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Temperatures are plummeting where your correspondent writes from; as we prepare for the clocks to change in the UK, the changing of the seasons means that we’re fast approaching the holiday period. 

While this might be a magical time of year for consumerism, it’s a wretched time for digital marketers, who either have to work overtime to ensure the go-live of mission-critical ads or explain to stakeholders why CPMs have increased sharply. My thoughts are with you (us?) all at this difficult time.

Canva might be delivering some blessings for put-upon social media managers, however, with news this week of a new text-to-image generator. Meta is also beefing up security with facial recognition, and Google is testing AI-powered video ads. This paragraph would have been the stuff of science fiction not so long ago, but now this all feels very real. 

With that said, let’s get to it!

Google’s AI-Powered Shopping Ads

Google is rolling out video-enabled shopping ads in search results, allowing product videos to play directly in the ad. 

This can significantly boost engagement, considering how video ads consistently outperform static formats on other channels. This could mean higher CTRs and potentially better ROI. It’s definitely one to keep an eye on if you’re in e-commerce.

Google also announced a range of other Performance Max (AI-powered ads) roadmap features this week. While minor, I actually really like the shareable ad previews, as this has been a bane of my life over the last decade. But there’s some good stuff coming; I haven’t seen impressive returns from PMAX yet, but Google is betting big on it.

Meta Launching Facial Recognition

Meta has announced that it’s testing facial recognition features on Facebook and Instagram to help combat scams. As someone who has seen numerous clients and colleagues fall foul of hacks, this is a welcome development.

It’s also using this to better identify unauthorised uses of prominent figures in advertising, something that Money Saving Expert’s Martin Lewis has, for example, fallen foul of in the UK.

It’s pitched solely as a safety feature, but the privacy concerns are unavoidable in this day and age. Ultimately though it should offer more peace of mind, and improve security for customers.

Canva’s New AI Text-to-Image Generator

More AI news: Canva has launched a text-to-image generator powered by AI. This could save serious time on creative production.

This feature should help streamline design processes and reduce the need for expensive bespoke graphics, allowing for quicker turnarounds on campaigns; if you’re the kind of person already needing to use Canva, then you’re probably very pleased by this news.

Further Reading

LinkedIn users this week saw sizeable drops in follower counts, sparking rumours of a bot purge; apparently this was just a bug all along.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp has announced a few interesting new platform features, the headline of which is that users will be able to add contacts from any device. It’s also experimenting with usernames, and it looks like Meta is working on an AI memory feature for chatbots used within the platform.

Speaking of meta and AI, the platform revealed that it is releasing an AI model that can check the work of other AI models.

Threads is rolling out mobile analytics, as it continues to grow into a fully-fledged platform.

Some interesting data from Buffer this week revealed that Instagram Reels are the best format on there for reach, but not engagement. Also, interestingly, Instagram is experimenting with performance tips mid-stream for Reels.

ByteDance fired an intern this week who worked to sabotage TikTok’s AI, and reportedly caused $10m in damages.

Finally, YouTube is experimenting with a cheaper subscription plan with fewer ads. Presumably not as many people have signed up to Premium as hoped (which, at the price point, perhaps is unsurprising), so this might act as a good gateway.

That’s it! If you found this interesting, I would appreciate it if you shared it with your friends and colleagues. 

If you’re feeling particularly generous, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you next week!

I have to hand it to TikTok; they are an absolute gift for newsletter writers focusing on digital marketing (a niche, I know). This is the 38th edition of this particular newsletter and the 12th time that the lead story has focused on the platform.

Some of those have been because of terrific ad platform advancements, an increasing influence in search, or its role in social shopping. Sadly, this week, it’s due to something much darker; executives knew about the harm caused to teens by the platform but did nothing about it.

Elsewhere, in an otherwise jam-packed week of updates, Google turns to nuclear power (a sentence I never thought I’d write), the EU has brilliantly delivered good news for X while at the same time giving it a massive slap in the face, and there’s been plenty of other news besides.

Let’s get to it!

TikTok execs aware of teen harm caused by platform

Newly revealed TikTok documents show that the company knowingly understood the harmful effects its platform has on teens, particularly regarding addictive behaviours and negative self-image. 

Despite this, in a move that will surprise no one who has ever seen corporations represented in mid-size blockbuster films, internal strategies focused more on public image than addressing the issues.

TikTok isn’t alone in attracting increased scrutiny (Snapchat has also had some poor moral choices aired recently), but this isn’t a great look. Aside from any personal thoughts, if you’re working with a brand or product championing solid ethics and morals, these are serious watch-outs when planning activity – not to mention the potential for tighter regulations on these platforms.

EU doesn’t think X is famous any more

If you’ll excuse the football-chant-based subheadline there, X (formerly Twitter) has avoided being designated as a “gatekeeper” under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

What does that mean? Being a gatekeeper would mean X was seen as a dominant platform controlling digital market access. Being labelled as such would subject it to significantly stricter regulations designed to ensure fair competition.

Not being subject to these regulations is good news for X. But the fact that this is because it’s not seen as significant or essential anymore fits alarmingly well with last week’s news that Fidelity is valuing it at 79% lower than Elon Musk’s purchase price. It could easily be painted as the latest in a line of humiliations for the platform.

X also announced this week that it will be diluting blocking; if you block an account, they’ll be able to see your posts, but they won’t be able to engage with you. It wasn’t all doom and gloom, however; X did reach an agreement with Unilever that means it’ll be dropping them from an ongoing lawsuit against advertisers, with the global giant due to resume activity (and, one assumes, ad spend) on the platform.

Google turns to nuclear energy to power AI

Google has signed a seismic deal to use nuclear energy to power AI data centres. This marks the first time a tech giant has turned to nuclear power to meet its energy needs, specifically due to the growing demand from AI. 

It’s a real demonstration of AI’s real-world impact and the massive investments significant players are putting into it. It’s safe to say that it’s more than a fad.

Further Reading

Threads and Instagram have had a number of moderation issues recently leading to users losing access to accounts. Chief Adam Mosseri has said that, although AI was an issue, the issue was largely due to human errors.

Threads also wants to prompt more engagement by signifying when users are online. However, Meta’s owners came under fire this week for using what should be inspirational, community-driven, real-world events to hawk AI features—some interesting food for thought. Sadly, Meta also announced another round of layoffs this week.

With the US Presidential election only a few weeks away, I’m slightly surprised by how little cause I’ve had to mention it. However, this week, Donald Trump made some interesting claims about Google, which he says is one of the first things he’ll “do something” about. He’s previously said that he “had a feeling Google is going to be close to shut down.” If he does get voted in, it’ll be interesting to see what transpires.

While we’re at Google, they’ve also said they’re adding a handy ‘Cheapest’ tab to flight searches, making it easier for budget-conscious travellers.

Elsewhere, Reddit is improving its keyword targeting capabilities. It’s a slightly underrated ad platform for reaching hyper-specific audiences.

Amazon plans to ramp up the number of ads on its Prime TV service next year – apparently, people don’t mind them, so they’re going to push it further.

A couple of broader digital marketing trends also caught my eye this week. First, while I don’t necessarily agree with every point in this LinkedIn post by “Growth Advisor” Gaetano Nino DiNardi, there are some great points about the platform-driven move to zero-click content and the importance of educating this internally. I think the take is overly binary, but it’s worth considering.

Finally, this is an interesting article about ad fatigue and how brands see diminishing ROI once consumers see too many ads. The headline won’t surprise you, but the details merit a deeper dive.

That’s it! If you found this interesting, I would appreciate it if you shared it with your friends and colleagues. 

If you’re feeling particularly generous, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you next week!

Happy Tuesday! My missive comes to you a little earlier than usual this week, as your writer will be away from his desk for a few days. Given it’s only been a few days since I last landed in your inbox, this is a relatively short one, but we’ve still got some exciting news from TikTok and relating to Meta, both on the future of ad targeting.

TikTok announces Smart+

TikTok announced this week a new suite of automated tools and targeting options designed to compete with Google’s PMax and Meta’s Advantage+. The announcement comes just in time for retail advertisers’ busiest time of the year.

It is nothing short of impressive to think of how far TikTok’s ad offering has come in just the time I’ve been a freelancer. Indeed, TikTok has been bullish about how these automated ads have performed in testing; then again, so have Meta and Google about their offerings, and overall, IRL, we’ve seen very, very mixed results.

While I’d certainly embrace TikTok ads if you aren’t already and your audience lives there, I might want to dip the toe in the water on these automated versions, rather than throwing all your budget at it.

Meta can’t target based on sexual orientation in EU, court rules

Meta’s ever-dwindling targeting options took another hit this week with the news that the EU’s top court ruled it can’t utilise users’ public statements about their sexual orientation for online advertising.

This signifies a broader trend away from demographic profiling and towards interest-based targeting, and from an ethical and moral standpoint, it’s a welcome one. If you’re a marketer playing in this sandbox and you aren’t already focussing on interest-based targeting, it really is time to start focusing more on that pillar.

If I were a Meta shill, at this point I would be telling you that Advantage+ is the ideal way around this. I’m still not 100% convinced, but it certainly seems to be the direction of travel.

Further Reading

Adobe has launched a set of tools designed to protect creators from being mimicked by AI.

A US judge this week ordered Google to open up its Android app store to competitors for at least three years, signalling the next development in a long-running saga with Epic Games (the makers of Fortnite) and others.

Better news for Google is the launch of its AI-organised search result pages in the US. Starting with recipes, you’ll see a “full page experience” utilising the best the web has to offer. I look forward to seeing it in action!

YouTube shorts are likely to get longer. Obviously.

And finally, a survey this week revealed that 83% of Instagram content creators use AI as part of their process. Hardly a shock, but an insight into how prevalent Generative AI is becoming.