I’m Sorry, Dave. I’m Afraid I Can’t Stop Those.

Ads are coming for AI chat... More brands on TikTok are testing in-app checkout... Digital video overtakes TV... And how to get your next ad placement into the hands of your customers... literally.

February 17, 2023

Microsoft Plans AI Ads — Take That, Bard!

Well, that didn’t take long. Ads are coming to AI chat. 

Microsoft has started pitching advertisers on its plans to monetize Bing Search powered by ChatGPT — all part of its quest to dethrone Google’s dominance in the search market. 

Reuters reported today that Microsoft is demoing the new Bing chatbot with ad agencies and has confirmed with at least one major agency that it plans to allow paid links within responses to search results. 

According to Microsoft, because the Bing AI chatbot produces more human responses, the company expects it will generate more users for its search function and therefore more advertisers. 

In addition, it noted that ads within the chatbot may also enjoy more prominence on the page compared to traditional search ads.

The company said it is taking traditional search ads, in which brands pay to have their web sites or products appear on search results for keywords related to their business, and inserting them into responses generated by the Bing chatbot, according to sources. 

Microsoft is also planning industry-specific ads. For example, showing hotel ads if you ask Bing for vacation spots.

The company declined to comment on the specifics of its plans. However, the report confirmed ads are already being tested in the new Bing.

Is TikTok Shop Nearing U.S. Launch? 

While platforms like Instagram and Facebook pull back on social commerce, TikTok continues to push ahead. 

The company is onboarding more brands to its Shop program, which lets companies sell goods directly on the app. 

Ad Age recently reported that several new retailers are now part of its shopping experiment, including: 

  • Pacsun

  • Revolve

  • Willow Boutique

When users click on the shopping bag icon on these brands' profiles, they are able to view their catalogues and complete checkout without leaving TikTok's app.

The company confirmed to TechCrunch that TikTok Shop in the U.S. is “still in the testing phase,” but didn’t provide any information about a wider launch.

Image: Ad Age

Digital Video is King

Surprising no one, Americans for the first time are expected to watch more digital video than TV this year — meaning more time spent watching TikTok, YouTube, and Netflix than cable and satellite. 

According to a new report from Insider Intelligence, U.S. consumers will spend an average of 3 hours and 11 minutes watching digital video per day in 2023, compared to 2 hours and 55 minutes watching TV. 

The trend of digital dominating linear is expected to continue. The report points to live sports as one reason why linear TV is seeing a decline, as platforms including Apple TV+ and YouTube have recently acquired live-sports rights.

▶️ Pivot To Digital 

What channels are consumers watching? In terms of streaming, the report indicated that adults will spend most of their digital viewing time on YouTube or Netflix in 2023, spending about 33 minutes per day on each platform. 

On social, Facebook is king, with adults expected to spend about 19 minutes per day on the platform this year. While they're expected to spend about 17 minutes per day on TikTok, which is predicted to overtake Facebook next year.

As far as actual adult users of each platform, the report said “TikTok has been well ahead of Facebook” since 2020. Adult TikTok users are expected to spend 56 minutes on the app daily this year, compared to adult YouTube users, who are expected to watch 48 minutes of content on that platform every day.

Image: Insider Intelligence

Instagram’s Telegram Copycat… I Mean New Chat Feature

This time, the messenger app Telegram is the source of Zuckerberg's inspiration! 

Meta is introducing Telegram-like channels with broadcast channels on Instagram. With the new chat feature, brands and creators can broadcast messages to a wide audience of followers who follow their channels. Which could of course be a handy tool for:

  • Promotional messages

  • Product launches

  • Business updates

  • And more

Followers will not be able to post in the channels, but they can react to posts with emojis and vote in polls.

In the future, Zuckerberg said that channels will support collabs with guest appearances and more. He added that channels are currently only available on Instagram but will be coming to Messenger and Facebook soon. 

The feature is currently being tested with a select group of users. 

Image: Meta

Your Brand’s Next Big Ad Placement: Your Packaging?

You might want to start thinking inside of the box for your brand's next ad placement. 

An interesting piece from Marketing Brew this week looks at why 'inserts', aka the ads slipped into packages, are having a moment. 

An executive at an offline marketing company says the channel has experienced something of a renaissance over the past few years. While inserts aren't the only media that the company specializes in, it is one of its biggest revenue drivers. 

He said a few factors can help explain its recent resurgence:

Search is more expensive than it used to be, and social isn’t converting as well. Brands are looking for new [channels], and so what’s old is new again.

Plus, he added that inserts can help advertisers reach consumers who are still shopping amid recession fears. 

According to the exec, there are two types of brands trying to reach two types of audiences through inserts:

There’s the “emerging brand” targeting the “affluent, educated consumer” between 25 and 45, and there’s the brand targeting shoppers who skew a bit older, selling everything from medical devices to beauty products.

He noted that brands in the first category generally use insert programs offered by companies such as HelloFresh, while brands in the second category tend to use inserts in publications like Reader’s Digest.

The exec said that CPMs for inserts range from about $15 to $80, for an average of about 5 cents per piece. It's also important to keep in mind that insert media usually means that brands share space in a package with as many as eight other advertisers. 

Image: Canva

Snap Hits 750M+ MAU

Snapchat just hit a milestone — the platform has reached 750 million monthly users. That's up 25% from the 600 million it reported last April.

As Social Media Today points out, the company usually posts daily active user counts within its quarterly updates – it currently has 375 million daily active users, according to its most recent report – but the monthly figures provide some more insight into the app's growth and presence. 

Quoting Social Media Today:

On one hand, that means that Snap isn’t as compulsive as some other apps. Facebook, for example, sees 67% of its total users coming back to the app every day, as opposed to Snap’s 50%. That may not be a big deal, but given the way that Snapchat is used for more intimate messaging, it is interesting that its daily usage is not as high. 

Where is Snap seeing the most growth? According to its Q4 numbers, it's not from North America.

Snap's biggest boom has been in the 'Rest of the World' category, with India, in particular seeing an increase. The app reportedly now has nearly 150 million users in India.

Images: Snap 

New Emojis

Today's release of iOS 16.4 also means... new emojis! 

The update will bring over 30 new emojis, including: 

  • The long-awaited pink heart

  • A moose 

  • A goose 

  • Ginger – which as the internet has pointed out looks more like something from the creators of the human centipede, and now I can't unsee it.

Images: Emojipedia/MacRumors

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