Google is 26 🎂

Top Posts of The Week

🧃 Have infantilized branding and marketing gone too far?

🤠 Levi’s announced a Beyonce collab on IG.

👓 Meet Orion, Meta’s first pair of AR glasses.

• • According to our poll, 57% of respondents believe AR glasses are simply a cool toy that ultimately won’t integrate into the mainstream.

💭 Reddit has launched an “ads inspiration library.”

📹 Check out the new video generation technology in YouTube Shorts.

😅 Yes, Creed is inexplicably having another moment.

⚠️ A cautionary tale about the limitations of AI checkers.

• • According to our poll, 60% of respondents use AI detection technology.

🌶️ Here, have some spicy quotes from the Google ad tech antitrust trial.

💎 Kay Jewelers is modernizing to appeal to Gen Z, starting with more everyday jewelry.

🥤 So, Coca-Cola Spiced was a flop?

🌽 This is how Land O’Lakes took advantage of the #farmcore trend.

❓ FYI… The accounts you block on X will still be able to see your posts.

What We Learned

Monday: Is it time to stop personalizing your subject lines with a recipient’s first name? What was once a highly effective strategy for boosting open rates has since lost its power in a time when data privacy is top of mind.

Tuesday: Your last feed post was 3 weeks ago, and it got 200 views. Now, you’re feeling unmotivated and uninspired to make more content. Even though we know algorithms reward consistency, it’s hard to find a rhythm without an infrastructure. These are 7 simple habits to make content creation more manageable.

• According to our poll, 43% of respondents are always working on content creation, 30% are inconsistent week-to-week, and 10% set a dedicated, recurring time to work on it. 17% don’t prioritize content creation.

Wednesday: Relying solely on SEO is no longer enough to stay competitive. The 75-25 rule of content marketing suggests that marketers should allocate between 25 percent and 75 percent of their efforts and resources to SEO to maintain a healthy balance with creative, original content initiatives. A diversified content portfolio protects against over-dependence on any single type of content, builds meaningful connections with audiences, and remains resilient against changing search engine algorithms and consumer behaviors.

Thursday: More consumers would exchange their data for an AI-driven brand experience than would exchange it for cash or other goods and services. Brand experience agency Jack Morton’s latest survey highlights changing consumer attitudes toward data privacy and brand trust.

Carnage Connections

Can you solve this puzzle? 🤓

Solve It

Asked & Answered

Taryn asked: “This might be an impossible question but how would you go about figuring why things aren’t converting? We have a client that we’re running ads for but has limited conversions on it. They aren’t getting any organic conversion either so I’m assuming it’s an issue with the site/product. I’m feeling a little lost on how to go about diagnosing the issue. Any tips?”

• Tim answered: “A/B testing, see what moves the dial. Test the ad, test the landing page, test the form, checkout, sales copy, test everything. This is the only way to know what is working and what is not.”
• Elizabeth answered: “Have you personally clicked through the ads on your phone and the website UX (landing page, add to cart, checkout, etc.)? I had a client whose recruiting ads weren’t moving the needle until I realized that it was a 17-step process to get from the ad to actually starting the application.”
• Elena answered: “It’s probably the product. If the site creates a reasonable checkout experience, shipping is reasonable and doesn’t take forever, there is a high return rate, organic traffic is non existent. The product is either not hitting the right vibe or not desirable enough to get enough people to buy.”
• Jill answered: “Do you have ads that are converting? I’d map out the differences and see where the point of drop off is. Perhaps this particular ad is not galvanizing impressions, perhaps you need to force spend against it.”

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• An internal link 🔗
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Caipirinha

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium lime, plus lime wheel for garnish
• 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 tsp superfine sugar, to taste
• 2 oz​ cachaça

Steps

1. Cut 1/2 medium lime into small wedges. Cut 1 lime wheel from the remaining lime half and set aside.
2. Place the lime wedges and 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons superfine sugar into an old-fashioned glass and muddle well.
3. Top with 2 ounces cachaça, and stir well.
4. Fill the glass with small ice cubes or cracked ice, stir again, and garnish with the reserved lime wheel. Serve and enjoy.

Recipe by The Spruce Eats

Make It

Did Ya Know?

Answer: Backrub.

Listen, it made sense to Larry Page and Sergey Brin in a dorm room late at night at Stanford University in 1995. You know, like, back links? Anyway, “Google” used to sound silly once upon a time, too.