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Good morning,
Coca-Cola’s AI-generated holiday commercial is getting some major online backlash.
Social media users complain that the details are off and go against their messaging: ‘It’s always the real thing.’
Read more about the controversy below.
Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:
💸 Google Ads’ Customer Match policy is changing on January 13th, 2025. Here’s what you need to know to avoid account penalties or suspension.
💍 Learn what fueled Manly Bands' rapid growth during the pandemic and how they optimize profits.
🧑🤝🧑 And…these _________ contests are showing up all over the world and creating big opportunities for brands.
You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Solas Mind, Frission Cosmetics, and Dropbox. 👋
📺 Want to Go Where The Customers Are? Consumers Are Spending More Time Streaming Than On Social—Get Your Ads In Front Of Them
Consumers spend 3.5 hours a day streaming TV and movies. Compare this to the 2.8 hours they spend on social media, and it’s clear you’re missing out if you’re not taking advantage of CTV ads.
But, it’s not too late to start. Roku Ads Manager is a self-serve tool that makes it easy to create and launch campaigns in time for Black Friday. 🚀
Advanced targeting options including demographics, geography, interests, and custom audiences let you get your ads in front of the right people.
Black Friday weekend is the most active streaming period of the year on Roku (last year users streamed a mind-blowing 286 million hours 🤯), marking the beginning of a month-long holiday streaming and shopping frenzy! 💥
Ready to…
* sponsored
💡 How Advertisers Can Remain Compliant with Google Ads’ Customer Match Update
Google Ads is making a big change starting next year. They will be updating their Customer Match policy on January 13th, 2025.
This message went out to some advertisers:
Who will this affect?
If you advertise on Google Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube and/or Gmail, this can impact your campaign performance.
And those who repeatedly violate the new policy will no longer have access to Customer Match.
Here’s what you need to do to comply with the new policy update and remain compliant.
❌ Don’t use someone’s email without their consent! Accounts can only upload first-party data—information collected from your website, app, or retail store. Your brand’s privacy policy should also disclose data sharing with third parties and obtain consent.
❌ Ad creatives should not target minors or sensitive categories. Ads cannot target users under 13 or sensitive categories like pharmaceuticals.
❌ Ad creatives should not target one specific user. Content should not imply knowledge of personal or sensitive data.
For example, you cannot use narrow targeting that combines customer lists with one criteria in common (e.g. location) if the result is an ad targeted to a “relatively small number of users.”
The takeaway?
Google warns that a compliance review can occur at any time, so stay up to date on these changes or risk being denied access to Customer Match or face account suspensions for repeated violations.
👀 Black Friday Weekend Is the Most Active Period For Streaming on Roku—Ready To Capture That Peak Holiday Audience?
Forget just grabbing a snack during the commercial break. Now, consumers are tackling their holiday shopping while streaming on Roku. 🛍️
Roku Ads Manager lets you create interactive ad formats that drive conversions right from the TV screen.
Action Ads let viewers engage directly with your brand on-screen, signing up for holiday offers via text or even using the Shopify integration to shop from their Roku remote. 🛒
Roku Ads Manager gives you the targeted optimization you need, with features like:
Ready to level up? 🔺
🎧 Inside Manly Bands' High 8-Figure Growth: Unique Designs, Killer Collabs, and Full-Control Manufacturing
Manly Bands started with a problem familiar to founder John—a lack of compelling men’s wedding bands.
Now a thriving DTC jewelry brand, Manly Bands offers unique rings made from materials like meteorite and deer antlers.
In this episode, John discusses how he and his team scaled rapidly, especially during the pandemic and why recent years have focused on profit optimization.
In this podcast, we cover:
👉 You can listen to the full episode with John here.
What’s Trending: Look-a-Like Contests
Why is this happening? Searches for look-a-like contests hit an all-time high and went up 1200% in the past month in the U.S.
This all started because of a Timothee Chalamet look-a-like contest in New York that drew hundreds of people together to crown the best look a like of the famous Dune actor.
Since then different look-a-like contests have popped up all over the world to find doppelgangers of Harry Styles, Jeremy Allen White, Zayn Malik, Dev Patel, and Paul Mescal.
Brands like MCoBeauty are leveraging these viral events to promote their products, often known as ‘dupes’ of luxury products.
The Australian cosmetic brand entered its own Timothy ‘dupe’ for the contest and filmed a video of how they used their products to highlight the candidate’s Chalamet-esque cheekbones.
📅 EVENTS
AI Summit - With an expected turnout of over 1,500 attendees, the event features a diverse mix of organizations, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to innovative startups. Participants will benefit from expert-led sessions and workshops covering key topics such as AI strategy, machine learning implementation, and ethical AI practices.
📅 Dec 11-12, 🇺🇸 New York, USA 💰 $49-$2399
Digital Summit - A premier digital marketing conference designed for professionals seeking to enhance their skills and knowledge in the fast-paced digital landscape. Participants will explore a range of topics such as content marketing, social media strategies, SEO best practices, and data analytics through engaging sessions, workshops, and keynote presentations from industry experts.
📅 Dec 11-12, 🇺🇸 Portland, USA 💰$525-$925
⚡ QUICK HITS
📺 People are spending more hours streaming than on social media. How do you get their attention? Send your ads directly to viewers’ devices with Roku Ads Manager. Get started here. *
📥 Got a B2B Biz?
Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 160k brand leaders and founders this year. Talk to our team to learn more.
Have you heard our latest podcasts?
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DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.
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Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content.
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