Welcome to Setup Pulse for Brands and Agency marketers alike! Every other week, we’ll provide three trending topics in the Marketing industry, as well as a new story that you will want to get your eyes on.

Read about what’s being talked about this week!

Trending Topics

Bring Commercials Back!

New research shows consumers are not as opposed to paying less for streaming platforms, even if that means having to watch ads, as they were before. Only 13% of consumers are opposed to ad tiers in streaming, down from 36% in 2022. 

AI for Google Search

Google rolled out conversational AI within Search ads through Gemini AI. This type of AI allows advertisers to generate relevant ad content, including creative and keywords, from a website URL. So far, less effort has resulted in higher quality campaigns and an increased Ad Strength score.

YouTube Thumbnail Testing

YouTube has finally announced they are rolling out A/B testing for thumbnails soon. This is a huge win in optimizing performance on this channel. You’ll be able to upload up to three thumbnail options and test them for up to two weeks.

New + Noteworthy

Sesame Self-Care

Your favorite childhood character Elmo blew up social media recently, opening up a discussion about mental health around the world. Celebrities, brands, and even the President have all jumped in to bring awareness to the importance of mental health.

Ad Of The Week

Uber Eats’ commercials this year at the Super Bowl showed the Beckhams forgetting the Spice Girls and Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer forgetting they’re friends. This year’s ads made celebrities more self aware and leaned into their personalities. With 30-second spots this year costing about $7 million, brands really capitalized on taking a different approach. Uber Eats used relatable life experiences to drive the story. After years of post-pandemic sentimental ads, humorous ads took front and center this year as well.

Come back soon for the next “Setup Pulse” where we give you quick trend and campaign reports! If you want more in-depth industry content, including interviews by CMOs and Marketing Executives, subscribe to our Newsletter below!