Consumers Take Unsafe Brand Content Personally, Study Finds

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Not only do consumers think less of a brand when ads appear next to unsafe content, but they also take it personally, a new study found. Respondents were more likely to view a negative association as intentional, coloring their overall view of the brands in question.

“The Brand Safety Effect” is a joint study by CHEQ, IPG Mediabrands, BMW and Hulu. More than 2,000 consumers were shown ads next to content deemed negative and surveyed about their reactions. Sample ads were shown across three types of content deemed “negative”—generally unsafe content like a school shooting, brand-averse content such as a BMW ad next to an article about a BMW collision and vertical-averse content, i.e a soda ad in front of content about diabetes.

Consumers showed an overwhelmingly negative response to the ad placements, with many viewing them as an intentional endorsement by brands. When consumers assume ad placement is intentional, they are nearly three times less willing to associate with that brand, the study found. Open-ended feedback from respondents even accused the brands of being manipulative and exploitative.

Even when an ad doesn’t appear to be intentionally placed but is directly adverse to the brand, it makes them look bad. After viewing content that clashes with a brand, consumer opinion dropped significantly—22 percent lower for trustworthiness and 19 percent each for quality and reputation.

Interestingly, a brand- or vertical-averse ad makes consumers feel like the brand doesn’t care about its customers by allowing the association to occur. The opinion that brands cared about their customers dropped 18 percent and a willingness to associate with them dropped 21 percent. Purchase intent dropped by half.

At best, allowing one’s ads to run next to unsafe content makes a brand look out of touch. At worst, consumers see brands as manipulative or like they are trying to profit off of a disaster.

“Brands need to be aware that blindly following a customer or chasing media price efficiency can have devastating effects on the long-term health of their brands,” said Joshua Lowcock, global brand safety officer at UM Worldwide, part of IPG Mediabrands in a statement.

Marketers are more concerned about brand safety than they have been in recent years, resulting in brands like Cisco, Sonos and Unilever pulling ads and bringing ad operations in-house. A recently study by Oath found that 58 percent of advertisers are more worried about brand safety this year than they were last year.

Brand safety is an issue that impacts the entire industry, inspiring open discussion at events like Cannes Lions and Advertising Week. Initiatives have also been formed recently like The Brand Safety Institute to address the problem head-on.

Marketers Lack Confidence, Technology For Personalized Advertising

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Marketers are willing to meet the personalization needs of today’s consumer, but many lack the confidence or technology to do so. According to a new Forrester study, less than five percent of marketing heads have all the digital advertising capabilities they want, and more than half struggle to keep up with customer demand.

The Personalized Advertising Gap was commissioned by RevJet to explore the link between data access and confidence among marketers. Forrester surveyed 109 decision-makers at companies with at least $1 billion in annual revenue who are involved in their company’s marketing strategy.

Respondents were asked to rate how confident they were in their organization’s ability to create and deliver advertising creative that is personalized and meaningful at scale. On a scale of 1-5, with 1 meaning not at all confident, only 35 percent answered with a 4 or 5 for creating personalized advertising and 32 percent for delivering said content.

“This personalization confidence gap means that too many firms run the risk of getting too heavily reliant on advertising technology’s hyper targeting capabilities and so not exploring the power of personalized creative to connect with consumers through delivering valuable, relevant ads,” said Forrester in the study.

A lack of access to the right technology may be to blame for this lack of confidence, with only four percent saying they had all the digital advertising capabilities they want today. When asked about barriers to creating and delivering personalized ad content, 31 percent said they lack the technology and 24 percent said their organization doesn’t consider it a priority.

Machine learning and AI topped the wish list for everyone else, followed by real-time ad assembly, real-time visioning and multivariate A/B testing of creative. Technology needs to work together and be easy to use, they said.

The study certainly had department heads dreaming of the possibilities. Nearly half—49 percent—have either experienced or would expect to see a more efficient marketing process as a result of having a holistic management of personalized ads. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself—58 percent said that if they were given more or direct control over the process, it would be more efficient, as well.

REI Expands #OptOutside Black Friday Initiative With Research Partnership

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REI has announced that it will continue its award-winning #OptOutside campaign in 2018, closing its doors on Black Friday and urging others to spend the day outside. This year, the brand is expanding the cause marketing campaign with a sizable donation and a new initiative called Nature for Health.

#OptOutside is an initiative that began in 2015 when REI announced it would not participate in the biggest shopping day of the year. Instead, the brand paid its employees to take Black Friday off and launched a campaign that started a movement. A meme generator launched alongside the campaign allowing consumers to share their outdoor experiences on social media.

For a retailer, skipping Black Friday was virtually unheard of, but the message resonated with consumers and businesses alike. REI took home two awards from Cannes Lions in 2016—the Promo and Activation Grand Prix and the Titanium Lion Grand Prix for #OptOutside.

In the past three years, 15 million people and 700 organizations have made it a tradition to enjoy the great outdoors instead of battling crowds. Jerry Stritzke, REI’s CEO, said that the campaign is a choice to put people ahead of profits.

“We thank you all for your help building the movement, but our work’s not done,” said Stritzke.

This year, REI will keep the tradition alive but is taking its message even further with an initiative called Nature for Health. The company has donated $1 million to the University of Washington’s Earth Lab to study any connections between a person’s health and their time spent outdoors.

Obviously, REI benefits tremendously when people take up outdoor activities, but the reason this campaign works is that the idea isn’t limited to mountain climbers and extreme sports. Anyone can go to the park or just sit on their porch instead of getting trampled over a discounted toaster.

Despite the campaign’s previous success, skipping Black Friday is still a risk—the National Retail Foundation predicts record spending this holiday season, reaching as high as $721 billion.

Regardless, REI is sticking to a brand message of putting consumer health first. Announcing the Nature for Health initiative, Stritzke cited a study from the Outdoor Industry Association that found less than half of Americans participated in a single outdoor activity in the past year. REI’s website offers suggestions for those who want to get outside but don’t know what to do.

As the world becomes connected digitally, convenience and technology raise concerns about public health and detachment with nature. Earlier this year, Velux launched a viral campaign called “The Indoor Generation.” The dark video warned consumers of the adverse effects of depriving one’s body of natural light.

Microsoft Takes Top Spot In New Marketing Engagement Index

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The most successful brands in the world also know how to talk with their customers, but according to a new report it’s not always the case that the largest companies are those with the best engagement.

Lewis, a global communications company, developed a Marketing Engagement Tracker (MET) that scores a brand based on 10 factors: tracking, user experience, security, content, mobile, marketing, sales funnel, personalization, response time and social media. Lewis dubs these elements Quantified Engagement.

To test out its new MET, Lewis analyzed the top 300 brands on Forbes’ Global 2000 list and published the findings in the first Marketing Engagement Index. What researchers discovered was a significant disconnect between brands with the highest engagement (MET) and those with the largest companies (Forbes Global 2000).

A brand’s region has a lot to do with marketing styles, the report observes. For example, engagement tactics are used more in the US while the world’s largest brands—State-run banks in China—have no use for traditional marketing. One exception is Apple, while number eight on Forbes’ list, ranked much lower on Lewis’ scale as it relies more on brand recognition and customer loyalty to drive revenue.

The top seven companies in the Lewis Global Marketing Engagement Index are all based in the United States, with the other three from Europe. No APAC brands made the top 10.

Microsoft scored the highest on Lewis’ global index with a score of 97.8—a feat that Lewis credits to leadership under CEO Satya Nadella. Bank of America, Intel, PNC and Allstate round out the top five, followed by Aetna, Unilever, Danone and Accenture.

The report gives credit—no pun intended—to financial brands who had to rebuild customer loyalty after the financial crisis of 2008-2009. Changing customer views are quickly proving which brands are agile and which are not, especially when it comes to sugar and plastic usage.

Applying its Marketing Engagement Tracker to Forbes’ Global 2000 rulers, Lewis found that some of the world’s largest brands are also the most engaging. For example, Bank of America is number two on both Forbes’ and Lewis’ lists. Wells Fargo, number seven on the Global 2000, scored number 12 on the MET.

Others did not fare as well, largely because of the different needs of state-run institutions. Forbes’ largest two brands—ICBC and China Construction Bank—scored nearly dead last in terms of engagement.

“Great companies don’t last forever unless they truly engage and evolve with their customers,” said Lewis. “What we have identified is that the majority of companies are not joined up and are inefficient in their approach to marketing.”

Planters, IHOP Latest To Jump On Branded Beer Trend

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Branded beer is the latest trend in strategic partnerships with Planters, IHOP and Dunkin’ offering limited-edition marketing brews for autumn.

Planters, a division of Kraft-Heinz, unveiled “Mr. IPA-Nut” on Tuesday—a craft beer described as having a citrus aroma with a hint of honey-roasted peanuts and a slightly salty finish. The beer is crafted by Whistling Noon Brewers and will be available for one day only—October 26—at select Chicago, IL retailers.

The peanut-flavored IPA may be limited to Chicago residents, but Planters is inviting anyone to help contribute to “the nuttiest beer commercial of all time” using the hashtag #BeerGoesNuts on social media. The spot pokes fun at other beer commercials by saying they’ll skip the “ice cold mountains” and “scalding hot beaches” in favor for something crazy.

And then there’s IHOPS. After temporarily changing its name to sell burgers, IHOP is at it again with a pumpkin spice pancake stout. The autumn-themed beverage is the result of a partnership with Keegan Ales in New York and was designed to make consumers crave Best-of-Fall pancakes.

IHOPS won’t be available in restaurants, but the limited-edition brew will make appearances at select bars and events around the tri-state area. The restaurant chain has already prepared itself for any ensuing jokes, adding a potential name change to a FAQ section. When asked if they will change their name back to IHOb for beer, the site says, “brobably not.”

Speaking of breakfast, Dunkin’ has also taken the plunge into beer territory. Harpoon’s Dunkin’ Coffee Porter will be available at retailers throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast US, with a few Central state locations thrown in.

The beer was specially made for Dunkin’ by Boston-based brewery Harpoon. Dunkin’ Coffee Porter is described as having a strong coffee flavor with dark roasty notes.

As consumers—especially young ones—become less tolerant of traditional advertising, brands like these are finding unique opportunities to engage through a common pastime. Craft beer is a growing industry in the US, reaching $4.8 billion as of January 28, 2017, according to Nielsen. Flavored beer, in particular, has been on a steady rise with flavors like tangerine, orange and pineapple skyrocketing as top-sellers over the past three years.

Hennessy Partners With Cyclists Association To Honor Champion

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Hennessy has expanded its tribute to champion Marshall “Major” Taylor through a partnership with the National Brotherhood of Cyclists (NBC). Limited-edition goods and a scholarship continue the cognac brand’s promotion of diversity in sports and a push for greatness.

In 1899, Major became the first African-American to win a world championship. The achievement launched him into the global spotlight during a time when cycling was all the rage, and he went on to inspire many of today’s top athletes.

On December 1, Major’s birthday, the NBC will host coordinated rides in Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles and New York with the mission of promoting diversity in sports. To support their cause, Hennessy will offer limited edition merchandise that commemorates Major’s memory, including a limited-edition bicycle and athletic apparel. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to NBC.

The commuter bicycle, dubbed “Major” and priced at $2,800, was designed by Brooklyn-based Affinity Cycles and is meant to look like Major’s own bike from the 1800s. Behind-the-scenes videos of the bike have been posted as Instagram Stories to help spread awareness.

A capsule collection of apparel was designed by Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss. Priced between $150-500, the collection includes a cycling cap, graphic tee with custom artwork, parachute jogger pants, a track-style sweatshirt and a nylon bomber jacket.

Hennessy and NBC will also award one person a $25,000 scholarship to continue their higher education, as this was a cause near and dear to Major’s heart. Applicants of legal drinking age must write a 500+ word essay detailing a time in which they “pushed the limits of their own potential to achieve greatness.” The winning recipient will be announced on December 1.

The partnership continues Hennessy’s tribute to Major as part of its ongoing “Wild Rabbit” campaign. Major was featured in a series of video spots released in April that told the athlete’s inspiring story.

Launched in 2012, Hennessy’s “Wild Rabbit” campaign highlights “that elusive motivation that drives us to succeed.” The campaign, using the slogan, “Never stop. Never settle.,” shines a light on those who achieve greatness while overcoming obstacles and covers a wide range of industries from art to sports. Previous campaigns have included celebrities like Martin Scorsese and challenges like an annual art competition with Pratt Institute.

Ford’s Cinematic ‘Proud’ Campaign Features Bryan Cranston

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Ford critiques fancy keynotes and high-tech competitors in a new campaign starring Bryan Cranston. “Built Ford Proud” takes an cinematic but confident approach to selling cars at a time when investors have been more interested in the next big thing.

Airing during NCAA football games on Saturday, Ford’s “Proud” ads will thumb their noses at other brands trying to be unnecessarily fancy (“[Ford] is not a metaphor”) or ride the coattails of a legacy brand through mergers. Rather, Ford wants to remind consumers—and investors—that the brand has earned trust over the past 115 years not by dreaming but doing.

Cranston has been providing his voice to Ford campaigns for around two years now, but this new campaign will be the first time he appears in person. Ford chose the Emmy award-winning actor for his hard-hitting persona—a far cry from those soft-spoken, philosophical Lincoln ads starring Matthew McConaughey.

Speaking with the press during Ford’s annual dealer show on Thursday, Jim Farley, president of global markets explained the casting choice.

“[Cranston] has a kind of swagger to get down to the essence of things, and we think that’s really important nowadays,” said Farley. “He just captures that no-baloney, real honesty that frankly we don’t hear much of anymore.”

Keynotes and robots attempt to poke fun at competitors like Tesla. In one ad, a Mustang sails over a hill with a disclaimer that Ford “does not condone or make flying cars.”

All joking aside, Ford knows where it stands. With an expensive 11-year restructuring underway and a $1.2 billion drop in revenue for Q1, Ford can literally not afford to ignore the industry’s demand for innovation.

That isn’t to say that Ford isn’t interested in technology. In addition to the company’s past, “Built Ford Proud” highlights efforts like the Ford Pass app, electric vehicles and “transforming cities.” At the Detroit auto show this past January, Ford announced that it would release 40 electric vehicles and hybrids by the year 2022.

Ford won’t abandon its iconic “Built Ford Tough” slogan, but will apply it only to trucks. “Built Ford Proud” will act as a bridge between all vehicles. The new campaign will appear on TV, print and Ford’s social channels, with an emphasis on sporting events.

This Week’s Exec Shifts: Fandor, Zillow Pick Up New CMOs; Airbnb Promotes For Global Marketing Position

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This week’s executive moves include Zillow gaining a CMO (but losing a COO), the Ad Council appointing new members and Fandor picking the company’s first-ever chief marketing officer. Also, Airbnb appoints two high-level marketers, Superfly appoints a brand marketing veteran, Team Dignitas promotes in-house for the VP of marketing, Christie’s Auction House appoints a new chief marketing officer and WeedMD hires an SVP of marketing.

Check out our careers section for executive job openings and to post your own staffing needs.

Zillow Appoints Former Starbucks Exec As CMO

Zillow Group, a real estate platform based in Seattle, announced Aimee Johnson as the company’s new chief marketing officer. Johnson’s appointment comes at the same time as longtime Zillow CMO and current COO Amy Bohutinsky announces her departure from the company. Johnson leaves a position at Starbucks, where she was the SVP of digital customer experience, a role she accepted in 2015. Johnson had been with Starbucks since 2004, holding various marketing roles. Before that she worked at Campbell’s for over a decade.

Fandor Picks Up Chief Marketer

Fandor, a video subscription service that offers indie and documentary films, has appointed John Zamoiski as the company’s first-ever chief marketing officer. Zamoiski will oversee the OTT platform as they look to expand their audience. Most recently, Zamoiski was the managing director at Doner CX and prior to that worked over a decade as chairman & CEO at Bottlerocket Marketing Group. He still remains a partner at ADLarge Media.

Zamoiski said of the appointment, “I’m thrilled to join the Fandor team at such an exciting time at the company. As we evolve to becoming more member-centric, I look forward to shaping the next chapter of the company with robust new programs for members to share great content along with innovative opportunities for brand partners.”

Airbnb Promotes For Global Marketing Lead

Geoff Seeley has been promoted to global marketing lead at Airbnb. Seeley has been with the company for a little over a year and was hired by Jonathan Mildenhall, who at the time was Airbnb’s chief marketing officer. Seeley’s appointment comes after serving as director, global marketing, connections and media activation at Airbnb. Previously he held posts at Unilever and Pearson, and continues to be a board member at Fenestra.

Airbnb also added Musa Tariq, who will serve as the head of marketing for experiences. Airbnb has emphasized experiences recently as it looks to amp up that part of the company’s business. Tariq comes off high-level marketing posts at Ford, Apple and Nike.

Superfly Names VP Brand Marketer

Superfly, a promoter known for working on music festivals like Bonnaroo and Outside Lands, has hired Stacy Moscatelli to be the company’s vice president of brand marketing. Moscatelli comes to Superfly with nearly two decades of marketing and promotion, and leaves a vice president of marketing role at Vevo. Before that Moscatelli worked at Cartoon Network for 10 years, working her way up through the marketing department and culminating as the director of marketing at Adult Swim.

Ad Council Adds CMOs Across Industries

The Ad Council has added new members to the nonprofit’s board of directors, and a number of them are chief marketing officers or high-level brand marketers.

  • Lisa Caputo, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience, The Travelers Companies, Inc.
  • Amy Fuller, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Accenture
  • Jill Gregory, EVP & CMO, NASCAR
  • Kristin Lemkau, CMO, JP Morgan Chase
  • Lindsey Roy, CMO, Hallmark Cards
  • Tony Weisman, CMO, Dunkin’ U.S.
  • Jennifer Witz, EVP & CMO, SiriusXM

See the full list here.

CEC Adds CMO

CEC, the parent company of Chuck E. Cheese, has appointed Sherri Landry the head of the company’s Peter Piper Pizza brand. Most recently, Landry served as a consultant at Blue Gibraltar, but before that held high-level marketing posts at Which Which, Main Event Entertainment and TGI Friday’s parent company.

THC.com Chooses Chief Marketer

THC.com, a cannabis social network, appointed Sean Kelley as the platform’s chief marketing officer. Kelley comes to the company after working in the high end audio industry for a decade, but previously worked for Tarot.com, and created the VWVortex community 20 years ago.

Lilly Adds To Board Of Directors

Eli Lilly and Company, a global pharmaceutical company, has added Cisco chief marketing officer Karen Walker to the company’s board of directors. Will the appointment to Lilly’s board, Walker will be added to both the audit committee and the public policy and compliance committee. Walker has been with Cisco since 2009 and previously worked at Hewlett Packard.

CTS Eventim Appoints Former AXS VP

CTS Eventim, a live entertainment and ticketing company, has appointed Daniel Brown as the company’s CEO. Brown came to CTS Eventim from AXS, where he served as the vice president of marketing and digital services. Before that he was the CRM director at AEG, which owns AXS.

Big Chills Picks Up CMO

Kitchen appliance company Big Chill has appointed Hillary Frei as the company’s chief marketing officer. Frei comes on as the Boulder-based company looks to expand. She previously worked at General Mills, Pediped Footwear and KeyState.

Team Dignitas Names VP Marketing

Team Dignitas, one of the more high-profile esports teams, has promoted Heather Garozzo to vice president of marketing. Garozzo announced the promotion via Twitter—she’s been with the team since 2017 and previously served as director of fan marketing. Prior to that Garozzo worked for a number of years at Assurant Solutions. Team Dignitas, also one of the oldest esports teams, currently has sponsorships from Twitch, Champion, Buffalo Wild Wings and Mountain Dew.

Christie’s Announces New CMO

Christie’s Auction House, one of the oldest auction houses in the world (founded in 1766), announced it has appointed Amy Wexler as the company’s chief marketing officer. Wexler has been with the company since 1996, with a brief departure from 2000 to 2004. She worked her way up through various marketing positions before solidifying the chief marketing role in September. Marc Sands, the company’s previous CMO, left in June.

USA Swimming’s CMO Steps Down

Matt Farrell, who led USA Swimming’s marketing department much of the last 10 years, has stepped down as chief marketing officer to except a role at the Golf Channel. Farrell was CMO during much of Michael Phelps incredible run in olympic swimming for the United States. Farrell came to USA Swimming from the US Olympic Committee and before that had as the Director of Internet Marketing (yes, “Internet Marketing”) at Warner Home Video.

CigarClub.com Hires Chief Marketing Officer

CigarClub.com, a monthly cigar subscription service, has hired Shanda Lee as the company’s chief marketing officer. Lee was previously vice president of marketing at J.C. Newman Cigar Company.

WeedMD Names SVP Marketing

WeedMD, a cannabis company based in Canada, has appointed Brett Moon senior vice president of marketing and sales. Moon comes to the company from Mosaic, a Canadian marketing company.

Editor’s Note: Our weekly careers post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, October 19. Have a new hire tip? We’re looking for senior executive role changes in marketing and media. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.

Job Vacancies 

Global Head of Brand Marketing Uber Eats San Francisco, CA
VP, Marketing & Communications Boingo El Segundo, CA
VP, Originals Marketing Starz Los Angeles, CA
VP, Marketing, Brand & Customer Strategy Banana Republic San Francisco, CA
Head of Marketing, Stephen Curry Under Armour Baltimore, MD
VP, Marketing Strategy Operations Paramount Pictures Hollywood, CA

Make sure to check back for updates on our Careers page.

Snapchat’s Marker Tracking AR; Facebook Shares Its ‘War Room’

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This week in social media news, Snapchat’s AR filter templates get more interactive, Twitter creates event pages for TV shows, Facebook updates ad targeting and LinkedIn tests a way to highlight writers.

Also, YouTube partners with EventBrite, Facebook takes users inside its War Room and identifies its hackers, while Twitter labels offending posts and tests annotations for Moments. Snapchat reveals the big box store habits of his young users, Facebook wants to watch your living room and reboots an MTV classic, Pinterest introduces new ad tools and Twitter releases data about foreign interference. In other social media news, YouTube updates its attribution criteria for TrueView ads, Twitter talks “filter bubbles,” Instagram’s founder speaks out, Pinterest rolls out shopping recommendations, Facebook fights voter suppression and college students read news on Snapchat. Meanwhile, kitty companions get the glamorous Snapchat treatment and Americans are wary of social media bots.

Marker Tracking Animates 2D Objects In Snapchat Lens

A new template has been added for creative Snapchat Lens artists, allowing them to tie an effect to a 2D object in the real world such as a mural.

Why it matters: Interacting with the world around us is the whole point of AR. Snapchat—who helped pioneer the technology—finds itself under constant pressure to outdo itself as Instagram continues to “borrow” and questionably improve on many of its key features. Tracking 2D objects and overlaying them with effects naturally lends itself to brands who could animate a movie poster, product label or environmental landmarks for a scavenger hunt.

Details: The Marker with Snapcode template lets creators unlock a Lens via Snapcode and immediately track your content to it. The template is designed to create Lenses overlayed on existing images such as a poster or mural. The new template was demonstrated with “Angel Wings,” a Lens that adds and tracks animated angel wings on a user when they pose in front of a Los Angeles mural.

Facebook Offers Ad Targeting To Prevent App Churn

App developers can encourage users to keep engaging after download with new targeting tools designed for retention.

Why it matters: According to Facebook, only 10-12 percent of app users stay active seven days after downloading an app and only four-to-five percent stay active after 30 days. Once a user has downloaded your app, Facebook’s new targeting tools will allow developers to keep in contact and encourage engagement.

Details: Targeting will grant developers access to users in an effort to prevent churn, or reverse it once they have stopped using it. When used as part of an app install ad campaign, developers can track and re-engage during those critical first days. Facebook also added four new metrics in Ads Manager to measure retention performance of app install ad campaigns that include the number of users who have opened an app and cost per retention.

Twitter Creates Event Pages For Fall TV Episodes

High-profile TV shows are now getting the event treatment on Twitter, each getting their own page that hosts tweets surrounding each episode.

Why it matters: According to 2017 research from Twitter Insiders, Vizeum and Dentsu Aegis Network, 61 percent of self-proclaimed “TV superfans” post their opinions about shows they watch on Twitter. In fact, 72 percent of them say platforms like Twitter play a role in their TV viewing. Brands can use these event pages to their advantage as their posts will be curated in one, easy-to-browse place on Twitter.

Details: Twitter has created event pages for episodes of hot shows like American Horror Story: Apocalypse. These pages allow fans to check out comments and hashtags related to the episode in one location.

LinkedIn Tests Subscribing To A Writer’s Series Of Articles

A feature is being tested on LinkedIn that allows article writers to invite subscriptions.

Why it matters: Sometimes the LinkedIn feed can be rather crowded with whatever your connections liked, promoted posts and debates on whether or not the site should allow emotional, Facebook-like posts. Being able to subscribe to a particular writer’s article series would cut through the noise and ensure that content is seen by those who have expressed interest.

Details: As spotted by Inc, 117 writers have been invited to participate in a pilot program. These writers will be able to curate more intimate relationships with their followers by inviting them to subscribe to a series of articles.

YouTube Partners With EventBrite To Sell Concert Tickets

Music fans can now purchase concert tickets from the YouTube channel of their favorite artists, thanks to a partnership with EventBrite.

Why it matters: Whether the music industry likes it or not, YouTube is a major attraction for music fans, making it a natural location to sell concert tickets. YouTube has already partnered with Ticketmaster, so a partnership with EventBrite allows them to cover more than 70 percent of the US ticketing market.

Details: Beginning on Thursday, YouTube users can view concert dates directly from a musician’s official channel, then make purchases from Eventbrite. YouTube plans to expand its offerings to more artists and North American venues in the future.

Facebook Grants A Glimpse Into Its Election ‘War Room’

In order to assure its users that they are taking election interference seriously, Facebook has revealed a photo of its War Room and details about it.

Why it matters: To say that the public is growing weary of Facebook’s trust issues would be an understatement. Facebook has invested in a physical location to gather its resources and battle election interference head on. According to the company, there are over 20,000 people working to eliminate the problem in real-time alongside Facebook’s technologies that identify policy offenders.

Details: First revealed in September, Facebook’s Menlo Park war room includes over two dozen experts from across the company, according to a Thursday blog post, that specializes in threat intelligence, data science, software engineering, research, community operations and legal teams. These employees represent and are supported by the more than 20,000 people working on safety and security across Facebook.

Facebook Hackers Were Spammers, Not Foreign State, According To Insiders

Despite its timing with the US election and public controversy surrounding Facebook, insiders told The Wall Street Journal that the culprits were after money, not influence.

Why it matters: Public scrutiny makes Facebook a prime target for hackers that would set out to manipulate voters or even just prove a point. If insider information is true, the recent data breach impacting over 30,000 accounts was to make money, plain and simple.

Details: According to individuals familiar with the matter, Facebook’s internal investigation has identified the source of its recent data breach—a group of Facebook and Instagram spammers who present themselves as a digital marketing company. The hack accessed millions of phone numbers, email addresses and tokens, which are used to log into Facebook without a password.

Twitter Focuses On Safety With New Labeling Procedures

Tweets that violate Twitter’s policies will now be labeled once they have been reported or removed.

Why it matters: According to the announcement on Wednesday, Twitter thinks users should know when they have taken action against offending posts without having to be subjected to the post over and over in the timeline.

Details: When a tweet has been reported for violation of rules, it will now be hidden with a message confirming the report, Twitter announced this week. In addition, any tweets that have been removed for such violations will be labeled as such instead of disappearing entirely.

Twitter Moments May Soon Offer Annotations

Brief explanations called “annotations” are being tested inside the Twitter Moments that would add context to curated content displayed.

Why it matters: Moments offer users a way to save posts that are related to an idea or event. Users frequently use this feature to curate posts for easy reference and others may save a collection of responses to a subject they are passionate about. Annotations would allow outside viewers to gain insight such as the event’s origin or explanation of terms.

Details: Eagle-eyed Twitter users have spotted a new feature that adds context to tweets saved in the Moments tab. These annotations briefly explain why the news is being shared, background on the story or a definition of acronyms, such as PSL. The test was confirmed by Twitter’s director of curation, Joanna Geary.

Snapchat Examines User Visits To Big Box Stores

Snapchat users visit Big Box stores an average of twice per month, usually mid-month and on the weekends.

Why it matters: As Snapchat continues to woo advertisers, it has taken to gathering data around its user activity that continues outside the app. This shopping data has been rolled out through a “Footprints” retail insights series on Snapchat’s business portal.

Details: Snapchat found that its users frequent big box stores, but how often and when varies by age group. Users between the ages of 13-17 frequent these stores on the weekend, while those 18-24 make weekday visits more than any other age group. Compared to other Snapchatters, users that visit big box stores are more likely to enjoy burgers and cycling, the company noted. In addition, this group is 1.8 times more likely to be a fan of rock music and technology while 1.6 times more likely to be a cord-cutter.

Facebook Released Portal, Now Sets Its Sights On Your TV

Facebook just released Portal, but it seems they have more coming—Cheddar has learned of plans to release a camera for TVs that would allow video chatting and streaming of Watch content.

Why it matters: Last week, Facebook announced its Portal devices along with a carefully worded statement about how it would never record calls or collect data to serve ads. A spokesperson for Facebook told Recode that this is exactly what they’re doing, minus recording calls. After the massive data breach and this new information, would consumers really trust Facebook enough to let them record their activity at home?

Details: Codenamed “Ripley,” Facebook has been developing a camera-mounted device that sits on top of TVs. Like the camera on the Portal, Ripley would track users around the room during video chat. In addition, users would be able to stream content from Watch onto their larger screens.

Pinterest Introduces New Self-Serve Marketing Tools

Based on user feedback, Pinterest has upgraded its suite of self-serve marketing tools and added how-to articles that help advertisers get started.

Why it matters: With over 250 million users, Pinterest has become a social search engine for things to buy. ThirdLove claims that using Pinterest’s Ad Manager allowed them to lower their Cost Per Checkouts by 61 percent YoY.

Details: Pinterest has added new self-serve marketing tools that include placement options, audience sizing tools, audience insights tools and updated interest categories.

Facebook Watch To Host Interactive New Version Of MTV’s ‘The Real World’

MTV’s infamous reality show The Real World is getting the Facebook treatment, complete with interactive elements to help shape the course of the program.

Why it matters: The Real World ran for 32 seasons, making it a well-known franchise that spans generations. MTV and Facebook both stand to gain from an exclusive Watch version, adding interactive elements and driving ad revenue.

Details: As reported by Reuters, Facebook will announce a reboot of The Real World during Mipcon in Cannes, France on Wednesday. The iconic, drama-filled reality show will return in the form of three interactive series, exclusive to Facebook Watch. Users will be able to interact during each program and help shape the direction of the show through voting and comments.

Twitter Releases Data Surrounding Foreign Election Interference

Twitter released statistics and additional data regarding misinformation campaigns that targeted the platform as early as 2009.

Why it matters: As promised to Congress and US citizens, Twitter is providing updates in regard to misinformation campaigns discovered on the platform. Transparency will be key to maintaining trust with the American people and its advertisers. In addition, the dataset will help authorities better understand this behavior.

Details: Twitter revealed large datasets comprised of 3,841 accounts affiliated with the IRA, originating in Russia, and 770 other accounts, potentially originating in Iran. They include more than 10 million Tweets and more than 2 million images, GIFs, videos, and Periscope broadcasts, including the earliest on-Twitter activity from accounts connected with these campaigns, dating back to 2009, the company said.

YouTube Reduces Attribution And Conversion Criteria For TrueView Ads

YouTube updated the criteria as follows: Engagement will be counted if a user views a TrueView ad for 10 seconds or more. A conversion will be counted if a user takes action within three days of an engagement.

Why it matters: YouTube says the reduction will better reflect “the relationship between video ad exposure and conversions.” This shorter engagement-to-conversion window will mean faster ramp-up times for target CPA campaigns and more current reporting, but that translates to faster charges to the advertiser, as well.

Details: Engagement has been decreased from 30 seconds to 10 seconds and conversion from 30 days to three days. These guidelines are set by default.

Twitter Contributes To ‘Filter Bubbles,’ Admits Jack Dorsey, But He Wants To Fix That

At the WIRED25 conference in San Francisco on Monday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey expressed concerns about the role that algorithms and following accounts rather than topics may have on public conversation.

Why it matters: During this time of political and social turmoil, social media has been accused of pushing certain agendas while silencing others. Dorsey previously said that he wanted to rethink the way that Twitter works so that would “serve public conversation” while offering new ideas in the process.

Details: “I think Twitter does contribute to filter bubbles, and I think that’s wrong of us and we need to fix it,” Dorsey said. He suggested that if users were to follow topics rather than individual accounts, they might be exposed to more ideas instead of simply affirming their existing opinions.

Instagram Co-Founder Outlines What’s Wrong With Social Media Today

Also, during the WIRED25 conference, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, who recently left the company, finally spoke out about the negative impact that control has over social media users.

Why it matters: Systrom said that companies like Facebook focus too much on technology and not on its users, particularly when it comes to controlling one’s own content. Facebook, which acquired Instagram, has since implemented a number of technologies to “improve” the service for advertisers but Systrom questions the effectiveness of these methods.

Details: Systrom expressed his concerns about Facebook’s overreliance on technology and the impact it has on social media users. “That [control] has nothing to do with robots, AI and image detection. It’s just control,” he said. “It’s a philosophical switch saying you’re in control of your content, not us. And that felt to me like a big shift.”

Pinterest Adds Shopping Recommendations For Style, Home And Decor

Product Pins will be recommended to users based on their searches that include information like seller, price and availability. In addition, a shopping shortcut will be added to the home feed so that users on the lookout for purchases can cut straight to the mission at hand.

Why it matters: Pinterest’s Buyable Pins allow users to purchase items directly from the seller, but were less personalized than this new breed of recommendations.

Details: Product Pins are rolling out to iOS and Android applications that display results based on user searches, behavior and trending items. Clicking through one of the recommended Pins will take users to a feed of similar items, where they can shop to their heart’s content. With the introduction of Product Pins, Pinterest will sunset its Buyable Pins option.

Facebook Extends Policies To Address Voter Suppression Techniques

Among a laundry list of ways that users can abuse Facebook, spreading misinformation designed to suppress voters is high on the site’s list of problems to address. Like other “fake news,” however, Facebook will only deprioritize this behavior in the news feed as opposed to removing it altogether.

Why it matters: Posts that discourage voters from participating can vary from false instructions to claiming that a particular polling station is closed. Facebook is trying to avoid being used to manipulate public opinion in the US and other elections by continually updating its policies regarding this behavior.

Details: Facebook has expanded its policies to include behavior that discourages voting. The site has already banned buying and selling votes as well as purposely incorrect voting information, such as separate dates for Democrat vs. Republicans or being able to submit a ballot via text message.

“Expanding our policy is just one of the steps we’re taking to strengthen the integrity of elections around the world,” wrote Facebook. We’re also getting better at detecting and removing fake accounts and increasing transparency across political and issue ads on the platform.”

College Students Rely On Snapchat For News, Study Finds

Several studies have already shown that consumers, especially young ones, turn to social media for news. A new study by Knight Foundation found that among college students, more than half rely on Snapchat as a pathway to the latest happenings.

Why it matters: Facebook is fighting fake news for good reason—it has become the go-to destination for consumers to stay informed. Knight Foundation’s study discovered that in second place, Snapchat is proving a source not just for entertainment but information. While it’s not surprising that young users would find news on the platform they frequent, Knight Foundation’s findings are contrary to figures by Pew Research, which reported 29 percent of Snapchat news consumption among adults in 2017.

Details: A survey of 5,844 college students from 11 US institutions found that a majority—89 percent—said they got at least some of their news from social media over the previous week. At 71 percent, Facebook was the most popular source of news, but Snapchat came in second at 55 percent. YouTube, Instagram and Twitter followed at 54 percent, 51 percent and 42 percent of respondents, respectively.

Snapchat Adds Filters For Your Feline Family

Users on Snapchat can now add filters to pictures of their cats that include flowers, unicorn horns, glasses and bat wings for those little furry devils.

Why it matters: People just love to share and watch images or videos of their pets. The internet has had a lot of fun face-swapping with cats and dogs on Snapchat but filters didn’t always recognize a cat’s face. The new filter is specially designed to do so.

Details: Snapchat has released new filters specially designed to recognize a cat on the camera. To use, bring up the camera in Snapchat and tap on your cat’s face. This will bring up available filters labeled with a paw print.

Most Americans Aware Of Social Media Bots And Are Not Amused

Pew Research found that a majority of Americans have heard of social media bots, are confident they can identify them and are convinced that most of them are up to no good.

Why it matters: Political interference has Americans on edge when it comes to automated accounts. Twitter bots can be used for helpful purposes, like to offer daily quotes or facts or entertain through parody. As Twitter and Facebook continue to delete malicious accounts, however, the public has become painfully aware of motives that are not so wholesome.

Details: A Pew Research Center survey conducted July 30 through August 12, 2018 asked 4,581 US adults about their knowledge and attitudes surrounding bots on Twitter. Sixty-six percent said that they had heard of social media bots and of those, eight-in-ten said that these accounts are mostly used for bad purposes. While not everyone was as skeptical about the integrity of automated accounts, it was a minority—just 17 percent said social bots are mostly used for good purposes.

Editor’s Note: Our weekly social media news post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, October 19. Have a news tip? We’re looking for changes to and news surrounding social media platforms as they relate to marketing. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.

Influencer Marketing Focused On Long-Term Relationships, Hindered By Budgets, Report Says

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Budget restraints and a lack of ROI prevent many brands from adopting influencer marketing strategies, according to a new report by Traackr. Failure to adopt a long-term strategy is also a culprit, although more brands are focusing on nurturing creator relationships than they were last year.

“The State of Influence 2.0” is the second annual report by Traackr, an influencer relationship management platform. Written by Altimeter principle analyst Brian Solis, the report includes responses from 118 digital marketers in both B2C and B2B industries that include Microsoft, Google, Samsung, Nissan and L’Oreal. Nearly three quarters (73 percent) of respondents come from companies with over 10,000 employees, 17 percent of respondents were from companies over 1,000 employees and 66 percent come from either Fortune 500 or Forbes Global 2000.

The most important question for marketers was why they turn to influencer marketing in the first place. Top marketing priorities among respondents were to raise brand awareness (47 percent), followed by calculating ROI and attribution (37 percent), Traackr found.

These results are significantly different than a poll of 158 marketers by ANA in April, finding that 86 percent use influencer marketing for brand awareness. Another key difference between the two studies lies in compensation—while 62 percent of ANA members pay influencers monetarily, several respondents of Traackr’s survey, including Microsoft and Sipsmith, said that they rely more on relationships than paid agreements.

When comparing owned, earned and paid partnerships, 81 percent of marketers surveyed by Traackr placed greater importance on developing partnerships with influencers in an earned capacity, compared to 61 percent that focused on paid partnerships.

Brands are saving a place for influencer marketing in the budget, but not that much. More than half of respondents said that influencer marketing accounts for less than 10 percent of the total budget. A majority of this budget is allocated to content creation, followed by agencies and influencer compensation. The least amount of budget goes to technology—a fact that Traackr was understandably concerned about.

According to Traackr, 70 percent of marketers surveyed have influencer marketing budgets of more than $100,000, compared to 38 percent of ANA members. Influencer marketing ad spend is poised to reach between $5 billion and $10 billion in 2022, according to Business Insider.