TLDR Marketing 2024-04-29

Chinese officials have declared that they vehemently oppose the mandated sale of TikTok by the US, condemning it as unfair competition. They promise to resist the app's full divestment, a stance that may influence TikTok's recommendation algorithm and its valuation as the sale process unfolds.

Consumers now have subscriptions for everything — streaming services, software, and grocery delivery. App subscription fatigue is about to get even worse with AI. Major tech companies are using the AI boom to push consumers toward pricier subscriptions. They're also using consumers' data to help train various gen AI tools, meaning the consumers are effectively paying for these tools twice.

US digital video ad spend is expected to hit $63B in 2024, a 16% increase from the previous year. For the first time, digital video — which includes CTV, social video, and online video — will claim a higher share of budgets than linear TV. Cable subscriptions have continued an annual decrease of 6% each year.

There are scenarios where a narrow keyword focus works and others where a broader topic-based SEO strategy makes more sense. Optimizing for one specific keyword is a bad idea when it's seen as the single key to SEO success or if the goal keyword doesn't match search intent. In general, it's better to target multiple keywords relevant to your core service offering to maximize qualified traffic. Specific keyword optimization does make sense when it's about a niche or single topic or when you know that ranking for a single keyword will provide significant ROI.

Most marketing guides will tell you “sell benefits, not features.” It's the reason why “1,000 songs in your pocket” is an iconic slogan for the iPod. However, to make a marketing campaign even better, go a layer deeper and ask yourself why people want this benefit. For an iPod, the answer could be to get through their commute or to motivate them during their workout. Show these experiences in your campaign to help consumers connect to it. Apple's modern-day advertising for AirPods leans into this strategy.

An infographic that categorizes 25+ GPTs by productivity, writing, programming, and education. Links to each GPT are provided in the post.

Advertisers are facing challenges with Meta's automated ad platform, Advantage Plus, as costs skyrocket and performance declines. This has led to frustration and uncertainty among marketers, who are struggling to get support from Meta amidst ongoing issues and glitches. The inability to effectively manage ad budgets and achieve desired results has left many questioning the reliability of Meta's ad tools.

Fotoram.io is a free photo editor and collage maker. Easel is a drag-and-drop editor that offers thousands of design templates. Photopea is a web-based graphic editor that can be used for web design, image editing, and converting image formats. Animaker can be used to make videos, short videos, or edit live videos.

People don't buy what you do — they buy what you do for them. However, most brands never quite manage to separate these two things. There are 4 different buckets of value a business can really offer: serving a particular group, serving a particular need, below the status quo, and above the status quo. Brainstorm ways your brand offers value in each of these buckets, then identify which feel the most true, unique, or exciting.

This article discusses the drawbacks of conventional growth prioritization frameworks such as Impact + Confidence + Ease (ICE) or Potential + Importance + Ease (PIE). These frames tend to prioritize quick wins over larger strategic projects, which can be detrimental in the long run. Simplify the framework and focus only on business impact and implementation effort. By creating a 2x2 matrix with the 2 factors, growth initiatives can be categorized in 4 boxes: 'Big Bets', 'No Brainers', 'Quick Wins', and 'To consider but not prio'.

This report outlines the dominant 'Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning' (STP) theory of brand competitiveness. It shows how STP theory does not predict or fit with the empirical laws that describe how brands compete, grow, and decline. The report presents evidence that covers many countries and a number of product/service categories which supports a market-based asset theory of brand competitiveness. This theory and evidence provides an explanation of why some brands are bigger than others.

The issue underscores challenges in content moderation and the need for more robust enforcement mechanisms.

19 startup ideas, each with a unique marketing twist.

From quality of life to autonomy and community involvement, this cohort values experiences over material possessions, making them receptive to messaging that resonates with their values and aspirations.