🗞️ Headlines from 2023.02.01
Welcome to February.
Snap earnings and semiconductor supply issues were behind lots of 2022 insanity, so it’s fitting we get to start 2023 with more of the same.
Another Snapping Point?
Snap’s earnings are out. Users, subscribers, and revenue are all up, but revenue per user is down.
The mismatch comes from reliance on North America for revenue but Rest of World (especially India) for user growth. The Ghost also hasn’t fully rebounded from Apple’s tracking changes with iOS 14.5.
One plan to help boost revenue? Let users buy back Snapstreaks for $0.99.
It’s earnings week, so we’ll soon know what trend Snap is kicking off this time.
Chip Memories
Remember back when semiconductor supplies got squeezed and all hell broke loose? Now we have the opposite, but some hell might still break loose.
DRAM (the thing we call ‘memory’ in computers) is in overwhelming supply (maybe the flip side of those other chips being the bottleneck) and manufacturers are hurting because of it. And suppliers will hurt, etc.
Podcasts Enter the Toolkit
Podcasts might be losing their shine, but they’re not losing ad revenue. In fact, the medium has been immune to slowing spend so far.
This means two things: 1) podcasts are now just another boring channel to advertisers, which is good & 2) if budgets aren’t getting cut here there must be a reason, are you missing out on something?
Still Tickin’
TikTok may be feeling the heat from various and assorted regulators, but advertisers are all good. As are users.
At this point for most advertisers, the audience on TikTok is just too good to resist.
To reward advertisers for their loyalty (probably not, but the narrative potential is too good), The Trend Machine has unveiled video insights.
With Video Insights, you can:
- Compare your ad performance against industry benchmarks.
- Dive deeper into the specific video elements that are making your ads perform.
- Inspire new videos and optimize your production workflow through an informed content strategy.
Speaking of Ad Spend
Media Buying YoY Changes
— Northbeam (@northbeam) January 29, 2023
(Jan 22 vs. Jan 23):
% of budget by channel:
• Meta: -10% (67% to 60%)
• Google: +17% (20% to 24%)
• TikTok: +32% (3% to 4%)
• YouTube: +2% (3.1% to 3.2%)
• MSFT Ads: +113% (.4% to .9%)
• Pinterest: +501% (.07% to .4%)
• Snap: -56% (.6% to .27%)
Check the full thread for more metrics.
Cupid Campaigns
If this is your kind of thing, Microsoft has 5 key insights for your Valentine’s Day campaigns in 2023.