Latest news with #advertising
Geeky Gadgets
43 minutes ago
- Business
- Geeky Gadgets
Google Veo 3 : The Secret Weapon for High-Quality Video Advert Marketing
What if creating professional, eye-catching video ads was as simple as typing out a few ideas? Enter Google Veo 3, a innovative AI tool that's transforming how businesses approach video advertising. Imagine crafting a sleek, eight-second ad that feels like it was made by a top-tier production team—without the hefty price tag or weeks of back-and-forth edits. With its ability to seamlessly integrate audio, text overlays, and polished transitions, Veo 3 is more than just a tool; it's a fantastic option for marketers looking to stand out in a crowded digital landscape. The promise? High-quality, user-generated content (UGC)-style ads that connect with audiences on an authentic level. In this breakdown, Corbin Brown explores how Google Veo 3 is reshaping the video ad creation process, offering businesses a way to produce engaging, professional-grade content with minimal effort. You'll discover the tool's standout features, from script-based customization to its ability to showcase products with stunning visual clarity. But it's not all smooth sailing—Veo 3 has its quirks, and knowing its limitations is just as important as understanding its strengths. Whether you're a small business owner or a seasoned marketer, this guide will help you decide if Veo 3 is the right fit for your advertising needs. After all, the future of video marketing might just be a few clicks away. Google Veo 3 Overview Understanding Google Veo 3 Google Veo 3 is an advanced AI-driven platform designed to streamline the process of video ad creation. It enables businesses to produce short, visually appealing video clips—up to eight seconds in length—tailored to their branding and messaging needs. Its standout features include: Audio Integration: Add background music or voiceovers to enhance the emotional impact of your message. Add background music or voiceovers to enhance the emotional impact of your message. Text Overlays: Highlight key points with customizable text elements that align with your brand identity. Highlight key points with customizable text elements that align with your brand identity. Realistic Transitions: Ensure smooth and professional scene changes for a polished final product. For example, if you're promoting a new product like a smartphone, Veo 3 can generate a dynamic video showcasing its features, complete with branded text and audio. The tool's ability to follow detailed prompts ensures that the final output aligns closely with your creative vision. Performance and Practical Use Google Veo 3 has been tested across various projects, including advertisements for software solutions and physical products. For instance, when tasked with creating an ad for a software company called 'Bumpups,' Veo 3 produced a visually engaging clip featuring a user interacting with the software. The video included a voiceover and branded text, effectively highlighting the product's key features. However, during testing, some challenges were observed. Occasional issues such as audio synchronization errors and minor visual inaccuracies required manual adjustments. Despite these limitations, the tool demonstrated its ability to produce high-quality, professional-looking content with minimal effort. Create AI Video Ads with Google Veo 3 Watch this video on YouTube. Master AI video generation with the help of our in-depth articles and helpful guides. Core Features of Google Veo 3 Google Veo 3 offers a robust set of features that make it a valuable asset for businesses aiming to create impactful video advertisements. These include: AI Video Generation: Advanced algorithms generate high-quality, tailored video content that aligns with your branding. Advanced algorithms generate high-quality, tailored video content that aligns with your branding. Audio Integration: Seamlessly incorporate background music or voiceovers to enhance the emotional appeal of your ads. Seamlessly incorporate background music or voiceovers to enhance the emotional appeal of your ads. Text Overlays: Add customizable text to emphasize key messages or branding elements. Add customizable text to emphasize key messages or branding elements. Realistic Transitions: Smooth transitions between scenes create a professional and cohesive viewing experience. Smooth transitions between scenes create a professional and cohesive viewing experience. Script-Based Customization: Provide detailed scripts to guide the content creation process and ensure alignment with your vision. Provide detailed scripts to guide the content creation process and ensure alignment with your vision. Product Visualization: Showcase physical products effectively with realistic and visually appealing depictions. These features empower businesses to create professional-grade video ads without the need for extensive resources, technical expertise, or large production budgets. Limitations to Be Aware Of While Google Veo 3 offers numerous advantages, it is not without its limitations. Key considerations include: Video Length: The eight-second cap on video length may not be sufficient for more complex narratives. However, combining multiple clips can help create longer videos. The eight-second cap on video length may not be sufficient for more complex narratives. However, combining multiple clips can help create longer videos. Output Accuracy: Occasional issues with audio synchronization or visual details may require manual intervention to achieve the desired quality. These limitations indicate that while Veo 3 is a powerful tool, it may not fully replace traditional video production methods for all use cases, particularly those requiring longer or more intricate storytelling. Applications in Modern Marketing Google Veo 3 is particularly well-suited for businesses seeking efficient and cost-effective video production solutions. Its ability to quickly generate high-quality content makes it an ideal choice for small to medium-sized enterprises with limited budgets. Potential applications include: UGC-Style Video Ads: Create relatable and authentic ads that resonate with your target audience. Create relatable and authentic ads that resonate with your target audience. Product Marketing: Highlight product features and benefits in visually engaging ways to drive customer interest. Highlight product features and benefits in visually engaging ways to drive customer interest. Branding Integration: Seamlessly incorporate your brand identity into video content to enhance recognition and consistency. By using Veo 3, businesses can enhance their marketing efforts, improve audience engagement, and reduce production costs, all while maintaining a professional standard of quality. The Future of AI in Video Advertising As AI technology continues to evolve, tools like Google Veo 3 are set to play an increasingly significant role in the marketing and content creation landscape. The ability to produce video ads that rival human-created content opens up new possibilities for personalization and audience engagement. In the future, advancements in AI may enable these tools to support longer, more complex video narratives, further expanding their applications and utility. Google Veo 3 represents a significant step forward in AI-powered video generation, offering businesses a practical and efficient solution for creating high-quality video advertisements. While it has its limitations, its potential to streamline production processes and reduce costs makes it a valuable tool for modern marketers. As AI technology progresses, tools like Veo 3 are poised to shape the future of advertising, allowing businesses to connect with their audiences in more dynamic and impactful ways. Media Credit: Corbin Brown Filed Under: AI, Top News Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Berenberg initiates coverage of these two mid-cap U.K. names
- M&C Saatchi's (LON:SAA) non-advertising business is to lead growth at the company until 2027, according to analysts at Berenberg. In a note launching their coverage of the creative solutions agency, the strategists predicted that M&C's divisions like consulting and media would grow at a combined 5% in the period from stretching from its prior fiscal year to 2027. Earnings before interest and taxes margin at M&C's non-advertising units was 25.3% in 2024, they noted, flagging the figure was 11.2% at its advertising segment. "The non-advertising business is less cyclical and therefore the earnings quality will continue to improve as it increases as part of the overall mix," the analysts said. Group-wide revenue is tipped to increase by 3% during that same period, they predicted, adding that the firm's management is also "delivering cost efficiencies." In 2024, M&C, whose clients include firms like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), delivered 10 million British pounds in annualized savings and has targeted an additional 3 million pounds in efficiencies this year. EBIT margin is seen expanding to 16.3% by M&C's 2027 fiscal year. The analysts gave M&C a "buy" rating and set a price target of 240p, indicating an increase of roughly 23% from its current level. Elsewhere, the Berenberg analysts also began coverage of specialist manufacturer and steel panel radiator distributor Stelrad (LON:SRAD) with a "buy" rating and placed a price objective on the mid-cap U.K. stock of 200p. "Management has set out a medium-term strategy to grow market share by 1-2%, to increase the contribution per radiator above GBP21 and to increase the operating margin to 13%," the analysts wrote. "With the evidence at hand, we think these targets are achievable and, as European new-build and repair, maintenance and improvement volumes recover, we think the group could go further." Related articles Berenberg initiates coverage of these two mid-cap U.K. names Uber would be a 'natural strategic partner for Waymo in NYC': Jefferies Potential fee misses at Nordic banks may catch attention this quarter - Barclays Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Tahawul Tech
3 hours ago
- Business
- Tahawul Tech
Meta to introduce ads to WhatsApp
Meta looks to turn popular messaging platform WhatsApp into a fresh revenue stream via advertisements and paid subscriptions. The changes centre on WhatsApp's Updates tab, which hosts the app's user status feature and has 1.5 billion daily visits globally. With the latest upgrade, this section will house advertisements and commercial content separate from users' private chats. A new channel subscriptions feature will allow users to pay a monthly fee to receive exclusive updates from selected channels, such as news providers or public figures. Meanwhile, promoted channels will enable users to discover new creators, while also giving channel admins the option to boost their visibility in the commercial directory. In addition, ads shown directly in the status section will allow users to engage directly with businesses promoting products or services. In a statement, Meta emphasised that personal messages will remain ad-free and fully encrypted. The company explained that ad targeting will rely on general information such as location, language, followed channels, and user interaction with ads. For users who have linked WhatsApp with Meta's Accounts Centre, ad preferences across the company's services such as Instagram may also be used. Meta stressed that it will not sell or share phone numbers with advertisers, and personal messages, calls and group activity will remain off-limits for ad targeting. Rollout of the new tools is set to take place over the coming months. WhatsApp, acquired by Meta for $19 billion in 2014, has until now avoided traditional advertising, instead offering tools for small businesses such as shopping and digital payments. The update forms part of Meta's push diversify revenue streams as it ramps up investment in AI; the company recently committed $14.8 billion for a 49 per cent stake in AI data-labelling company Scale AI. Source: Mobile World Live Image Credit: Stock Image/Meta
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Reddit Stock Was Moving Higher This Week
Reddit shares gained as it launched new AI tools. The stock also got a positive note from a Wall Street analyst. Reddit has soared since its IPO last year. 10 stocks we like better than Reddit › Shares of Reddit (NYSE: RDDT) were moving higher this week after the company launched two new AI-powered advertising tools and benefited from some positive analyst commentary on the stock. According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, the stock was up 19.4% for the week as of Wednesday's close. At the Cannes Lions festival, Reddit announced Reddit Community Intelligence, a new tool that can power insights for advertisers from more than 22 million posts on Reddit. As part of the launch, it introduced two new "early stage products," Reddit Insights and Conversation Summary Add-ons. Reddit Insights is a "scalable, AI-powered social listening tool" that gives marketers proprietary data to help guide ad campaigns. The Conversation Summary add-on integrates positive user content directly below an ad, helping to get ads better placement and views. Advertising is Reddit's primary source of revenue, but the company has historically struggled to monetize its platform the way some larger social media platforms have. On Wednesday, Reddit jumped 5.5% as B. Riley said that Meta's deal with Scale AI, in which it's spending $14.3 billion on a 49% stake in the data labeling company, was a positive sign for Reddit as point to the value of the content on its platform, which Reddit refers to as its "corpus." Reddit has been a big winner since its IPO last month, but the stock has also pulled back sharply from its peak as investors seem to be doubting whether the company can maintain its strong growth rate. The launch of the AI advertising tools is a step in the right direction, as anything it can do to maintain its momentum in both usage and advertising growth should help drive the social media stock higher. Before you buy stock in Reddit, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Reddit wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $659,171!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $891,722!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 995% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Jeremy Bowman has positions in Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Reddit Stock Was Moving Higher This Week was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
How the culture war is remaking advertising
During this year's Super Bowl, American viewers were given a blast from the past when food chain Carl's Jr once again rolled out an ad featuring scantily clad women, having ditched its long-time 'burgers and bikinis' approach in 2017. Bud Light, which attracted boycotts after working with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in 2023, put out a campaign featuring guys drinking beer and barbecuing big steaks for a lawn party in a stereotypical US suburban cul-de-sac. For many marketers, these sort of ads were the latest signs that big US and international brands, after years of talk about purpose and inclusion in their corporate messaging, are now playing to the Maga crowd. Some have gone even farther; restaurant chain Steak 'n Shake, for example, sponsored a recent bitcoin conference, and tweeted posts appealing to Tesla Cybertruck drivers. Its pinned post on X features US health secretary Robert F Kennedy jnr . READ MORE Yet at the same time, senior advertising bosses say campaigns featuring themes of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are now being blocked by some brand owners, who are nervous of a backlash from anti-woke campaigners and Republican politicians. 'We've had a lot of ideas that were pro-LGBTQ, or pro for the black community, pulled back on because of what's happening with the Trump administration,' says one senior advertising boss who, like many of the executives that the Financial Times spoke to, did not want to be named for fear of sparking a further negative response. The election of Donald Trump has brought added fears of legal action against DEI initiatives in the US and scrutiny by regulators and Christian faith shareholders over perceived bias in advertising. Top marketers in the US say the increased nervousness about being attacked for being 'woke' by conservatives on platforms such as Elon Musk 's X is changing how they approach spending often constrained budgets to reach consumers. Consumer behaviour is becoming more polarised. A new report from FCB, the advertising agency, and Angus Reid, the Canadian pollster, found that political leaning had a clear impact on consumer choices. FCB's Global chief executive Tyler Turnbull says that brands are now political, and it was 'really no longer viable for marketers to ignore the political perspective of their target audiences'. It is not only an American phenomenon. Flora Joll, strategy director at creative agency JOAN London, says she has seen 'campaigns get diluted across the board' in part owing to 'increasing nervousness about attracting the wrong kind of public attention'. She adds: 'The woke wars in the UK are far behind where the US have been for a while, but it is starting to bite here and a [possible] recession would only have an exacerbating effect.' It adds up to an unusually complicated time for marketers as they congregated in the south of France for the annual Cannes Lions advertising festival this week. In a poll of global chief marketing officers by the World Federation of Advertisers published this week, more than four-fifths of respondents said the operating environment was now riskier for brands. A similar number said they were taking more time to 'agree what they stand for and how they articulate positions and values externally in their marketing communications'. PR agency executives say their big workload now is advising brands on how to react to Trump's unpredictable salvos on anything from DEI to tariffs. 'Most of the time they just want to say nothing,' says a senior PR executive. The nervousness means advertising is shying away from the role it has played for decades in expanding mainstream culture to include historically less-represented people, including those marginalised by their race, sexuality or disabilities. Often this was ahead of its time; in 1994, the year a gay couple appeared in a US TV commercial for the first time, more than a dozen US states still had laws that prohibited gay men from having consensual sex. The risk for an industry that still celebrates diversity in its own ranks is that the sort of free thinking that can underpin creativity will be unduly muted at a time when the traditional industry roles are under assault from the emergence of AI. 'There's been a shift towards the more reassuring, more run of the mill. That's what's going to happen until things settle. It's very, very uncertain,' says one agency boss. 'You're seeing a lot less purpose-led ideas around DEI – not because they don't exist but because clients are getting nervous. You don't want to be targeted.' To a certain extent, advertising has become the battleground for broader culture war conflicts in the corporate world. Shareholder activists, for example, are now using their clout to influence companies to reverse their positions on matters of diversity and inclusion, following the lead of the White House. The Alliance Defending Freedom – an organisation set up to protect Christian values – has backed shareholders who have filed more than 60 resolutions for the 2025 proxy season. It claims to have helped push a number of the world's largest advertisers into enshrining 'viewpoint neutrality' when it comes to their creative work. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys and its shareholder partners most recently claimed victory after IBM moved to 'viewpoint neutrality' in its advertising policies last month, adding to a list that they say includes PepsiCo and Johnson & Johnson . These companies did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement to the FT, the Alliance Defending Freedom said that IBM was the latest company to take steps to 'prevent future viewpoint-based discrimination', adding: 'No corporation should be involved in or allow for censorship at any level. We hope every company ... recommits to doing its part to protect freedom of speech and thought in our nation and throughout the world.' An antitrust lawsuit filed last year by X against Global Alliance for Responsible Media, a brand safety initiative backed by advertisers and ad agencies, as well as some companies, accused them of co-ordinating an 'illegal boycott' of the site. The initiative, which was part of the World Federation of Advertisers, has since shut down. The coalition of advertisers, including Nestlé and Shell , last month asked a federal judge in Texas to dismiss the lawsuit, saying that their decisions to suspend advertising on X were made independently and reflected concerns over the platform's content moderation practices. 'There is a genuine fear of reprisal, based on not just opinion, but actually some real fear of legal ramifications at some point down the line which people have to take seriously,' says a UK marketing head. 'Because they have a duty of care to ensure that they're not creating an illegal jeopardy by doing some of these things.' Musk – although now out of the White House – is still seen to have considerable sway over the direction taken by regulators in the US. The US Congress has held hearings looking at potential collusion among advertising firms, while the Federal Trade Commission is also looking at whether advertising and advocacy groups have colluded in working with brands to boycott platforms such as X. Turnbull says that brands now needed to consider the choice of marketing platform as a political act. 'Where you're advertising is as much of a statement now about what your brand is and what you stand for as it's ever been before. What message are you sending? Should you be on Joe Rogan or Michelle Obama's podcast?' The trend is also affecting M&A in the industry. In December, Jim Jordan, a Republican who chairs the House judiciary committee, wrote to Omnicom boss John Wren to say that they were looking at the takeover of rival Interpublic in relation to their work with Global Alliance for Responsible Media, adding that the proposed merger raises potential anticompetitive concerns. Even if there is yet to be any tangible impact from these threats, the combination of lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny has had a chilling effect on brands and DEI, ad bosses say. Richard Exon, co-founder of independent creative advertising agency Joint, says that commitment to DEI 'has recently become a politicised position' in the US. Larger businesses were facing the challenge of achieving broad appeal in a highly polarised media landscape, he adds. 'It's not surprising if these larger businesses proceed more cautiously on social justice issues.' Some marketers say they are being more closely monitored by their boards about delivery, with the focus now on effectiveness of campaigns that can yield tangible sales. Brands are often working with tightened budgets, says one UK advertising boss, meaning that 'anything unrelated to pure growth, including purpose, could be seen as a distraction and therefore harder to gain traction within a business'. But the move in the cultural landscape has also shifted marketing budgets, with organisers of Pride marches and other LGBT+ events saying that there has been a retreat from corporate sponsors this year in the US and the UK. In New York, a number of sponsors such as Mastercard did not renew their top-tier corporate sponsorships of Pride. Mastercard said that, this year, it was 'proudly participating in the NYC Pride March and related events with a strong employee-led presence and a community engagement programme'. [ A quarter of major US corporate backers pull out of Dublin Pride over Trump fears Opens in new window ] Polly Shute, founder of Out & Wild, the UK's largest LGBT+ festival and former board member of Pride in London, says that corporate sponsors have been less keen to back events. Plymouth and Liverpool have both pulled their Pride march events – the latter blaming 'significant financial and organisational challenges' at a time of rising costs. Shute says that, in 2017, Pride 'was turning brands away as they did not meet criteria' but 'it's very different now'. She notes that some brands and companies had stopped changing their logos to Pride colours on social media such as LinkedIn. In the UK, these include firms that have extensive operations in the US such as WPP, Linklaters and Freshfields. Linklaters said its 'commitment remains unchanged. We are proud to be celebrating Pride at Linklaters ... with events and activities taking place across our global offices'. Freshfields has used other Pride branding this year, including a Pride banner across its LinkedIn page. Shute says that demand for influencers to be used in external marketing, and for speakers for internal corporate events, has also been more muted this year. 'It used to be that the social media was really positive but now the reaction has scared off sponsorship as they don't want to be associated with the negativity.' However, dog treats company BarkBox showed there are dangers in shifting positions. Matt Meeker, the group's chief executive, was forced to apologise after a leaked Slack message suggested the company would pause paid advertising for its Pride kit, with the 'current climate' making such promotions 'feel like a political statement'. Target, the US retailer, has also been boycotted by some customers since February owing to its decision to scale back DEI initiatives. 'Target is another example recently where a changed policy has resulted in people voting with their wallets and from a purchase perspective,' says FCB's Turnbull. The People's Union USA, a grassroots consumer-led group, has organised 'economic blackouts' against other companies such as Amazon, Walmart and General Mills. [ Meta introduces advertising to WhatsApp in push for new revenues Opens in new window ] 'This blackout isn't symbolic. It's strategic. We are the economy. We are the machine they profit off of. And it's time to show them what happens when the machine stops,' it says. These shifting cultural sands – and the now ever present risk of alienating customers on any side of a political or societal divide – means that it is in brands' interest to play it safe, according to marketers. 'People are just leaning back, particularly our big clients,' says one ad boss. 'There's just less of a focus on purposeful, super-targeted work right now.' Some point to a focus on humour or universal themes as risk-free ways to get to the biggest audiences. The shift is particularly sensitive at the Cannes Lions festival, which for several years was seen by some as having moved potentially too far towards social issues in the sorts of advertising work it celebrated and rewarded. In Cannes, much of the talk was about how AI would replace a lot of the work carried out by creative teams, resulting in unoriginal and bland advertising campaigns, exacerbating the shift to safety-first approaches. But some are hopeful that the industry can withstand external pressures, finding new and clever ways to reach audiences irrespective of political allegiances. And they point out that Cannes Lions still has an award for work that addresses inequality and prejudice by representing and empowering marginalised communities. 'Purpose always has a place,' says Karen Martin, boss of BBH and president of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. 'Cannes may have become too purposeful for a while, but getting different creative voices in the room, and making sure you are addressing all audiences, will always be the centre of what we do.' – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
