Welcome to the first edition of Katalys Connect – your weekly shortcut to the latest in performance marketing.
[Read time: 4 minutes]
What’s in it for you? Each week, we pack the latest trends, actionable insights, and industry breakthroughs into a quick read – ensuring you’re not just keeping up, you’re staying ahead.
- Every Tuesday, expect a crisp, concise dispatch tailored to forward-thinkers like you.
- As experts in the space, we sift through the noise to deliver clear takeaways that drive your business forward.
- Stay connected, stay informed, and turn industry shifts into your strategic advantage.
Calling out brand safety blind spots • Automated brand safety filters risk misinterpreting content, costing publishers ad revenue due to unwarranted demonetization.
- Time’s Taylor Swift feature, exclusive interview with Sam Altman, and story on the James Webb telescope were all incorrectly flagged as brand unsafe – revealing glaring issues with brand safety tech.
- Publishers advocate for more human oversight, citing that technology alone can’t accurately interpret nuanced journalistic content when flagging keywords.
Defrosting in Q1 • While some publishers struggled with ad revenue, others reported significant improvements in their direct-sold deals and open exchange business.
- Publishers like The Atlantic and The Guardian U.S. reported campaign delays, with advertisers holding off until Q2, affecting the revenue outlook for Q1.
- Despite challenges with direct-sold campaigns, programmatic CPMs rose through Q1, allowing cautious optimism for the quarter ahead.
Stepping into the future • Partnership marketers are evaluating new opportunities and challenges while engaging today’s savvy consumers, unlocking fresh monetization avenues, and navigating the twisty road of regulations.
- As viewer habits shift, streaming platforms spearhead the ad-supported model, blending modest fees with strategic ad placements.
- Pinterest’s focus on quality and relevance over recency makes it a gold mine for sustained consumer engagement, with tools that boost pin visibility and conversions.
TikTok steps up its game • The social media giant’s latest enhancements empower advertisers with unprecedented control, ensuring their ads dodge risky content and align perfectly with their values.
- The new Brand Safety Hub in TikTok Ads Manager acts as mission control, simplifying navigation and access to essential ad safety tools.
- Advertisers can leverage ‘Category Exclusion’ and ‘Vertical Sensitivity’ to keep ads clear of delicate content, tailoring where your brand shines on TikTok.
E-commerce rewrites the rules • With every click tied directly to business outcomes, old online advertising metrics are making way for new benchmarks that measure real-world impact and growth.
- Giants like Google and Meta are pioneering sophisticated approaches, focusing on the lifetime value of customers rather than just immediate gains, adapting to the nuanced needs of the modern e-commerce landscape.
- These emerging metrics compel advertisers to overhaul their strategies, emphasizing long-term value and overall business impact over simple click-throughs and views.
Commerce media takes the lead • Brands are discovering the power of reaching consumers directly at the point of purchase, redefining traditional advertising and media strategies.
- With ad spend projected to rise by 5.6% in 2024, commerce media is poised to claim a significant share – with forecasts suggesting it will account for 19% of all ad spend by 2028.
- Retail media’s data-driven nature lets marketers target and track with precision, ensuring their campaigns are both engaging and effective at driving sales.
Embrace the era of people-first content • Google’s latest updates reward content that truly resonates with readers, marking a seismic shift in SEO tactics—your content must connect, not just convince.
- Creating people-first content helps align marketers with Google’s emphasis on helpfulness, reliability, and user focus.
- Using tools like the “Five Whys” and reframing techniques ensures content not only meets SEO standards but also genuinely engages and assists the audience.
American shoppers defy economic gravity • US consumers continue to open their wallets despite financial headwinds – painting a picture of an economy that’s tougher than it looks.
- Retail sales soared 0.7% month-over-month, outpacing economist forecasts and marking a 4% year-over-year increase.
- Morgan Stanley’s bump in GDP growth forecasts to 2.7% signals a guarded optimism for the U.S. economy’s path ahead, despite ongoing challenges.
Building trust in the data age • As new regulations take hold, the ad industry is rethinking data collection to prioritize consumer trust and first-party data.
- Over 80% of companies are reworking their operations to align with privacy-first practices.
- They are training staff, setting up dedicated teams, and bringing in external experts to find the balance between consumer privacy and economic growth.
How Brands and Publishers Both Win with Katalys Shops
- Results: Forbes Health and their CBD brand partners increased conversion rates by 38% with Katalys Shops embedded commerce.
- Analysis: When publishers have the option to provide more visual, high-performing affiliate content everyone wins – brands, publishers, and customers.
