PPC news - October 2023

Meta's latest attempt to optimise the user and advertiser experience

Choosing which platform to award your advertising budget to is no simple task, especially with many advertising platforms upping their game with powerful AI features. Meta is the latest platform to release new features making both the advertiser and user experience more effective.

As Reels plays exceed 200 billion per day across Facebook and Instagram, Meta is building ways to make Reels ads more engaging for users and more effective for advertisers.

These enhancements by Meta promise to streamline the campaign creation process for advertisers and enhance the user experience for shoppers, potentially resulting in more engaging and effective ad campaigns.

The new features include:

1. Collection ads: Collection ads present a captivating format that features a central video or image followed by smaller images. Users can swipe through these assets to explore the products that pique their interest. Although it's still in the pilot phase, Meta has expressed its intent to roll out Collection ads more widely in the near future.

2. Multi-destination reels carousel ads: Meta has introduced multi-destination call-to-action features for Reels carousel ads, available on both Facebook and Instagram for iOS and Android users.

This addition allows brands to send potential customers to various product pages through the images showcased, making the shopping experience more seamless and potentially driving higher conversion rates.

3. Swipe left functionality: This feature allows users to swipe left to discover more about products they are interested in.

4. Advantage+ creative suite enhancements: To elevate creative capabilities, Meta is investing in its Advantage+ creative suite. This includes the introduction of new automation solutions for Reels ads, such as creative optimisations that convert media to the desired size, 3D motion and depth, image and video enhancements, and the addition of music.

This music feature empowers Facebook and Instagram advertisers to source, select, and incorporate music into their single-image Reels ads during the campaign creation process.

The Adido team are yet to test Meta's new creative feature, however with all new AI technologies, there is a learning curve. As this update allows Meta to change asset aspect ratio, test your text assets in different placements & add music to your ad, we recommend keeping a close eye on the changes Meta is making to your ads on your behalf.

5. Brand suitability measures: Meta is also taking steps to ensure brand suitability by rolling out its brand suitability Inventory Filter control and a third-party brand suitability verification solution through Meta Business Partner, Zefr.

These tools provide advertisers with an added layer of assurance that their campaigns will not be placed next to offensive content that contradicts their brand values.

Google Ads' global rollout of Demand Gen campaigns

Google Ads announces the worldwide launch of its Demand Gen campaign type, which is being introduced to replace Discovery campaigns.

This AI-powered campaign type comes with a host of new features, including expanded inventory options, and an improved ad creation process.

Demand Gen promises a more creative and effective approach to reaching new audiences. Unlike its predecessors, Discovery campaigns, which were limited to images, carousels, or product data feeds for creatives, Demand Gen also includes the potential of video content.

This includes the use of regular YouTube videos and Shorts, providing advertisers with a broader range of content that resonates with their target audience.

This feature on Google Ads is designed to drive conversions, site visits, and actions on entertainment-focused touchpoints like YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, and Gmail.

Demand Gen also offers a new way to target new customers by introducing Lookalike segments. Advertisers can boost performance further by selecting the bidding strategy that aligns with their goals, be it clicks, conversions, or website actions.

Google's timeline for the replacement of all Discovery campaigns is set to rollout from October 2023 & due to be completed by March 2024.

While we always recommend caution while awarding ad spend to new campaign types (that maybe haven't had time to work out all their kinks), if Discovery campaigns are currently part of your advertising strategy, now is the best time to begin experimenting with Demand Gen campaigns.

Starting these experiments early on (with supervision), will allow the campaign to generate learnings and by March when this is the only option you'll have more data to analyse & adjust your strategy accordingly.

Additionally, the announcement of Demand Gen campaigns from Google signifies the importance of video creatives, which are the most time consuming assets to make. Video ads sometimes receive a bad reputation for their top-of-the-funnel nature, but they are beneficial for exactly what this campaign type is built for: Demand Generation. With that in mind, we'd recommend creating a collection of video assets that can be used for testing.

In summary, Demand Gen campaigns represent a significant shift in Google Ads, emphasising automation and the creation of demand, providing advertisers with a valuable tool to engage and convert potential customers in new ways.

Google retires four attribution models in Ads and Analytics

In a recent development, Google has confirmed the retirement of four attribution models in its Ads and Analytics platforms, effective mid-October 2023.

The models being phased out include first-click, linear, time decay, and position-based attribution.

The decision to retire these models is driven by their decreasing popularity, with fewer than 3% of conversions in Google Ads utilising these models. Google is emphasising a shift towards data-driven attribution, forecasting a 6% increase in conversions for advertisers who make this transition.

The change will have an impact on how advertisers track and attribute conversions, as these models provide different ways to assign credit to various touchpoints in the customer journey. While the last-click attribution model remains available, the retirement of these models means that tracking first-touch information will become more challenging, as the formulas used for attribution scores will no longer be visible.

Google is championing data-driven attribution models, which use AI to understand the impact of each touchpoint on conversions. This approach provides the flexibility needed to adapt to evolving consumer journeys, aligning with the changing landscape of digital advertising.

As Google continues to refine its attribution models, advertisers are encouraged to embrace data-driven attribution as the default model in Google Analytics 4 and Google Ads, moving forward. This transition represents a pivotal shift in how attribution is approached in digital advertising, ultimately aiming to enhance the effectiveness of ad campaigns and provide advertisers with more comprehensive insights.

LinkedIn's revolutionising ad creation with AI-powered efficiency

LinkedIn has introduced an innovative AI-powered tool named "Accelerate," designed to streamline the ad creation process for marketers.

This new feature allows advertisers to create optimised campaigns within LinkedIn's Campaign Manager in a matter of minutes, significantly reducing the time and resources required for ad creation.

‘Accelerate’ promises to be a game-changer in the world of advertising, allowing advertisers to enhance ad performance through data-driven insights and optimisation.

‘Accelerate’ operates by utilising AI models to autonomously adjust bids and allocate budgets to the best-performing placements and creatives.

It integrates various automation features, including Predictive Audiences, to dynamically refine campaign targeting and effectively reach high-value consumers among LinkedIn's extensive community of over 950 million members.

To further assist advertisers, the platform offers an ‘assist’ button for campaign performance recommendations and the option to ask direct questions to gain insights into campaign improvement. Users can also connect with live support agents for additional guidance and support.

Microsoft's copilot: Your 24/7 AI assistant for smarter advertising

Microsoft have recently announced their new AI tool: Copilot. Integrated into the Microsoft Advertising platform, Copilot harnesses the power of natural language conversations and generative AI. Its mission is to make the advertising journey not only simpler but also smarter and more efficient.

The vision for Copilot is to provide users with a 24/7 intelligent assistant, empowering faster task completion and offering key insights and recommendations with just a simple query on the Microsoft Advertising platform.

Initially, Copilot is set to assist users with the campaign creation process, offering recommendations for images that align with your campaigns and current search trends.

Additionally, you can create new images using Microsoft's asset library. Just describe the images you need for your ad and Copilot will provide a selection of suggestions.

Copilot also excels at suggesting headlines and descriptions, allowing you to fine-tune them to match your brand's unique tone.

With Copilot on the Microsoft Advertising platform, you have the flexibility to customise your content, design, and strategies to align perfectly with your branding and advertising goals.

As is the case with any new AI tools in the realm of advertising, we highly recommend a gradual testing approach before full-scale implementation. While AI has made remarkable strides in a relatively short span of time, it's essential to exercise caution when considering complete delegation of control over your advertising accounts.

Therefore, it's important to view AI as a valuable tool that complements your decision-making process. While it offers significant assistance, it may not be entirely prepared to bear the full weight of your advertising efforts just yet.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to check back next month for the latest trends and updates in the world of PPC for November.