Google Cracks Open Pmax Black Box

[00:00:01] It's Tuesday, November 12th. Today, Google unlocks A-B testing in Performance Max. Advertising

[00:00:09] in italics could boost your sales by 30%. Pinterest revenue grows just slower and Amazon

[00:00:15] unwraps a digital holiday shopping hub. I'm Steph Gunn sitting in for Tod Maffin. That's

[00:00:21] ahead today in Digital Marketing. But before we get started today, there are some big changes

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[00:00:49] Google is cracking open the Performance Max Black Box a tiny bit. Adweek reports that

[00:00:56] Google has rolled out an A-B testing feature for Pmax which lets advertisers test how changes,

[00:01:01] such as updating creative assets or landing pages, impact campaign performance. Google

[00:01:06] recently announced plans to launch new experiments in Performance Max, which will let advertisers add

[00:01:12] more creative assets like images, text, and video for select retailers in beta this month, as well as

[00:01:19] final URL expansion which lets Google dynamically select the most relevant landing page. Some advertisers

[00:01:25] reported having access to the Performance Max optimization experiments feature for more than a month through a

[00:01:31] whitelist program that provides early priority access. Quoting Adweek, while marketers have been happy to use

[00:01:37] Google's three-year-old Pmax, they have also criticized its black box nature. Now advertisers can set a base

[00:01:45] campaign on Performance Max and run an experimental campaign simultaneously, testing elements like

[00:01:51] creative assets or bidding strategies, sources said. Once the test begins, Google divides traffic equally between

[00:01:58] the two campaigns, serving either the base or experimental ad to users across Search, Display, YouTube, and other

[00:02:06] Google platforms. After the test period, advertisers can see which campaign performed better." End quote.

[00:02:16] Is your ad campaign leaning enough to the right? As you finalize your Black Friday campaign, your team might be

[00:02:23] split over what seems like a small decision – italic font or not. According to a recent study, that minor

[00:02:30] change could have a major impact on your sales. The study found that using italics boosts engagement. Emails with

[00:02:37] italicized promotions saw a three times higher click rate, and respondents were 30% more likely to make

[00:02:44] a purchase. The study recommends using italic fonts for special promotions, like discounts or package deals,

[00:02:50] instead of regular fonts, as italics are slanted to the right, which suggests movement forward. According to

[00:02:57] the study's researchers, this subtle shift is subconsciously linked to moving in time, making

[00:03:02] promotions in italics feel more urgent. As a result, consumers are more likely to act quickly, sensing

[00:03:09] that the promotion is nearing its end. Consumers, however, vary in how sensitive they are to deals.

[00:03:15] Some fear missing out and paying a higher price later, while others are less influenced, regardless of the

[00:03:20] font style.

[00:03:26] Pinterest's revenue push has hit a speed bump. The company recently reported that its third quarter

[00:03:31] revenue growth slowed to 18% down from earlier gains, even as net income climbed to $30.5 million

[00:03:38] and user numbers stayed strong. The company had seen growth surpass 20% earlier this year after a sluggish

[00:03:45] 2023, driven by new features simplifying in-app purchases. Despite cooling revenue growth,

[00:03:51] Pinterest maintained a 10% increase in global user numbers. However, the company now braces for further

[00:03:57] slowing in the fourth quarter, projecting growth between 15% and 17%. Pinterest's stock fell nearly 15%

[00:04:05] after the announcement.

[00:04:11] No, Instagram isn't throttling your sponsored posts to make you cough up cash. At least, that's what

[00:04:18] Instagram head Adam Mosseri says. He recently shut down the myth that the platform deliberately

[00:04:23] downranks posts tagged as sponsored content in order to force brands to pay for reach. Quoting Mosseri,

[00:04:31] We don't downrank posts that you mark as sponsored. It helps us understand to know what is sponsored,

[00:04:38] but it's important for creators to mark things as sponsored without fear of downranking so that they

[00:04:44] can comply with local laws all around the world." And while we're on the topic of paying to boost reach,

[00:04:51] Instagram has expanded its post-boosting options to include more post types. Previously, posts with

[00:04:57] GIFs, stickers, or copyrighted music were ineligible for boosting due to system limitations and copyright

[00:05:03] restrictions. But now, Instagram says most GIFs and stickers can be boosted. Keep in mind that it's

[00:05:10] most, not all posts. And it's still unclear what will qualify for boosting. However, if you've struggled

[00:05:16] to boost some of your top performing organic posts in the past, now might be the time to revisit them.

[00:05:25] Google has released version 2.8 of the Google Ads Editor, its free app for managing ad campaigns.

[00:05:32] The update brings several new features including AI-generated images, export to Google Sheets,

[00:05:37] an updated help center, and more. Other key updates include brand guidelines support for performance

[00:05:43] max, image cropping tools, enhanced video controls, and improved inventory controls for video campaigns,

[00:05:50] as well as third-party measurement settings previously available only for video campaigns,

[00:05:55] are now extended to performance max and demand gen campaigns. Also, strict age and gender targeting

[00:06:01] options. Google also deprecated demand gen product feed campaigns in version 2.8,

[00:06:07] converting them to standard demand gen campaigns, and no new ones can be created.

[00:06:15] As the holiday shopping season ramps up, Amazon has launched a 3D virtual holiday shop where customers

[00:06:22] can watch content and browse new products. The shop includes a dedicated virtual toy shop featuring

[00:06:28] products from brands like Play-Doh, Lego, and Disney. Throughout the season, Amazon plans to update its

[00:06:34] product selection in the virtual shop with hundreds of items. You know what they say, there's no place

[00:06:40] like Amazon for the holidays. I'm currently dealing with a very snotty toddler and it's always scary when

[00:06:50] they get a runny nose because you don't know if it's teething or if they are getting sick for like the

[00:06:54] 900th time of the year and they're going to take you down with them. I'm hoping it's just teething.

[00:07:00] Don't sleep on our email newsletter. It's free, it's daily, and it's packed with everything from the

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[00:07:10] or visit todayindigital.com slash newsletter to join. Thanks for listening. I'm Steph Gunn.

[00:07:16] Todd is away this week, which means I will talk to you tomorrow.