Welcome to the February edition of the Virtual Marketers digital marketing mashup! This month we look into the spectacle of Super Bowl LVIII, not just in viewership but in advertising innovation, an increase in pins (not the pointy type…), the formation of an ethical AI coalition by leading tech giants, and significant updates from YouTube and Meta enhancing how we interact with digital content.. Let’s go!
- Super Bowl LVIII from a Marketer's POV
- Pinning is on the Rise
- Tech Giants' New Ethical AI Coalition
- Playlisting the Future – YouTube's Analytic Leap
- Meta's New Chapter of Algorithm Transparency
1. Super Bowl LVIII From a Marketer's POV
The Super Bowl LVIII not only captivated 115.5 million viewers but also became a significant event across various platforms, from advertising markets to the buzzing world of social media. Here's a concise overview of the key data points:
Advertising Insights:
- 57 ads were broadcasted during the event, with 53 unique advertisers contributing to the lineup.
- The cost for a 30-second ad slot was $7 million, marking no price increase from 2023.
- It's noteworthy that this analysis excludes advertisements from FX and Universal.
Audience Size:
- Impressive viewership of 115.5 million people.
Social Media Dynamics:
- A total of 2.65 million posts were generated by over 500,000 accounts, averaging 11,000 mentions per minute.
- Taylor Swift emerged as a significant figure in Super Bowl-related discussions, being mentioned over 148,000 times. This accounted for 5.6% of all mentions, substantially overshadowing the 1.1% share of mentions for the most talked-about player, Travis Kelce, who is also her boyfriend.
- Among brands, Temu led the social media mentions with 33,040, closely followed by Verizon with 31,840 mentions.
Source: Marketing Dive
2. Pinning is on the Rise
Pinterest's robust performance, marked by a 12% revenue increase in Q4 2023 and a global monthly active user count reaching an all-time high of 498 million, underscores its strength as a marketing platform. This growth trajectory, coupled with their dedication to product development and campaign optimisation, makes it pretty appealing for those dabbling in the creative, lifestyle, and retail sectors. The alignment of user and advertiser interests on Pinterest gives brands a really good opportunity to connect authentically with their audience, and we’re guessing we’ll be seeing continued momentum into 2024.
Source: Pinterest
3. Tech Giants' New Ethical AI Coalition
In a landmark move, twenty technology companies have united to sign a pledge to prevent their artificial intelligence technologies from disrupting electoral integrity. This initiative includes industry behemoths like Microsoft, Meta and Google, as well as smaller startups with potent AI capabilities, such as voice generation, which could be misused to create deceptive election content.
The companies acknowledge the heightened risk their products pose in an election-heavy year, aiming to foster responsible AI use and self-regulation amidst slow legislative responses to rapid technological advances. They have committed to a series of measures, including the development of tools to detect AI-generated content and maintaining transparency about AI developments, although stopping short of banning AI content in elections altogether.
Source: NBC News
4. Playlisting the Future – YouTube's Analytic Leap
YouTube's latest updates to Playlist Analytics offer marketers and content creators like us a deeper dive into audience engagement with curated collections. The new features in YouTube Studio provide rich data that can inform strategic decisions on content optimisation and promotion. These insights are vital to help us enhance our content's visibility and effectiveness on the platform.
Source: Social Media Today
5. Meta's New Chapter of Algorithm Transparency
Meta's move to share insights into its Threads feed algorithms is quite an interesting move for marketers who rely on understanding content delivery mechanisms.
Although a lot of it is vague, and what we already know to be true, this breakdown from the ‘How the AI delivers content to you’ section is super interesting:
By offering a peek behind the curtain of news feed curation, Meta enables marketers to better strategise content for optimal user engagement. This transparency means we have the chance to make more informed marketing decisions and potentially have higher content impact.
Source: Meta
And that’s our mashup for Feb! From the advertising extravaganza of Super Bowl LVIII to Pinterest's impressive growth, the ethical stance on AI by tech leaders, and the latest analytical tools from YouTube and Meta, as these platforms and technologies advance, so do the opportunities for marketers to innovate and connect with their audiences. Sound good? See you again soon for more of that!
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