Latest news with #Advantage+
Scoop
10-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Marketing Agencies Urged To Pivot As Meta Moves Toward Fully Automated Advertising By 2026
Press Release – Alexanders Digital Marketing Agencies that once focused on deliverables like social posts and Google Ads are now being challenged to step into a new role: strategic enablers (helping clients convert leads into customers). With Meta announcing its ambition to fully automate advertising campaigns by 2026 using artificial intelligence, social media marketing agencies are quaking in their boots, and being urged to rethink their role in a fast-evolving digital landscape. According to a recent Reuters report, Meta is investing heavily in AI systems that will plan, purchase, and optimise ad campaigns with minimal human input, generating 30-40% better results at 10% of the cost, which could potentially wipe out much of the creative industry around social. The announcement signals a dramatic acceleration toward a future where media buying, and ad creative are machine-led. This shift is already being felt across the industry. AI tools like ChatGPT, Canva, and Meta's own Advantage+ are allowing small and mid-sized businesses to produce marketing content and run campaigns in-house, reducing their reliance on traditional agencies for execution. 'Clients no longer need an agency to write every post, design every banner, or set up every ad campaign,' said Rachel Alexander, founder of Alexanders, Christchurch's first digital marketing agency. 'They have Canva, ChatGPT, HeyGen, MidJourney & Meta automation. What they need now is someone to help them make sense of it all,' she said. Agencies that once focused on deliverables like social posts and Google Ads are now being challenged to step into a new role: strategic enablers (helping clients convert leads into customers). A recent YouTube vlog 'Meta just killed the creative industry: The 2026 Automation Apocalypse' by Julia McCoy, CEO at First Movers & AI thought leader, describes this well. 'Agencies must pivot from being tactical executors to strategic advisors, bringing clarity, structure, and prioritisation to an increasingly overwhelming landscape,' said McCoy. 'Business marketers need to think of their agency as a marketing generalist doctor: diagnosing weak points, recommending tailored treatments, and coaching internal teams through implementation,' said Alexander. With many SMEs building internal marketing teams and experimenting with DIY tools, the opportunity for agencies lies in offering higher-value services such as sales enablement, CRM integration, AI content workflows, and conversion strategy. 'It's less about deliverables, more about direction. Less about content calendars, more about conversion journeys…The marketing agency of the future is less like a factory and more like a consultancy,' said McCoy. Alexander said she is mindful, but not anxious, because we've always been a hybrid between a marketing consultancy and marketing agency. For New Zealand agencies looking to adapt, this means embracing AI, not competing with it and reasserting their value as interpreters, integrators, and insight-driven advisors. 'AI has been disruptive technology but being agile is the key to success. It's helped us survive for 28 years. Time to pivot again!,' said Alexander.
Business of Fashion
10-06-2025
- Business
- Business of Fashion
How to Acquire Customers with Instagram Ads in 2025
Advertisers are starting to get a little more bang for their buck on Instagram. In the years after Apple made it harder to track iPhone users' online activities in 2021, the metrics on social marketing mostly headed in one direction: more expensive, less effective. But recently, the data has started looking better. The number of customers who click on Facebook and Instagram ads grew 14 percent year-over-year in the first five months of 2025, while the cost for each of those clicks dropped 10 percent during the same period, according to marketing agency Belardi Wong. There's no one reason online marketing has suddenly opened up again. In the last year, Meta added more AI tools through a platform called Advantage+, which it launched in 2022, that makes it easier for brands to target the right audiences with specific types of ads they're most likely to engage with. A study the company conducted last year found that brands using Advantage+ have seen a 22 percent higher return on ad spend on average, according to Jackie Pimentel, global lead of ads product marketing for Meta. (The company is reportedly planning to fully automate ad creation and targeting in 2026.) (BoF Team) As ads get cheaper, and more effective, it's creating an opening for a new generation of fashion start-ups. Many new brands have leaned towards building a following through their own social media content because paid ads were too expensive, especially when customers who click on them often fail to return. Now, performance marketing is a bigger part of the mix again. What those ads look like has changed since 2021, however. AI may enhance targeting capabilities, but consumers often recoil if the ad itself looks like it was generated by a machine. Potential customers still want to see great storytelling, whether it's glossy still images or pithy reels that show off a brand's personality. Womenswear brand Damson Madder, for example, 'takes a really bespoke approach to what creative we are servicing at every stage in [the] customer journey,' said Emma Shepherd, the brand's head of marketing. Damson Madder uses more polished campaigns to draw in new customers and product-specific imagery to retarget existing customers. Repurposed user-generated content helps fill in storytelling gaps. In two recent videos repackaged as ads, creators Polly Sayer and Poppy Almond show off different outfits they wore during Copenhagen Fashion Week, providing a deeper look at how specific pieces and looks can be styled for everything from café hopping to meetings. 'If you looked at Instagram a few years ago and just Meta ads in general, it used to be like, how do you figure out your targeting to make sure that you target the right audience,' said Emanuel Cinca, founder and chief executive of the Stacked Marketer newsletter. 'It's changed in the past year or so, where almost 80/20 percent of the performance is given by how good your creatives are.' Polished Campaigns A top-performing Instagram ad from With Nothing Underneath's summer 2025 campaign. (With Nothing Underneath) A still from Damson Madder's top-performing January 2025 campaign. (Damson Madder) A still from Set Active's spring 2025 "Coastal Countryside" campaign. (Set Active) When advertising on Instagram, the biggest challenge is getting people to notice an ad when they're quickly scrolling. Brands need to ensure their personality shines through so audiences can quickly get to know their brand identity and also remember them more easily. With these campaigns, consistency in aesthetic and tone of voice goes a long way. Women's shirting brand With Nothing Underneath produces all of its imagery in the brand's signature film camera style, which can have a soft, diffused look that appears more organic than digital photos. It also helps keep costs down; images from a summer 2025 campaign shoot in the South of France were used for both paid ads and posts on its page. One of those ads, which featured a photo of a woman sunning herself overlaid with with the quote 'To be worn effortlessly, without thought or anything underneath,' had 28 percent lower cost per acquisition than its average ad. 'When they get hit with an ad, it would be so weird for them to be hit with something that was not from the same shoot, with a different tone of voice and super corporate copy when they're used to our tone of voice,' said Pip Durell, With Nothing Underneath's founder. 'Our tone of voice is very British … It's a little tongue in cheek. It's not that serious.' Damson Madder uses campaign imagery that tells a story and leans into its playful, quirky style to draw new shoppers in. In January, for instance, it released one of its top-performing campaign carousel ads of 2025 featuring models faced with the slightly surreal chaos of returning to the office after the holiday season. 'Stuff that has some storytelling and intrigue, but is also really beautiful, slick, inspirational fashion campaign imagery and video … is what really draws customers in at the top of the funnel,' said Shepherd. User-Generated Content A UGC video posted during Copenhagen Fashion Week, which Damson Madder repurposed as an ad. (Damson Madder) One of Lisa Says Gah's UGC-style ads produced in-house. (Lisa Says Gah) A college ambassador video Set Active repurposed as an ad. (Set Active) Many brands have turned to repurposing user-generated content to create ads that feel less pushy. The original videos are mostly non-sponsored posts made by influencers walking viewers through a product's functionality or offering styling tips, although some brands are creating in-house versions starring team members. To grow that strategy, brands are getting more strategic about how they work with creators to re-use product content they post. Instead of overloading on gifting, as consumers get better at sniffing out inauthentic sponsored posts, brands are developing longer-lasting partnerships with creators who can choose to post about a product if they wish, and repurposing styling or educational videos that emphasise a product's utility. 'We've done that in the past … where 1,000 people would post the same thing on the same day,' said Vicky Boudreau, founder of micro-influencer platform Heylist. 'Now if you do a campaign asking everybody to post the same messaging within the same format, it looks super staged.' Set Active sees user-generated videos working 'because consumers can see how it moves, how it flows, how it fits into a daily life,' said Johnson, and the brand has recently scaled this content to make up 25 percent of its ads, up from 15 percent. The brand directly collects videos created by its community, and then requests usage rights. Some brands have even taken to producing content in-house that mimics what users might create. One of Lisa Says Gah's top five performing campaigns in the past year, for example, featured the brand's creative producer modelling the Jenny dress, and generated a $6 return — while its typical return on ad spend has been $5 for the year thus far. Product-Focused Imagery A Damson Madder ad highlighting some of its accessories. (Damson Madder) A Lisa Says Gah ad highlighting pieces from its summer collection. A Set Active video ad featuring pieces from the brand's core collection. (Set Active) Brands are learning when to push product-specific imagery — whether flat-lay product images or e-commerce product shots — which were once known to clog users' feeds but can be effective at converting shoppers who are already familiar with a brand. While Spanish womenswear brand Hand Over primarily focuses on campaigns and creator content, it uses product shots 'when we feel people need to just add it to the cart, maybe on Black Friday or a day after a drop,' said Lucia Mac Lean, the brand's creative lead. Product-focused visuals can be similarly effective in a video format. One of Set Active's top-performing ads is an 11-second video overlaid with the caption 'pov: your summer 2025 capsule wardrobe has arrived,' which showcases how a variety of pieces from their most recent collection can be styled. Whether a brand is producing polished campaigns, repurposing user content or drilling down to product-specific imagery, it needs to ensure its ads are reaching consumers at the right point in their shopping journey. New AI tools are helping brands quickly put an ad in front of a group of customers and see how they respond to it before pushing the ad out to a larger pool of users, said Cinca from Stacked Marketer. 'The biggest benefit is just the ease of testing,' he added. The tools are also helping brands reach larger audiences on Instagram, Meta's Pimentel said. 'Instead of like 100 people, where we look to see who among these 100 people are right for your ad, for your business? Who might convert? We actually can do that at a much larger scale,' she said. While many brands are still figuring out how much AI targeting they want to use, especially around tools that tailor the content of ads to specific customers, it's important to continue prioritising the quality of their content. 'It's reached a point where, really, the creatives are what matter the most,' said Cinca.
Scoop
10-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Marketing Agencies Urged To Pivot As Meta Moves Toward Fully Automated Advertising By 2026
With Meta announcing its ambition to fully automate advertising campaigns by 2026 using artificial intelligence, social media marketing agencies are quaking in their boots, and being urged to rethink their role in a fast-evolving digital landscape. According to a recent Reuters report, Meta is investing heavily in AI systems that will plan, purchase, and optimise ad campaigns with minimal human input, generating 30-40% better results at 10% of the cost, which could potentially wipe out much of the creative industry around social. The announcement signals a dramatic acceleration toward a future where media buying, and ad creative are machine-led. This shift is already being felt across the industry. AI tools like ChatGPT, Canva, and Meta's own Advantage+ are allowing small and mid-sized businesses to produce marketing content and run campaigns in-house, reducing their reliance on traditional agencies for execution. "Clients no longer need an agency to write every post, design every banner, or set up every ad campaign," said Rachel Alexander, founder of Alexanders, Christchurch's first digital marketing agency."They have Canva, ChatGPT, HeyGen, MidJourney & Meta automation. What they need now is someone to help them make sense of it all,' she said. Agencies that once focused on deliverables like social posts and Google Ads are now being challenged to step into a new role: strategic enablers (helping clients convert leads into customers). A recent YouTube vlog 'Meta just killed the creative industry: The 2026 Automation Apocalypse' by Julia McCoy, CEO at First Movers & AI thought leader, describes this well. 'Agencies must pivot from being tactical executors to strategic advisors, bringing clarity, structure, and prioritisation to an increasingly overwhelming landscape,' said McCoy. 'Business marketers need to think of their agency as a marketing generalist doctor: diagnosing weak points, recommending tailored treatments, and coaching internal teams through implementation,' said Alexander. With many SMEs building internal marketing teams and experimenting with DIY tools, the opportunity for agencies lies in offering higher-value services such as sales enablement, CRM integration, AI content workflows, and conversion strategy. 'It's less about deliverables, more about direction. Less about content calendars, more about conversion journeys…The marketing agency of the future is less like a factory and more like a consultancy,' said McCoy. Alexander said she is mindful, but not anxious, because we've always been a hybrid between a marketing consultancy and marketing agency. For New Zealand agencies looking to adapt, this means embracing AI, not competing with it and reasserting their value as interpreters, integrators, and insight-driven advisors. 'AI has been disruptive technology but being agile is the key to success. It's helped us survive for 28 years. Time to pivot again!," said Alexander.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
User Engagement & AI Fuel Blockbuster Q1 Results for META Platforms Stock
I've been pounding the table on Meta Platforms (META) for years, writing several articles about why it's a screaming buy. Following the stock's steep sell-off last month as tariff-driven fears overwhelmed the market, I took advantage of the situation and continued adding to my long META position. Protect Your Portfolio Against Market Uncertainty Meta Platforms (META) price history over the past twelve months Buying the dip was a great idea, as the social media giant's Q1 earnings blew the doors off expectations last week, forcing analysts to scramble and reprice the stock. Yet, the core story hasn't changed: Meta's growth is relentless, and its shares are ultra cheap compared to recent quarters. Earlier today, DBS analyst Sachin Mittal maintained his bullish stance on META reiterating a Buy rating with a lowered price target of $608 per share. In a research note, Mittal said that Meta Platforms' strong financial performance and strategic initiatives are the reasons for sustained upside, with AI being the single largest driver of current revenues and future expectations. Importantly, Mittal pointed that 'successful monetization efforts, particularly with its Reels feature, which has seen a substantial increase in user engagement and monetization.' Sustained Excellence Fuels Revenue Surge Meta's Q1 was a masterclass in execution, with revenue surpassing $42.3 billion, up 16% year-over-year, smashing estimates by nearly $1 billion. The company's Family Daily Active People (DAP) climbed to 3.43 billion, a 6% jump, reflecting sticky user engagement across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. This, paired with AI-driven content recommendations, boosted ad impressions by 5%, while average ad prices rose 10%. Meta Platforms Forecast EPS vs Actual EPS Management credited AI tools like the Advantage+ suite for sharpening ad targeting, supporting higher returns for advertisers, and fueling engagement. For context, Instagram Reels alone saw 20% year-over-year growth. Meta AI, now with nearly 1 billion monthly active users, is weaving personalized experiences that keep users hooked, directly lifting these metrics. It would seem Meta's heavy investment in AI infrastructure and models like Llama is the company's 'secret sauce', since they optimize everything from content curation to ad delivery. CFO Susan Li noted on the earnings call that these tools are 'unlocking new levels of efficiency and engagement,' particularly in short-form video and messaging. So the game has shifted from just growing the user base to employing more intelligent systems, making every interaction more valuable, and, in turn, pushing revenue to new heights.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta's Threads opens up ads to global advertisers
Months after first testing ads in select markets, including the U.S., Meta on Wednesday announced that its Instagram Threads app would now expand ads to all advertisers worldwide. The expansion will allow eligible advertisers to reach Threads's over 320 million monthly active users, and it will include access to an inventory filter to control the sensitivity level of content next to which the ads run. The company says that the new ad placement within the Threads feed will be switched on by default for all new ad campaigns that use either Meta's Advantage+ or Manual Placements. However, advertisers on the latter plan will have the option to opt out of the Threads feed. Meta notes that the ads themselves will only be delivered in select markets at launch and will roll out to more markets over time. To date, Threads has been testing ads in the U.S. and Japan. The expansion signals that Meta believes that the Threads community is now robust enough to monetize and compete for advertiser dollars against its top rival, Elon Musk's X. What's more, Meta believes its platform is more advertiser-friendly, as three out of four Threads users already follow at least one business on the app. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors on the comapny's most recent earnings call in January that he expects Threads to reach over 1 billion people over the next "several years." He also noted that the network had been adding "more than 1 million sign-ups per day." However, the Threads app itself didn't entirely grow organically. Instead, it benefited from the network effects of being connected to Instagram, building on Instagram's existing friend graph when onboarding new users. That made Threads nearly instantly function as an extension of users' Instagram networks, where they could follow a similar set of friends, creators, and brands as before. That competitive edge, built on the base of owning and operating some of the world's biggest social networks, is something Meta is now defending in its antitrust trial with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The trial could ultimately result in Meta being forced to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp, if the government's prosecution is successful. To help grow Threads, Meta has borrowed concepts from emerging social networks like Mastodon and Bluesky. Like Mastodon, Meta is integrating its app with the ActivityPub protocol, which connects Threads to a wider, decentralized open web known as the fediverse. Though that integration has yet to complete, Threads could one day easily become the largest service operating in the fediverse as a result, dwarfing Mastodon's 8+ million registered users and its under one million monthly actives. In total, the fediverse today (not including Threads) has north of 16 million users. Threads has also copied some of Bluesky's more popular features, including the ability to create custom feeds outside of the default algorithmic feed, and introduced its own take on Bluesky's Starter Packs, offering curated lists of recommended users for newcomers to follow. Unlike Bluesky, which now has over 35 million users, Threads users are still defaulted to Threads' "For You" feed when they launch the app. They also don't have the option to control their own moderation preferences, as Bluesky users do. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at Sign in to access your portfolio
