TikToK, Twitter, and AI, oh my! The marketing world is changing fast, but we’re here to dice up what’s going on with AI and more in this month’s cut.
Brands and influencers prepare for a TikTok ban
With a potential TikTok ban looming in the US, brands and influencers are starting to sweat, but not everyone is hitting the panic button just yet. According to a survey, 3 out of 4 marketers plan to increase their spending on TikTok in the next year.
For example, Beauty brand e.l.f. and teen retailer American Eagle are joining forces on a new collaboration that just might “break TikTok,” according to American Eagle’s Chief Marketing Officer.
President Joe Biden might also “break TikTok,” but in a less fun way… Can’t you just post a viral dance like the rest of us, Mr. President? We’ll like and subscribe if it means keeping our ad space.
Twitter brands don’t want to pay for blue checks
In other social media news, Twitter started out the month with a not-so-funny April Fool’s joke, by beginning the process of removing ‘blue check marks’ from legacy blue check Twitter accounts.
Twitter’s check marks were originally intended to verify the credibility of high-profile accounts, which, for brands, was a critical feature to weed out misinformation and scams. Now, any Twitter Blue subscriber can purchase a ‘blue check,’ which has created a liability for brands that have been impersonated.
Many advertisers have left Twitter because of this liability, and that trend could continue as the social media giant continues to change its policies. Our question is–if everyone leaves Twitter and TIkTok, where do we go next? We’re not too proud to join the chain email renaissance…
The “We Love NYC” logo loves criticism
The new “We Love NYC” logo got a bit of a lackluster response from New Yorkers. But hey, any publicity is good publicity, right? At least, that’s what Maryam Banikarim, the founder of the agency that worked on the campaign, seems to think. It’s certainly six more letters than I <3 NY, and it cost New Yorkers more than 20 million in tax dollars. That’s around 3 million per letter, which has given NYC residents a lot to talk about.
The group behind the logo says they expected a lot of New York citizens to complain, but not this much. To be fair, complaining is what we New Yorkers do best (that, and a nice pepperoni slice)! Either way, Maryam hopes we’ll focus more on the message behind the campaign. “You like the logo, you don’t like the logo — what are you going to do to help the city?’” As long as people are having that conversation, it’s a win for NYC.
Inclusive organizations are getting their money’s worth
Reports of massive layoffs are disproportionately hitting corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion teams. However, research shows that linking business goals to diversity and inclusion strengthens an organization’s commercial impact. At MarketSmiths, we believe that diversity and impactful growth initiatives are always worth fighting for.
For better and worse, AI is changing the game
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been creating a lot of buzz in the marketing world. And why not? Expert research shows that AI is poised to double yearly economic growth rates by 2035, revolutionizing the way we work, create, and communicate. In the marketing world, AI language models like ChatGPT have the potential to improve campaigns by conducting research, generating ideas, and reducing monotonous tasks.
However, the advent of AI assistants has anyone who’s seen a sci-fi movie worried that AI will leave humans with no creative outlets–or jobs. But those days aren’t here just yet. AI may be able to crunch numbers and spit out data, but chatbots still produce content riddled with errors, bad ideas, bias, and even hate speech. These imperfections make ethical questions and fact-checking an imperative factor in the use of AI. For a human approach to copywriting, you can always talk to us 🙂
