Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup
Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup
Bonded Bitesize – Bringing you your midweek roundup of the latest in digital and media.
Stay connected with recent updates from ITV, Google, TikTok & many more!
X tests charging new users $1 per year in select markets in efforts to combat bot accounts
X has announced that it is starting a new experiment in which it will charge ‘new unverified’ users in New Zealand and the Philippines a charge of $1 per year to interact with posts. There will still be a free version for new users, but this will be read-only, blocking them from liking, retweeting or sharing content. According to X, this test is designed to reduce spam and bot activity on the platform, and is not a way to drive profits for the business. In addition, the platform has also confirmed its two new premium tiers, one with a lower cost but the same amount of ads as non-paying users, and a more costly tier that has no ads.
YouTube introduces new feature that allows creators to add timestamps to videos for their tagged products
YouTube’s latest feature makes it easier for creators to make money from shoppable videos, with the help of timestamps marking the exact time a tagged product is mentioned. This timestamp feature showcases a shopping button at the relevant points within the video - such as when the creator is showing off a favourite gadget or beauty product. According to YouTube, in a U.S. test, people who saw these timestamps were twice as likely to click on the tagged products. The platform also revealed that this feature is only available on long-form content (not Shorts) and there must be a minimum of 30 seconds between timestamps.
Google’s October 2023 core update is now complete, having caused significant volatility among sites
Google has announced that its October 2023 core update is now fully rolled out, taking almost two weeks to complete. The update caused significant volatility, with many sites being hit. The update targeted all types of content globally, impacting Google Discover, feature snippets and more. Google has also stated that it will do periodic refreshes to this algorithm, though may not communicate these updates. If you were hit by this update, see how to improve your content in line with Google’s core update advice.
ITV rolls out addressable ads on linear broadcast channels across ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and ITVBe
ITV has announced the launch of linear addressable advertising across ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and ITVBe in YouView homes, making addressable targeting available for advertisers in live broadcast viewing across 1.3 million households. This follows a successful beta trial of the ad-replacement technology over the last year, during which more than 30m addressable ads were deployed. Ben Allen, ITV’s Commercial Director of Strategy and Trading, explained, “Linear Addressable has been a key objective as we evolve our commercial proposition and our offering to advertisers”.
Netflix is raising the price of its tiers once again, following reports of strong subscriber growth
Netflix has decided to raise its prices once again, after revealing its healthy third-quarter earnings and nearly 9 million new subscribers globally. The company has announced plans to increase the prices of some of it’s plans in the U.S., the UK and France, to further differentiate the ad-free plans from its entry-level, ad supported plan. In the UK, the Basic tier will increase from £6.99 to £7.99, and the Premium tier will rise from £15.99 to £17.99 per month. These new prices will apply to new subscribers, and will be added to the bills of existing subscribers in the coming weeks.
Amazon is testing a new ‘Consult-a-Friend’ feature that will allow users to ask friends for advice while they shop
Amazon has announced that it is testing a new collaborative shopping feature, known as ‘Consult-a-Friend’, that will allow users to get advice on their shopping from friends and family. According to Amazon, customers use the existing ‘Share’ button in the Amazon Shopping app billions of times to share products via messaging services, social media apps and emails - so this new feature will help to streamline this process. The feature can also be particularly useful for buying group gifts.
Google AdSense launches related search for Auto Ads, to improve targeting precision of ads
Google AdSense has rolled out related search for Auto Ads to all publishers, a new feature that shows search terms relevant to the content on the pages your users are viewing. If clicked on, these search terms would direct users to a search results page where they would then have the ability to engage with AdSense for Search ads as well as relevant results from your site. This is designed to improve an advertiser’s targeting precision by ensuring that only contextually relevant ads are delivered to users - meaning advertisers connect with high value customers.
Snapchat introduces new suite of ad products to connect advertisers with creators
Given its thriving creator community, Snapchat has decided to launch ‘Creator Collab Campaigns’, a suite of products that make it easier for advertisers to partner with influential creators. As part of this offering, the platform will let advertisers tap into their entire creator roster via a new ‘Creator Discovery API’ - which will also allow brands to view relevant stats such as username, bio, follower count and age breakdown. In addition, advertisers will also be able to place branded content within creator-driven Stories, and will soon be able to approve and analyse tagged partnerships from within Ads Manager.
TikTok is introducing a new OOH solution that brings TikTok content to billboards & the big screen
TikTok has announced a new ad offering that brings its TikTok content ‘Out of Phone’ and into the real world through screens on billboards, kiosks and in cinemas, bars, restaurants, automobiles, airports, retail stores and more. TikTok explains, “brands can kick off a campaign on TikTok, generate authentic growth within communities and creators, and then amplify their work onto billboards reaching new and far-ranging audiences”. To do so, TikTok is joining forces with OOH partners - such as Adomni, DIVE Billboards, GSTV, Loop TV, ReachTV, VEVO and more - to regularly share the latest and most engaging content from the app.
YouTube showcases ‘credible’ breaking news sources in-app to limit spread of fake news
As things continue to escalate between Israel and Palestine, YouTube is attempting to provide users with a more trustworthy news experience in-app, through a new topic-based news coverage feed and short-form video program for newsrooms. The feature helps users determine which news sources are ‘authoritative’ and which are promoting misinformation. The platform shared, “To start, we’re working with over 20 organisations across 10 countries, providing a total of $1.6 million USD”.
Microsoft has moved Target CPA and Maximise Conversions to general availability
Advertisers using Microsoft’s automated bidding can now optimise campaigns for ‘maximum results with minimal effort’, now that the platform has made Target CPA and Maximise Conversions generally available. This means that marketers will be able to optimise their campaign performance without requiring hands-on involvement - whilst retaining control, and maintaining the flexibility to set their own budget and choose their measurements for success. Microsoft also announced that it is bringing DALL-E 3, it’s text-to-image generative AI product, to Bing Chat and Bing.com/create for free, as well as rolling out a Chat Ads API in closed beta.
WhatsApp has rolled out the ability for users to log in with two accounts simultaneously
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, has announced a new WhatsApp feature that will allow users to switch between two accounts on the same app. The feature is designed to be more manageable for users that use two accounts for different reasons - such as having a personal account as well as a work account - without having to log out each time they want to switch.
Google Analytics removes four attribution models and adds custom metric combinations
Google has announced that it will be phasing out its First Click, Linear, Time Decay and Position-based attribution models from GA4 properties starting next month. The default attribution will switch to paid and organic data-driven models for any accounts currently using those models. Other models, like Last Click will still remain available. To offset implications caused by this removal, Google Analytics is launching calculated metrics - that enables users to combine standard or custom metrics using mathematical formulas.
Meta is expanding ‘broadcast channels’ feature to Facebook & Messenger in coming weeks
Following its rollout to Instagram and WhatsApp earlier this year, Meta is expanding its telegram-like ‘broadcast channels’ feature to Facebook and Messenger. This feature allows creators and public figures to share one-to-many messages to directly engage with their followers - allowing the host to send text, images, polls, reactions and more. This feature will be available within the coming weeks, with limited accounts like Netflix, WWE, League of Legends and the International Cricket Committee already having access.
Snapchat’s new embed feature for Lenses, Spotlight, Stories and profiles allows users to share content to external sites
Snapchat has rolled out a new feature that allows users to embed Snapchat content to external websites for the first time. The new embed feature works across Stories, Lenses, Spotlight and Profiles, and will allow publishers to feature Snapchat content within their articles and websites. It is also likely to expand the reach and exposure of Snapchat creators. This capability is available on Snapchat’s website, as well as its iOS and Android apps.
