In today’s email:

• 🍲 The Secret Sauce: Hacking Paid Social Ads 

• 📈 Platform Benchmarks: Google, Facebook, & TikTok

• 🧑‍🎨 Creative Insights: AI Armageddon

• 📰 Industry News: Google's TV Domination

• 👟 Brand Highlights: HOKA - Flying High Above the Competition

• 🤖 Tech Talk: TikTok's AI Takeover

THE SECRET SAUCE 🍲

5 Secrets to Successful Paid Social Ads in 2024

Paid social ads require more than flashy graphics and catchy slogans, so the Adspace team has curated these tried-and-true strategies to elevate your game. 🔥 If you want to know the secret sauce for successful paid social ads in 2024, check out our list below. 

1. Silent Reviews: Creating a successful silent review ad demands mastering the art of visual storytelling and clever text. You need sharp, concise text that grabs and holds the viewer's interest from the get-go. Title cards serve as signposts, guiding viewers through key information or injecting a dose of humor. These factors ensure your message lands effectively without audio.

2. Dramatic Demonstration: It's all about the drama. To create a successful ad demonstrating the usefulness of your product, you have to make the problem tangible. If it's a problem you can feel and see, you can explain how your product resolves it. Amp up the problem and solution authentically—can you show your product's value in real-world scenarios? That's the key.

3. Retargeting with Social Proof: Addressing FAQs within your ads and responding to audience feedback is a fantastic way to integrate your brand’s message into your paid social ads. Using comment overlays and interactive question replies helps maintain engagement during a customer’s consideration phase.  

4. Cliffhanger: Harnessing the power of suspense can boost the engagement of your paid social ads on TikTok. Viewers eagerly await a resolution or reveal, which increases watch time. This enhances the perceived quality of your ad in TikTok's algorithm and lowers your CPMs by signaling to the platform that your content retains viewer interest. 

Create your own stitch: Encouraging users to interact with your content through Stitches creates brand engagement and authenticity. While you shouldn't include random people's footage in your ads for a Stitch, you can create a compelling scenario: film a fake Stitch with talent #1 and then have talent #2 respond. This approach keeps your content controlled and on-brand.

PLATFORM BENCHMARKS 📈

Let’s Take a Look…

This week’s edition examines industry data from June 12-19 compared to the previous seven days. Google Ads experienced a significant shift, with a much higher CPA, rising 8.59% from the previous week. However, there was a positive shift as Google’s CPC declined by 1.41%.

Meta ads saw a positive decrease in CPC and CPM this week compared to the previous period. However, the CPA (up by 0.70%) and ROAS (down 0.28%) fell slightly over the week. 

TikTok’s CPA plummeted with a 14.29% increase over the previous week. The social media giant recovered with other favorable metrics. TikTok’s CPC and CPM dropped significantly, while their ROAS increased by 6.10%.

CREATIVE INSIGHTS 🧑‍🎨

AI Armageddon: Brace for the Rise of Advertising Machines

Prepare for the AI invasion—advertising edition. GroupM (one of the world’s largest ad-buying agencies) predicts that by 2029, more than 90% of all advertising will be AI-enabled. This surpasses the previous forecast by over three years. 

Today, AI already powers a hefty 69.5% of advertising revenue this year. This development highlights that AI tools like natural language processing and recommendation algorithms drive ad strategies. 

For marketers, this may signal a massive shift in the advertising space. Ads are becoming less about creativity and more about optimization and relentless targeting. We must note that GroupM's forecast doesn't include using AI for ad creative…most likely because it's already been widely adopted by most large advertisers. 

On one hand, it may seem like creativity is taking a back seat to data-driven decision-making. On the other hand, AI liberates creatives from mundane tasks, allowing them to focus on storytelling that truly connects with audiences on a deeper level.

As AI-enabled advertising becomes more prevalent, it seems that we all must embrace the AI revolution or risk falling behind. 

It's about harnessing technology to enhance creativity, not replace it!

Check out Sara Fisher’s article on Axios to learn more.

INDUSTRY NEWS 📰

Google's TV Domination: Serving Ads Straight to Your Sofa

In another bold move to invade your living room, Google has unleashed its latest creation: the Google TV advertising network. This new platform offers a buffet of in-stream video ads across 125 channels embedded within Google TV. Whether you're into live sports, binge-worthy shows, or the latest movies, Google TV serves up non-skippable and 6-second bumper ad formats. 

With 60% of American households glued to free channels on Google TV, advertisers now have a golden ticket to reach even more viewers. Thanks to Google Ads and Display & Video 360 integrations, brands can now reach audiences across devices from Sony, TCL, Hisense, and even Google's own Chromecast. 

By embracing these developments early, brands can stay ahead in the race to saturate the TV viewing experience with their latest offerings.

Google is also updating its Ad Manager to give publishers more control over ad badging. This will enable publishers to determine where and when ad badging appears, ensuring their ad creatives appear as intended.

Other new features include the ability to disable ad badging on a per-creative basis and options to limit badging to just Europe or the entire world. They're also axing the "Mute This Ad" feature for reservation ads. 👀

So, what does this mean for marketers? The integration with Google Ads and Display & Video 360 simplifies the process of executing campaigns across different media formats. Their advancements in TV advertising provide enhanced targeting capabilities, but success depends on adapting strategies that truly connect. 

Stay tuned for more Google news!

Check out Google’s Blog to learn more.

BRAND HIGHLIGHTS 👟

Flying High Above the Competition in Athletic Footwear

In this month’s edition of Brand Highlights, Ascend wants to showcase HOKA. 

If you’ve noticed a shift in running footwear towards chunky, ultra-cushioned soles, you’re witnessing the rise of HOKA. In 2007, Jean-Luc Diard was looking for an alternative to the thin and trendy running shoes of the time (remember those barefoot-toe shoes?). Teaming up with Nicolas Mermoud, they introduced HOKA's distinctive thick-soled shoes to the U.S. market in 2009.

In a market dominated by giants like Nike and Adidas, HOKA's journey from niche innovation to industry disruptor is nothing short of remarkable. The brand’s name is derived from the Maori phrase “hoka one one,” which translates to “fly over the earth.” And fly, they did. 

What began as a passion project to solve a niche problem for trail runners quickly gained momentum. HOKA’s breakthrough moment came when the co-founder of Boulder Running Company embraced the shoes after a test run. This endorsement paved the way for further strategic engagements, including a campaign with ultra-runner Karl Meltzer. 

Recognizing HOKA’s disruptive potential, Deckers Brands (parent company of UGG) acquired the brand in 2013. Under Deckers’ stewardship, HOKA expanded its retail footprint and enhanced its direct-to-consumer channels. 

Despite its rapid growth, HOKA has maintained a deliberate approach to scaling. This disciplined strategy has proven successful, with HOKA’s sales skyrocketing from less than $3 million at acquisition to over $1.4 billion in the past fiscal year. Today, HOKA accounts for nearly 40% of Deckers Brands’ revenues.

As HOKA continues to innovate and connect authentically with its enthusiasts, the brand remains committed to setting new standards in athletic footwear. 🏃

TECH TALK 🤖

TikTok's AI Takeover: Who Needs Humans Anyway?

This month, TikTok unveiled its latest batch of AI tools, designed to make you question whether real human beings are even necessary anymore. Building upon their Symphony generative AI ad suite, TikTok now offers Symphony Digital Avatars and Symphony AI Dubbing. 

Symphony Digital Avatars come in two flavors: stock and custom. Stock avatars feature paid actors from diverse backgrounds and languages, all conveniently available for commercial use. Custom avatars take it a step further, allowing brands to create digital clones of their spokespeople who speak multiple languages—because who needs authenticity when you can have convenience?

Meanwhile, Symphony AI Dubbing ensures your videos can now speak over 10 languages and dialects with just a click. No need to worry about hiring translators or dubbing specialists—TikTok's AI does it all for you. This could allow you to reach international audiences like never before.  

So, in a marketing world where UGC (User-Generated Content) reigns supreme, what do AI avatars mean for the future? 

As TikTok marches towards a future where digital avatars and AI dubbing replace human interaction, we'll be watching how brands navigate this new world of automated authenticity. 🤖

🌟 Looking for new opportunities to scale your online growth? Book a one-on-one consultation with our Head of Growth Strategy! 🌟

Let's explore innovative ways to captivate your customers and drive results together.

💵 Your FREE 2024 Ultimate Growth Toolkit 💵

We’re sharing 10 must-dos to propel your brand in 2024. Stay ahead of the game with our crafted strategic insights and download your free guide today!

Some chapters include:

• Programmatic Advertising

• Search Engine Optimization Best Practices

• A Complete Guide to Short-Form Video Content

• The Next Generation of Google Analytics

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