Do Ya Know?
What was the original name for Candy Corn?
Trending Stories
SOCIAL
🎥 Instagram tests video-first Home tab.
🏆 What’s going on with this Instagram promotion?
🎛️ What if we could control the Reels algorithm?
👍 Facebook rolls out new features, like topic search recommendations and friend likes to Reels.
AI
✨ Vibe marketing was a joke, until OpenAI got involved.
🤖 ChatGPT becomes a platform for apps, and maybe marketing.
⚡ How ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout works.
🎯 Meta plans to sell targeted ads based on data in users’ AI chats.
🤖 Gen AI platforms are rapidly earning consumer loyalty.
AD TECH
🦉 Duolingo is building an in-house adtech platform.
💳 American Express launches Amex Ads.
MARKETING
👻 Halloween campaigns? Halloween campaigns.
🤝 In-house or outsourced? Both… this is co-sourcing.
- 💡 According to our poll, 35% of marketers are currently working within a co-sourcing model.
What We Learned
Monday: Sometimes you just need a cheatsheet. The Creative Marketer put together 10 categories of question-based headlines that pique curiosity. Why do they work? Because when your brain sees a question, it tries to answer it. Even before you click.
Tuesday: Gen Alpha is set to wield an economic impact of $5.46 trillion by 2029. And believe it or not, they increasingly act as the “CMO” of the household, shaping family purchasing decisions, vacations, meals, and even tech purchases. Research from the “Alpha Rising” report, conducted by USC Annenberg and ACC, reveals just how influential this cohort has become.
Wednesday: Research from Indiana University, Texas Christian University, and Sungkyunkwan University found that extremely short ads drive up to 40% more traffic than standard 15–30 second ads, at a significantly lower cost. On platforms like Facebook and TV, these micro ads generated higher CTR, more engagement, and comparable sales outcomes, despite requiring less airtime and production spend.
Thursday: According to Orbit Media’s 12th Annual Blogger Survey, the average post is now 1,333 words—shorter than in previous years—and most creators publish just two to four times per month. Time per post has also shrunk to about three and a half hours. Nearly all marketers now use AI in some way, though few trust it for full automation. While only 21% of marketers call their blog’s impact “strong,” four habits stand out.
The Conversation
Trending in The Daily Carnage Facebook group:
“I have set up a new Google Ad account for an existing client. The Search ads have been running now for 2 months, no problem. But the Display Ads just won’t serve. I have changed settings, goals, budgets, etc. I just can’t figure out why these ads are ‘running’ technically but not actually getting served.”
💬 Our community of experts says…
- “What industry are you in? They recently changed the rules with many industries and topics and I ran into the same issue and didn’t realize it until I was knee-deep in some troubleshooting documents.”
- “Do you have minimum CPM target? Sometimes it defaults to like a $0.01 target CPM.”
- “If the assets and targeting allows, rebuild as a demand gen campaign format.”
Sponsorships
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Ads from the Past
Listerine, 1962
Did Ya Know?
Answer: Chicken Feed.
Named for its original intended purpose, of course. The haters are gonna love this.
