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Retailers and brands with very strong brands and brand positioning are doing well. And those that aren’t or are struggling to define why somebody should buy their products or goods are struggling.
Building a brand is expensive in the short run and cheap in the long run.
28% of listeners say they listen to “all of the ads” on podcasts, the highest percentage among all media channels tested.
In part because
they expect to hear ads
It’s an understood part of the ecosystem. Because they’ve been there since early on. Unlike platforms that scale user growth in order to monetize.
& some always good advice
just respect the listeners’ expectations
via podnews
Artificial Intelligence: A Definition
Walter Sinnott Armstrong with my favorite definition of Artificial Intelligence:
“It occurs whenever a machine learns something.”
Because learning involves intelligence.
Often, in AI systems, the machine is given a certain goal and it learns new and better means to achieve that goal. That’s when artificial intelligence occurs.
I like it because it’s hard to move the goal posts on (the old saw that “ai is anything computers can’t do yet” comes to mind).
& because it isn’t rooted in human-centric thinking. So much of AGI discourse is an ego trip.
This definition of intelligence can apply to any species or system.
It also leaves room for curiosity and consciousness as differentiators across species and silicon.
via Philosophy Bites
YouTube is taking its next step in the ongoing tug of war between ad tech and ad blockers.
The “server-side ad injection” approach bakes ads into the core video file itself, making them indistinguishable from content for client software and extensions that try to filter out advertising.
Feels like a page out of podcasting’s playbook, but I could be misunderstanding the tech.
Now we can all be Mr. Beast
YouTube is finally rolling out the ability for creators to test and compare how multiple video thumbnails perform
With the new tool, which YouTube calls “Thumbnail Test & Compare,” creators can test up to three thumbnails for a video.
via The Verge
On Brand: Authenticity & Personality
Blake Droesch on the type of brand that won’t be disrupted by AI And other technologies (~25:21):
The authentic brand is the one that is going to stand out. That was true yesterday, it’s true today, and it will be true in the years to come.
& Bill Fisher (~25:40):
Every brand’s going to have a core audience. And you need to speak to that audience in a relatable way. That’s what your brand personality is—or should be.
& Carina Perkins (~26:40):
Brands can’t really get away with false personalities anymore. Is that personality really reflecting their business and values? And everything they do, rather than just what they say?
Plus some solid branding advice from Dropout (formerly CollegeHumor):
It’s like I always say, if you’re going to use two brand names, just use one.
Costco has entered the chat.
Costco is building out an ad network built on its trove of loyalty membership data, using its 74.5 million household members’ shopping habits and past purchases to power targeted advertising on and off its website.
The slogan of the cookiepocalypse: let a million ad platforms bloom.
via Marketing Brew
Anything created before you’re 15 is just the way the world has always been.
Anything created between the ages of 15 and, maybe, 35 or 40 is amazing and cool and exciting and you can have a career in it.
Anything created after you’re 40 is a threat to civilization.
This maps pretty well with how I think about societal power centers.
Cultural power is with the young, molding and accruing in that first bucket.
Spending and professional power in the second.
Political power in the last.
Also why the youth are always seen as counter-cultural. The change is their norm.
via Another Podcast
Let’s build a brand with a soul
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) February 9, 2024
I think the future, as seen for the last 20 or 30 years, is task-specific UIs that reduce complexity and data overload and focus on what you need to see. And obviously, I think the future is AI systems that show you less and tell you more.
Tech progress is usually the process of simplifying the complex until a new paradigm creates a complexity explosion, starting the cycle anew.
Platforms are multi-purpose.
Apps (in the West, at least) are single- or few-purpose.
In general, how can you simplify for your customer’s benefit?
36% of respondents had the highest attention quality with the version of the ad containing the highest voiceover volume. Keeping an ad creative engaging, but scaling back complexity and layered audio elements boosts efficacy.
Everyone hates when commercials are way louder than the content they’re delivered around (looking at you, FX).
And don’t yell, you’re not a car salesperson (and if you are, dear god stop yelling in every ad spot).
Just like every other medium, the message needs to be clear and rememberable.
The resale industry (formerly known as second-hand shops) is growing fast. The segment could double to $82 billion by 2026, according to an industry-funded report—fueled by a generation of young shoppers interested in buying unique pieces in an affordable, environmentally friendly way.
In an age of fast fashion, even faster copying, and rapidly diverging price-to-quality ratios, people are seeking the unique, one-of-a-kind, not off an infinite rack at a good value.
Be different.
Be valuable.
via 2PM
Good advice from James Clear
There are at least 4 types of wealth:
- Financial wealth (money)
- Social wealth (status)
- Time wealth (freedom)
- Physical wealth (health)
Be wary of jobs that lure you in with 1 and 2, but rob you of 3 and 4.
You usually expend 1&2 to compensate for the lack of 3&4.
Can you over-communicate with clients?
I really like this:
Marketing’s value proposition for a brand is not growth but differentiation.
Differentiation as a way to become visible and appealing to the customer, thus driving tangible growth.
Differentiation comes about primarily through story-telling; effective brand narratives that engage the customer
via MarTech
This chart is interesting because I feel like brands firmly focus on the items in the middle. Customers just want to be rewarded for being loyal shoppers and fans in a way that makes them feel like a human rather than a number.
via EMARKETER
When asked how Dave Matthews Band sells out so many shows…
Dave Matthews’ line is always, “we only have 35,000 fans, they just go to every show.”
This is the goal—the dream.
Make something so good that a core group loves it to the point of never getting enough.
Yes, it’s a joke (probably), but it’s rooted in a fandom that puts the fan in fanatical.
Going for scale is flashy and en vogue.
Going for depth can be more fun for everyone.
via the Celtics Talk podcast