?? The 5 in 5 | Google’s latest AI features are great—but could they lead to overspending on ads?

Hey there,

It’s a diverse selection of news this week!

We touch base with the latest in AI, as Google’s latest rollout sparks concerns surrounding privacy and transparency. Meanwhile, there’s yet more controversy emanating out of Twitter—and this time it has tangible implications for advertisers. We check out an unusual and as yet unexplained change to Facebook Ads, implemented without notice, and explore an intriguing industry-wide shift in streaming services. (It’s pretty cool, too—once you know it, you won’t be able to unsee it.) And of course, it wouldn’t be The 5 in 5 without at least a cursory nod to TikTok—although this week only in the context of YouTube’s latest innovation to outcompete the short-form video giant.

This week:

1. The future surrounding AI moves over to Google this week, as the tech giant’s new tools for its ad products ruffle more than a few marketers’ feathers
2. Meta quietly makes a dramatic alteration to its Facebook Ads location targeting options—and lots of businesses dependent on this feature may still be unaware of the change
3. YouTube turns up the heat in the arms race of Shorts vs TikTok, introducing even more exciting new ad formats brimming with potential to win over some of TikTok’s less committed users
4. Another week, another controversy over at Twitter HQ—now they’re requiring all businesses wishing to advertise on the platform to sign up for a verified checkmark
5. Have you noticed a lot of blue recently as you browse shows on your streaming service of choice? There’s a reason for that—and it goes way beyond the entertainment industry

?? 1. Google’s latest AI tools raise concerns over transparency and brand safety

• Google’s plan to use generative AI tools in its ad products has left some marketers worried about their implications for transparency, suitability and brand safety.
• The company aims to create ‘novel’ ads based on creative content supplied by marketers like texts, videos and images, and to use AI to produce ads according to objectives like sales targets and target audience.
• But concerns are growing over Google’s lack of transparency, not to mention some marketers’ oversight of campaign success.
• Tread carefully in these early days of Google’s newest AI tools. The company’s move to integrate generative AI into products comes as Big Tech behemoths race to roll out workable products—but generative AI–driven ad features could lead to you as an ad buyer spending more on Google over time, depending on these tools’ scale and efficacy.

?? 2. Meta makes unexpected update to Facebook Ads location targeting

• Meta has made an unannounced update to its location targeting options for Facebook Ads.
• The reason for the change is unknown, but it may be the fact that the previous options weren’t leveraged widely enough by users. Alternatively, the change may have come about because of privacy concerns, or perhaps because of a reliance on Meta’s algorithm to sort out location targeting.
• Previously advertisers could select from four options when targeting locations: people living in a location; people who had recently been in a location; people either living or who had recently been in a location (so a combination of the first two); and people travelling in a location. But Meta has now removed these options, and advertisers can select only the single option of Living in or recently in this location.
• If you ship products to certain locations or provide services for tourists or homeowners then this unexpected update could affect your business directly. Be sure to review your Facebook Ads processes and adjust your strategy to this change if necessary.

?? 3. YouTube rolls out new ad formats for Shorts in bid to rival TikTok

• YouTube has introduced new ad formats for its short-form video platform Shorts, including video-reach ads and expanding-reach ads to the infeed environment.
• The company is also expanding YouTube Select to Shorts. Select is a tool enabling advertisers to choose between YouTube-curated content packages.
• Shorts has been gaining momentum. In 2022 it generated 50bn daily views, and there was an 80% increase in the number of channels created. It’s not all cause for celebration, though. In Q1 2023, YouTube’s ad revenue fell by 3% compared to Q1 2022.
• If you advertise on YouTube you can now access the Shorts inventory through performance-oriented ad formats like App Install campaigns, performance max and video action campaigns.

?? 4. Advertisers must now subscribe to Twitter Blue

• Twitter now requires all advertisers to sign up for either Twitter Blue or Verification for Organizations to keep their ads running on the app.
• The cheapest option is to buy a Twitter Blue subscription for $96 a year, which gives your brand the verified checkmark.
• SMEs are critical to Twitter’s bottom line, but it’s uncertain whether they’ll be willing to pay extra for add-ons.
• If your business runs ad campaigns on Twitter, check in regularly for updates—things are moving fast over there. This latest move could enhance Twitter’s bottom line as businesses decide the benefits of verification outweighs the costs—but if it goes the other way, your campaigns could suddenly be reaching significantly fewer users.

?? 5. Streaming services are shifting toward blue as their brand colour

• More and more streaming services are adopting blue as their brand colour—especially those that had previously favoured purple. Max, Disney+, Prime Video, Paramount+... the list goes on. 
• Blue is the most universally liked colour, and it’s increasingly being perceived as the ‘safest’ colour for branding, too. In other words, it’s thought to be the colour most appealing to the broadest possible audience.
• This shift may signal a more general industry-wide transition toward increasingly conservative business decisions.
• Of course, the quality of your content is more important than your brand colour, but it’s worth bearing this culture-wide change in mind when you’re next strategising. Maybe you’ll conclude that blue is the best fit for your brand image and target audience as well!

If you’d like to find out more about any of the topics in this week’s The 5 in 5, or you want to enhance your performance marketing but don’t know where to start, don’t hesitate to contact us today! You can either reply directly to this email or get in touch via our website.

See you next week!

Thanks,

Megan