How an Elephant Became an Influencer
Happy Friday, everyone! This week, we’ll explore how AI continues its march into the mainstream and how non-traditional influencer strategies can help brands cut through the noise. One programming note, I’ll be taking a couple of weeks off for vacation and will return to the hot takes in July. Now, let’s get to it!
Google Takes Aim at AI Firms Challenging Its Search Dominance (Wall Street Journal - LINK)
TL;DR – The search giant is leaning further into AI by adding an “AI Mode” tab to their search results. This toggle would allow users to engage with the search engine in a similar chatbot style to platforms like ChatGPT. There are also plans to introduce a feature within AI Mode allowing users to upload a photo of themselves and virtually try on clothes while online shopping. Also, since Google likes to make money, they will be testing more ads inside of both their AI Overviews as well as the newly announced AI Mode (The Verge – LINK.) Here are a few other innovations coming to the AI space worth keeping a close eye on:
OpenAI Unites With Jony Ive in $6.5 Billion Deal to Create A.I. Devices (New York Times – LINK) – With all of the hype around AI, up until this point, it has been predominantly a software discussion. However, Jony Ive has entered that chat. OpenAI just acquired Ive’s firm IO to develop “a new family of products” for the age of artificial general intelligence. If this name isn’t ringing a bell for you, Ive was the Apple exec who designed the iPhone. No big deal.
The AI Experience Is Going From ‘50 First Dates’ to ‘Cheers’ (Wall Street Journal – LINK) – Most AI models to date have been trained in such a way that each interaction is independent. However, AI is beginning to move into an era where chatbots will remember user history and preferences over longer periods of time for personalized interactions. This would help AI to move from being exclusively a reactive tool to one that can provide proactive insights and recommendations to users.
Meta Aims to Fully Automate Ad Creation Using AI (Wall Street Journal – LINK) – In short, the social-media giant aims to enable brands to fully create and target ads using artificial intelligence by the end of next year.
Matt’s Hot Take™ - I feel like we talk about AI almost constantly, but these updates could have a real impact on consumer behavior and how brands engage with shoppers. Google’s move to elevate their “AI Mode” should only accelerate adoption of chatbots as consumers are rapidly being trained to seek answers this way. And as AI begins to remember your history and can further tailor responses, the output should get even more impressive. Also, I’m not in the business of betting against Jony Ive so we must take the development of a legit AI device very seriously. However, I’m gonna be honest with y’all – I hate that Meta wants to automate ad creation and targeting. I understand the appeal, but letting go of control of your creative, targeting, and strategy isn’t just a recipe for everyone regressing to the mean, it’s reckless. Human insights power marketing, full stop. On top of that, AI still has massive flaws – for example, an A.I.-generated reading list in the Chicago Sun-Times recently recommended nonexistent books (New York Times – LINK.) Human intervention is critical. And as far as I’m concerned, it will always be critical to ensure quality, and to apply creativity.
How an Elephant Became One of Today’s Hottest Influencers (The Wall Street Journal - LINK)
TL:DR – Influencers hawking everything from sunglasses to skincare have become an inescapable part of today’s media landscape. However, one of the most interesting influencers to show up on to the scene is breaking the mold for what it means to be a brand partner – because she’s an elephant. Ellie the Elephant is the New York Liberty’s mascot who sports a signature blue braid and is never without a designer purse. She’s starred in commercials, walked the red carpet, and takes part in the team’s “tunnel walks,” where players show off their pregame style. However, working with an anthropomorphic elephant can present new challenges for brands. When Essie wanted to work with Ellie, they had to figure out how to bridge one critical gap – she didn’t have fingernails. So, the brand worked with the team to update her costume and now Ellie is a nailfluencer. Here are a few other ways brands are trying to break through with consumers in the competitive world of creator marketing:
How Ulta is Tapping In-store Associates for Content Creation with New “Ulta Beauties” Internal Ambassador Program (Glossy – LINK) - Ulta Beauty has created a program to support, amplify, and compensate store associates who already make social media content and in turn, fueling and informing the company’s social marketing strategy. What I really like here is that the retailer is thinking about diversity of knowledge and POVs with their initial cohort of ambassadors representing 16 different roles, from store managers to cashiers, all with different areas of expertise, such as hairstyling, makeup, skin care and nail care. The ambassadors are also used in commercials, go live on Ulta’s platforms to deliver advice, and have their content reposted.
Unilever's K18 Tests a New Frontier for Beauty Influencing: LinkedIn (AdWeek – LINK) - Unilever’s K18 brand is activating on the professional networking site to tap into the insight that professionals want to look and feel their best for both their personal lives and their careers. It’s also a platform that while boasting over 1 billion users worldwide that trend more affluent, is still a largely underutilized for consumer marketing.
Matt’s Hot Take™ - It’s easy to get blinded by follower counts when thinking about creator marketing – but there is an opportunity to approach this space as a means to connect with consumers in new and creative ways. Increasingly, cookie-cutter approaches are becoming noise given all the investment pouring into creator activations. The brands that aren’t afraid to break the mold and perhaps be open to working with new partners or in new spaces that may not seem obvious but elicit attention and engagement have a better chance of making their campaigns memorable and impactful.
Quick Hits
Gen Z is Willing to Sell Their Personal Data—for Just $50 a Month (Fast Company - LINK) – Selling data has become the new “selling plasma,” thanks to a new app called Verb.AI that promises to compensate users for tracking what they browse, buy, and stream. Verb then creates a digital twin of each user that lives in a central database that businesses can conduct research against in a ChatGPT-like interface. There are two forces at play here that make this feel viable. First, about 88% of Gen Zers report being willing to share some personal data with a social media company (compared with just 67% of older adults)—provided they are fairly compensated. Additionally, Gen Z spends nearly 7 hours a day on their phones where they are creating a ton of behavioral data. Gen Z is a generation that has only known a world that has effectively been surveilling them since birth – so why not profit? This isn’t an isolated example either - last month, Brazil announced it is rolling out a data ownership pilot that will allow its citizens to manage, own, and profit from their digital footprint (Rest of World - LINK.) This is certainly a trend to keep a very close eye on given the value of high-fidelity data and the shifting landscape around its collection and usage.
Nike to Sell Products on Amazon Following Five-Year Absence (Wall Street Journal - LINK) – Like Michael Corleone, just when you thought Nike was out, [Amazon] pulls them back in! After 5 years, Nike is returning to Amazon to boost lagging sales. They left the platform in late 2019 to focus on their direct business after struggling to get Amazon to eliminate counterfeit merchandise that was showing up on their site. There is an element of losing control for the brand, but what I like about Nike’s strategy is they are also investing in partnerships with retailers like Printemps, the French luxury retailer that just opened a location in NYC (New York Times – LINK,) that provide great consumer experiences. The brand is also insulated against giving up all control to Amazon because of what they offer in terms of limited edition drops and their “Nike By You” offering that lets shoppers design custom sneakers. What I like about this is that the brand is striking a balance of going after volume with Amazon (what Amazon does well) while staying true to their brand with unique products and experiences (what Nike does well) for their most devoted fans.
A Guide to Using Edits, Meta’s New CapCut Rival for Short-Form Video Editing (TechCrunch - LINK) – Creative videos that tap into trending effects and treatments have been the hallmark of social media for the last couple of years. With Meta releasing their Edits app earlier this year, it’s a great opportunity to get your hands dirty and learn how the proverbial sausage is made! There are five main tabs: Ideas, Inspiration, Projects, Record, and Insights. The different parts of the app allow creators spaces to save ideas, learn about what’s trending in popular Reels, as well as upload or film content on the app. I’d recommend spending some time with Edits (as well as CapCut) to gain a better understanding of how content is being created because even if you never upload a video yourself, it will make you a better marketer and a more empathetic partner to creators.
