There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

AR report: 🕶 Snap highlights the value and opportunities of AR in new report.

Twitter marketing: 🤳 Twitter shares new tips and insights to assist in holiday marketing plans.

It's all about that data: ⚡️ Meta publishes new guide on how brands can mitigate data loss as a result of new privacy changes.

YouTube has started tests showing 5 unskippable ads before each video starts to some users. One user reported seeing 11 ads before their video started. 

After several complaints mostly on unofficial platforms, Team YouTube responded to a tweet with an explanation. The company claims that this situation occurs with what it called “bumper ads”....continue reading.

TikTok launched a new feature today that is basically just a copy of BeReal. 

Snapchat and Instagram have already launched front and back camera features, and Instagram is rumored to be working on its own time-based, ephemeral feature. 

But TikTok beat its competitors to the punch by being the first app to just outright cut-and-paste BeReal into its platform.

Every day when the BeReal goes out, users get a push notification telling them that “it’s time to BeReal,” bookended by alert emojis. TikTok’s notification looks the same — users are notified between lightning emojis that it is “Time to Now,” which admittedly does not have the same ring to it as BeReal.

TikTok says that the feature is now available for US users. We'll follow on how brands can adapt to this feature - stay tuned.

A lesson in creativity, caution and sound strategy. It’s about to get more expensive to connect with your target audience through the mailbox.

It’s not surprising, really. Inflation is pushing up the cost of paper, postage and the transportation required to deliver your messages. Unfortunately, all in all, everything costs more.

For many, these are uncharted waters. How can you navigate them and what should you do to adapt to a world where it costs more to do business? 

Here are five recommendations

Roblox has become a magnet for brands that are eager to experiment in the metaverse, a loose term typically attached to experiences that blend together aspects of the real world with digital ones. 

Gucci, Nike and Gap are among the companies that have recently run activations tailored to the platform, including persistent spaces that evolve over time. 

The gaming purveyor is now making a bigger push for media dollars with the introduction of more robust ad placements, though they’re hardly traditional in form or function.

• Roblox previewed a new in-game advertising format at its Roblox Developers Conference (RDC).
• Immersive Ads, which are expected to go live next year, include the ability to build 3D portals that transport players of the online game to custom virtual worlds. Roblox positioned the offering as a way to help advertisers foster deeper connections with its community of 58.5 million daily active users.
• The company is also scaling up a Marketplace that lets creators sell items for an in-game currency called Robux, with plans to introduce a mechanic that gives users control over the scarcity of their goods. The monetization play comes as Roblox’s growth cools following a surge in interest earlier in the pandemic.

The chain’s renowned rewards program adds a buzzy new value-grab, potentially laying a course for other marketers to follow.

Starbucks’ loyalty program is an extremely successful part of its business, with over half its sales coming from its rewards members. Tying the program to the virtual world and blockchain technology underpinning NFTs could paint the way for future programs.

NFTs could make sense for loyalty programs because it is another way to interact with consumers. With the depreciation of cookies, getting access to that first-party data [in other ways] is going to be critical.

Taco Bell and Domino’s are reportedly considering ways to tie NFTs to their loyalty programs, though, to date, the brands’ NFT promotions have involved generating donations to their charitable arms.

Heavy betting on NFTs could help business for a few reasons, but at the core is the potential to market to younger consumers who have yet to get in on Starbucks’ rewards program. If the strategy proves successful, other marketers looking to engage Gen Z could follow suit.

As data privacy and access become a bigger issue, NFTs are also a way for consumers to get something of value for the information they share with brands. An NFT tied to loyalty rewards offers a tangible value exchange that could make the transaction feel worthwhile for both parties.

Deep dive: Cold beer, hot planet: How two very different beer brands respond to climate change. 

Interesting read: JCPenney partners with Revieve to become the first department store to offer digital makeup and skincare experiences through the the power of AI and AR. 

Cococart - If Shopify and Typeform had a baby.