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5 Things That Define the 3rd Wave of Digital Marketing

OCTOBER 14, 2024

First came search.

Then came social.

Now, we’re in the third wave of digital advertising.

Here are the five key elements powering this wave we’re riding:

  1. Commerce media has evolved from in-store displays to digital ads integrated across various platforms, allowing brands to reach consumers close to their purchase decisions.
  2. Retail-Agnostic Media Platforms (RAMPs) have expanded commerce media by using zero- and first-party data from multiple retailers, providing broader audience reach and deeper personalization beyond individual retailer networks.
  3. The rise of hybrid shopping requires advertisers to engage consumers across various touchpoints, from online to in-store, offering consistent, tailored messaging throughout the purchase journey.
  4. As third-party cookies decline, zero- and first-party data, directly provided or collected from consumers, allow brands to better personalize their marketing efforts and build more effective audience segments.
  5. New measurement frameworks, including data clean rooms, offer better ways to track the effectiveness of ads, particularly across both digital and physical shopping experiences, improving return on ad spend (ROAS) and return on investment (ROI).

Check out Fetch’s report for a deep dive on each defining element.

Top Marketing Conferences to Attend in 2025

OCTOBER 13, 2024

✈️ We’re already thinking about this 2025 lineup. Where are you headed next year?

  • Consumer Electronics Show (January 7-10), Las Vegas: A trade-only event for professionals affiliated with the consumer technology industry.
  • SXSW (March 7-15), Austin: Conference sessions, film and TV festival screenings, music festival showcases, exhibitions, competitions, awards and more.
  • Possible (April 28-30), Miami Beach: Networking opportunities, masterclasses, workshops, an exposition, VIP programming and entertainment curated for the greater marketing ecosystem.
  • ANA Brand Masters (May 7-9), Los Angeles: A two-day event that aims to provide marketers with actionable ideas to drive the growth of their brands.
  • IAB NewFronts (Spring), TBD: A digital content marketplace bringing together media buyers, agencies, brands, publishers, streaming platforms and more to discuss the latest innovations coming down the pike.
  • Cannes Lions (June 16-20), Cannes, France: A celebration of advertising work with 12,000 attendees from 90 countries, representing 550 agencies and 350 brands.
  • Advertising Week (Fall), NYC: A massive four-day event to deliver practical insights to marketers.
  • DMEXCO (TBD), Cologne, Germany: Europe’s leading digital marketing and tech event.
  • ANA Masters of Marketing (Oct. 21-24), Orlando: Speakers, workshops, and strategic discussions around marketing’s challenges and opportunities.
  • Programmatic I/O (TBD), Las Vegas and NYC: An exploration of the latest trends around commerce media, connected TV, privacy, and more in effort to help drive programmatic strategies.

Check out Marketing Dive for more.

Getting Re-engagement Emails Right

OCTOBER 9, 2024

Re-engagement emails are crucial.

It’s more cost-effective to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones. Ignoring your current audience means losing opportunities for easy revenue growth.

Here’s how to create an effective re-engagement campaign:

  • Due to privacy regulations and the unreliability of email open tracking, prioritize clicks, landing page conversions, and social media engagement over open rates. These metrics provide better insights into actual customer interest and behavior.
  • Try this campaign structure:
    • 1st email: Recap relevant content (e.g., product updates, missed blog posts).
    • 2nd email: Acknowledge their inactivity and show concern.
    • 3rd email: Offer a compelling incentive to re-engage.
  • A successful re-engagement strategy depends on how you’ve communicated with subscribers historically. If they’re used to frequent updates, a longer sequence works. Otherwise, a single-touch campaign might suffice.
  • Don’t neglect ongoing pruning of inactive subscribers. A common practice is a 365-day suppression list, where customers who haven’t engaged within that period stop receiving campaigns. This keeps your list clean and marketing efforts focused.
  • Remember, new clients will fill the gaps left by inactive ones, creating new opportunities for revenue.

Head to Userlist to learn more from this episode of Better Done Than Perfect with Tim Hart.

The Best Marketing Subreddits

OCTOBER 7, 2024

Hot tip: create a Reddit account just for marketing, and join these top-ranked subreddits:

  • r/Marketing (1.3M members): Has its own Discord channel, useful links, including The Big Marketing FAQ You Didn’t Know You Needed.
  • r/SocialMedia (1.3M members): Has a list of very helpful links and resources for social.
  • r/eCommerce (474K members): Good for newbies and veterans interested in the design and implementation of ecommerce sites.
  • r/Digital_Marketing (208K members) and r/DigitalMarketing (181K members): Both have a lot of experts answering questions.
  • r/Advertising (188K members): For ad creators, students, copywriters, affiliates, etc. Good ratio of answers to questions asked.
  • r/Affiliatemarketing (188K members): On affiliate marketing, paid traffic, SEO, email marketing, and more.
  • r/Analytics (176K members): Dedicated to web analytics, data and business analytics.
  • r/Content_marketing (123K members): Content marketers helping each other improve by providing feedback, sharing advice, and resources. Also has a Discord channel.
  • r/SocialMediaMarketing (118K members) Posts are more likely to be seen and well-moderated.
  • r/Emailmarketing (63K members): A great place to get answers on technical concerns and strategic issues.
  • r/Marketingmentor (40K members): Ask for help from experienced marketers.
  • r/WebMarketing (36K members): Focused on web/digital marketing, including email marketing, online PR, social media, SEO, etc.
  • r/SEO_digital_marketing (29K members): Focused on SEO, content marketing, backlinks, article blogs, WordPress Plugins, and link building.
  • r/GoogleAnalytics (24K members): Heavy expertise, has a Discord channel and list of resources.
  • r/MarketingAutomation (24K): Attracts people with specific types of expertise.

Check out MarTech for a complete guide to Reddit.

How to Be A Reverse Engineer

OCTOBER 6, 2024

A solid strategy. A good campaign. You know it when you see it. But how can you reverse engineer the same success for your brand?

  1. Always be collecting. Actively hunt and gather examples of marketing brilliance in the wild. Screenshot LinkedIn posts, bookmark tweets, save emails, and set Google alerts for “viral marketing campaign,” to start.
  2. Break it down. Next, deconstruct and analyze what’s working in weekly breakdown sessions. For each piece of content, ask yourself what caught your eye, what feels unique, what insights are driving it, what makes it visually appealing, what is the value, what is the CTA, etc.
  3. Creatively reconstruct. Organize all those elements and patterns in a table or spreadsheet. Group them by the goal they achieve (leads, engagement, etc.), and score each element on the ICE scale (Impact, Confidence, Ease) from 1 to 5. Now it’s time to rebuild those heavy hitters. Try doing a “remix challenge” monthly.

Check out the full guide at Marketing Ideas.

This Brand Collected 100K+ Emails & Generated 7 Figures Via TikTok Ads

OCTOBER 2, 2024

Jones Road Beauty is a DTC company founded by makeup artist Bobbi Brown that offers cool, clean makeup products.

In Q1, Jones Road Beauty collected 124k emails and increased their AOV (Average Order Value) from $60 to $90 while generating 7-figures in sales via TikTok ads.

Here’s an outline of their playbook:

  1. Target broad. Let TikTok collect and optimize based on data.
  2. Educate, inspire, and entertain. All in one ad. For Jones Road, this meant skincare routines, tips, and tutorials. Remember, TikTok users aren’t here to shop.
  3. Direct traffic to an advertorial. Instead of sending users to a product or landing page, continue to educate them by way of a listicle, for example.
  4. Move your audience from rented to owned. For instance, add a quiz based on your product (i.e. “Find My Shade”) to collect email addresses.
  5. Recommend products based on the quiz results. That’s first-party data that you can use right away.
  6. Continue to promote specific products via email and SMS. Bundle or upsell to increase AOV. Provide specific content and product recommendations based on quiz responses to increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

Dig a little deeper at Marketing Examined.

Video Podcasts Are On The Rise

OCTOBER 1, 2024

Vodcasts, or video podcasts, are rapidly growing in popularity.

Here’s the data:

  • 33% of respondents claim they like to actively watch a video podcast, up from 30% in 2022.
  • Another 31% of podcast consumers express a preference to listen to a podcast while the video is playing in the background or minimized.
  • The Spotify content library includes over 250,000 video podcasts, up from 100,000 in 2023.
  • On Spotify, over 170 million users have watched a video podcast to date.
  • In the US, close to one in three podcast monthly active users on Spotify engage with video.

Check out the comprehensive report on 2024 podcast statistics by Backlinko.

What Does LinkedIn’s New “Audience Penetration” Metric Mean?

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager has introduced a new metric: Audience Penetration.

What does it measure? The percentage of your target audience that your ads have successfully reached.

For example, if your target audience size is 250,000 users, and your campaign has reached 8,000 users, your Audience Penetration would be 3.2%.

What’s a good benchmark? For B2B campaigns, an ideal audience penetration rate typically falls between 10 and 40%.

Why is my Audience Penetration low?

  • Your audience might be too large. Shoot for between 50,000 and 500,000 for optimal results.
  • Your ad spend is too low. Test spend between $50 and $100.

Find out more from a LinkedIn marketing expert.

Ipsos’ 9 Global Trends

SEPTEMBER 29, 2024

Ipsos’ Global Trend report reveals a framework of 9 trends weighing heavily on consumers and brands alike:

  1. Globalization fractures. Rising geopolitical tensions are driving a focus on national interests, prompting global brands to emphasize local connections.
  2. Splintered societies. Income and wealth gaps have widened, and businesses are increasingly expected to play a greater role in addressing inequality to ease tensions.
  3. Climate convergence. There is growing consensus on the need for climate action, with brands expected to lead the way and provide tangible ways for consumers to contribute to climate solutions.
  4. Technowonder. Brands must address concerns about technology by educating consumers while addressing fears around privacy, disinformation, security, and job displacement.
  5. Conscientious health. Many still struggle with healthy living, while access to care and the role of technology in health management create tension. Brands can help people navigate this process.
  6. Retreat to old systems. People are attracted to nostalgia for a perceived better past, leading to resistance to changes that disrupt traditional systems. Brands must remember that the “good old days” weren’t so for everyone.
  7. Nouveau nihilism. Financial hardship is driving is a generational disconnect around milestones like homeownership, marriage, and starting families. Many folks have adopted a live-for-today mindset. Brands can help bridge the gap between aspirations and reality amid rising debt and short-term decisions.
  8. The power of trust. Because brands have become extensions of our own worldviews, they have to balance value-driven messaging with meeting practical consumer needs.
  9. Escape to individualism. Personal autonomy has become the most powerful value. As people focus on the things they can control in their lives, helping people express and project that sense of self and reinforce their own values sets up lots of opportunities for brands.

Check out the full report from Ipsos.

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