Media Monday

A Double-Edged Sword: Pride Month Advertising in 2024

By Raphael Anastas, Situation Senior Media Planner

Earlier this year, marketers predicted Pride Month would be muted again following a pullback from brands who supported the LGBTQ+ community in 2023. Last year’s backlash against major campaigns (Bud Light , Target ) led to consumer boycotts and negative publicity, and brands are realizing they need to more authentically market to the LGBTQ+ community. However, last year’s retreat has led to significant hesitation in the market, resulting in dwindling support and visibility instead of progress.?

Forbes sat down with Phil Schraeder, CEO of one Situation’s programmatic media partners, GumGum , to discuss what brands have learned about messaging to LGBTQ+ individuals, both during Pride and all year long. In the interview, Schraeder suggests that although it feels like a setback, without the concern of backlash brands would not understand the importance of laying a foundation of marketing strategy throughout their yearly programming, so that if they decide to do a larger activation for Pride Month, it’s not falling as just, ‘Oh, raise the [Pride] flag. You’re here. You’re trying to champion Pride, get our dollars, and then go the other direction.’ Schraeder intuitively points out that almost one-third of Gen Zers identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, so it is critical that brands align their creative and messaging with Gen Z and think of their Pride strategy as more of an opportunity to relate to this growing audience all year long. Gen Z and the LGBTQ+ community look for empathy, support, and visibility in the ways a brand brings themselves into their community, especially as laws protecting trans youth and the basic rights of queer people are gradually being eradicated.?

While Pride advertising backlash may eventually drive more visibility for LGBTQ+ people year-round, queer inclusivity in advertising is still seen as provocative, despite all the data showing that the majority of non-queer people look at brands more favorably when they’re inclusive of queer people. It is a double-edged sword to bear for brands who are trying to find the balance between understanding their existing consumers and their own values and building an effective bridge with the LGBTQ+ community.?

Odd Results from Google AI Overviews

By Angela Holden, Situation Paid Search Manager

Google launched Generative AI Overviews in May 2024 reporting users were more satisfied with their results and used search more in AI Overview testing. The release was met with curiosity from marketers anxious to see the impact the new search feature would have on digital marketing efforts. The rollout however started to gain attention for other reasons in the weeks following the release.

Shortly after the launch, news publications and social media erupted as users reported strange and erroneous answers generated from the AI. Examples include, suggestions for “How many rocks should I eat?” and recommendations for mixing glue into pizza sauce. Google has since responded in an "About last week " blog post. Google assured, in their statement, the error rate with the Generative AI is small but technical improvements have been made as a result of the feedback. One discovery that was found, highlighted a gap in Google AI’s detection for nonsensical and satirical searches which was responsible for some of the AI blunders users experienced. Additional guardrails and triggering refinements have been added upon this realization.

As users continue to test out the new search feature, we are likely to see more changes to come with AI Overviews and Google Search. As for marketers, ad placements in AI Overviews have been promised in a highly anticipated future wide-release. Learn more here .

United Airlines Rolls Out Targeted In-Flight Ads

By Sara Rose Hernandez, Situation Media Planner

On June 7, United announced the launch of Kinective Media by United Airlines , which will allow advertisers to use insights from travel behaviors to run targeted in-flight advertisements. Kinective Media partners will have access to placements in both the United mobile app and nearly 100,000 seatback screens across the airline’s fleet, with the potential for 3.5 hours of attention per traveler, based on average flight time. Reminiscent of Marriott’s 2022 announcement of its own traveler media network, this is the first move by a leading airline to utilize its wealth of customer data to help advertisers reach consumers in such a personalized way.?

United assured customers that advertisers will not be able to access personally identifiable information, leveraging anonymized audience segments that only include users over the age of 18. Customers who wish to not receive targeted ads have the ability to opt out at any time. While the decision to launch a media network capitalizing on first party data is new to the airline industry, United joins a growing number of businesses including Walmart, PayPal, and JPMorgan Chase that have made similar moves as we finally approach the cookieless environment. Read more about United’s announcement here .