Category: Advertising & Marketing

The hidden environmental costs of digital advertising, Marketing & Advertising News, ET BrandEquity

by  on  in Advertising & Marketing

<p>Representative image</p>
Representative image

Digital advertising has revolutionised the way brands reach their target audience, allowing them to connect with consumers on a global scale. However, with this increased connectivity comes a downside, as digital advertising has a significant impact on the environment.

One of the major impacts of digital advertising on the environment is the high level of electricity consumption required to power the servers that host online advertisements. According to a study by the University of Bristol, digital advertising accounts for approximately 8-10% of global electricity consumption, with a significant portion of this energy coming from non-renewable sources.

In addition to electricity consumption, digital advertising also contributes around 3-4% in greenhouse gas emissions, that is equivalent to the emissions of the entire aviation industry. This is due in part to the energy required to power the servers, but also to the production and disposal of the devices used to access digital ads.

Another environmental impact of digital advertising is the creation of electronic waste. The constant production and disposal of devices used to access digital ads contributes to the growing e-waste problem, which poses a significant environmental and health risk.

Despite these negative impacts, there are steps that can be taken to reduce the environmental impact of digital advertising. Companies can use renewable energy sources to power their servers, design ads that are optimised for energy efficiency, and encourage the reuse and recycling of devices.

As media buying is an important aspect of digital advertising, and it can also have a significant impact on the environment. Marketers have an important role to play in reducing the environmental footprint of digital advertising. Here are some media buying best practices that can help reduce the impact of digital advertising on the environment:

  1. Use Sustainable Ad Formats: One way to reduce the environmental
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The Pitch: Advertising and marketing news for 5.30.23

by  on  in Advertising & Marketing

Caley Cantrell

Peter Coughter

Longtime Brandcenter professors Caley Cantrell and Peter Coughter are retiring after 17 and 26 years, respectively, at the graduate school. VCU News also reports on a group of students from Creative Circus who received their degrees at this year’s Brandcenter commencement after the Atlanta school closed last year.

The Idea Center was hired by Leo Lantz Construction to redesign its website. It’s working with Virginia Cardiovascular Consultants of Fredericksburg on a new website and ongoing SEO.

Will Sidaros

Idea Center hired Will Sidaros as a project manager. The George Mason alum has previously worked as a freelance videographer.

Spurrier Group was hired by Allianz Partners as the travel insurance company’s lead agency for digital media and marketing. Work will focus on scale the company’s audience base and digital strategy.

Addison Clark was hired by local builder River City Custom Homes to provide strategic marketing including paid and organic social media, search engine optimization, and web and design support. The agency launched a redesigned website for client Gilman Heating, Cooling & Plumbing. The mobile-first site reflects the company’s updated branding.

Kimberly Loehr

Kimberly Loehr of Loehr Lightning Protection Co. was awarded Virginia Professional Communicators’ 2023 Communicator of Achievement Award at the group’s spring conference this month. The award recognizes achievement in the communications field and service to VPC, National Federation of Press Women and the community.

Loehr is a co-owner of the Richmond-based contracting firm and serves as president of nonprofit Virginia Press Women Foundation.

Cade Martin won Best in Show in Communication Arts Magazine’s 2023 Photography Competition for images included in a branding campaign for the International Spy Museum. The campaign was led by D.C.-based agency January Third and involved Philadelphia-based NLD Productions.



Arts & Letters Creative Co. created an ad for ESPN

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As America returns to the office, Xerox returns to advertising

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As America’s workforce has returned to the office, so has office equipment company Xerox returned to advertising. Earlier this month, the century-old technology brand launched a new brand campaign and a media mix revamp to better target the millennial and Gen Z work force. 

Investment-wise, it’s Xerox’s largest ad effort in the last five years, testing into channels that are new to the brand, like digital and streaming video, and TikTok and revisiting dormant ad channels, like out-of-home ads in the New York City metropolitan area, according to Deena LaMarque Piquion, CMO at Xerox. Xerox’s exact ad spend is unclear as Piquion declined to provide specific figures.

“We’ve really broadened the aperture to have a better mix of tactics,” said Piquion. “That’s what we heard a lot, that we were missing at the top of the funnel to really influence that area of favorability before they move to consideration.” 

Historically, Xerox’s media investments have been predominantly in digital tactics, especially LinkedIn campaigns and paid search. But to boost brand awareness, and keep up with the work force’s newest generation, channels like digital and streaming video ads, NYC-based OOH and TikTok have been added to the media mix.

It’s unclear what those investments are as Piquion declined to outline specifics. Last year, Xerox spent $2,554,357 on advertising efforts, according to Vivvix, including paid social data from Pathmatics. That figure is significantly higher than the $1,552,230 spent in 2021. 

TikTok in particular, she said, is in its early experimental stage for the legacy brand as it plans to launch both paid and organic efforts alongside its newest campaign this year. The hope is TikTok will become a mainstay in the Xerox media mix to stay top of mind with younger audiences, said Piquion. 

“We’re extremely strong in [the] 45 and over demographic,

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Buying Digital Advertising for Your Self-Storage Operation

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Let’s say your self-storage operation is well-established within its market. You’ve got competitors, but you’re all doing well. There’s a decent equilibrium, and everyone keeps their facilities at or above that ideal 90% occupancy rate. None of you has needed any more advertising than your signage, maybe the occasional ad in the local paper, and a website. Things are great, and everything is humming along.

Then one day you learn that Bob, who owns a facility up the street, is retiring and selling his property to a real estate investment trust. So is Roberta, another storage owner in your area. Now you go from economic stability to panic mode. But you shouldn’t! Instead, you simply need to expand your marketing efforts.

A low-cost, high-reward way to reset the playing field is paid digital advertising, which involves purchasing space on various online channels to promote your products and services. Let’s explore the options for boosting your self-storage business.

Pay Per Click (PPC)

The most common type of digital advertising is PPC, a powerful tool that helps businesses to increase their online visibility and drive sales. It offers a range of ad types for targeting your self-storage audience including search, display, social media and video. Search ads appear on search engine results pages, while display ads are shown on third-party websites in the form of banners. Social media ads appear on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, and video ads are displayed on platforms like YouTube.

PPC provides several benefits:

  • It offers precise targeting, enabling you to reach your audience based on demographics, interests and behaviors.
  • You have control over your ad spend, allowing you to allocate your budget to the most effective channels.
  • You only pay when someone clicks on your ad, making it cost-effective.
  • It’s measurable, with tools like Google
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Upexi Initiates Development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engine to Optimize Future Advertising, Marketing and Logistics Decisions

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CLEARWATER, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 24, 2023 / Upexi Inc. (NASDAQ:UPXI) (the “Company” or “Upexi”), a multi-faceted Amazon and Direct-to-Consumer brand owner and innovator in aggregation, today announced its development of an artificial intelligence (AI) engine that will analyze current purchasing, advertising, customer buying habits, times, demographics and other data collected by the Company in partnership with SME Solutions Group, Inc. (“SME”). The data analyzed by the AI engine will be used to create real-time solutions for Upexi’s advertising and marketing spends, allowing the Company to further maximize return on these expenses.

The AI engine will analyze company data and data from various sources such as social media platforms, online shopping websites, and other sources to provide valuable insights into customer behavior patterns and preferences. This information will help Upexi make informed real-time decisions about its advertising and marketing strategies and spends.

“We are excited about this partnership with SME Solutions Group,” said Upexi CEO Allan Marshall. “We believe that this AI engine will revolutionize the way Upexi approaches advertising and marketing. By providing real-time insights into customer behavior patterns and preferences, our team will be able to make informed decisions in real-time about their advertising and marketing strategies. The impact of this advanced technology is game changing and Upexi will make the necessary investment to lead and realize all possible benefits for the future.”

“This comprehensive approach will enable Upexi to extract invaluable insights about their customers, paving the way for targeted, personalized marketing strategies,” said SME CEO Chris Moyer. “Our mission at SME is to empower companies, like Upexi, to stay ahead of the curve and make data-driven decisions that drive real results. Our team of experts is excited to work with Upexi management, ensuring a seamless integration and user adoption of the AI engine.”

About Upexi,

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‘We need an ad exchange for identity’: Overheard at the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit

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The third-party cookie is going away (eventually, probably), but cookieless identifiers remain somewhat half-baked. First-party data has become increasingly important, but privacy concerns and privacy regulations have also increased. Personalization is a priority for many advertisers, but it comes with added costs. Ad tech firms are becoming much more capable, but this is making the programmatic supply chain a bit more complicated.

These were among the top topics discussed by brand and agency executives during a pair of closed-door sessions at the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit, which kicked off on May 22 in Palm Springs, California. The conversations were held under the Chatham House Rule, so Digiday could share was said while maintaining the executives’ anonymity. Here is a sampling of the conversations.

Identity crisis

“I need one scalable, proven method that’s not Google. I need it 100% scalable, ubiquitous.”

“When you’re working with different DSPs, can they work with this [cookieless identifer]? There’s this ‘yes and no’ and then ‘I can work with this, but I can’t work with that.’ So you’ve got to find a workaround, and the workaround is this pain in the ass.”

“We work a lot with LiveRamp. It’s a big headache in terms of standardizing how we’re pushing our data and getting it back. There’s always a lot of friction in terms of match rate, how many cookies we’re putting in and getting back.”

“All these different solutions and — some of them could work — but because there’s so many competing interests right now, one or two of them could work but they’re trying to do the same thing or competing so we have to test them and they don’t go anywhere.”

“They’re just too new.”

“To use an analogy, who here has been to The Cheesecake Factory? Who here hasn’t been able

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Marketers’ Guide to Google’s Next Generation AI-Powered Ads

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The Gist

  • Google is putting AI front and center. With enhancements to Google Ads, Performance Max, Product Studio and Search Generative Experience (SGE).
  • Google Ads now offers an AI-powered chat. A feature that simplifies the process of starting a new ad campaign by providing suggestions and ideas in a chat-like experience.
  • Google is bringing generative AI to Performance Max. Allowing users to create and scale custom assets easily and introducing new goals for customer acquisition and reengagement. 

For years artificial intelligence has been subtly pulling strings in the background of Google ads, serving as the secret sauce behind many successful campaigns. But like a stagehand stepping into the limelight, Google is thrusting its AI from the wings to center stage as the company unveiled a slew of generative AI innovations during its annual Google Marketing Live event, yesterday.

With a goal to “significantly transform” the landscape of digital marketing, company officials announced plans to “bring AI front and center” with enhancements to Google Ads, Performance Max, Product Studio and Search Generative Experience (SGE) in Search Labs.

Enhancements that, according to Google Ads VP Jerry Dischler, will “bring AI front and center, making it the best tool in your marketing toolkit.”

On the heels of Google I/O — the company’s annual developer conference that took place earlier this month — Google Marketing Live took place May 23 and is aimed at advertisers, marketers and businesses who use Google’s suite of marketing tools and features announcements about new advertising products and updates to existing services.

So, what’s the big news? Let’s take a look.

Related Article: PaLM 2 and More: Google Unveils Latest AI Advances at This Year’s I/O Conference

Google Ads Unveils AI-Powered Chat Feature

Sometimes starting a new ad campaign feels complicated and overwhelming — but a new

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5 Ways Hilton’s TikTok Ad Changed the Social Marketing Game

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ICYMI: In February, Hilton Hotels & Resorts released a 10-minute TikTok video—yes, you read that correctly—that took viewers on a sprawling journey, spanning dozens of locations and multiple genres, featuring appearances from more than half a dozen beloved TikTok creators.

Not only did the spot earn some 4 million views within its first two days online, but that pace actually accelerated, with the video averaging over 2.2 million views a day in its first two weeks.

Engagement was also sky high, with about 500,000 likes and nearly 30,000 comments in the same timeframe. And most importantly, enthusiasm for the spot has been absolutely unparalleled. To put it simply, the crowd went wild.

How exactly did the 104-year-old chain of brick-and-mortars that started out in the era of newspaper advertising leapfrog the competition, demand 10 minutes of unbroken attention from some of the most distractible viewers on Earth, and quite possibly cement itself as Gen Z’s favorite place to stay for years to come?

The reasons are simple, clear and reproducible—but brands and agencies who think they can replicate the success of this spot without putting in the same amount of legwork will be sorely mistaken. Only those who invest the time and energy to understand and engage with their audience on a deeper level the way Hilton did will be able to replicate their spectacular results.

Platform fluency 

Instead of opting for a faster and cheaper multi-platform approach—making a generic vertical video and publishing it everywhere—Hilton chose to create a video that was custom-made for the specific social channel where they wanted to make inroads.

From start to finish, Hilton’s spot demonstrates a deep understanding of TikTok trends and culture by making expert use of the unique features that made the app popular in the first place—things like stitches, duets

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The Art of Prompt Engineering for AI Marketing Content Creation

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The Gist

  • Basics mastered. Prompt engineering fine-tunes text for AI models, aiding marketers in content creation.
  • Utilizing AI. Effective prompt engineering allows AI models to perform various roles, with different models suited to specific tasks.
  • Guiding AI. Word prioritization impacts AI interpretation. Clear, unbiased, appropriately specific prompts yield better results.

Prompt engineering is the process of fine-tuning the text prompt that a user submits to generative AI models in order for them to perform specific tasks. By using prompt engineering, marketers can more effectively leverage generative AI to improve marketing campaigns and create engaging content.

This article will look at the basics of prompt engineering, and how it can be used to obtain specific results that can be used for marketing, content production, advertising and customer experience.

prompt engineering

How Does Prompt Engineering Work?

A prompt is the text that is entered by a user into a text box on a generative AI website or application. Prompts are used to direct the large language model to return a response that is based on the prompt. Because generative AI forms the response based on the most likely way that a sentence is completed, prompts can be simple, such as “The ocean is.” Such a prompt would return a result that completes the sentence.

the ocean is

Generative AI models such as ChatGPT, Bing and Bard are able to research extensive topics and provide users with a summary of web pages, documents and even their own research. To get the most from the large language models, however, users must craft the prompt they use to make requests. This is known as prompt engineering. 

There are several different types of prompt engineering, including Chain of Thought (CoT), zero-shot, one-shot and few-shot prompting.

  • Zero-shot – A zero-shot prompt is a query for a machine learning model in zero-shot
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Greenwashing era is over, say ad agencies, as regulators get tough | Marketing & PR

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Across the advertising industry, agencies are wrestling with their role in greenwashing scandals and their support for clients driving the climate and nature crises.

Companies are to face stricter rules from regulators in London and Brussels over what they can tell consumers about their role in the climate crisis and the loss of nature. Terms such as “carbon neutral”, “nature positive” and those concerned with offsetting are to undergo greater scrutiny by organisations such as the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK. In order to take meaningful action, agencies must also reconsider their relationships with major polluters, industry insiders have said.

“The era of unspecific claims such as ‘environmentally friendly’ is over,” said Jonny White, senior business director at AMV BBDO, which works with companies including Diageo, Unilever and Bupa. “Misleading environmental claims are under the microscope from advertising regulators, consumer watchdogs and even governments. The risks of getting it wrong are huge, with brands being shamed publicly when they are guilty of misleading the public,” he said.

Creative members of advertising agencies are having to work closely with their legal teams when advising clients on their climate claims, insiders have said, with an increased risk of fines and advert bans in some countries.

In the UK, the Ad Net Zero programme was launched in 2020 in a bid to reduce the carbon impact of the advertising industry’s operations to net zero by 2030, but many agencies are developing in-house teams for sustainability-focused campaigns.

“In many client organisations, there is still a big gap between the marketing and sustainability teams. They have different, often competing objectives, and are accountable in very different ways,” said Ben Essen, global chief strategy officer at the global marketing agency Iris Worldwide, which works with firms such as Adidas, Starbucks and Samsung, and is also

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