Media Monday

Meta Amplifies Reels With New Advertising Features

By Ricardo Fajardo , Media Coordinator

Meta announced enhancements to its products at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, with a particular focus on its short-form video Reels.

• Reels ads are being expanded to more Instagram advertisers following a successful pilot. The ads are designed to integrate smoothly with content for an unobtrusive viewer experience.
• Reels now supports app promotion ads (formerly app install ads) on both Facebook and Instagram, helping businesses to broaden their reach in the crowded app market.
• Meta is testing an AI-based feature for single-image Reels ads that gives advertisers free access to a diverse music library.
• The company is also trialing an Inventory Filter and a third-party verification tool with partner Zefr for Reels, as part of its brand safety efforts to offer advertisers better control over ad placement.

Meta says Reels has seen exponential growth, with daily re-shares surpassing 2 billion—a number that has doubled in just six months, per its Q1 earnings call. On that call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the time spent on Instagram has surged by over 24% since the introduction of Reels, attributing this growth to AI-driven content recommendations similar to TikTok's approach.

Despite driving engagement, Reels hasn’t directly contributed to revenue growth and has somewhat cannibalized revenues from Stories and feed posts. However, the rising time spent is expected to benefit revenues in the long run.

With its enhancements to Reels ads, Meta is trying to lead the charge in providing innovative ad solutions that engage viewers while broadening options for advertisers. While in many respects the company is playing catchup to TikTok, Reels has made up significant ground in the past year.

Read the article here .

Introducing Hollywood.com Live: The Ultimate Ticketing Platform for Live Entertainment

By Jacqueline Mott , Senior Media Planner

Hollywood.com – known as a pop culture and film ticketing site, has joined forces with none other than Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment to create a one stop shop ticketing platform for live entertainment. Rebranding this new venture as Hollywood.com Live, the first acquisition included a company many of us work closely with, Theatrely.

Hollywood.com Live has online tickets to Broadway, London’s West End and regional theaters across the county. This merger will provide Theatrely with the resources to tap into the 25+ years of entertainment content that audiences around the world have come to love. Theatrely founders, Kobi, Jordanna, and Max are thrilled by the opportunity to utilize their high traffic partnering sites to increase theater ticket sales for their clients.?

Read more here .?

Apple Vision Pro and Marketing

By John A. Bourdierd , Media Coordinator

The world of digital marketing is on the brink of a significant transformation thanks to Apple's groundbreaking device, Vision Pro. With its state-of-the-art specifications and performance capabilities users will be able to interact with the virtual world in their real world surroundings.

This amazing technology opens a whole new realm of possibilities for marketers and advertisers. Imagine being able to provide customers with immersive and lifelike visuals of products, going beyond traditional images or videos. With Vision Pro, brands can bridge the gap between imagination and reality, allowing customers to envision how products would look and function in their own lives. This engagement has the potential to increase customer satisfaction and boost conversion rates.

Vision Pro revolutionizes digital marketing by personalizing consumer experiences and driving data-driven strategies. It enables customized content, personalized offers, and targeted recommendations based on user data and AR visual features. By leveraging Vision Pro's sensors, users can actively participate in branded content through gestures, voice commands, and physical movements. Vision Pro can also capture valuable data on user interactions, gaze patterns, and emotions, providing an in-depth look into consumer behavior. Also, it can easily merge online and offline experiences, facilitating instant product ordering and joining marketing messages with consumers' surroundings. This type of activity creates stronger brand connections and memorable experiences, surpassing the limitations of traditional TV or internet advertising.

Not leveraging this device in its early adoption phase, also known as the "consideration stage" in marketing, would be a missed opportunity to stay ahead of the competition and pave the way as we enter a new era of marketing.

Read more here .