Inside Digital Marketing: January 2024

In-platform AI image enhance tools continue to evolve

In the ever-growing world of AI, marketers have been able to get their hands on more and more tools designed to both streamline ways of working and enhance the end outcome of deliverables. One area in particular is creative. Microsoft has recently released its latest tool, ‘Instant Banner Ad Creation’, designed to simplify and streamline the process of creating high-quality banner ads. Similarly, Meta has introduced its generative AI feature for images, called ‘expand image’, whereby users are able to upload a single image then expand it to fit different ratios and placements. In both instances, these advancements give even more tools to marketers, helping to lower the entry barrier to high-end, quality ads, and therefore reducing dependencies on other teams and big budgets. However, a word of warning remains to use all AI tools with caution, especially when working on behalf of other brands. While AI is smart, it will still make mistakes, so previewing creative end results is a must!

Trend Alert: Sweet nostalgia

It’s the time of year that we think of predictions – and creative nostalgia is high on the InStudio radar. Remember Disney100 last year? That went beyond just Mickey Mouse, sparking memories of our favourite movies and characters growing up (who remembers Wall-E’s love for Eve?). 

This year, the iconic company Cadbury are celebrating their 200th birthday. The confectionery business released an ad campaign based on one of their iconic ads, which featured a child going into a newsagent to buy her mum and bar of Dairy Milk. But this time, there was a twist, with the ad starting in a different time period, cycling through time to tell a generational tale of love, affection, and the emotional impact of receiving a bar. 

Creatives empowered by feeling – be that nostalgic, joyful or festive – evoke feelings of fondness and affection towards the brands they focus on. Companies that build more meaningful relationships with their consumers can make this year’s journey through the creative landscape even sweeter.

You can check out Cadbury’s 200th birthday campaign ad for yourself here!  

What do businesses need to do before we say goodbye to Cookies?

ith Google starting to phase out cookies and having launched a test earlier this month to restrict cookies for around 30 million users (1% of Chrome users), we need to look at the crucial actions needed as part of your Q1 and Q2 priorities, before the second half of this year.

There are two main things you cannot afford to miss when planning for the foreseeable future: 1) first-party data strategies and 2) testing and measurement frameworks. 

Businesses need to focus on building strong first-party data capabilities in order to maintain and improve digital strategies to keep strong audience engagement. Understanding user journeys and proving the value of content personalization through consent rates will help with the transition to a cookie-less world.

On the second point, running analyses and experiments should be fairly accessible at the moment, so take advantage of it. Looking at incrementality testing, attribution models, and marketing mix modelling is going to help you understand the impact of your digital activities and will help you plan for the future.

If you would like to know more about how to prepare your business for the new era, please reach out to us to have a chat!

Stay tuned for the next instalment of INside Digital Marketing, as we continue to monitor the digital trends of 2024 and the evolution of Paid Media. Follow us across LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram for more.