🛍 Socials love Amazon...

Hello. Some exciting news…Commercial Creator is now DTC Creator👋…

Although DTC sales struggle across the industry, Swiss running shoe brand On Running’s direct revenue keeps growing. The company’s earnings for the third quarter, reported Tuesday morning, showed a sales increase of 46% year-over-year, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of record sales for the brand.

— Hubert Trinkunas & Rosa Cecilia

4 ways top advertisers will use AI and automation in 2024

Get ready for an advertising revolution in 2024, led by the dynamic duo of AI and automation. Here's a snapshot of the trends reshaping the industry:

Navigating AI waves: Safeguarding brands: AI captains the ship, but brand safety needs a co-pilot. Eric Mayhew recommends coupling AI with automation for smooth sailing in the unpredictable seas of advertising.

Data harmony: AI's cleanup crew: AI steps in as the meticulous cleaner, turning data chaos into a symphony of insights. Mayhew's advice? Brace for a data cleanup that tunes advertisers into the right frequencies.

Reporting remix: AI's beat drop: Say goodbye to manual reporting hassles. AI takes the DJ booth, crafting personalized beats for each client. Mayhew promises a catchy tune of strategic insights, saving time and hitting all the right notes.

Scaling local hits: Automation spotlight: Local campaigns take the stage, and automation conducts the orchestra. Mayhew forecasts success for those embracing automation, turning advertisers into maestros orchestrating large-scale campaigns.

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Latest 📲

🌐 Picture this: a $450,000 ticket to feature your brand on the colossal Las Vegas Sphere. Dreamworks, Xbox, and the NBA are redefining advertising by crafting immersive experiences that go beyond the ordinary screen. It's not just a display; it's a canvas for the extraordinary.

📲 Following a similar announcement by Meta, Snap will now let users link to their Amazon accounts within the app for easier checkout. The moves signal a new shopping strategy for Amazon, which is increasingly competing with TikTok.

🚀 Nike taps veteran Nicole Hubbard Graham as CMO in a strategic shake-up to revive innovation amid growing competition. Graham, with 18 years at Nike, replaces retiring DJ van Hameren as part of the sportswear giant's efforts to address market challenges.

Breaking down Meta-Amazon deal to ease shopping on Facebook and IG

As part of a new arrangement, Facebook and IG users will now be able to purchase Amazon products in-stream.

Relating to the linking of your IG account to Amazon, the agreement states that:

• Amazon will be able to display up-to-date product pricing on ads, based on details from your Amazon account (i.e. if you’re a Prime

• subscriber or not). Amazon will share limited in-app activity data with Meta to show you more relevant product ads, based on which ads you engage with.

Q3 proved to be a period of "diagnosing and fixing" for publicly-traded startups

Third-quarter earnings reports for publicly-traded DTC startups like Allbirds, Warby Parker, Bark, Figs and more prove that 2023 has been a year of change. Overall, results were mixed with some brands reporting a double-digit percent increase in sales and others seeing sales decline. It’s not immediately clear when these brands will return to growth.

DTC startups have responded in a number of ways. Some are using this time to invest in new product lines or expanded distribution channels, as well as in brand marketing campaigns that they believe will pay dividends in future quarters.

Some of the biggest takeaways from this quarter’s crop of DTC earnings cover shifting focus to newer, non-discretionary product lines, betting on new distribution channels for growth and focusing on profitability.

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ChatGPT prompt cheatsheet for marketers

Dive deep into the world of ChatGPT with our exclusive cheatsheet tailored for savvy marketers! From A to Z, we've curated top-notch prompting tips to supercharge your creative game.

Uncover the game-changing impact of using AI in marketing, already embraced by many forward-thinking businesses. Don't fall behind—grab our free guide to stay ahead in the dynamic realm of AI-powered copywriting!

Creator and influencer trends brand marketers need to know about right now

Sweetgreen and Teyana Taylor: Sweetgreen, meanwhile, narrowed the scope of its latest influencer partnership to focus on a single city. The restaurant chain teamed up with actress and singer Teyana Taylor on an extremely limited-edition “Teyana Taylor Plate,” which was sold exclusively in Sweetgreen’s Atlanta locations from last Thursday through Sunday.

UGG and Telfar: The footwear brand last week launched a collection in partnership with luxury fashion brand Telfar - known for their iconic handbags - and turned to a fleet of creators, including rappers Yung Miami and Lil’ Kim and actors Morris Chestnut and Mickey Rourke, to promote it.

Prime holds an international $1 billion giveaway: To celebrate the sale of their 1 billionth bottle of Prime, brand co-founders Logan Paul and KSI launched a Willy Wonka-esque contest that gave fans a chance to win a chunk of solid gold in the shape of the brand’s sports drink bottle.

YouTube gives creators ‘for you’ pages: After having launched its TikTok clone, YouTube Shorts, back in 2020, YouTube is taking another page out of the rival platform’s book.

While DTC sales struggle across the industry, On Running's direct revenue keeps growing

Despite falling DTC sales across the country, Swiss running shoe brand On Running’s earnings for the third quarter, reported Tuesday morning, showed a sales increase of 46% year-over-year, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of record sales for the brand. Total net sales were $540 million for the quarter.

Small DTC startups are having a harder time than ever finding funding. In 2021, venture capital firms poured more than $5 billion into DTC retail startups, but in 2023, that number dropped 97% to just $130 million.

To bolster the DTC strategy this quarter, On plans to pull out of an undisclosed number of wholesale stores, particularly in Europe and the Middle East, and replace them with openings of its own direct stores. Its newest store opened in Miami in October, bringing the total number of owned stores to 26.

Caspar Coppetti, co-CEO of On, attributed the brand’s success to both operational and branding strategies. On has remained strict about avoiding promotions, and the full-price focus of its DTC channel has helped increase revenue.

The brand has also benefited from a number of big publicity moments, including runner Hellen Obiri winning the New York City Marathon in early November while wearing On shoes.

Other headlines…

• TikTok adds in-stream AR effects creation flow.

• Meta brings its inbox Notes to Messenger.

• Snapchat publishes new data which shows that app facilitates more positive user experiences.

• Heineken to sit out Super Bowl—and more football marketing news.

How AI can help advertisers fully capitalize on podcasting opportunities

One of the unique capabilities of AI is that it can learn to understand the meaning of words in context. By leveraging AI, you can analyze podcast content at scale to determine whether and to what extent particular shows cross the line.

A 2021 report indicated that brands have flagged terms such as “shootings,” “plane crashes,” “raising the minimum wage” and “blood.” This is why using civility as a metric is a much better gauge, allowing brands to see what certain podcasts are saying, whether and to what degree they peddle in personal attacks and incivility and, importantly, the context in which ostensibly high-risk language occurs.

At a time when society is more polarized and divided than ever, it’s hard to think of a more important corporate social responsibility objective than promoting civility, thoughtful dialogue and productive conversations.

Advertisers have the power to reward voices that build bridges rather than burn them down, to edify rather than just entertain and to bring people together rather than tear them apart.