Boulevard of Broken Memes

[00:00:01] It's Monday, October 28th. Today, marketers in court to cancel the click to cancel, Google

[00:00:08] hangs up on call ads, Amazon has a warning for West Coast sellers, and Redditors revolt

[00:00:14] against Search AI in the most Reddit way possible. I'm Steph Gunn sitting in for Tod Maffin.

[00:00:20] That's ahead, today in Digital Marketing.

[00:00:24] Well, that didn't take long. The Interactive Advertising Bureau and two other

[00:00:29] industry groups are suing the American trade regulator to block its new click to cancel

[00:00:34] rule. That rule will require companies to make canceling subscriptions as easy as signing up

[00:00:41] is. The IAB represents 700 members like Netflix, Amazon, Google, and Meta, and it's joining forces

[00:00:47] with the Electronic Security Association and NCTA Internet and Television Association, whose

[00:00:54] members include Disney, Comcast, and Warner Brothers. The FTC argues simplifying cancellations will

[00:01:00] benefit consumers, but industry groups say it could harm businesses reliant on recurring payments.

[00:01:06] Pay TV providers, which often require users to call to cancel, could especially be impacted,

[00:01:12] as the rule would demand a digital cancellation option. The lawsuit was filed just days after the

[00:01:17] FTC published the final version of the rule, which is set to take effect in about six months.

[00:01:27] Google's click-to-call ads are also getting cancelled. Google is dialing down on call ads as

[00:01:33] it prepares to phase them out next year, moving those campaigns to the responsive search ads format.

[00:01:39] This shift means advertisers will need to make some changes, like adding a landing page and a business

[00:01:44] name at the campaign or account level. Google says that starting sometime next year, creating new call

[00:01:50] ads will no longer be an option, and any existing call ads without a final URL added will not be

[00:01:55] migrated to responsive search ads. A Google spokesperson said that while there's no specific kill date yet,

[00:02:02] the transition is likely to happen early next year. Advertisers should get an alert ahead of the change.

[00:02:11] Reddit users are gaming Google's search results in order to drive customers away from their

[00:02:17] favorite restaurants, all in an attempt to keep those locations less busy. Ars Technica reported

[00:02:23] on this first this week. The trend also points out flaws in Google's search's reliance on Reddit

[00:02:28] and its AI overview feature. This all appears to have started on the London subreddit, where a user

[00:02:35] complained about a spot being ruined by influencers. The post has more than 5,000 upvotes and several

[00:02:41] responses suggesting Redditors talk about how good a chain restaurant called Angus Steakhouse is,

[00:02:46] so that Google picks up on it. The commenters understood the assignment. Now a search for

[00:02:52] best steak or steak sandwich in London comes back with a Reddit thread titled,

[00:02:57] which Angus Steakhouse do you recommend for their steak sandwich? At the top. One Redditor commented

[00:03:03] on the post, perfect place for an influencer. Quoting Ars Technica, the Angus Steakhouse hype doesn't

[00:03:10] appear to have made it into AI overview, but it is appearing in search results. And while this is far from

[00:03:16] being a dangerous attempt to manipulate search results or AI algorithms, it does highlight the

[00:03:21] pitfalls of Google results becoming dependent on content generated by users who could very easily

[00:03:27] have intentions other than providing helpful information. End quote.

[00:03:35] Apparently, only the viral brands get HD on Instagram. If you've ever wondered why some of your brand's

[00:03:41] videos look blurry while others look sharp on the app, we may now have an answer. It's because

[00:03:46] Instagram lowers video quality for unpopular videos. This, according to platform head Adam Mosseri.

[00:03:53] Quoting Mosseri,

[00:03:54] In general, we want to show the highest quality video we can. But if something isn't watched for

[00:04:00] a long time, because the vast majority of views are in the beginning, we will move to a lower quality

[00:04:06] video. And then, if it's watched again, a lot will re-render the higher quality video. End quote.

[00:04:12] In a follow-up response on Threads, he added that Instagram devotes more resources to videos from

[00:04:18] creators who drive more views. Mosseri acknowledged concerns about how this approach could affect smaller

[00:04:24] creators and brands, but said people interact with videos based on their content, not their quality.

[00:04:33] Ahead of the busiest commerce season of the year, Amazon is pushing sellers to stock up their

[00:04:38] inventory earlier than last year to maintain quick delivery during the holiday rush. Retail Dive

[00:04:43] reports today that sellers that haven't done so may face delays due to Amazon's current capacity

[00:04:49] constraints. In an announcement to third-party sellers, the e-commerce giant said it's experiencing

[00:04:55] tight capacity at some West Coast facilities, in particular due to high demand. This is resulting

[00:05:01] in longer processing times for seller inventory at inbound shipping locations. It's also causing longer

[00:05:07] times for palletized freight. Amazon says it's rerouting some shipments to other regions.

[00:05:12] It's also extending the automatic closure and abandoned shipment windows for orders placed between August 7th

[00:05:18] and October 31st. A new rival to TikTok, called Loops, is making its way to the Fediverse.

[00:05:28] The short-form video app developed by the creator of Instagram alternative PixelFed recently opened

[00:05:34] sign-ups. Brands and users that have signed up will be able to post up to 60 seconds of video,

[00:05:39] according to details shared by its developer on Mastodon. Features like using sounds and remixing

[00:05:44] others' videos will be coming soon. Users will also have the option to pin profile videos and

[00:05:49] manage their comment sections. However, the platform currently lacks support for hashtags and mentions.

[00:05:55] The initial version of the iOS app will be available through TestFlight,

[00:05:59] Apple's platform for testing unreleased apps. According to a FAQ on its site, the Loops Fediverse

[00:06:06] integration is in progress but not live, and the platform hasn't been open-sourced yet.

[00:06:11] Even though there is a somewhat incomplete bridge between threads and the Fediverse,

[00:06:16] so far, there doesn't appear to be a similar bridge between Loops and Instagram or TikTok.

[00:06:27] A good friend of mine just won Taylor Swift tickets and it's kind of a cool story. So my friend is a huge

[00:06:33] Swifty. So big that when she couldn't get Arrows tour tickets in North America, she decided that she would

[00:06:39] just try to get them anywhere that she could get them. And she ended up getting tickets in Vienna.

[00:06:44] And I'm not kidding, she went all of the way there just for the concert. And then the Vienna concert,

[00:06:50] if you recall, it was cancelled because of a terrorist plot. So she flew home concertless until

[00:06:57] now and she just won tickets to the Toronto concert, which I think is actually pretty cool.

[00:07:02] Now I just have to figure out how I can try to convince her to take me as her plus one.

[00:07:06] Don't forget to follow us on socials. We're pretty much everywhere. Instagram, LinkedIn,

[00:07:10] TikTok, Mastodon, even Snapchat. You can go to todayindigital.com slash social,

[00:07:15] or you can tap the link in the show notes. Thanks for listening. I'm Steph Gunn.

[00:07:19] Todd will be back to talk to you tomorrow.