MarketingDojo#20: Shoppertainment Goes Mainstream🛒+ 💃
Amazon Inspire, Mr Beast's Birthday, Meta's Solution for Ad Creation & More.
Hello from a scorching Singapore,
This Saturday was the hottest day in Singapore since 1983 🥵☀️.
I hope the rain gods show some mercy soon. Until then, grab a cold coffee 🥤 and dive into the 20th issue of the MarketingDojo.
In this edition, we will cover:
💡Amazon is inspiring its customers
💗Ikea’s ad is a lesson in creative excellence
🤖Meta’s latest AI solution for advertisers
🎉Mr Beast celebrates his birthday (in his unique style)
And lot’s more.
As usual, if you haven’t already, subscribing to the newsletter is a zero-cost way to show your appreciation. Please subscribe if you haven’t already.
Amazon’s all set to Inspire.
Amazon has built its $163Bn eCommerce empire on a search-based shopping model -shoppers type in what they want, add desired goods to their carts and checkout.
The efficiency - starting from the range of products, low or no delivery costs & super-fast delivery has made Amazon a leading eCommerce behemoth.
But the search-based eCommerce model has been under threat lately. Discovery is an essential component of our shopping experience. The joy (or remorse) of entering and browsing the aisles of a huge supermarket and leaving with things you had no intention of purchasing is often missing in our online experiences.
Influencers & social media platforms dominate discovery-based online shopping. TikTok, Youtube, Instagram, and Pinterest have become the primary source of brand discovery via influencer videos - unboxing, reviews, live streams and more.
"The next generation of marketplace winners will be the brands that successfully combine the joyous discovery of offline shopping with the infinite options of online shopping. " - Connie Chan, A16Z
Last week, Amazon opened up its Tiktok-like discovery product - Inspire to a broader audience in the US.
The full-screen, short video format is recognizably similar to TikTok's. The ease of shopping while watching the video makes it an exciting experience.
Amazon has opened the content creation for Inspire for three groups - Customers, influencers enrolled in Amazon's influencer program & brands.
In theory, Amazon’s Inspire gives it the final piece to win the discovery-based shopping experience, but I have some doubts.
TikTok is entertainment. Product discovery is a happy by-product, not the primary reason why a Billion users spend over 45 minutes daily on the platform. The app is built to maximize the time spent on content discovery.
For years, Amazon's experience has been optimized for speed -how quickly one can open the app, find a product one needs, checkout and get on with their life. Opening the app to watch videos to shop for new products seems alien (to me).
Inspire is a great idea, but I doubt it’s a runaway success. What do you feel?
Chinese Origin Apps Dominate The US Markets.
The grip of Chinese apps on US customers is getting stronger quarter by quarter, with four out of the top five most downloaded apps in the US being of Chinese origin.
Meta’s AI Sandbox: Next-Gen Of Ad Creation.
Last week Meta unveiled its AI Sandbox for advertisers. The Sandbox allows advertisers to test creative copy, background and images.
The first three creative ad tools are:
Text variation: The tool will generate variations of the ad copy
Background generation: Text inputs by brands can change the backgrounds of the advertisements
Image outcropping: Automatic cropping of images to fit different aspect ratios & ad sizes
Meta's new use of generative AI will make A/B testing more accessible for advertisers.
The targeting on Meta platforms is head and shoulders above other social media platforms. With creatives & copy generated on the fly, the return on ad spending on Meta will surely improve.
The AI Sandbox is expected to be available in July, and I'm looking forward to trying it out.
Mr Beast Celebrated His Birthday with 20Mn+ Folks on Instagram.
Mr Beast, AKA Jimmy Donaldson, the highest-paid YouTuber known for his larger-than-life video content & philanthropy, turned 25.
Now turning 25 is no biggie unless you are Mr Beast.
He organized a birthday giveaway where he offered $10,000 to 10 lucky winners who followed him on Instagram, shared his giveaway post in their story, and tagged a friend.
The post quickly gained over 20 Mn likes and 20 Mn comments within 72 hours, and Mr Beast ended his birthday week with an impressive 38.8 million followers on Instagram.
The post had unintended consequences - the giveaway might have broken some state laws. Despite these legal concerns, I couldn't help but appreciate the intelligence behind the giveaway.
On Instagram, the cost per engagement for an advertisement is typically between $0.01 to $0.05.
However, the cost per like and comment for this giveaway was only $0.0025.
Additionally, the cost per engagement would decrease significantly when factoring in the number of shared stories.
The giveaway generated a lot of buzz and garnered new followers for Mr Beast on Instagram, further solidifying his reputation as an influencer who enjoys sharing his wealth.
That was an exciting birthday treat!
Creative Excellence: You Say It Best When You Say Nothing At All.
Ikea's creative advertisement caught everyone's attention last week. “Proudly the second-best” campaign tugs at a parent’s heartstrings in a minimalistic Ikea way.
Meme-time: Will I Report To an AI Bot?
At the Google I/O 2023 event, AI was mentioned 143 times in just two hours! My Twitter & LinkedIn feed is full of “AI experts” & prompt engineers.
It's amazing how much progress has been made in AI technology. However, as a marketer, I can't help but feel a little worried about how it will change the marketing industry. This week’s meme is dedicated to us marketers who are bound to get impacted by the AI wave.
Sneak Peek Into The Next Generation Of Search.
Google unveiled its Search Generative Experience (SGE) at Google I/O 2023. As the experience rolls out, there will be much to explore and digest, but there are a few articles worth reading to understand better what the search may look like in the near future.
LetterDrop's article explores the new developments in Google search and their potential impact on marketers.
The folks at the Verge created some great content covering the event. This article focuses on the AI Snapshot feature that will improve our search experience.
VOX's AI Explained delves into the potential pitfalls of the escalating Generative AI race, including an article on why Google is reinventing search.
Meanwhile, Dharmesh Shah’s LinkedIn post is just hilarious & relatable.
Short Stuff:
Youtube is experimenting with blocking Ad Blockers (Pay up for that subscription).
Pinterest made creating a video or static pins easier by simplifying the creation flow (A super-powered pin).
Meta is rolling out a performance-based model for creators (More monetization options for creators).
That’s all for this rather happening week. If you learnt something new from the newsletter today, please show some love ❤️ or leave a comment.
See you in your inboxes next week.
Cheers,
Garima
P.S: The well-known Marketoonist -Tom Fishburne opened Campaign 360 marketing event in Singapore. A room full of marketers from different industries & roles chuckled and nodded their heads as he shared his customer experience with the help of his cartoons.
Humour effectively helps find common ground, addresses the elephant(s) in the room, and enables collaboration. Tom’s 40-minute presentation flew past quickly - leaving one big lesson: Be brave enough to introduce more humour at work. I am going to give it a try.
