It’s Friday, Dear Readers!
Pass the stuffing and save a seat at the table, darlings, because this week’s marketing feast is serving up all the trimmings. As we prep for Black Friday—and carbo-load for Thanksgiving—Google’s giving shoppers the power to price-check in the aisles, the DOJ is carving into Chrome’s dominance, and TikTok’s dishing out AI tools to make your content the talk of the holiday table. Meanwhile, Meta’s declaring a new era of performance marketing, and Perplexity’s throwing its hat into the e-commerce ring. So grab your gravy boat and your game plan, because this holiday season, it’s all about serving up strategies that satisfy.
Let’s dive in…
DOJ Takes Aim at Chrome: Breaking Up is Hard to Do
Hold onto your hats (and browsers), darlings—the DOJ is coming for Google Chrome in its antitrust crusade, proposing a forced sale and stricter regulations that could reshape the entire digital landscape. If Chrome is sold off, it’s not just the end of an era—it could completely upend how we browse, search, and advertise online. For marketers, this could mean fewer data signals, skyrocketing complexity, and a wild west of new browser players vying for dominance. Think fragmented targeting, a potential shift in user behavior, and some major decision-making headaches about where to place those precious ad dollars. But here’s the tea: nothing is happening tomorrow (or even next year). For now, the move is more sizzle than steak, but savvy marketers will want to keep tabs on this slow-brewing shakeup—because when the chips fall, your strategy might need a glow-up.
Meta’s CMO Declares the Death of “Performance Marketing”
Meta’s CMO Alex Schultz is throwing shade at the tired term “performance marketing,” and honestly? He’s not wrong. Schultz says it’s time we ditch the divide between brand and direct response strategies—because in today’s ad world, everything should perform. The secret sauce? A seamless blend of top-of-funnel brand-building and bottom-of-funnel conversion-driving ads, backed by the magic of Meta’s AI tools. For marketers, the takeaway is clear: stop choosing sides and start proving impact across the board. Whether you’re boosting brand love or cutting CPAs, the key is measuring what matters and showing the CFO you’re worth every penny. Consider this your official invite to the “it’s all performance” era of marketing, darlings—because ROI never goes out of style.
And now for some timely eCommerce updates…
Google’s Shopping AI Is Here to Crash Your Black Friday Prep
Just in time for next week’s Black Friday rush, Google has dropped a shopping upgrade that’s making aisle-strolling very high-tech. Picture this: your customers whipping out their phones mid-store, using Google Lens to compare prices in real time. Oh, and Maps now doubles as a personal shopping assistant, letting them scope out local inventory before they even leave home. Add in buy now, pay later perks and souped-up virtual card protections, and Google is practically writing the handbook on shopper empowerment.
For marketers, this is both a challenge and an opportunity: if your prices aren’t competitive, your campaigns better sell value like it’s Black Friday every day. And if you’re a local retailer, your inventory visibility in Google’s ecosystem just became non-negotiable. The game has shifted—are you ready to play? And in a similar update, Perplexity also just released new AI shopping features…
Perplexity’s AI Shopping Search: A Fresh Frontier for Marketers
Move over, Google and Amazon—there’s a new contender in the AI-powered shopping space, and it’s serving high-intent shoppers on a silver platter. Perplexity AI just dropped a sleek shopping feature for its U.S. subscribers, complete with visual product cards, one-click checkouts, and the promise of “unbiased” recommendations (no shady sponsored slots here, folks). For marketers, this is a golden opportunity to get ahead on an emerging platform before it’s flooded with ads. Early adoption could mean figuring out how to thrive in Perplexity’s Shopify-friendly ecosystem while your competitors are still stuck in Google Shopping purgatory. With AI reshaping the e-commerce game faster than tickets are selling for Wicked, this is one to keep on your radar.
And now for a bit of Social media drama…
Social Media's Age-Limit Drama: A Plot Twist for Advertisers
Darlings, social media’s wild child days might be over as governments worldwide lay down the law to protect minors—and it’s turning into a serious ad-industry plot twist. Australia’s threatening $33 million fines for platforms that don’t boot under-16 users, while the UK’s new safety rules are as strict as your high school dress code. In the U.S., lawsuits and bipartisan legislation are piling up faster than TikTok trends. While these changes aren’t set in stone just yet, advertisers may soon face a world where targeting under-16s is off the table. Translation? It’s time to brainstorm future-proof strategies and get cozy with older audiences—because the playbook for 2025 could look very different.
TikTok’s Symphony Creative Studio: Your Shortcut to Viral Content
Brands, TikTok just handed you the cheat code to trending content. Going a bit deeper on last week’s TikTok update, the new Symphony Creative Studio lets marketers transform product descriptions or URLs into TikTok-ready videos faster than you can say, “algorithm hack.” Featuring AI-generated visuals, multilingual options, and even digital avatars to narrate your brand’s story, this tool makes creating scroll-stopping content ridiculously easy. The catch? Results might vary, but for brands strapped on time or TikTok expertise, it’s a low-risk way to tap into the platform’s massive audience. Marketers, consider this your golden ticket to staying ahead in the short-form video race—before your competitors figure it out.
As we prep for turkey, stuffing, and doorbuster deals, one thing is clear: the only constant in digital marketing is change. The year ahead promises new challenges, but for those who embrace the chaos and think strategically, there’s a lot to be thankful for. Until next week, darlings—may your campaigns convert and your CPCs stay low!
You know you love me.
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