Digital Debrief 4.12.2024

End your week with the latest in digital. Let’s dive in ?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Search?

• Meta partnered with Stanford's Deliberative Democracy Lab to conduct its April 2024 Meta Community Forum Results Analysis on responsible AI development, gathering insights from over 1,500 participants across four countries. The results highlighted a generally positive view of AI's impact and emphasized the importance of transparency in AI interactions and data usage. Public opinions also addressed ethical considerations, like AI disclosure practices and the nature of human-AI relationships.
• Google 's new report, “AI Sprinters ,” highlights AI's transformative potential for developing regions, emphasizing its ability to address challenges like infrastructure, unemployment, and access to healthcare and education. The report suggests strategic investments and policies that could harness AI for economic growth in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, urging governments and international bodies to integrate AI into national development plans.

Marketing, Influencer & Advertising?

• NBC Sports has enlisted Alex Cooper, host of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, to lead a series of interactive watch parties on Peacock during the 2024 Paris Olympics. The "Watch with Alex Cooper" program will feature Cooper and special guests providing live commentary and answering viewer questions during key Team USA events such as soccer, gymnastics, and basketball. This initiative is part of NBCUniversal's strategy to incorporate non-traditional personalities into their Olympics coverage, aiming to bring a fresh, engaging perspective to the broadcast.
• In collaboration with Perfect Corp. and Teads, Christian Dior leveraged augmented reality (AR) for a virtual try-on experience as part of the "Rose des Vents" campaign, significantly enhancing brand perception. This initiative, which allowed users to try on high-end earrings virtually, resulted in a 17% increase in recognition of Dior as a premium brand, alongside notable increases in advertising recall and purchase intent. The success of this campaign, which emphasized quality and control over the user experience, marks a significant advance in how luxury brands can integrate technology to enhance consumer engagement and maintain brand prestige.
• Puma is launching its most extensive marketing campaign, "Forever. Faster. — See The Game Like We Do ," coinciding with the 2024 Summer Olympics. This global initiative marks the brand's first major campaign in a decade, emphasizing sports performance across football, running, basketball, and handball with high-profile athlete ambassadors like Neymar Jr. and Breanna Stewart. The campaign, which will run on various media channels, including TV and social media, aims to strengthen Puma's connection with consumers during major sporting events.

• Corona has partnered with Tripadvisor to create the Corona Global Hub, a digital travel platform offering Corona-curated travel guides, itineraries, discounts, insights from travelers, and access to the 2024 Corona Sunsets Festival World Tour. Launching initially in Chile and other regions like South Africa and Brazil, the hub aims to enhance travel experiences by focusing on nature and regional attractions, supported by collaborations with travel influencers. This initiative underscores Corona's commitment to nature-centric marketing and provides a resource for travelers seeking unique destinations and experiences.

• Dove has committed to not using AI-generated models in its advertising , marking the 20th anniversary of the "Real Beauty" campaign. This decision aligns with the launch of the "The Code" ad campaign, where Dove challenges the unrealistic beauty standards often portrayed by AI. Additionally, Dove has introduced Real Beauty Prompt Guidelines to encourage the use of generative AI in creating more representative and inclusive images, reinforcing its stance against AI's potential to perpetuate harmful beauty standards.

• Sherwin-Williams is redefining color trends by promoting Kingdom Gold, its least popular shade, through "The Loneliest Color " campaign, creatively directed by Dapper Dan. This campaign, including a capsule collection auctioned for charity, highlights an underappreciated hue that contrasts sharply with the minimalistic trends previously favored by millennials, resonating with Gen Z's preference for vibrant, expressive decor .

Social Media

LinkedIn:

• LinkedIn has introduced a "Contribute Expertise" shortcut in its post composer to facilitate user participation in its AI-powered "Collaborative Articles." This feature directs users to relevant articles where they can contribute based on their expertise, potentially earning a "Community Top Voice " badge, which enhances credibility on the platform. The initiative aims to increase engagement by making it easier for users to find and contribute to discussions relevant to their field, capitalizing on the format's 270% increase in weekly readership since September.
• LinkedIn has introduced a new verification badge for recruiters to combat recruitment scams and ensure trustworthy interactions on the platform. This badge, which confirms a recruiter's identity, will be available through the LinkedIn Recruiter tool and follows a process similar to LinkedIn’s existing user ID verification. The initiative aims to enhance engagement and give users confidence in the legitimacy of recruitment offers, reducing the prevalence of scam pitches on the platform.
• LinkedIn has introduced LinkedIn Connected TV (CTV) and Live Event Ads , aiming to help marketers leverage the increasing trend of video consumption. In partnership with video providers like Paramount, Roku, and Samsung Ads, LinkedIn's CTV ads allow advertisers to reach professional audiences on home TV sets and streaming devices. In collaboration with NBCUniversal, LinkedIn Premiere also targets decision-makers with ads on streaming content. The platform is also enhancing visibility for its live events with the new Live Event Ads, improving promotional capabilities for these broadcasts.
• A new study by Socialinsider on LinkedIn posting best practices for 2024 reveals that multi-image posts generate the most engagement, followed by document posts, images, and videos, with video posts being the most shared. The study highlights that LinkedIn engagement is increasing, and brands post more frequently, partially due to shifts from other platforms like X. The findings suggest experimenting with these insights to refine LinkedIn strategies for better engagement and brand visibility.

Meta:

• According to a recent Bloomberg report, Facebook's ad system has been experiencing glitches that have led to increased advertising costs and mixed performance results, with some marketers reporting a tripling in cost-per-thousand impressions (CPMs). Meta has acknowledged these issues and is investigating further but has stated that the problems are not widespread. Advertisers are advised to closely monitor their Facebook ad performance and spending due to the potential for significant cost fluctuations caused by these technical issues.
• Threads is set to launch its API in June, allowing third-party platforms to facilitate posting and scheduling. Today, Threads released the API documentation , announcing that it will include post analytics to help users track engagement metrics like likes and views. The API will support advanced features such as reply management and real-time notifications, enhancing the ability for brands and individuals to manage their presence and analyze performance on Threads effectively.
• Meta is updating its AI labeling policy to include a broader range of synthetic content across its apps in response to the increasing presence of AI-generated posts engaging users on platforms like Facebook. The new policy will tag content as "Made with AI" to inform users about the nature of the content and provide educational context. This update reflects the evolution of AI technology in creating realistic images, audio, and videos, aiming to enhance digital literacy and transparency about AI capabilities among billions of users.
• Facebook has introduced a new full-screen, vertical video player and an updated recommendations algorithm , further aligning its user experience with TikTok's influential format. This update ensures all videos on Facebook will expand to a full-screen vertical display, enhancing engagement, especially among younger audiences. Additionally, Facebook is refining its video recommendation system to tailor content to user interests better while encouraging creators to produce high-quality, engaging Reels to meet viewer demand.
• Meta is piloting a "Threads Bonus Program " to incentivize creators on its Threads app by paying for high-performing posts to boost activity and engagement on this Twitter-like platform. Despite initial rapid growth, Threads' expansion has slowed, contrasting with its rival X, which has maintained its user base. Meta's strategy includes differentiating Threads by avoiding political content to foster a more positive user experience, diverging from its initial Twitter alternative approach.

TikTok:?

• TikTok is nearing the launch of its new photo app , "TikTok Notes," which aims to separate still image posts from its main video platform, replicating a feature similar to Instagram's original format. The app will host existing and future public photo posts from TikTok, marking a strategic move by TikTok to diversify its offerings and potentially compete with other image-focused platforms. Despite TikTok's success with short-form videos, the reception and success of a dedicated photo app remain uncertain.

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