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More from OG journo-blogger Matt Welch:
The early readers of those early blogs had an amazing connection with all of us personally in a way that’s only been replicated—in my experience—on podcasts. Because it hits you different in the ears.
2024: the year of audio
research has shown that audio ads outperform video ads in grabbing attention and generating brand recall
The ears hit different, especially in a time of visual overstimulation.
via ExchangeWire
Trying to decide on a color this year?
Pinterest has identified five key color palettes that will resonate with audiences this year:
- Gummy Pink
- Desert Orange
- Aqua Blue
- Moss Green
- Mocha Brown
OG journo-blogger Matt Welch on legacy media, like the Village Voice & LA Times:
Never could adapt to the new reality. It’s a success curse.
When you’re making that much money, you’re that powerful, the people who work for you—including yourselves—are not going to solve the industry once the industry turns and changes.
This is not just a media problem.
Same could be said of Google right now.
How do you change when the change threatens your business model?
Finished reading: John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 6: Bloodlines by Garth Ennis 📚
Walmart is in talks to acquire Vizio, which sells a popular line of value-priced smart TVs that include an ad-supported free streaming service
which
could make Walmart a significant player in the connected-TV advertising business, competing with the likes of Roku, Amazon and Google/YouTube
via Variety
When users say “platform,” we mean software (increasingly cloud-based).
When platforms say “platform,” they mean hardware.
Every major ad platform wants a hardware platform of their own. For that sweet, sweet first-party data & to not be beholden to someone else (especially a competitor).
I’ve been waiting for TikTok’s fall, but didn’t see them being their own worst enemy
TikTok’s aggressive growth tactics are upsetting partners, creators, and everyday users
If TikTok no longer offers a stream of fun, serendipitous videos and instead becomes a social-media version of the Home Shopping Network, users may jump ship
…
“The For You used to seem uncanny in how it would serve up content perfectly tailored to me. Now it feels like the algorithm is less a diagnostic tool of my soul and instead is assessing me as a potential consumer.”
TikTok said the quiet part out loud
Think of some recent digital ads that caught your eye or spurred you to take action:
- What similarities or themes are there?
- What about them felt relevant to you?
- What made your thumb stop mid scroll/swipe/tap?
If you’re a marketer, you now have a checklist for your next campaign.
This doesn’t surprise me
Retail sales, which captures spending on all goods and food services, fell 0.8% in January
That was even lower than the downwardly revised 0.4% increase in December, and well below economists’ expectations of a 0.1% decline
Black Friday was huge and early January showed signs of slowing spend, a holiday hangover of sorts.
Tax season and spring might thaw things a bit, but we’re back in the land of general economic uncertainty (which I have thoughts on)
via CNN
I’m turning into a Google bear 🐻
Competition from OpenAI: Develops Web Search Product in Challenge to Google
Arc Search getting buzz (I’ve used it & can easily see this being a glimpse of search’s future)
It’s important to remember that each individual listener actually does experience the record in their own way.
Even though the online and streaming mentalities seem to flatten out that individual experience.
It’s important to remember that every individual listener is hearing the record their own way.
Don’t let the promise of scale and mass trick you into thinking you’re talking to a mass.
We’re not rational decision makers, we’re rationalizing decision makers.
An important fact to keep in mind.
We justify a purchase after—not before—making it.
NVIDIA’s new local LLM chatbot seems tailor made to corporate office/knowledge workers
Those with compatible hardware can now install Chat With RTX, an AI chatbot that turns local files into its dataset.
…
At its core, Chat With RTX is a personal assistant that digs through your documents and notes. It saves you the trouble of manually searching through files you’ve written, downloaded, or received from others.
…
can also pull transcripts from YouTube videos.
…
a matter-of-fact tone
No offsite data transfer.
“Chat” with local files.
At the very least, employee onboarding could become easier.
Soft landing? More like slow landing.
CNN spoke with the Atlanta Fed President, who:
is anticipating the nation’s inflation rate — which currently stands at around 3% — will be near “the lower twos” by the end of 2024.
& said
With that outlook, I really see the first move coming sometime in the summertime
Thing is, according to Fed data our current rate environment is more the norm compared to the 0 rate exception the market got used to.
Earlier this month I asked if Google was now Microsoft.
Magic 8 ball says “Signs point to yes” 🎱
via Inside:
A U.S. federal judge has scheduled an antitrust trial against Google for Sept. 9, 2024. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit targets the search giant’s alleged monopoly over online advertising.
If, like Microsoft, Big G limits/unwinds development to avoid more antitrust actions, we may have seen the last of Google as portal to the Internet.
& yes, it’s an existing trend that is accelerating.
& yes, Microsoft pulled a phoenix so it’s not necessarily The End.
Nearly 90% of consumers no longer trust influencers
Consumers are becoming fed up with influencer marketing and are starting to seek out user-generated content (UGC), or brand-related content created by customers instead
This is people’s natural preference for something that feels more like word-of-mouth than paid advertising. Influencers are part of “the system” now.
TikTok’s Shop push isn’t likely to help this either.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this was more about mega-influencers and obviously paid promo material either.
An important caveat to the Stanley Drops.
They were the fuel, not the fire or the fire starter.
The frenzy is “something that was, and still is, actually driven by women content creators”
Most brands won’t be able to start trends. It’s about knowing what to do when you find one.
via Garbage Day
Drops: the key to Stanley Mania™️
Stanley hired Terence Reilly, the marketer credited for reinventing Crocs. Reading between the lines of what Reilly has said about his work at Stanley, it seems like his main strategy for both Crocs and the Quencher was capitalizing on internet buzz and growing it into otaku product worship. Or as Inc. phrased it in their feature on him, he uses a “scarcity model” to whip up interest. Cut to three years later, now we’re seeing mini-riots over limited edition Stanleys at Target.
via Garbage Day