Need help with your social media designs? Get KIMP!

KIMP’s Picks 14th February: Weekly Highlights In Design, Marketing, AI, & More

Love to stay in the loop with the latest social media buzz but hate doomscrolling? Then KIMP’s Picks is for you. This is our weekly recap post where we handpick posts that summarize the week that was. From AI news to design and marketing inspiration, social media feature updates, and more, this is your one-stop shop for an end-of-the-week social media catch-up! 

Ready for this week’s updates? Let’s dive in. 

In the Marketing Realm 

GenZ’s love for X 

Wondering where to direct your social media marketing strategy? Then this post from X is quite insightful. It talks about GenZ’s love for X and how brands can tap into this. 

With a 31% Gen Z user base and a steady 12% growth in the U.S. since 2022, X has become an essential space for brands aiming to engage this influential demographic. 

In short, X presents a major opportunity for brands to tap into Gen Z’s digital universe. For marketers, this means leveraging X’s ad technology and video-first approach to stay relevant in the evolving social landscape.

Google discusses the benefits of Product Studio 

Google shared a post discussing the benefits of Product Studio and reminding marketers of the significance of this tool in product advertising. 

It highlights how Google Studio can be a great way to tweak your images to make them work across diverse Google platforms and how it can also be a great way to add holiday updates and seasonal elements to photos. 

So, if you are a Merchant Center user relying on Google Ads, this is a product you definitely need to try. 

Google expands Campaign Manager 360 with fresh integrations 

Google is enhancing Campaign Manager 360 with a range of new integrations. The idea is to to simplify ad serving, improve creative workflows, and provide deeper performance insights (especially in the rapidly growing Connected TV (CTV) space). 

The latest partnerships with Google Ads, Adobe, Typeface AI, The Trade Desk, and Netflix Ads aim to streamline campaign activation and creative management across multiple platforms. As advertisers navigate a fragmented digital landscape, these updates promise a more seamless, data-driven approach to cross-channel marketing.

Among the key enhancements, Adobe GenStudio and Typeface AI will help brands produce and deploy creative assets faster, while The Trade Desk and Google Ads integrations simplify campaign tagging and activation. 

Additionally, a new partnership with Netflix Ads allows advertisers to measure and track ad performance directly within Campaign Manager 360. 

A lesson in viral marketing 

Duolingo has a unique marketing strategy built primarily on its Duo mascot and a bold and quirky brand personality. There is also the unique and somewhat daunting tone of voice of Duo that most people recognize. 

Amidst this, Duolingo recently has created a lot of buzz for having announced the demise of their beloved owl mascot. They shared a post giving a statement and a short video showing Duo being hit by a Cybertruck. 

This marketing stunt is perhaps one of the most interesting things that happened this week in the marketing realm. Head over to the comment section and you’ll see how brands big and small have responded to this trend. Even big names like Netflix have hopped on their trend and shared their condolences for the departure of everyone’s favorite owl mascot. 

Duolingo’s marketing stunt here is a brilliant lesson in shockvertising and a reminder of the significance of a well-designed and well-utilized brand mascot. 

Strategic branding – an overview 

Adobe discusses “strategic branding” in the below post on the Adobe Express page. From covering the nitty gritty including the benefits of strategic branding, to useful tips to execute this, the post has a detailed discussion. 

It also explores the diverse elements of strategic branding like audience persona, brand purpose, differentiation analysis, and others and the significance of each of these. 

In the Content Marketing Realm 

Tapping into the power of AI for local content 

AI can be a handy tool in content marketing. Google recently shared one of their campaigns to demonstrate the benefits of using AI in advertising content generation, particularly when advertising in a local market.

The post here outlines one of their campaigns where AI was deployed to assist in the use of personalized content for hyperlocal outdoor ads. The idea was to encourage holiday shoppers (particularly those in NYC) to use Google Shopping.

Google integrated AI into the mix to instantly generate location-specific visuals for more than 240 different ads. 

Google demonstrates the power of gamified content 

There are two ways to make an announcement as a business – a) inform your audience about what’s coming and b) create gamified content that gets them as excited as you are about what’s coming. 

Google’s recent campaign to announce the Google I/O dates is a good example of the latter. For the announcement, Google created a simple web game called Prism Shift where users are to shift prisms to reflect light to eventually reveal the dates for Google I/O. 

There’s a reason why big brands like Google are known to regularly invest in gamified content – interactive ads work! So, now is a good time to rethink your content and gamify your ads. 

In the Design Realm

Say “hello” to Adobe Firefly’s video model 

Last year, Adobe announced their all-new AI video model to be launched into their Firefly ecosystem. This much-awaited launch is finally here. This IP-friendly, commercially-safe video model is all set to shake things up in the AI video generation segment. 

There have recently been a lot of advancements in AI video generation but a tool within the creative suite that most creatives depend on, like Adobe, can be a game-changer. 

Moreover, this AI video tool from Adobe is poised to revolutionize video creation for everyone from amateur enthusiasts to seasoned professionals. 

This innovative model expands the Adobe Firefly suite, bringing together video, image, and vector generation into a single application, streamlining creative workflows. 

Adobe launches Project Neo in Public Beta 

Adobe’s revolutionary web-based 3D design tool, Project Neo is now available in public beta. Designed particularly for 2D designers looking to explore 3D without the steep learning curve, Project Neo introduces an intuitive interface that aligns with familiar workflows from Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. 

Announced at Adobe MAX Japan, this tool allows users to easily add depth and dimension to their designs without needing advanced 3D modeling skills. From brand graphics to icons and 3D pixel art, there are so many kinds of 3D designs that designers can experiment with on Project Neo. 

Adobe Illustrator updates 

Adobe shared a post discussing some useful features coming to Illustrator in the latest release. This includes a set of performance enhancements that help save time. From faster image processing to quicker performance when using effects and layer operations, there are various updates to improve efficiency. 

Additionally, Retype will help creators to identify fonts in designs and find similar ones to use. Also, other small updates like embedding fonts into Illustrator files, saving patterns and gradients to Creative Cloud Library, Area Calculation are also coming to Illustrator. 

YouTube’s new hues 

Colors play a major role in brand identity and the new post from YouTube reiterates this fact. This is about YouTube’s new brand hues. 

According to their post, their subtle yet meaningful change recently is part of a broader design refresh aimed at keeping the platform modern, accessible, and visually engaging.

Reportedly, in celebration of YouTube’s 20th anniversary, key members of the art direction and design teams shared insights into the decision to evolve the brand’s color palette. 

The refresh addresses technical issues with the previous red, such as screen burn-in and inconsistent rendering. Accordingly, the updated hues make YouTube’s identity feel more welcoming and dynamic.

In addition to the color changes, the redesign includes motion design to enhance user interaction. Animated elements like the progress bar, ‘Like/Subscribe’ buttons, and topic icons feature smooth and lively movements, further solidifying YouTube’s brand as a movement-centric platform.

Image upscaling on Freepik 

Joining the list of the many AI upgrades Freepik has recently been announcing, there’s Magnific upscaling. This is available in the Freepik AI Suite for Premium+ users. 

This cutting-edge AI tool does more than just enlarge images – it enhances quality, sharpens details, and refines textures, delivering stunningly crisp and high-definition results. 

Whether you’re working with portraits, illustrations, or other designs, Magnific Upscaler ensures your visuals are sharper, more vibrant, and more detailed than ever before.

In the AI Realm 

OpenAI’s roadmap for GPT models 

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI recently shared the roadmap planned for GPT models. This post gives a preview of what to expect next from ChatGPT. 

GPT-4.5 (Orion) will be the last non-chain-of-thought model before OpenAI shifts to a more advanced, unified system. This is particularly to tackle the issue of model picking to get the optimal responses. 

Moreover, GPT-5 will reportedly fully integrate o-series models and become a single, adaptive system capable of deep reasoning, long-form thinking, and multimodal capabilities (including voice, search, and research). 

The GPT-5 model will also act as the model picker automatically choosing the right workflow for the intended job. 

Moreover, his post also mentions that Free users on ChatGPT will get unlimited access to a standard intelligence level in GPT-5. 

More quick updates from OpenAI 

In addition to news about upcoming GPT models, it looks like OpenAI is also working on upgrading the existing models with better performance and features. Accordingly, the handy option of uploading files and images will now be available both with o1 and o3-mini. 

Moreover, the initial limits that existed in the o3 mini models are now expanding by about 7x for Plus users to up to 50 per day. This allows for better exploration of the models and more efficient workflows. 

Additionally, their recently announced feature Deep Research, which helps deeper analysis and better reporting, is now expanding to all Pro users. Users can access this on all mobile and desktop apps. 

Whisk now expands to more countries 

Google Labs’ experimental AI tool, Whisk, is now available in over 100 additional countries following its U.S. debut in December. 

The Whisk platform allows users to generate new images by combining existing visuals, using Google’s Gemini AI to analyze and caption images before feeding them into the Imagen 3 model for transformation. 

Designed for rapid visual exploration, Whisk enables users to remix subjects, scenes, and styles effortlessly. Therefore it can be a powerful tool for digital artists and casual creatives alike.

A new step in filmmaking 

“Where the Robots Grow” is one of the first fully AI-animated feature films. It was reportedly produced in just 90 days with a small team. 

Reportedly, ElevenLabs’s next-gen Voice AI technology was used in the movie to dynamically alter the voice for the many characters in the movie. On the whole, ElevenLabs’ tools were useful to the team in enhancing sound design for the project and to create effects optimized for different scenes. 

This project gives a preview of the transformational effects of AI in fields like filmmaking. 

Social Media Feature Updates and Algorithm Changes

YouTube’s big bets for 2025 

As YouTube celebrates its 20th anniversary, CEO Neal Mohan has outlined the platform’s four major priorities for 2025.

First, YouTube reportedly is the epicenter of culture. And podcasts on the platform are thriving with global creators reaching audiences beyond borders. 

Second, creators are becoming the “startups of Hollywood,” building professional studios and leveraging YouTube’s monetization tools, including ads, memberships, and shopping recommendations. More than 50% of five-figure-earning channels now generate revenue beyond traditional ad streams.

The third key focus is YouTube’s transformation into the new television, with over 1 billion hours of daily watch time on connected TVs. YouTube is also enhancing interactive TV features and expanding partnerships, including live sports commentary. 

Finally, AI will play a major role in content creation, from automatic dubbing to advanced video editing.  

Discord introduces the “Ignore” feature 

Aligning with Safer Internet Day 2025 (11th February), Discord announced a new feature to enhance safety on the platform. The feature is called “Ignore” and it allows users to ignore accounts without them knowing that their account has been ignored. This lets uses hide specific accounts and messages from them and stop receiving notifications about their account and updates. The ignored user will still be able to see your account and activity – hence this is more like a subtler version of blocking accounts. 

Snapchat announces new features 

Snapchat is rolling out a fresh set of features to enhance user experience in 2025. There is a stronger focus on AI-driven customization and interactivity. 

Snapchat+ subscribers will get Snap Modes, allowing them to send self-destructing Snaps for ephemeral moments. Additionally, AI-generated stickers will personalize chats by matching stickers to typed messages, making conversations more dynamic.

The post here summarizes some of the recently introduced features on the platform. 

Time to Wrap Up…

With that, we conclude this week’s social media recap. That was quite a lot of updates for a week, right? To ensure that you always stay in the loop and do not miss such big news, stay tuned and we’ll be back next week with our next KIMP’s Picks edition. 

Share This Post
FacebookXWhatsAppPinterestLinkedInEmail
Posted On

14 Feb, 2025

Related Posts
KIMP’s Picks 28th March: Weekly Highlights In Design, Marketing, AI, & More
28 Mar, 2025
Read More
KIMP’s Picks 21st March: Weekly Highlights In Design, Marketing, AI, & More
21 Mar, 2025
Read More