Campaign Asia

Google to retire Dynamic Search Ads in favour of AI Max

Users of several legacy search tools will be automatically upgraded to AI Max by the end of September.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT Ads trial surpasses $100 million in six weeks

The ongoing pilot is set to expand dramatically in the coming months, offering advertisers the chance to invest in the format right as its advertising capacity begins to scale.

‘Still finding its feet’: Underwhelming early returns for ChatGPT Ads

Multiple brands have reported less than ideal results from their first few weeks of experimenting with ChatGPT Ads, citing poor CTR’s and opaque measurement capabilities.

Gemini 3 becomes the default model for AI Overviews

A pair of updates from Google see the tech giant attempt to gain a further foothold in the battle for AI-powered search supremacy.

Two-thirds of shoppers use AI for product discovery, but 92% still trust human reviews

AI tools are increasingly popular among shoppers, but scepticism remains when asked to rely solely on AI during the final stages of a purchase journey.

A quarter of marketers are ‘stressed all the time’

Research reveals that many marketers are struggling to strike a productive work-life balance, with some failing to detach themselves from their job while on holiday.

Microsoft to retire Xandr DSP in favour of an AI-powered future

After acquiring the DSP from AT&T in 2021, Microsoft’s priorities began to shift more to the sell side, with AI at the forefront.

Google introduces AI Max to search campaigns

Advertisers have seen a 14% ROAS increase after activating the campaign-level setting in their campaigns.

Do podcasts have a measurement problem?

The evolution of podcasting is holding the channel back from reaching its full advertising potential, according to new research.

Global adspend on news brands forecast to decline by a third

Creator journalists and UGC are starting to draw more attention from advertisers wary of potentially distressing content on news brands.

Elon Musk’s xAI acquires X for $33 billion

The acquisition marks a further alignment of the two companies, holding a combined value of $113 billion.

Nearly 70% of ‘parents’ targeted by ads don’t have kids

The accuracy of socio-demographic targeting in digital advertising has been called into question, with a report revealing a disconnect between targeting assumptions and actual audience composition.

Meta to begin testing Community Notes feature across Facebook, Instagram and Threads

Following its move away from third-party fact-checking, Meta’s Community Notes feature is intended to be less biased and more scalable.

Taboola introduces a ‘reimagined approach’ to driving full-funnel performance

With the launch of Realize, CEO Adam Singolda wants Taboola to move past its origins in native advertising to focus on the entire performance landscape.

Facebook, YouTube most popular social media platforms for product discovery: report

Used twice as frequently for product discovery and research as TikTok, the Meta-owned platform shouldn't be neglected by retailers.

Google rolls out several new PMax updates following successful beta launches

Intending to improve brand safety, depth of search and customer segmentation, the new tools further integrate Google AI into advertisers’ campaigns.

Google announces additional AI-powered PMax updates for peak season

The adtech giant hopes to support its advertisers as they navigate the ‘golden quarter’ with the introduction of enhanced asset testing, video performance and campaign management tools.

Anti-fraud programmes ‘saved US advertisers $10.8 billion in 2023’

Resulting in a 92% reduction in potential adspend losses, US advertisers were saved billions of ad dollars courtesy of industry-wide action tackling bad actors and fraudsters.

X poised to suffer ‘biggest recorded pullback’ from advertisers ever

With brand perception concerns pushing advertisers away from X, YouTube, Netflix and TikTok are among the ad platforms most preferred by consumers and marketers.

The Trade Desk ‘preparing to launch its own smart TV OS’

If the speculation is true, the DSP would be competing with TV giants Roku, Google, Apple and Amazon while opening up more CTV ad opportunities.

Perplexity announces ‘timely’ AI ad features as it looks to challenge Google’s search dominance

Backed by the likes of Jeff Bezos and Nvidia, the AI-powered search engine’s ad platform promises to open new doors for advertisers.

CTV outpaces AI on marketers’ list of consumer trends to watch

With time consumers spent streaming increasing 40% in June, the CTV market is set to boom in H2 2024 as marketers invest heavily in performance-driven paid media channels.

‘A golden opportunity’: 11 marketers reveal how brands can keep their Olympic marketing on track

With a litany of channels at their disposal, brands owe it to themselves to leverage the global attention that comes with the Olympics and tap into its increasingly diverse audience.

Paramount completes $8 billion merger with Skydance Media in bid to ‘energise’ the streamer

With streaming platforms continuously turning to advertisers to remain profitable, Paramount’s merger may represent a significant move from the media and technology company to better compete with the major players.

Cannes Lions 2024 in review: 17 marketers look back at the festival that was

Industry experts gleaned valuable insights from the festival, covering AI, innovation, sustainability, CTV, and retail media.

Apple is the world's first $1 trillion brand: Kantar

Apple has secured the most valuable spot for the third year running. NVIDIA, meanwhile, has ridden the AI wave to leap into the top 10, enjoying a 178% brand value increase.

AR advertising 'increases likelihood to buy by 53%'

Interactive, augmented reality advertising promises to generate better short and long-term benefits for brands, maximising attention in a manner unrivalled by typical digital ads.

Snapchat brings AI-powered augmented reality tools to advertisers

New gen AI and machine learning tools promise to help advertisers reduce the time it takes to turn 2D product catalogues into 3D ‘try-on’ assets on the platform.

‘A significant shift in the platform's monetisation approach’: YouTube launches Affiliate Hub

YouTube’s latest array of affiliate marketing tools stand to put authenticity at the forefront of creators' relationships with brands to create more engaged audiences in return.

Netflix reports strong Q1 growth but is it painting over CTV’s cracks?

Although Netflix has added almost 10 million new paid subscribers in early 2024, some experts believe advertising is quickly becoming the streaming giant’s long-term profitability plan, presenting a compelling opportunity for brands.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on using AI to win over consumers and growing as an ads business

The e-commerce giant’s CEO revealed fresh insights into the company's future plans on all things consumer behaviour, AI, Amazon Ads and Prime Video.

Google reportedly planning to charge users for its AI-powered search

Incorporating Google’s AI-powered search features into its premium subscription model has emerged as the most likely route for a revenue model change-up, as the search giant attempts to offset some of the billions spent on generative AI innovation.

Will the BBC go ad-supported? Marketing experts assess broadcaster’s ‘radical’ options as licence fee increase looms

With an impending rise in TV licence costs and alternative funding options under scrutiny, senior marketing leaders delve into the potential impact of a commercial BBC on advertisers.

P&G’s Marc Pritchard on using media to grow markets: “The only ‘currency’ that matters is sales dollars”

Speaking at the ANA’s Media Conference, P&G’s chief brand officer emphasised the importance of reach, effectiveness and efficiency—and integrating the three.

Google redefines ‘top ads’

Google maintains that the update is purely definition-based and won’t impact calculation of ad performance metrics. The move comes as the tech giant revealed it blocked or removed over 5.5 billion ads in 2023 for violating its policies.

Google tests offsite retail media capabilities within Search Ads 360

Lowe’s became the first brand to sign up to the platform that could shake up the existing retail media network landscape.

Will the data skills gap hinder marketers’ ability to integrate AI?

A lack of data skills among marketing talent was identified as a top three issue for leveraging data to improve customer engagement by 52% of senior marketers in a UK survey.

Roblox expands advertising offering for brands with launch of new website

To help advertisers create new revenue opportunities, the new ‘Roblox for Brands’ platform introduces new marketing tools for brands, along with updated brand suitability controls for the platform’s Ads Manager.

Meta enjoys record adspend while TikTok faces 39% engagement decline

Both Instagram and Facebook are generating more organic engagement for brands, while TikTok sees impressions decline and X’s ad prices drop.

'It’s time to move': Google’s VP, Global Ads on cookie deprecation, privacy regulation and AI integration

Google’s vice president of Global Advertising Strategies, Dan Taylor, unpacks everything from Chrome’s incoming cookie deprecation deadline to the need to invest in AI amid legacy systems' privacy-fuelled decline.

The high risk, high reward game of advertising on WhatsApp

With personalisation top-of-mind among consumers, are marketers missing a golden opportunity on one the world's most popular communication channels?

Google responds to IAB Tech Lab’s Privacy Sandbox report, citing “many misunderstandings and inaccuracies”

Despite IAB Tech Lab criticism, Google has reaffirmed its commitment to phasing out third-party cookies on Chrome by H2 2024. Emphasising user privacy and digital advertising support, the tech giant says it welcomes feedback on its Privacy Sandbox solutions.

Google unveils its first AI-powered search ad features

Gemini’s first integration automatically generates relevant content for advertiser’s creative and performance assets, including images, headlines, descriptions and keywords.

Google releases updated Performance Max guide for advertisers

To help clients better optimise their PMax campaigns without an additional time commitment, the tech giant has revamped a series of guides intended to enhance the Google Ads API experience.

Only one third of every ad dollar spent reaches an end user: ANA report

The US advertisers' industry body has exposed the $88 billion programmatic market's damning lack of transparency in a recent report – here’s where your programmatic ad dollars may really be going.

Ad spend wasted on invalid traffic to soar 33% in 2024

With marketers' tightening their purse strings as continued economic turbulence forces budget cuts, research has revealed more of their precious ad dollars are expected to be wasted on invalid traffic next year than ever before.

Google has been quietly running brands' search ads through problematic websites, report claims

A fresh report from Adalytics alleges that the search giant has been serving major brands’ advertising on inappropriate and sanctioned websites via its Search Partner network.

Best Global Brands 2023: Apple retains top spot while total brand growth slows significantly

Best Global Brands 2023: Apple retains top spot while total brand growth slows significantly.

'This could be a genuine game changer': What the Meta and Amazon collaboration means for marketers

With Meta introducing a new feature in the US allowing users to shop on Amazon via their Facebook and Instagram accounts, PMW spoke to a panel of industry insiders and got the experts’ takes on what this means for brands, advertisers, agencies and consumers alike.

Joseph Arthur