a great example.
Say something only you can say.
The Year of the Splinter 🐀 continues (more of a decade, maybe an era).
Relevant headlines:
The top 10% of Americans account for nearly half of consumer spending
highlighting the growing divide between high-income earners and middle/lower-income earners
Over half of consumers consider grocery prices a ‘major stress’
Nearly 9 in 10 US adults (88%) are stressed about grocery prices—including 53% who say food costs are a major source of stress
Gen Z holiday spending tanks in 2025
See also:
Plants need water to grow.
But they also need periods without water.
Watering everyday has the same end as never watering.
Algorithms want you to water your audience daily. Because it benefits them.
What is the right cadence for the results you want?
Beware your metrics: Google capped search results at 10 / page. No more 100 results on a page.
A lot of rankings tools are reporting issues and I’m noticing improved reported average ranks across Google Search Console accounts, likely from deep page data loss.
How are ChatGPT results changing?
TikTok is (reportedly) getting its green card.
Oracle and friends are buying the app with ByteDance retaining a 20% stake.
But what about The Algorithm™️?
The new ownership group will license it from ByteDance.
People want novelty in a familiar package.
A study finds that people are more open to plant-based eggs when they’re part of familiar foods, like pancakes, rather than served plain.
via Science Daily
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Does the visitor that landed on your homepage know what you do yet?
Video helps. Especially if you start right before you get eaten by the bear.
Have a high price, high quality product? Lean into emotional ads.
Have a low price, low quality product? Focus on informational ads.
Emotional ads draw interest, informational ads close sales.
Both are needed. The mix is based on how short the path to purchase is.
via Science Says
Science Says a logo icon related to your offering is rated “more positively, authentic and warm, regardless of how much they liked the logos' visuals.”
Why?
Descriptive logos are easier to process so we immediately understand what the brand is about.
They also help us more easily associate the brand with the product.
This makes us think the brand is more honest and transparent.
I wonder how this will change post-AI image generation. Will unrelated icons become a signifier of human input? Are LLMs better at non-obvious icon development?
The top 5 streaming services by watch time:
- YouTube
- Netflix
- Disney (the family of streaming brands)
- Amazon Prime Video
- Roku Channel
The top 2 are firmly entrenched and that order is locked in.
But remember, reach doesn’t guarantee impact.
via EMARKETER
People want the familiar in a new way
Who has a say and who has a vote?
We ask clients early on who has a voice and who has a vote.
The decision makers drive the process. The closer you can get to the source instead of working through translators and layers, the better.
Even if it’s just to avoid curveballs at deadline.
The fewer the votes, the faster the process can go.