Brain Rot.

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[00:00:59] It is Thursday, September 5th. Today the kids call it Brain Rot. Some marketers call it Gold.

[00:01:07] Here's what you need to know about the TikTok trend everyone's talking about.

[00:01:12] Plus free trials or demos which convert better.

[00:01:16] We have the latest video performance data and a huge media spender decides which agency will get its budget.

[00:01:24] I'm Tod Maffin. That's ahead today in Digital Marketing.

[00:01:30] I remember when I first saw the TikToks.

[00:01:32] In the top half was the content I was expecting, a creator talking about whatever.

[00:01:37] In the bottom was what seemed to be a completely random video of someone moving through a Minecraft world

[00:01:43] or flipping cars in GTA 5

[00:01:45] or a slow motion video of someone cutting through an impossibly colorful cake.

[00:01:51] Maybe you've seen them too.

[00:01:53] They seem to be any more popular on short form video platforms like TikTok

[00:01:57] and they're part of a category of content being called Brain Rot.

[00:02:02] In this form, these posts, sometimes also called over stimulation or content sludge videos

[00:02:08] feature split screen formats with two unrelated videos playing at the same time.

[00:02:15] The idea is to grab viewers attention in a world where people are constantly bombarded with stimulating media.

[00:02:21] The format is said to have originated on TikTok

[00:02:23] where users are served an endless supply of short algorithm driven videos.

[00:02:29] Now some big advertisers are starting to pay attention

[00:02:32] like candidates in the upcoming American elections.

[00:02:35] Democratic nominee Kamala Harris' campaign is using them now.

[00:02:39] One ad features a narrator highlighting Harris' experience with a clip from a stump speech

[00:02:44] and down below is a 3D animation of colorful balls rolling on a track.

[00:02:50] Another ad uses the same format but with a spinning chrome shape in the bottom half.

[00:02:56] The campaign has spent a few hundred dollars on each ad, which have been viewed tens of thousands of times.

[00:03:03] 404 Media has a great piece about this whole thing today

[00:03:05] and it suggests that despite the effort, it might not be having the effect that campaign hopes.

[00:03:11] Quote,

[00:03:12] It's not surprising that the Harris' campaign would cater to a very online audience

[00:03:16] given the campaign initially being embraced with joyful memes about coconuts and Kamala's brat summer.

[00:03:24] But while these ads are technically copying the format of other viral social media posts

[00:03:28] they don't appear to be going massively viral organically

[00:03:33] and I certainly wouldn't say they come off as authentic.

[00:03:36] They read as political ads that are obviously trying to appeal to a specific audience

[00:03:41] in this case Gen Zed and the terminally online.

[00:03:47] When marketing B2B software, many vendors rely on either free trials or demos

[00:03:56] to convert prospects into buyers but which works better?

[00:04:00] New research from Obility of B2B SaaS Agency has found free trials drive more form fills per impression than demos.

[00:04:10] The researchers analyzed more than 11,000 responsive paid search ads from January of 2023 to August of this year.

[00:04:19] The ads offered either a free trial or a demo.

[00:04:22] The vendors included both ability clients and non-clients.

[00:04:26] The total spend on ad was more than 20 million.

[00:04:28] As for the results, a demo call to action generally had higher conversion rates

[00:04:35] but the free trial call to action drove a higher click-through rate.

[00:04:41] Specifically for non-branded campaigns free trial calls to action nearly doubled the click-through rate compared to demos.

[00:04:48] We have all the data and a breakdown in a table in today's email newsletter

[00:04:52] which you can find at todayindigital.com slash newsletter

[00:04:55] or sign up for free by just tapping the link at the top of the show notes.

[00:05:03] Short form video is getting a little longer and consumers are here for it.

[00:05:07] According to a new report from social video analytics company Tubular,

[00:05:11] the research found that short form videos are getting longer on both YouTube and TikTok.

[00:05:16] YouTube clips over 30 seconds in length are up 40%.

[00:05:20] On TikTok the trend is moving toward even longer uploads with clips between 1 and 2 minutes also on the rise.

[00:05:26] That said, super short video clips still dominate uploads on TikTok

[00:05:31] but engagement with these clips is waning.

[00:05:35] This suggests users are favoring a new extended version of short form content.

[00:05:40] When it comes to emerging content trends viewership is up in the beauty and music categories.

[00:05:45] Interestingly, business and finance saw a significant rise in the app

[00:05:49] with topics like home ownership at a young age and viral finance tips gaining traction.

[00:05:56] The report also provided an overview of key trends across the major social video apps.

[00:06:00] Instagram's engagement has skyrocketed by a third.

[00:06:04] Facebook video uploads increased by almost two times.

[00:06:07] Comments on TikTok increased by almost 5%

[00:06:10] and viewership on YouTube rose by 15%.

[00:06:14] We have a copy of the full report in today's email newsletter.

[00:07:23] Hey, it's Sean Nelson, founder and CEO of Love Sack and host of the Let Me Save You 25 Years podcast.

[00:07:29] Curious how successful people really made it?

[00:07:31] Tune in to hear from guests like Travis Mills, a true American hero, and Nate Checkits, co-founder of Roan.

[00:07:38] We dive deep into their stories and lessons that shaped them so you can skip the trial and error and get straight to the good stuff.

[00:07:43] You can find out more about the content of this video on YouTube.

[00:07:44] You can find me wherever you get your podcasts.

[00:07:46] That's Let Me Save You 25 Years with Sean Nelson.

[00:07:49] Listen now.

[00:08:14] On the other hand, YouTube says that thumbnails aren't as important as regular video thumbnail images

[00:08:19] because short clips are typically discovered through the full-screen short feed.

[00:08:23] The company added it is working to bring more options to the feature next year.

[00:08:46] Here in the AI image editor within Google Merchant Center feeds, it lets you import product images directly into your Google Ads account.

[00:08:54] The images will be stored and accessible in the Google Ads Asset Library.

[00:08:59] Here's how it works.

[00:09:00] First, you link your Google Ads account to the Google Merchant Center.

[00:09:04] You then import your images from Merchant Center into the Asset Library.

[00:09:09] Note that edited images will not be saved back to the product feed only to the Asset Library.

[00:09:14] For performance max campaigns, you can include up to 20 images per campaign,

[00:09:19] which might limit the number of images you can import from Google Merchant Center.

[00:09:28] Late last year, Amazon's Mammoth Global Media Planning and Buying Account

[00:09:32] valued at more than $2 billion went up for review, and the results are finally in.

[00:09:38] The e-commerce giant has decided to split its media business between two industry giants,

[00:09:43] Omnicom and WPP, rather than selecting a single agency.

[00:09:49] WPP, as in Group M, will manage Amazon's media business in the Asia Pacific and European regions.

[00:09:55] Omnicom will oversee the Americas, dealing with a larger chunk of media spend overall.

[00:10:00] According to convergence data, last year Amazon spent $2.6 billion in North America

[00:10:05] and $133 million in Latin America.

[00:10:08] At the same time though, the e-commerce giant only spent $1.6 billion in Europe

[00:10:12] and only $3.25 billion in the Asia Pacific region.

[00:10:16] However, Digidae reports today that sources close to the decision

[00:10:20] suggest cutting convergent estimates in half for a more accurate read

[00:10:24] on what the two holdcos will actually have to spend,

[00:10:28] as Amazon does some measure of investment in-house.

[00:10:31] Meanwhile, IPG, the previous incumbent on all Amazon's business,

[00:10:35] didn't lose out entirely. The company will retain AWS, Amazon Ads, and Amazon Business.

[00:10:45] And finally, YouTube Studio has added a new website visit goal today for video promotions,

[00:10:51] letting creators drive traffic to their site and measure it.

[00:10:55] Over time, you will be able to track the site visits that you are generating

[00:10:58] on the Promotions tab in YouTube Studio.

[00:11:08] So I am not 100% sure what's going to happen tomorrow.

[00:11:11] Steph, the first few weeks back is Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,

[00:11:14] which means Monday and Friday is just me, and I am feeling awful.

[00:11:19] I am switching meds, which is never fun.

[00:11:22] I was taking a med, which turns out to actually have been a psychiatric medication.

[00:11:26] I wasn't taking it for that reason, but it had a really nice sedative effect

[00:11:30] since I've had long-term insomnia since I was a child.

[00:11:33] So I've got a better pill to help with that.

[00:11:36] But the coming off of the pill that I've been using for insomnia,

[00:11:40] coming off that pill, I think because it was actually a psychiatric med,

[00:11:46] is no fun.

[00:11:47] I guess those of you who have been on psych meds before will know what this is.

[00:11:51] So it's all sorts of nausea and sore muscles,

[00:11:55] and I feel like I have the flu even though I'm missing half of the symptoms.

[00:12:01] So yeah, today's just kind of been gross.

[00:12:04] So I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.

[00:12:06] Maybe I'll be through it and everything will be fine.

[00:12:09] It's possible there won't be an episode tomorrow.

[00:12:11] It's possible there'll be a hybrid where I'll feel up to writing the script

[00:12:15] but not up to actually voicing the podcast, in which case God help me.

[00:12:20] I might have AI read the podcast tomorrow.

[00:12:22] It'll be an adventure, you and I.

[00:12:24] Either way, tomorrow.

[00:12:26] So we'll see.

[00:12:27] Stay tuned to see how terrible I sound with a voice clone,

[00:12:30] I guess is what I'm saying.

[00:12:31] But cross fingers hopefully this will go away with the help of,

[00:12:36] I don't know, more sleep or something.

[00:12:38] All right, that's it for today.

[00:12:39] Thanks for listening.

[00:12:40] See you in some form, maybe tomorrow.

[00:13:39] We'll see you in some form, maybe tomorrow.

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