🔥 What’s New in Marin? We’ve added powerful new features to help you optimize budgets, streamline reporting, and gain deeper insights—read on to check out the latest updates! 🚀

Boost Performance with Cross-Strategy Allocation

Marin’s Ascend now has more flexibility to optimize the performance of your programs with cross-strategy allocation. You can select two or more Strategies in the Strategies grid and click the “Reallocate” button to see a summary of the current and optimal spend allocation across Strategies. Marin will show you the proposed spending changes and the impact on conversions and revenue.  Read more 

Manage Strategies at Scale with Bulk and Improved Grid Display

Marin Strategies helps the world's biggest marketers optimize their programs at scale and we’ve made it even easier with additional bulk support for Strategies and new columns on the Strategies grid. With these improvements, you can create and manage all Strategy goals and constraints and see the Strategy targets as columns in the grid. The Episode column describes the planning cycle each Strategy is currently using. Budget Floor, Budget Cap and Recommended Min and Max targets are now also available columns.

Optimize Amazon Ads with Time of Day Reporting

Want to maximize your Amazon Ads performance? Understanding  time-of-day trends can help you allocate your budget more effectively and boost conversions—ensuring your ads appear when shoppers are most likely to convert. Read our full blog to start optimizing your Amazon campaigns today!

Simplify Agency Reporting with Marin BI Connect

Struggling with fragmented agency reporting? Our latest blog post covers how Marin BI Connect streamlines data aggregation, and enhances client reporting with powerful insights. We recently added campaign-level forecasting to BI Connect to enable scenario plan reports and advanced optimization. Say goodbye to spreadsheets and manual data pulls—learn how Marin’s advanced BI tools can help you save time and improve decision-making. Read More

Visualize your data quickly with Advisor

With so much data in Marin, creating the right view can sometimes be a challenge. Now, Advisor is here to help. Just describe the data you want to see, and Advisor will provide a link to the grid with that data. You can include columns, filters, sorting, and date range specifics in your prompt. This works across all of the data grids in Marin from Client to Keyword and includes Dimensions and Strategies.

Expanded Support for New Ad Platform Features

We are continually adding support for new ad formats and settings across the ad platforms in Marin. This quarter is no exception!:

• Google Portfolios: You can edit targets for Google Portfolios via Marin. This helps you manage across accounts and makes these campaigns eligible for Ascend's Strategies.
• Microsoft Dynamic Targets: Marin now offers reporting at the target level for Dynamic Search Ads. 
• Microsoft Group Sitelinks: Marin has expanded our Sitelink reporting to include group-level Sitelinks for Microsoft Accounts.

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When agencies evaluate tools to boost client performance, it’s easy to focus on the flashy metrics—higher ROAS, more conversions, lower CPAs.  But another benefit is just as powerful, though harder to quantify: time savings.

During my several years as an agency account manager, the one resource I never had enough of was time.  Whether juggling multiple clients, managing dozens of campaigns, or scrambling to hit spend targets before month-end, there’s always more to do than hours in the day.  That’s exactly why we’ve focused on having Marin automate the tedious, time-consuming tasks that eat into your day—while still driving better performance across platforms.

Let’s dive into how Marin helps agencies save time, scale faster, and still crush client goals.

1. Smarter Budget Management & Dynamic Allocation—On Autopilot

For most agencies, budget management is the bane of existence.  Staying within budget, hitting pacing targets, and reallocating spend to top-performing campaigns is critical—but the manual work involved?  Exhausting.

Marin automates this entire process.  Our intelligent budget pacing tools let you group campaigns into “Strategies” based on business goals (think: product categories, regions, or funnel stages) and assign spend targets.  Marin then dynamically reallocates budget throughout the month to maximize performance—without you lifting a finger.

Fusion92 saw this firsthand when they automated budget management for 1,500 dental practices.  The result?  15 hours of manual work saved every week, 96% of campaigns hitting spend targets, and a 10% lift in conversions.

And here’s the kicker: Marin doesn’t just keep you on budget—it optimizes for performance. Our algorithms analyze historical data and real-time trends to shift budget where it’ll have the most impact, whether across Google, Meta, Amazon, or all three at once.  No more spreadsheets.  No more manual pacing. Just better results.

2. Marin Scripts: Custom Automation for Every Client

Every agency has its own “secret sauce”—unique workflows, optimization strategies, and client-specific needs.  Marin Scripts lets you bake that secret sauce into powerful automations.

Rainmaker Ad Ventures used Marin Scripts to automate 26 hours of weekly campaign optimization work. Their team set up scripts to:

• Label campaigns based on maturity and data volume
• Adjust bids and budgets dynamically based on ROAS
• Pause underperforming campaigns and scale top performers—automatically

Their small team could manage more campaigns without adding headcount while improving ROAS.  It’s like having a junior analyst on staff who works 24/7—without the payroll cost.

3. Scale Smarter, Not Harder

One of Marin’s biggest wins for agencies? Scale.

With Marin, you can manage hundreds—or thousands—of campaigns across clients and platforms from a single interface.  Bulk edit bids, pause ads, adjust budgets, and launch new campaigns across Google, Meta, Amazon, and more—all at once.

Our grid view lets account managers filter by client, publisher, or strategy, so they only see what’s relevant.  And Marin’s bulk uploader means launching a new cross-channel campaign doesn’t require hours in Ads Editor—it’s a few clicks and you’re live.

This level of scale was a game-changer for one of our agency clients managing campaigns for a senior living company.  Marin’s automated pacing ensured 94% of campaigns hit their budget targets, leading to a 20% revenue lift in just one month—and saving hours of manual work along the way.

The Bottom Line: More Time Back, Better Results Forward

Marin doesn’t just help agencies drive better performance—it gives them back their most precious resource: time.  Time that can be spent strategizing, launching new campaigns, or, heck, maybe even leaving the office on time for once.  The baseline revenue gain of 15% that our new clients experience pays for the platform itself—but the time savings layered on top of revenue?  Priceless.

Ready to see how Marin can help your agency scale smarter, save hours of manual work, and still crush client goals?  Request a demo today and let’s make time-saving your next big win. 🚀

Welcome back, Digital Darlings! 

If you thought this week would be slow after the Valentine’s sugar crash, SNL 50, and President’s day - think again.  From Q4 earnings, privacy plot twists, and some shiny new attribution tools - there’s been more drama than Lively vs Baldoni.  Shall we? 

Amazon Ads: From Cart to Cash Cow

Amazon’s ad biz is officially that overachiever, pulling in a jaw-dropping $56.2 billion in 2024 - up 18% YoY - and eyeing a $69 billion run rate for 2025.  From dominating search ads to flexing on streaming with Thursday Night Football and Red One’s 50M views, Amazon’s proving it can play the whole funnel, from brand awareness to checkout.  For marketers, the message is loud and clear: if you’re not allocating more ad dollars to Amazon’s ecosystem (especially its growing streaming inventory), you’re missing out on serious reach and conversions.  The platform’s getting better at upper-funnel plays, but let’s be real—those bottom-funnel sales still hit the sweetest spot.

Walmart’s Ad Biz Is Booming - Even If Shoppers Are Pinching Pennies

Walmart’s not letting Amazon have all the ad-fueled fun.  While Amazon flexes its $56B ad muscles, Walmart just slid into the chat with a $4.4B ad business that grew a juicy 27% YoY.  Sure, that’s pocket change next to Amazon’s $69B run rate, but Walmart’s playing a different game - blending in-store, ecommerce, and ads into one mega-retail experience.  Plus, their Vizio acquisition?  Total power move to bring CTV into the fold and give advertisers more screens to play on. For marketers, it’s clear: retail media isn’t just Amazon’s playground anymore.  If Walmart wasn’t on your ad spend radar, it’s officially time to make some room to test - because those 4K TVs are about to start serving ads and conversions.

Google RSAs Just Got a Makeover - Because Who Doesn’t Love Options?

Google’s giving Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) a glow-up, expanding AI’s ability to rewrite headlines, descriptions, and even swapping out Sitelinks with high performing RSAs to boost engagement and performance.  Think of it like Google playing matchmaker for your ad copy - pairing the hottest headlines with the most clickable sitelinks, even repurposing unused assets to get them into the spotlight.  It’ll even ghost some descriptions if they’re killing the vibe (savage, but effective).  For marketers, this means better performance with less manual tinkering.  So go ahead - let Google’s AI do the heavy lifting while you take the credit for the higher CTRs.

Circle, Tap, Search: Google’s Visual Search Hits iPhone

Google’s turning iPhones into search wizards with its new “Circle to Search” feature - letting users highlight, tap, or draw on anything they see and instantly get search results without switching tabs.  From circling that perfect pair of shoes in a TikTok to tapping on a mystery landmark in a travel vlog, users can now jump straight from content to commerce.  For marketers, this is a major shift - visual search is officially going mainstream on iOS, and it’s time to rethink how your products show up.  Optimize your images, sharpen your metadata, and get ready to meet consumers right at their moment of inspiration - because when discovery becomes this easy, impulse buying just got a serious upgrade.

Google’s Fingerprinting Flip-Flop: A Privacy Nightmare or Marketer’s Dream?

Google just hit “undo” on its 2019 ban and is now letting advertisers use fingerprinting to track users across devices - no cookies, no consent pop-ups, just pure, cross-device data.  For marketers, it’s like being handed the Holy Grail of tracking: IP addresses, device specs, screen resolutions, you name it. Attribution?  Easier.  Personalization?  Sharper.  But here’s the catch - this move has regulators (especially in the EU) fuming, calling it “irresponsible” and waving the privacy red flags high.  So while the data nerds are celebrating, brands better tread carefully.  Because nothing kills a campaign buzz faster than a privacy lawsuit…

LinkedIn’s New Attribution Tools Are Here to Make You Look Like a Marketing Genius

LinkedIn just dropped two shiny new toys for B2B marketers - the Conversions API (CAPI) and the Revenue Attribution Report (RAR) - aka, the tools that’ll finally help you prove to your boss that those LinkedIn ads are actually working.  CAPI lets you feed LinkedIn all your juicy first-party data (online, offline, even that lead you closed over coffee) for sharper conversion tracking, while RAR connects your CRM to campaigns, showing exactly which efforts are bringing in the big bucks - up to 365 days later.  It’s like LinkedIn read our minds: “You want credit for that deal from six months ago? Done.” Marketers, get ready to flex those ROI muscles - LinkedIn just made attribution way less of a guessing game.

And just like that, another week of marketing chaos wrapped with a shiny ROI bow.  Go forth, optimize, and maybe even take a break (lol, as if).  See you next week for more ad-world gossip and strategy gold!

You know you love me,

Performance Marketing at Scale: How Marin Unlocks Optimization Across Ad Platforms

Managing a performance marketing program at any scale is complex. The most basic program spans across at least 2 or 3 ad platforms (Google, Meta, and Amazon). And for most of us, it’s exponentially more complicated, with dozens of accounts spanning a gaggle of ad platforms; “marketing campaigns” that cut across the “Campaigns” at the ad platforms.

We have solved this challenge of understanding performance and optimizing across ad platforms with Marin Strategies. Strategies allow marketers to optimize subsets of campaigns based on shared objectives, whether it’s by product category, funnel stage, geography, or business line.

Now, we’ve made it even easier. With bulk creation and editing, Marin Strategies empowers you to manage optimizations at scale, making campaign management smoother, faster, and more effective. Read on to learn more about how Strategies can transform your workflows and unlock growth.

The Challenge: Managing Complexity Across Platforms and Business Goals

Digital marketers today are tasked with juggling multiple ad platforms—Google, Meta, Amazon, LinkedIn—each with its own optimization levers, reporting structures, and bid strategies. On top of that, different parts of a business often have distinct objectives:

• Retail brands need to optimize differently for high-margin vs. low-margin products.
• Lead gen marketers structure campaigns around funnel stages, balancing efficiency with volume.
• Global brands require geo-specific strategies with different performance benchmarks.
• Agencies need to manage multiple clients while maintaining efficiency across accounts.

Trying to align all these moving parts manually is a daunting task. That’s where Marin Strategies comes in.

The Solution: Marin Strategies = Efficiency & Performance

With Marin Strategies, you can group campaigns based on shared business goals and apply advanced optimization techniques—no matter which ad platform they’re running on. And now, with bulk creation and editing, managing strategies at scale has never been easier.

Why This Matters for Performance Marketers

🔹 Optimize Holistically Across Platforms – Unlike publisher tools focusing on a single ecosystem, Marin lets you optimize strategies across Google, Meta, Amazon, and more. You get the benefits of Portfolios with seamless dynamic allocation of spend to where it is most impactful.

🔹 Advanced Forecasting & Pacing – Get predictive insights into expected results and ensure you’re hitting your goals with automated pacing against targets.

🔹 Automate and Scale – Updating budgets, bid targets, or goals across multiple strategies is now effortless with bulk editing, saving time and reducing errors.

🔹 Roll-Up Reporting Made Easy – Instead of pulling reports separately from each ad platform, Marin Strategies consolidates data, giving you a clear view of performance across all your campaigns.

🔹Compliance Marin ensures your settings match your goals. We protect you from overspending by pausing campaigns if needed and alert you to any mismatches between your goals and campaign settings.

Real-World Impact: How Brands Use Marin Strategies to Win

🚀 E-commerce Brands use strategies to optimize different product categories, ensuring high-margin products receive aggressive bids while maintaining efficiency on lower-margin items.

📈 Financial Services Brands leverage Marin Strategies to balance lead volume and cost-per-acquisition across multiple platforms, optimizing separately for upper-funnel awareness and bottom-funnel conversions.

💡 Agencies scale effortlessly, managing multiple clients within Marin while applying consistent optimization strategies across accounts.

What’s Next? Take Optimization to the Next Level with Ascend

Marin Strategies is a core part of our Ascend Optimization Suite, which has driven measurable success for brands worldwide. Quodd boosted conversions by 500% in just one month. A leading healthcare marketer increased conversions by 78%. See more real-world results in our latest case studies.

Ready to scale smarter? Try Marin Strategies today and experience the power of cross-channel optimization.

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Happy Valentine’s Day, Darlings, 

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Whether you’re swooning over heart-shaped chocolates or side-eyeing this Hallmark holiday, I’m here for you and your weekly dose of marketing tea.  Love it or loathe it, let’s dive into the real relationships that matter - between brands, platforms, and those elusive clicks…

Super Bowl Ads: Stars, AI, and Learnings for Marketers

This year’s Super Bowl ad game showed us that throwing big bucks at AI buzzwords or Hollywood A-listers doesn’t guarantee a touchdown.  While generative AI brands mostly fumbled (except Meta’s smart play with Ray-Ban AI glasses), T-Mobile and Starlink’s partnership proved that practical value wins hearts - and clicks - with a staggering engagement rate 12x the average.  Celebrities?  Sure, they work, but only when they authentically connect with the brand (see: Post Malone with Bud Light).  The real MVPs?  Poppi’s Gen Z influencers, who sipped their way to a 442% engagement boost.  For marketers, the takeaway is clear: flashy plays are fun, but data-driven authenticity? That’s how you win the game - and the hearts of consumers.

Google Customer Match Gets a Privacy Makeover

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Google is reminding us all that relationships - especially with your customers - need constant upkeep.  Starting April 7, Customer Match list durations will be capped at 540 days, meaning no more holding onto stale data like an ex’s old love letter.  While this privacy pivot aligns with consumer trust (aww), it’s also a nudge to advertisers: keep your data fresh or risk shrinking audience lists and fizzling campaigns.  For marketers, the move underscores the importance of frequent data refreshes to keep your campaigns effective - and your targeting game strong.  Consider it Google’s way of saying, “If you love them, update them.”

Meta’s Advantage+ Wants to Be Your Marketing Valentine

Meta just sent marketers a bouquet of new AI features designed to woo you into Advantage+ campaigns.  From streamlined setups to lead-gen tools boasting a 10% lower cost per qualified lead, Meta is making it easier than ever to fall for its automated charm.  And let’s not forget the new opportunity score system - because who doesn’t love a little judgment with their ad strategy?  Marketers, whether you’re smitten with AI or still playing hard to get, these tools are a reminder that automation is Meta’s love language.

New Google Analytics Report Collections: Love It or Leave It?

Google Analytics is playing matchmaker with its new “Report Collections,” promising to help advertisers organize data by themes like “User Behavior” or “Acquisition.” But let’s be real—while this feature might feel like swiping right on the analytics setup of your dreams, the real test is whether it delivers actionable insights or leaves marketers with analysis paralysis. Pro tip: focus on curating collections that align with your goals to avoid getting ghosted by irrelevant data. After all, it’s not about how much data you have - it’s how you use it. 

Google to Advertisers: Define Your Brand - or We’ll Do It for You

Google Ads is giving brands an ultimatum: update your business names and logos in their platform by March, or let Google play matchmaker with your “top-performing” assets.  Sure, automation sounds convenient, but do you really want Google deciding which logo speaks for your brand? (Hint: probably not.)  Marketers, take this as your love letter to refresh your guidelines and lock in your identity - because in the game of branding, control is the ultimate power move.  Don’t ghost this deadline, or you’ll be left with a look Google swipes right on… not necessarily you.

Reddit’s AI Search is Looking for Love (and Revenue)

Reddit is playing matchmaker between users and its 20-year treasure trove of conversations, hinting at an AI-powered search expansion that could answer even the most niche “subjective hard, [and] interesting questions.”  For advertisers, this could be the start of a long-term relationship with the ultimate data soulmate.  Reddit’s hyper-engaged communities already deliver premium targeting opportunities, but AI-powered search could bring even more relevance to campaigns.  If you’ve been eyeing Reddit as part of your 2025 strategy, it might be time to shoot your shot - before your competitors slide into those communities first.

And that’s a wrap, sweethearts!  Whether tonight calls for champagne or crunching campaign data, remember: love might be unpredictable, but your strategy doesn’t have to be.  See you next week for more digital drama and marketing magic!

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You know you love me,

We’re all using AI in our workflows to various degrees, but not all LLMs are created equal. Choosing In this post, we evaluate four leading LLMs: ChatGPT 4.0, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Google Gemini 2.0, and Meta Llama. Choosing the right tool depends on the job to be done, so we tested against three key marketing-focused scenarios:

1. Messaging Insights from Sales Call Transcripts 
2. Keyword Intent Analysis and Content Recommendations
3. Campaign Data Analysis for Optimization Recommendations

Using identical prompts for each scenario, we tested and scored the LLMs for usability, accuracy, depth of insight, and relevance.  In order to set an even baseline for this analysis, no specialized GPTs, pre-trained models, or additional context was provided before each prompt.  Here’s how they performed and which one we recommend for each task!

Note: ChatGPT 4.0 and Claude 3.5 Sonnet are the paid versions of these tools.  We used the free versions of Google Gemini 2.0 and Meta Llama for this analysis.

In this LLM performance comparison, Claude 3.5 Sonnet emerged as the top performer, excelling in sales call analysis and campaign data optimization with its nuanced insights and data-driven recommendations.  ChatGPT 4.0 stood out for keyword intent and content strategy, offering comprehensive intent breakdowns and creative content suggestions.  Gemini showed promise in content and data tasks, occasional inaccuracies affected its reliability, and Meta Llama lagged behind in advanced capabilities, making it suitable for simpler tasks.

The Scorecard

In this LLM performance comparison, Claude 3.5 Sonnet emerged as the top performer, excelling in sales call analysis and campaign data optimization with its nuanced insights and data-driven recommendations.  ChatGPT 4.0 stood out for keyword intent and content strategy, offering comprehensive intent breakdowns and creative content suggestions.  Gemini showed promise in content and data tasks, occasional inaccuracies affected its reliability, and Meta Llama lagged behind in advanced capabilities, making it suitable for simpler tasks.

Let’s break down how each LLM performed across the three scenarios.

Sales Call Analysis for Messaging Insights

Understanding the voice of the customer is the cornerstone of effective marketing.  Sales calls are a goldmine of unfiltered customer insights - revealing pain points, objections, goals, and motivators in the customer’s own words.  Whether you’re refining your current messaging or brainstorming new ideas, this strategy is an invaluable tool for creating campaigns that truly connect with your audience.  But extracting actionable insights from lengthy transcripts can be tedious, and very time-consuming.

This is where AI comes in.  By analyzing these transcripts, LLMs can distill customer challenges and goals, while also suggesting tailored messaging ideas.  This makes it easier for marketers to refine existing campaigns for better resonance or to generate fresh, personalized messaging that directly addresses customer needs.  And with AI, you can do it - fast.

In this section, each LLM was evaluated on its ability to generate actionable messaging insights from a single sales call transcript.  For each strategy, I’ll provide the prompt used, as well as detail on the data or file(s) uploaded for analysis.

For a deeper dive into analyzing sales calls, check out our recent blog post: Unlocking the Voice of the Customer using LLMs

Prompt

“Review this transcript and summarize how the customer describes their challenges, goals, and desired outcomes. Suggest ways these descriptions could be addressed in future marketing messaging for the audience/company/brand type.”

Data Uploaded

A text-based sales call transcript was used.  For best results, you’ll want to do some basic maintenance on the transcript to identify each speaker before uploading to an LLM for analysis.

What We Evaluated

• Ability to extract meaningful insights (pain points, motivators, and goals).
• Quality and relevance of suggested marketing messaging.
• Speed to deliver actionable results.

Performance

Claude 3.5: 9/10

Scored highest here for its nuanced and concise insights.  It used specific quotes from the transcript to validate its findings, adding credibility and context.  The messaging suggestions were audience-specific and highly actionable, organized intuitively by customer segment.

ChatGPT 4.0: 8/10

Generated rich insights and offered creative marketing message examples across multiple channels (ad copy, email, and video scripts). However, it required a follow-up prompt to generate these examples (“Can you provide some ad copy and content messaging examples for multiple marketing channels?”)

Gemini: 4/10

Hallucinated details about the customer, including basics like their industry (the company was not a bakery, but an ad agency).  After being called out for this error in a follow-up prompt, it produced detailed and creative outputs, but lacked consistency.

Llama: 7/10

Delivered accurate summaries but lacked depth in its messaging recommendations, which were broad and general.  It also required additional input before generating content suggestions.

Best for Sales Call Analysis: Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Claude excelled at delivering accurate, audience-specific recommendations without requiring follow-ups.  It’s ideal for marketers looking for quick and actionable messaging insights.  

Keyword Intent & Content Recommendations

Understanding the search intent behind a specific keyword is critical for creating content that meets audience needs at each stage of the customer journey.  Analyzing search intent helps marketers determine whether a user is seeking information, comparing solutions, or ready to purchase. This insight guides the development of targeted content - such as blog posts, product comparisons, or call-to-action pages.  In this section, each LLM’s ability to interpret keyword intent and recommend content to engage customers at their journey stage was evaluated. 

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Prompt

“Analyze the search intent behind the keyword {marketing automation} and provide suggestions for the type of content that would best satisfy the user’s needs.”

Data Uploaded

None

What We Evaluated

• Depth of intent analysis (Informational, Navigational, Transactional).
• Quality and variety of content recommendations.
• Relevance of suggested formats (e.g., blogs, landing pages, case studies).

Performance

Claude 3.5: 8/10

Clear and concise in breaking down intent into categories with percentage weightings (e.g., 70% informational).  Its content recommendations, while accurate, were a bit light compared to ChatGPT and Gemini.

ChatGPT 4.0: 9/10

Nailed this section with a robust breakdown of search intent across all stages (informational, navigational, transactional).  It provided detailed content suggestions for each stage and included practical examples like blog titles, case study ideas, and landing page CTAs.

Gemini: 9/10

Delivered a comprehensive intent analysis, leaning heavily on the "commercial investigation" stage, and gave strong content suggestions tailored to mid-funnel users.  Its content format recommendations were creative and actionable.

Llama: 7/10

Strong on content suggestions, offering eight actionable ideas, but its intent analysis felt generic and lacked depth compared to the other models.

Best for Keyword Intent & Content Recommendations: ChatGPT 4.0

ChatGPT provided the most comprehensive and actionable response, making it an ideal choice for Keyword-Intent analysis and even SEO-driven content planning

Campaign Data Analysis

Analyzing campaign data is a critical yet time-consuming task for marketers.  It requires identifying patterns, pinpointing areas for improvement, and making actionable recommendations to optimize performance.  This is where LLMs can step in as a “junior analyst”, processing large datasets and surfacing key insights on your behalf.  By leveraging AI for daily, weekly, and monthly reporting analysis, marketers save time and gain valuable recommendations for budget allocation, creative testing, and audience targeting.  In this section, each LLM’s ability to interpret marketing data and provide detailed optimization suggestions was evaluated.

Prompt

“Imagine you are a digital marketing analyst. Review this campaign data and provide a reporting summary that includes optimization recommendations and causality.”

Data Uploaded

The data uploaded included a month of campaign-level performance metrics across Paid Search, Paid Social, and Programmatic Display.  The Columns - in order - included Date, Publisher, Campaign Name, Spend, Impressions, Clicks, CTR (Click-Through Rate), Conversions, Avg CPC (Cost-per-Click), and Avg CPM (Cost-per-thousand Impressions).

What Was Evaluated

• Ability to access and interpret raw data accurately.
• Quality of optimization recommendations (e.g., budget reallocation, targeting improvements).
• Identification of causality (e.g., linking campaign changes to performance trends).

Performance

Claude 3.5: 9/10 

Dominated this task with clear, actionable recommendations and an intuitive understanding of the data.  Could accept both raw CSV or cloud-hosted data.  It showed its analysis work, excelled in budget reallocation suggestions, creative testing ideas, and causality analysis.  Its responses felt tailored to marketers, with recommendations grounded in real-world scenarios.

ChatGPT 4.0: 7/10

Easy to upload a CSV or cloud-hosted file link.  ChatGPT cleaned and summarized the data quickly - showing its work - but required follow-up prompts to deliver actionable insights.  Its optimization recommendations were broad and less specific compared to Claude.

Gemini: 7/10

Unable to upload a CSV file for analysis, but data was successfully accessed via a Google Cloud link.  Analyzed the data effectively and provided actionable recommendations.  It excelled in causality analysis, identifying patterns and linking fluctuations to likely external factors.  However, it incorrectly assumed the data lacked channel identifiers, which had to be resolved with a follow-up guidance prompt.

Llama: 5/10

Unable to upload a CSV file, but successfully accessed a Google Cloud link.  Took the longest to process the data and required multiple clarifications.  Its recommendations were solid but lacked depth and causality analysis, making it less effective for advanced campaign optimization.

Best for Campaign Data Analysis: Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Claude’s ability to interpret complex data and provide actionable, campaign-specific recommendations set it apart for this use case.  It analyzed the entire data-set, showed its work, and delivered quality results in under 3 minutes.

Final Recommendations

For Most Digital Marketers

If you're a marketer looking for a single LLM to handle diverse tasks, Claude 3.5 Sonnet offers the most consistent performance across use cases.

For SEO & Content Marketers

Choose ChatGPT 4.0 for in-depth keyword analysis and content strategy planning. Its creative outputs make it a top choice for content creation.

For Advanced Data Analysts

Use Claude 3.5 for its superior data interpretation and optimization insights.

For Budget-Conscious Marketers

Google Gemini 2.0 is a decent option for straightforward tasks, though it currently lags in advanced capabilities.  If you are looking to use an LLM without making a financial commitment, the free version(s) of ChatGPT and Claude may give you better results.

As LLM technology evolves, the gap between models is likely to shrink.  For now, understanding your use case and selecting the right model can make all the difference in your marketing outcomes.

If you’re looking for additional AI solutions tailored to marketing, consider Marin’s very own AI tool, Advisor, designed to streamline campaign management, uncover actionable insights, and drive better outcomes based on your data and custom workflow.

Digital Darlings, 

Super Bowl weekend is here, which means two things: brands are dropping millions on ads, and the internet is placing wild bets on whether Travis Kelce will propose to Taylor Swift post-game.  Let’s break down what actually matters this week (besides your Super Bowl squares)!

Google AI Overviews Are Eating Your Clicks - Unless You’re in Them

Google’s AI Overviews aren’t just answering search queries - they’re snatching clicks faster than a halftime wardrobe malfunction goes viral.  A new Seer Interactive analysis confirms what we’ve all suspected: organic CTRs nosedive when AI Overviews appear, and paid CTRs are slipping across the board, AI or not.  But here’s the field goal kicker - if your brand gets featured in AI Overviews, your CTR actually increases.  So, what’s the play?  If you’re not optimizing for AI-driven search, you’re missing out on prime digital real estate.  Time to start testing how your brand can get in Google’s AI-generated spotlight - because if you’re not in, you’re invisible.

Gemini AI: Ad-Free for Now, But Don’t Get Comfortable

Google’s AI-powered Gemini doesn’t have ads yet, but let’s be real - Google’s $75B AI investment isn’t just for fun.  CEO Sundar Pichai teased “very good ideas” for native ad placements, meaning it’s only a matter of time before your AI assistant starts recommending products, services, and who knows, maybe even vacation packages mid-convo.  For marketers, the takeaway is clear: Gemini is on track to become the next major ad platform, and if Google’s AI ambitions play out, it could reshape search, discovery, and brand interactions at scale.  Start thinking beyond keywords - because in the not-so-distant future, your brand might need to charm its way into AI-powered conversations.

Phishing, But Make It Paid Media...

Cybercriminals are back at it, using fake Microsoft Ads login pages in Google Search results to snatch advertiser credentials in a scheme that’s been quietly running for years.  These scammers aren’t just throwing up sketchy links - they’re using sophisticated cloaking, Cloudflare verification, and pixel-perfect replicas of Microsoft’s login screen to make even seasoned marketers slip up. For brands, this is more than just an “oops” moment - losing access to your ad account means stolen budgets, hijacked campaigns, and a whole lot of explaining to the boss.  Your move?  Scrutinize every login page, slap on two-factor authentication, and trust nothing that looks even remotely off.   Because while we love a good click-through rate, giving hackers direct access to your ad account?  Yeah, that’s not the kind of conversion you want.

Did Google Ads Just Make Tracking Easier?!

Shoutout to David Quaid (not that Dennis Quaid) for catching Google’s latest gift to marketers: a codeless form-tracking update in Tag Manager.  Translation? No more begging your dev team to hardcode conversion events - now, you can track form submissions through a simple UI with zero coding required.  Whether you're tech-savvy or just savvy enough to know that tracking matters, this update cuts the hassle and gets your data flowing faster.  Less friction, more conversions - finally, something in digital marketing that isn’t getting harder.

And now for some juicy Social Media tea…

Meta Slaps Ads on Threads - Because Of Course

Well, well, well - look who finally caved way before hitting that billion-user milestone!  Meta is officially testing ads on Threads, letting advertisers extend their existing campaigns with just a checkbox.  Convenient?  Sure.  But let’s not pretend this is anything more than a cash grab.  With Threads gunning for X’s spot as the go-to real-time platform, brands will be tempted - but don’t expect a gold rush just yet.  The real question?  Will Threads actually drive engagement, or will it be another ad wasteland Meta swears is “as interesting as organic content” (spoiler: it… won’t be).  Either way, welcome to the era of yet another place to spend your Meta budget.

Bluesky Goes Full Meta with Flashes, Its New Instagram Rival

First, Threads took aim at X.  Now, Bluesky is coming for Instagram with Flashes, a photo-sharing app built on its decentralized protocol.  With 31 million users and growing, Bluesky is making moves to lure in users who never vibed with its X-like format, and Flashes could be the gateway drug.  But let’s talk strategy: should you be plotting your Bluesky debut?  Not so fast.  While Flashes might gain traction among social media hipsters looking to escape the Meta empire, it’s still an experimental beta with zero ad infrastructure.  Until Bluesky rolls out a real monetization strategy, brands should watch from the sidelines - because chasing every new platform like it’s the next big thing?  That’s a one-way ticket to burnout.

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If marketing in 2025 had a game plan, it would be half AI-powered, half panic-induced, and then entirely rewritten at halftime.  But that’s why I’m here - to help you navigate the chaos and call the right plays.  Now go enjoy the ads, the nachos, and the inevitable flood of Taylor + Travis memes in your timeline.  

You know you love me,

Landing Page Relevance: The Missing Link in Performance Marketing

Performance marketers invest heavily in driving traffic to websites by optimizing bids, refining audience targeting, and A/B testing creatives. But all too often, there’s a disconnect between what we know about visitors (their audience segment, intent, or referral source) and what they experience on the landing page.

If your landing page delivers a generic experience that ignores the visitor's context, you’re missing the opportunity to lock in their attention and avoid the dreaded bounce. Fortunately, minor tweaks can make a big difference in relevance, engagement, and, ultimately, conversion rates. 

Personalized landing pages targeting specific customer segments shortened our sales cycle by 15%.  - Gordon Ferris, Director of Growth at Marin.

In this post, we’ll explore why landing page relevance matters, simple ways to improve it, and how to use URL parameters to personalize content dynamically.

Why Landing Page Relevance Matters

When someone clicks on your ad, being greeted with a different message on the landing page gives them a moment to pause. And when people pause, it creates an opportunity to bounce.  In fact, research from Unbounce suggests that over 70% of consumers feel frustrated when website content isn’t personalized to them.

Here’s what happens when landing pages fail to match visitor intent:

High bounce rates – Visitors quickly leave if they don’t see what they expected.

Lower conversion rates – Irrelevant messaging doesn’t resonate, leading to less overall engagement with the site and lower sales.

Wasted ad spend – You pay for the traffic, but fail to capitalize on the opportunity.

Lower Ad Rank – Landing page relevance is a factor in Ad Rank, improved relevance will lower costs and move you higher on the SERP.

But by aligning your landing page with visitor context, you can create a more engaging experience and increase conversions without increasing ad spend.

Simple Ways to Increase Landing Page Relevance

You don’t need a complete website overhaul to improve relevance. Here are three simple tactics to start with:

Align Headline & Copy with Ad Messaging

This is admittedly basic, but your landing page should reinforce the promise made in your ad. In the example below, the ad promised speed, which should be reflected in your landing page language.

Personalize Based on Audience & Context

Taking this a step further, you can personalize broadly targeted content based on what you know about the Visitor, including audience segments (e.g., new vs. returning customers), intent or referral source. Building a new LP for each ad could be daunting, but another approach is to use dynamic text replacement tools (available in platforms like Unbounce, Optimizely, or Webflow’s Optimize) to automatically match landing page text with ad copy.

In the example below, the visitor has given us more information based on the query, and the ad matches their interest well. With a small change to the landing page, you can create the continuity that will drive engagement.

How this works

One of the simplest and most effective ways to personalize landing pages is by passing information via URL parameters. These are small bits of text added to the end of a URL that can trigger changes on the landing page. If you add parameters like: ?headline=50off&cta=ShopNow you can dynamically update the page’s headline and CTA without creating multiple versions of the page.

Add Parameters to Your Ad URL:

In your ad settings, modify the final URL to include custom parameters. Example:

https://example.com/landing-page?headline=50off&cta=ShopNow

You may also be able to use the the existing UTM parameters that have information about the campaign and ad content. Marin makes this process easy with our automated URL builder. You can tag your campaigns, keywords and ads with Marin Dimensions and reference these in the URL builder rules

Modify Your Landing Page to Read These Parameters

If using Webflow’s Optimize or Optimizely, set up dynamic text fields that adjust based on the parameter values. See your platforms help for specifics on this setup.

Customize Page Elements Based on Parameters

• Headline: Change the headline dynamically using JavaScript.

• CTA Button: Adjust the call-to-action text or destination.

• Images & Offers: Show different images based on audience segment.

If you’re not using a built-in personalization tool, you can implement this with a small JavaScript snippet. Of course, ChatGPT or Gemini can be a big help setting this up.

Final Thoughts: Relevance = Higher Conversions

Landing page relevance is one of the most overlooked but impactful ways to boost performance marketing results. You can create a frictionless journey that drives more conversions by aligning the page experience with what you already know about your visitors—through dynamic text, audience-based personalization, and simple URL parameters.

If you’re new to Marin, let us show you how our platform can transform your performance. Request a Demo today to see how we can help you manage, optimize, and grow your campaigns across Amazon, Google, Meta, and more—all from one unified platform.

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At Marin Software, we aim to help marketers unlock better results with advanced insights, like our  latest feature: Performance Reporting by Time of Day and Day of Week for Amazon Ads!

This report automatically highlights when your ads are performance best (or worst),  and you can use those insights to implement smarter dayparting strategies. Whether you’re apply boosts to always-on campaigns or fine-tuning your schedule to maximize ROI, this feature will make it easier than ever to drive better results from your Amazon Ads investments.

Why Time Matters in Amazon Advertising

In digital advertising, timing is everything. Performance can fluctuate based on the time of day or day of the week, influenced by customer behavior, purchasing habits, and competition in the auction. Advertisers risk overspending during low-performing hours or missing opportunities during peak periods without clear insights.

With Performance Reporting by Time of Day and Day of Week, you can finally take the guesswork out of timing on Amazon. Armed with data-backed insights from the Amazon Marketing Stream API, you can:

• Pinpoint High-Performing Time Windows: Easily see which hours and days drive the most conversions or highest conversion rates.
• Identify Opportunities to Cut Waste: Spot time periods with below-average performance to reallocate budget or pause ads.
• Take Advantage of Amazon Dayparting: Use your insights to adjust campaign schedules directly in Amazon Ads, maximizing your returns while minimizing ad spend waste.

Key Features and Benefits

Our new reporting tool provides unparalleled flexibility and depth for Amazon advertisers. Here’s what you can do:

• Customizable Interval Analyze performance in intervals that make sense for your campaigns—whether it’s hour-by-hour, every four hours, or a full day. This flexibility helps you zoom in on the details or take a broader look at trends.
• Absolute Conversions or Conversion Rate Choose to focus on total conversions for volume insights or conversion rate for efficiency metrics, depending on your campaign goals.
• Multiple Conversion Types This report lets you see differences in performance by conversion type for flexibility
• Account-Level or Campaign-Specific Analysis View performance across your entire Amazon Ads account or drill down into individual campaigns. This allows you to uncover big-picture trends or fine-tune specific campaign strategies.
• Automatic Performance Highlights Save time with automated insights. The report flags hours and days that perform above or below average so you can focus on the trends that matter most.

Optimize Campaigns with Time of Day Insight

Analyze Performance Patterns: Run the report to see when your campaigns perform best and when they underperform. Look for spikes or dips in conversions or conversion rates.

Apply Bid Boosts: Based on higher or lower conversion rates, you can increased bids to maximize performance and avoid wasted spend.

Set Up Amazon Dayparting: Apply your insights directly to Amazon Ads by scheduling your campaigns to run during peak times and pause during low-performing hours.

Monitor and Iterate: Use this report regularly to adjust your strategy as performance trends evolve. Test and refine your dayparting approach over time to ensure your campaigns stay aligned with your audience’s behavior.

Get Started Now

Ready to take your Amazon Ads to the next level? If you’re already using Marin, this feature is available today in your dashboard—just look for the Time of Day and Day of Week reporting tool under the Amazon Ads section!

If you’re new to Marin, let us show you how our platform can transform your Amazon Ads performance.

‍Request a Demo today to see how we can help you manage, optimize, and grow your campaigns across Amazon, Google, Meta, and more—all from one unified platform.

Start using Performance Reporting by Time of Day and Day of Week today and make smarter decisions for a stronger tomorrow!Want to learn more about the power of dayparting? Check out our blog post for tips and best practices!

My Darling Marketers, 

This week’s marketing mood?  Trust issues.  But amidst the chaos, there’s some new light at the end of the measurement tunnel.  Miracles do happen!  Let’s dive in.

AI Takes Over the Super Bowl - Because, Of Course

AI isn’t just writing ad copy anymore - it’s taking center stage in the most expensive commercial lineup of the year. With 30-second Super Bowl spots hitting a record-breaking $8 million (ouch), brands are using AI to cut costs, churn out ad creative faster, and flex their futuristic muscles. Expect tech giants and AI startups alike to flood the game with their machine-made marketing magic, proving that artificial intelligence isn’t just changing how we work - it’s rewriting how we sell. But for marketers, the real question isn’t whether AI belongs in Super Bowl ads (spoiler: it’s already here) - it’s how to harness it without losing that human spark.

Teens vs. Big Tech: The Trust Issues Are Real

As if AI challenging authenticity in advertising wasn’t enough, now we’ve got Gen Z giving Big Tech the side-eye hard. A new Common Sense Media report reveals that the majority of U.S. teens straight-up don’t trust tech giants like Google, Apple, Meta, and TikTok to have their backs - especially when it comes to AI, data privacy, and mental health. Nearly half of teens (47%) doubt these companies will make responsible AI decisions, and over a third say GenAI is only making misinformation worse. For marketers, here’s your wake-up call: If you want Gen Z’s trust (and their dollars), you better show up with transparency, ethical AI, and real human connection - because polished marketing speak and sketchy data practices? Yeah, that’s giving block and unfollow.

Meta Shrugs Off Misinformation Concerns, Says Ad Spend Is Just Fine

After axing its U.S. fact-checking program, CFO Susan Li reassured investors that surprise! ad spend hasn’t taken a hit. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg straight-up admitted that they just copied X’s Community Notes feature because it’s “better” at adding context to content. Advertisers, here’s the tea: Meta’s “brand safety” playbook is evolving again, and if you’re not actively monitoring where your ads show up, you might be funding more chaos than conversions. In 2025, transparency is currency - so if Meta’s latest move makes you nervous, maybe don’t put all your budget eggs in Zuck’s basket.

Meta’s Advantage+ Update: More AI, Less Control - Advertisers Are Thrilled (Not)

Meta is tightening its grip on automated targeting, removing “Audience Types” from Advantage+ catalog ads with the sales objective - because apparently, advertisers don’t need control, just vibes. While retargeting through catalog custom audiences is still an option, brands now have to navigate extra steps just to maintain a shred of control over who sees their ads. Meta swears its AI-driven targeting delivers better results, but let’s be real - if your 2025 strategy involves precision targeting, get ready to wrestle with more automation (and possibly, more frustration).

Google’s Meridian: Finally, a Measurement Tool That Might Keep Up With 2025 Marketing Chaos

Google just threw marketers a (potentially) golden measuring tape with the full rollout of Meridian, its open-source marketing mix model.  Traditional MMMs have been struggling to track digital campaigns accurately, but Meridian promises better cross-channel measurement using Bayesian causal inference (fancy math for “more accurate insights”).  It’s fully customizable, integrates directly with Google’s MMM Data Platform, and actually accounts for reach and frequency - so no more treating impressions like the be-all-end-all metric.  The best part? It’s not another black-box Google product, meaning marketers can tweak and refine it instead of just crossing their fingers. If you’ve been crying into your analytics dashboards over proving ROI, Meridian might just be your new best friend.

Microsoft’s Performance Max Just Got a LinkedIn-Level Upgrade

Microsoft Ads is taking Performance Max from “meh” to must-watch with a fresh batch of updates - including the holy grail of B2B targeting: LinkedIn audience integration.  That’s right, soon you’ll be able to target campaigns by company, industry, and job function, giving Microsoft a serious edge over Google in the professional ad game.  Add in granular reporting, smart conversion tracking, and a new-customer acquisition focus, and suddenly, Microsoft’s AI-driven campaigns are looking a whole lot sharper.  It’s still in pilot mode (ugh), but if these tools roll out broadly, B2B marketers may finally have a reason to actually get excited about Performance Max.

If marketing in 2025 had a playbook, it would be half strategy, half wild guess, and entirely rewritten by AI before halftime.  Yea - I know I’m a week early on the Super Bowl jokes - but hey, if AI can predict your next move, I can at least get ahead on my own punchlines.  Call it predictive marketing!

You know you love me,

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