The Top Three

🏆 THE INDUSTRY’S MOST IMPORTANT STORIES TODAY

🥇 AMAZON’S STRANGE NEW PLANS

Amazon is about to feature products it doesn't even sell. The company is testing a new “Shop brand sites directly” option that will direct shoppers off Amazon to the brand's site to complete the purchase, if it doesn’t carry that product. more

• When users search for a brand or item, they’ll see Amazon’s offerings alongside select products from external brands.

• Clicking on these will take shoppers to the brand’s website, with a popup alert that they’re leaving Amazon.

• If the brand uses the "Buy with Prime" option, customers can still get Prime benefits, like free shipping.

• It’s not clear if Amazon will get a cut.

🥈 META ADDS NEW BLOCKLISTS PARTNERS

Meta is expanding its support for third-party ad placement blocklists by adding integrations with DoubleVerify and Zefr, alongside its existing partnership with IAS. more

• Advertisers can work directly with IAS, DoubleVerify and Zefr to select the categories they want to block.

• Meta said approved partners can create blocklists for any category, as long as they follow its Discriminatory Practices policy, with reporting consistent with its standards.

🥉 ADD AI-GENERATED VIDEO TO SHORTS

AI-generated content creation now lives in YouTube Shorts: The platform announced that Google’s Veo 2 video model is being integrated into YouTube’s Dream Screen feature, letting users generate standalone video clips for Shorts. more

• To generate clips, users must open the Shorts camera, go to the media picker, and tap the “Create” option at the top.

• After that, users can enter a prompt, choose a style, lens, cinematic effect, and video length.

Today’s Other News

📰 EVERYTHING ELSE THAT MATTERS

Advertising 📣

• The Trade Desk’s stock plummeted 26% after its first-ever quarterly earnings miss, despite posting a 23% revenue increase in Q4 to $741 million. The company had forecasted $756 million. more

• TikTok is testing letting advertisers run traffic campaigns to direct users to messaging apps (like WhatsApp and Messenger). Currently in beta, it’s set to expand soon. more

• Starting on April 7, Google Ads and Display & Video 360 will limit Customer Match lists to a new 540-day maximum membership duration. From this date, lists with no expiration or longer durations will be updated, and expired members will be removed, reducing list size and potentially pausing campaigns. more

• Microsoft Ads is facing criticism over invalid traffic and junk leads. Ad agency Aimclear reports that fake leads, like spam bots, and non-human traffic are affecting campaigns. The agency claims hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasted spend due to unreliable leads and is requesting ad credits to compensate. more

• Meta’s AI-driven ad growth may not be as reliable as investors think. Despite a 25% rise in stock this year and claims that its AI will fuel ad growth, industry insiders aren’t so sure. The Information reports today that ad execs are growing frustrated with rising costs and dwindling returns from Meta ads. more

• AppLovin's ad revenue surged 73% to $999.5 million in Q4, driving a 30% jump in shares yesterday. The mobile gaming giant, which generates revenue from placing ads in games, reported a 45% revenue increase, surpassing expectations. more

  • 🔮 Looking ahead: For Q1, the company projects ad revenue to rise 55%, reaching between $1B and $1.05B.

Social Media 📱

• Reddit shares dropped more than 15% yesterday after missing user growth estimates in Q4, blaming Google’s algorithm change for volatility. Global daily active uniques (DAUq) increased 40% YoY to about 101.7M but fell short of Wall Street's estimates of 103.1 million. more

• 🤖 It's not spying on DMs, guys, it's “learning” from them: A new pop-up in Messenger is warning users that their messages and photos could be shared with Meta AI to improve its features. Meta says it tries to remove personal identifiers, but adds sensitive data like passwords and financial details could still end up in its AI system. more

• U.S. federal workers say they ditching platforms like Facebook altogether, moving sensitive chats to encrypted apps like Signal. The Verge reports that rising concerns over government surveillance, especially under U.S. President Trump and his top campaign funder, Elon Musk, have fueled distrust, with some fearing tech companies could share user data with the government. more

Influencer Marketing 🤳 

• 💸 UK taxman targets influencer tax evasion: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is cracking down on UK influencers earning from side hustles like live shopping and affiliate marketing. The new rules target those making at least $1,244 from secondary income sources like eBay and Airbnb. more

• ✨ Trendspotting: TikTok released its ‘Discover List’, highlighting the platform’s rising creators across categories like Educators, Foodies, Icons, Innovators, and Originators. more

  • It’s also launched a new lookbook, giving each creator a profile to showcase their work, like @logagm who made cucumber salads go viral.

Streaming, Served à la Carte 🧑‍🍳 

• 📺️ Watch your show, and eat it too: Netflix Bites is now open at the MGM Grand in Vegas, serving dishes inspired by its content like 'Stranger Wings,' a 'Bridgerton Regency Tea' and 'Netflix & Chil-Aquiles.' more

  • 👧🏻 Come for the themed menu, stay to find out if the “Squid Game” cocktail is just a fun gimmick—or your final round.

Today’s Trivia Question

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