Daily Edition · Page 9

THE DAILY INDEX

Technology, AI, software, security, crypto and business

NEWS & TRENDS

TLDR Marketing

BBB BUSINESS TIP: BLACK FRIDAY STATS EVERY SMALL BUSINESS OWNER SHOULD KNOW

Free shipping impacts 75% of consumer decisions. 64% of shoppers aged 18-24 plan to shop on Black Friday. Mobile optimization is vital, as 79% of 2023 purchases were made on smartphones. While e-commerce is growing, brick-and-mortar sales are expected to hit $22.6 trillion by 2026. Cyber Monday may surpass Black Friday with over $13 billion in revenue. Timely text campaigns can boost engagement - 80% of people check texts within five minutes.

LESS BRAND SAFETY, MORE SEO SPEND IN 2025, FORRESTER PREDICTS

Brand safety concerns are predicted to decline in 2025 as 53% of U.S. B2C marketers become less focused on brand safety. 10 major brands are shifting away from DoubleVerify. SEO spending is set to triple, driven by AI integration in search engines. TikTok will continue to see investment, with 10% of performance media budgets directed toward social commerce. 46% of CMOs plan to integrate performance and brand media, while 35% aim to combine creative and media assignments.

MARKETING TEARDOWN: OWNING A HOLIDAY

Brands can benefit from "owning" holidays that align with their products or values. Successful campaigns require creativity and long-term commitment. For example, Nathan's Famous solidified the company's association with the Fourth of July through a hot dog eating contest now linked with summer and patriotism. Domino's capitalized on Super Bowl Sunday for increased orders but competes with Little Caesar's, the NFL's "official pizza."

SKIMS MARKETING STRATEGY: A MASTERCLASS ON BRAND COLLABORATIONS

Skims leverages brand collaborations as a key tactic, aligning with cultural events to elevate its presence in fashion and sports. Partnerships with high-profile figures like Charli XCX and Team USA athletes showcase the brand's commitment to inclusivity and diverse representation. Skims' influencer marketing program also amplifies its brand reach, utilizing social media whitelisting to drive relatability and authenticity.

THE MARKETING PLAYBOOK FOR A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Circular economies are based on three principles: eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials, and regenerating nature. For marketers, circular business models offer a way to build brand differentiation, especially in mature markets where brand growth is currently fought for, often via small incremental additions to products. Marketers should move from one-off pilots towards core circular revenue generation models, from transactional towards long-lasting customer-brand relationships, from niche towards mass-market appeal, and from sales-driven KPIs towards value-focused outcomes.

THE $1,000 COLD EMAIL ALTERNATIVE THAT'S BREAKING B2B SALES

With a 1% success rate in cold email outreach and high LinkedIn ad costs, the new “pay-per-pitch” trend - where companies pay prospects for meetings - promises a nearly 100% engagement rate. Yotpo's viral $1,000 intro offer exemplifies this approach, trading ad budgets for guaranteed attention and stronger trust. This method is reshaping B2B sales as companies prioritize direct compensation for engagement over traditional, less effective channels.

TV ADVERTISING DRIVES BRAND RESULTS: HERE'S WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

TV advertising remains valuable for driving web traffic. Research by the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) showed that 931 first-time advertisers collectively invested over $4 billion since 2021, with brands seeing an average 12% increase in website traffic during their debut month and sustained growth of 20%. Direct-to-consumer brands stood out, achieving an average increase of 622K unique monthly visitors, and brands spending over $10 million saw a 36% initial boost and 42% sustained growth. Although first-time advertisers typically increased their spending after initial campaigns, the rate of growth in investments decreased each year.

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