Hey there, and welcome to our May Newsletter! 🌟

We’re stoked to have you here as we unveil fresh, new monthly updates. Our mission? To keep serving you the hottest industry insights and killer tips from our lovely editors at AdParlor.

This month, we’re bringing you the latest trends, upcoming events, cutting-edge strategies, and pro tips to help you crush it in this ever-changing world. Whether you’re here to stay ahead of the game or looking for inspo for your next campaign, we’ve got your back.

Thanks for being part of our awesome community. Let’s make this month count and get ahead of the curve! 🚀✨

~ The Editors

In this Edition you’ll find:

  • Graphs, Charts, and Data – Oh my!
  • Our Recap on Meta’s 3rd Annual Performance Summit
  • Upcoming Webinars & Events 📢
  • Platform Updates & Industry Trends
  • Slim Chickens Partners with AdParlor to Drive Influencer Success on TikTok & Meta 💡
  • “That’s Hot” – 🔥 Moments & Topics in the Industry
  • From the Desk of Sierra Underhill – Your Ultimate Guide to Understanding Cookie Deprecation in 2024

Graphs, charts, and data – oh my!

Understanding channel efficacy typically requires a robust measurement approach and advanced set up. There are several tools marketers can use to aggregate and analyze data with more progressive programs relying on media mix modeling (MMM). MMM is a great way for advertisers to “level set” their investment across strategies and tactics, outside of the media channel walled gardens and third-party reporting suites. It provides direction to help rightsize investments across platforms and helps identify platforms with the most opportunity. You can learn more about MMMs here. For those of us without an MMM strategy in place, let’s check out recent survey results from Hootsuite via e-marketer on where marketers feel they get the most bang for their buck. 

According to this Hootsuite report, a whopping 70% of marketers worldwide trust LinkedIn to deliver the best ROI with Instagram as a very close second. Why is LinkedIn the go-to platform for positive returns? 

According to a recent report from EMARKETER, here are a few key “reasons to believe” in LinkedIn’s effectiveness:

  1. Looking at revenue alone as an indicator, EMARKETER projects that LinkedIn’s US ad revenues will rise 13.9% to reach $4.51 billion this year. The company plans to fast track this by expanding + introducing new advertising features such as:
  2. A longtime staple of B2B marketing, LinkedIn has been gaining more popularity amongst B2C marketers as the platform introduces new ad formats and promises a brand-safe environment, according to our LinkedIn Marketing 2024 report.
  3. Creators are also ramping up their involvement on LinkedIn, diversifying their revenue streams so they’re not dependent on one specific platform. LinkedIn has been testing a video feed in its app, similar to live video functions across other social media platforms. Check to see if your app now features a “video” button in the main button navigation!

And because we couldn’t get enough, we have another chart feature to share with you:

We’re all being asked to “do more with less” these days. From our c-suite readers reporting to board members to our gritty strategists rolling up their sleeves to optimize modest budgets. It’s no wonder the majority of marketers surveyed recently by Mediaocean stated that performance-driven paid media is the most important to them with measurement & attribution + brand advertising coming in second. 

💡 Key stat: Nearly 6 in 10 retail marketers worldwide say that performance-driven paid media is their most critical media investment, according to November 2023 data from TechValidate and Mediaocean.

Beyond the chart:

  1. More than half (53%) of retail marketers worldwide agree that measurement and attribution capabilities are critical, the same TechValidate and Mediaocean report found. That’s a jump from only 41% of retail marketers who said the same when they were surveyed in October 2022. We’d like to challenge this stat, noting that without an accurate, robust, and diverse measurement approach it’s nearly impossible to maximize performance-driven media outcomes. 
  2. Performance, measurement, and attribution are of increasing importance to marketers who are adjusting to the depreciation of third-party cookies.Head down to our featured blog below to learn more about cookie deprecation and what this could mean for your brand!

4 in 10 marketers worldwide plan to increase their performance marketing investment this year, per a December 2023 report by WARC. Does that sound like you? Reach out to learn why top brands work with AdParlor to plan and scale performance-based, full funnel digital programs.

Our Recap of Meta’s 3rd Annual Performance Summit

AdParlor’s Director of Marketing, Alex Judge & Managing Director of Operations, Alyson Salva attended Meta’s Performance Summit in sunny San Francisco last week. They were able to hear from top Meta executives about the future of the platform as it relates to AI and how leading brands such as Sephora are leaning in to change. 

Featured: Meta’s stage at The Masonic in San Francisco

Weren’t able to make it? Here’re our key takeaways:

  1. Meta’s Performance 5 is here to stay
  2. Ensure you’re maximizing ASC scale – Meta now recommends scaling up to 70% of total investment towards ASC, up from the original 30% recommendation given during roll out. 
  3. While not the first time we’ve heard this from a platform partner, it’s clear that creative is the new targeting. Brands will always need savvy media buyers to plan audience segments and balance budgets between cohorts, but more and more of the levers we have to pull are becoming more efficient. Meta’s upcoming generative AI tools are designed to help increase creative testing and reduce overall fatigue. Overheard at the Summit: “Creative can be automated but creativity never will be”. 
  4. There was a huge focus on Meta’s Reels and how designing for this placement specifically (vertical video, sound-on, in the safe zone) drives results. Did you know? 39% Reels ads that respected the safe zone had a 39% higher click-through rate, on average, versus those that violated it (source: Meta). 
  5. If your audience sees the same ad 4x+ times, expect fatigue! Don’t let this be confused with recommended frequency against all assets in your campaign. 

Featured: Our favorite part of Summits – AdParlor spending time with some of our partners from QVC, HSN, and Meta!

Head here to Meta’s Performance Marketing Summit Resource Hub to access on-demand recordings to the live sessions. Upcoming Webinars & Events 📢

Upcoming Webinars & Events 📢

MediaPost’s Digital Out-of-Home Insider Summit

October 2nd-5th 2024 

The Otis Hotel Austin, Autograph Collection (Digital attendance is also available)

The 3-day summit provides ample opportunity for practitioners to collaborate and share best practices while exploring new technologies, strategies and tactics that drive effective, in this case, Digital OOH campaigns in a variety of activation environments.

Register HERE

How Sentiment in Search Behavior Fuels Consumer Consideration

June 11, 2024 at 2PM EST / 11AM PT

Save your seats today for the live tech-talk webinar, “The 2024 Top 100 Advertisers Search Report,” presented by Captify, to hear the results of recent search data analysis for the world’s largest advertisers. You’ll learn how they rank in sentiment and search volume, and what’s driving interest for top performers across industries.

Register HERE

Platform Updates & Industry Trends 📈

Now that May’s wrapped up, Pinterest is buzzing with some seriously cool trends. Searches for “gamer setup” are up by 75%, and “outdoor gym” ideas have jumped by 50%. Millennials are all about “big beards men”, while Gen X is showing love for “blazer outfits men.” And with Father’s Day around the corner, “father’s day crafts” searches have skyrocketed 9x! These hot trends give brands and marketers the lowdown on the current vibe:

Final week of May – Pinterest Predicts 

¡ 75% increase in “gamer setup“
¡ 50% increase in “outdoor gym“
¡ 110% increase in “custom sport bikes“
¡ 145% increase in “big beards men” among Millennials
¡ 155% increase in “blazer outfits men” among Gen X
¡ 9x increase in “father’s day crafts“

Slim Chickens Partners with AdParlor to Drive Influencer Success on TikTok & Meta 💡

Slim Chickens partnered with AdParlor to strategize and execute on one of their inaugural influencer activations supporting the promotion of their dry rub wings. Their goal was to drive promotional awareness & engagement across younger demographics.

We combined the power of hand-picked creators with smart ad strategy across TiKTok and Meta to drive results:

– 7.6M video views cross-channel
– 2.6M post engagements cross-channel
– 4.9% average engagement rate

👇🏽 Click here to access the full case study! 👇🏽

“That’s Hot”🔥 Moments & Topics in the Industry

UberEats’ latest ad campaign, created with Special Group, features Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan and has taken the internet by storm. Set in a period drama (because who wouldn’t want to get a period drama delivered on their doorstep), Nicola hilariously deals with old-timey problems while enjoying modern-day UberEats. The tagline “Period Romance? No. Period Relief? Yes” nails it. Not only is it funny and piggybacks off the hype of a binge-worthy show, but it also supports a good cause. Uber Eats is donating proceeds from period product sales to Share the Dignity to combat period poverty (B&T). 

Take notes so your brand can follow suit:

  1. Humor is Key: Make ‘em laugh, and they’ll remember you. Humor grabs attention and makes your ad shareable.
  2. Stay Relevant: Using a Bridgerton star? Genius. Tap into what’s trending to connect with your audience.
  3. Keep it Relatable: Mix old-school vibes with modern-day issues. It makes the ad relatable and fun (and lets you dress up in 1800s garb)
  4. Do Good: Supporting a cause like Share the Dignity? That’s how you win hearts and minds. Consumers love brands that give back.
  5. Storytelling is KING: Create a narrative that’s engaging. A good story makes your ad unforgettable!

From the Desk of Sierra Underhill – Your Ultimate Guide to Understanding Cookie Deprecation in 2024

Welcome to “From the Desk Of” – a unique feature section where the talented minds at AdParlor share their insights, expertise, research, & experiences with our readers. We love a good dose of creativity so you’ll see these topics change from month-to-month with a consistent focus on innovation, strategy, & creative in the paid social industry.

This month, we’re focusing on Cookie Depreciation, and how advertisers can minimize its impact.

By Sierra Underhill, Team Lead, Sr. Campaign Manager

TLDR: This guide will help you understand the impact of third-party cookie deprecation to your paid social program and how AdParlor’s team can help prepare you for success in a privacy-centric world. Read the full article to discover strategies to minimize impact, including leveraging cookie alternatives, using first-party cookies, and exploring privacy-compliant attribution techniques. Advertisers must adapt to maintain effective targeting and accurate campaign measurement without relying on third-party cookies, so we’ve provided 3 key steps all advertisers should take to minimize further impact.

About the Author: Sierra Underhill, Team Lead, Sr. Campaign Manager 

Sierra is a boomerang back to our team, originally joining the AP crew in 2019 as a Campaign Manager to help service some of our key retail clients. Her passions include: live music 🎶, slow mornings and rainy days with a good book 📚,  her dogs 🐾, visiting new coffee shops ☕, ‘splorin the outdoors 🏕️, and (for now) training for her first 10K 🏃🏻♀️

Want to explore more? Check out our full blog here!