Marketing News

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot’s media team.  Microsoft is keeping generative AI front and center in its search products. In January, the company extended its partnership with Open AI, the maker of ChatGPT with a multi-year investment believed to be worth $10 billion. The following month, Microsoft launched new AI-powered versions of its Bing search engine and Microsoft Edge web browser. This week Microsoft announced the launch of Bing Image Creator — an AI-powered tool that allows users to create images at the click of a button (a major upgrade from WordArt). One day you stopped using WordArt and didn’t even know it.— Microsoft (@Microsoft) March 22, 2023 Users can type a brief image description into the chat window on Bing or upon clicking the Image Creator icon within Microsoft Edge to get custom images generated

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot’s media team. A potential TikTok ban is looming in the U.S. After the app has been banned on government devices and some college campuses, the Biden Administration threatened a nationwide ban if ByteDance, the China-based company that owns TikTok, doesn’t sell its stakes in the platform. If the app does get banned, it could have major repercussions for marketers who have invested heavily in the platform over the last three years. Though overall social ad spend is trending downward due to economic uncertainty, TikTok saw a 20% increase in ad spend during the first three quarters of 2022 with some agencies reporting that 25% of their social spend is dedicated to TikTok ads alone. While many companies are continuing to invest ad dollars in more established platforms, TikTok has untapped

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot’s media team. Earlier this week, Sephora and TikTok announced a new joint venture with agency Digitas: an incubator program to help new beauty brands leverage creator content. As part of the Sephora x TikTok Incubator Program, TikTok creators will teach select brands how to implement creator-focused social media strategies to drive growth and engagement.   The first round of participating brands includes Hyper Skin, Topicals, and Eadem, selected from Sephora’s Accelerate program. These BIPOC-owned brands will learn from popular TikTok creators including Amy Chang (@bondenavant), Nyma Tang (@nymatang), and Rocio Lopez-Jimenez (@rocio.roses). Why the Sephora x TikTok Incubator Program Makes Sense For years, users have acknowledged the persuasive power TikTok has on their purchasing choices through the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, and few spaces have been as influential or lucrative as

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot’s media team. Last week, Meta announced plans to pause Reels Play Bonus payments — a monetization program that paid creators monthly based on the number of views their Reels received. While the program is on pause, Meta will focus on advertising within Reels with the hopes of developing a revenue share model which is currently being tested on Facebook. The program launched in late 2021 to incentivize Instagram and Facebook users to share short-form video content. Since its inception, creators report being offered between $100 to $35,000 to post Reels. Meta will continue honoring Reels bonus payments for those currently participating in the program for the next 30 days. Will the end of this program be a devastating blow to creators on Facebook and Instagram? Not necessarily.        

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot’s media team. Chili’s is back with a new commercial, this time served up with a side of nostalgia. The brand’s infamous “I want my baby back ribs” commercials of the Y2K era were classics (the *NSYNC commercial in particular lives rent-free in my head). Now, the restaurant chain is reminiscing on that time period in its latest commercial starring singer Brian McKnight. The ad depicts a waiter named Brian who closely resembles McKnight (but insists he isn’t) serenading his customers to the tune of the singer’s 1999 hit “Back At One.” Spoiler alert: the waiter is indeed Brian McKnight. If the video’s comment section on YouTube is any indication, Chili’s knocked it out of the park connecting with its ideal customer. Comments on the video are overwhelmingly positive, with

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot’s media team. TikTok is one step closer to being an entertainment app. An example of this transition is its recent collaboration with Snoop Dogg. In early 2022, Snoop Dogg acquired Death Row records becoming the owner of the infamous label’s catalog of music. A few months later, he announced he was removing the catalog from major streaming platforms with the intention of re-releasing it on his own entertainment app. Though the status of his app is unclear, in 2023 Snoop Dogg decided to re-release the Death Row catalog on streaming platforms — after making it available exclusively on TikTok for a week. @snoopdogg Tha Dogg checcin in. Excited to tell y’all Death Row Records music is back for you to enjoy. Go get the songs on TikTok’s curated Death

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot’s media team.  Activewear subscription brand Fabletics is looking to cover a new market — clothing for medical professionals. In February, the company launched its first line of medical scrubs, which it calls “The World’s First Activewear Scrubs Collection.” The collection launched with 12 pieces for all genders, as well as the ability to customize with embroidery. In addition to creating a style quiz potential customers can take to find the items that will suit them best, Fabletics focused on a community-oriented launch. The brand pledged to donate 25,000 pairs of scrubs to medical professionals across the U.S. and has tapped company spokesperson Kevin Hart to help distribute scrubs to an organization in Philadelphia. Image Source Why did an activewear brand start making medical scrubs? The scrubs market is expected to be

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot’s media team.  Having a verified account on social media was once seen as a point of notoriety or a status symbol. Now, it’s a commodity that can be purchased. Verifying social media accounts began on Twitter in 2009. Tony La Russa, then manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, filed a lawsuit against Twitter after a user created an impersonation account and shared insensitive tweets. Though the suit was eventually dropped, it led Twitter to launch its Account Verification process giving verified accounts blue check marks as a symbol of authenticity for notable businesses or public figures. The goal was to make impersonation harder to achieve. Instagram followed suit and began verifying accounts in 2014. Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot’s media team. Are rewards programs keeping airlines afloat? They just might be. Delta Airlines is taking a different marketing approach in its latest video called “Grow Your World With Every Mile” highlighting its SkyMiles program. The program was initially launched as the “Delta Airlines Frequent Flyer Program” in 1981 and was renamed SkyMiles in 1995. The recent ad spot marks Delta’s first major investment in marketing the loyalty program. Why the recent focus on marketing a 42-year-old program? Unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic. How Airlines Are Creating Their Own Banks Though travel demand and spending decreased due to the pandemic in 2020, Delta was able to generate cash by raising $6.5 billion through the SkyMiles program and payouts from its co-branded credit card partnership with American Express. Delta isn’t alone in

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot’s media team.  The fashion industry and major sports leagues are two different industries that have countless collaboration opportunities. In 2022, major sports and fashion saw a number of intersection points beyond team merch, including: Serena Williams walking a Vogue runway shortly after announcing her retirement from tennis. Ronnie Fieg, the founder of Kith, becoming the first creative director for the New York Knicks. Nike opening World of Flight, its first Jordan concept store, in the fashion capital of Milan. These headline-grabbing events indicate that fashion and sports have a meaningful overlap for consumers. To capitalize on this, sports organizations are prioritizing partnerships with artists and fashion pros to reinvigorate the world of sportswear. Earlier this month, contemporary artists Al-Baseer Holly and Cristina Martinez created a capsule design collection merging their signature designs