Top Trends for Halloween 2022 & TikTok Launches Smart Performance Campaigns

?? Top Trends for Halloween 2022 ??

Google is helping us get into the spooky spirit by updating its “Frightgeist” site, revealing the most searched-for Halloween costumes this year.?

Pulling the most up-to-date data from Google Trends, insights like Frightgeist can be super valuable to brands who want to get their products in front of customers at the right time, with the right message.?

Remember, some of the best costumes can be created from wardrobe staples! With the right messaging, brands can perfectly position their product range for this time of year. And, well-themed posts can do a lot to boost engagement.?

While the Frightgeist site only shows data from within the US, it’s a nice reminder of the ultimate tool we have year-round, sitting right at our fingertips. Google Trends is a staple in the toolbox of most marketers, but sometimes can be overlooked at crucial seasonal moments. Here’s your reminder to do a quick sense check on Google Trends!

Another great source to look into during the Halloween promotional period is Reddit's ‘Halloween by the numbers’. With the average Reddit user 40% more likely to be a fan of horror films, this handy infographic shows some key insights into Halloween-related trends being discussed right now on Reddit.?

?? TikTok Launches Smart Performance Campaigns ??

Tiktok has launched new Smart Performance Campaigns, following a growing trend in paid-media platforms offering more automation features.?

Designed to be a “hands-off” process, this system was designed to reduce the number of manual steps needed to drive results.?

As explained by TikTok, “Smart Performance Campaign is our first end-to-end automation solution that leverages machine learning to optimise for best performance and marketing goals.”

In order to get started and launch a Smart Performance Campaign, all marketers need is an objective, budget, country and creative assets. This means paid media specialists will need to put their full trust into the platform, allowing its machine-learning capabilities to adjust and optimise their campaigns.?

For the seasoned paid media specialist, this might be a challenge. It’s clear that features like these are designed for marketers just getting started on TikTok for Business.?

While this feature isn’t available for all brands just yet, early testing has proved quite promising. TikTok has announced that Smart Performance Campaign will be available globally via Android App Promotions campaigns at the end of October, with more access to come at the end of the year.?

You can read more about Smart Performance Campaign here.?

?? Digital Ad Spend Is Up, While Traditional Channels Decline ??

Research from The Standard Media Index shows that September ad spend is down 5% YoY, reflecting the ongoing economic situation and tightening marketing budgets.?

With data showing a steady slowdown in the past fourth months, all eyes are firmly on Q4 to see if holiday campaign competition will cause an uptick again.?

Coinciding with the decrease in ad spend across television, radio and magazine, major media companies including the likes of Meta, Google, Paramount Global and Disney all saw revenue fall.?

“Global downturn. What is the first mistake businesses make.” Source: Financial Times

However, while ad spend is decreasing across all platforms, one area actually increased. Digital ad spend has grown 5%, to approximately $13.2 billion YoY, representing two-thirds of total ad dollars spent.??

However, the global average has been influenced by a 23% decline in TV ad spend, an 18% drop in radio and an 11% drop in magazine ad spend.?

The SMI report also shows some interesting insights into which specific categories grew, and which also faced tightened budgets. Namely, the wellness category fell by 35%, followed by a drop in tech ad spend (-21%) and financial services (-10%).?

While declining ad spend is definitely something to be aware of, some of these fluctuations might mean a win for the little guy. If certain brands within these declining categories take advantage of this data and position their offerings correctly, they might be able to increase their share of voice on certain platforms. With less noise and less competition, watching the transition to Q4 is certainly going to be interesting.?

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