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KIMP’s Picks 13th September: Weekly Highlights In Design, Marketing, AI, & More

Just like that another week flies by. You wink and you’ve lost all the big AI updates, marketing campaigns that took the world by storm and social media algorithm changes. Is that making it hard for you to catch up on things by the end of the week? Then we are here to simplify that. 

Welcome to KIMP’s Picks 13th September Edition. KIMP’s Picks is our weekly social media roundup – a list of trending posts and shareworthy gems that are worth your time and attention. These are posts from marketing, AI and social media realms that can give you a snapshot of the week that was. So, are you ready to catch up on what you missed this week? Then let’s go! 

In the Marketing Realm 

Google is bringing Wayback Machine to Search

Google recently announced that they are partnering with the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine to show archived versions of websites directly in search results.

This feature will be accessible in 40 languages. To access the archive links, users can click the three dots next to a search result, select “More about this page,” and find a link to previous versions on the Wayback Machine. Given that Google removed the cached pages option this one comes as a better alternative. 

Google tests new ad labels in Search results 

According to the post here from Search Engine Land, a leading authority in search-related news and updates, Google is testing a new, more noticeable format for ads in its search results. This means that ads will no longer look native or hard to distinguish from the other search results. 

A larger and more prominent label displaying “Sponsored” or “Promoted results” might clearly distinguish organic search results from the ads displayed. 

For users, this could mean a clearer distinction between ads and organic results. For advertisers, this shift could impact user behavior, potentially boosting click-through rates (CTR) and conversions. 

Getting ready for December 

Cyber Monday is undoubtedly a huge marketing opportunity for brands. But recently, Google shared some valuable insights that challenge this perspective and demonstrate that there are bigger holiday shopping trends to consider. 

While Cyber Monday is typically seen as the pinnacle of holiday shopping, December 2023 saw eight individual days surpassing its sales. According to Mastercard U.S. SpendingPulse, this surge reflects a shift in consumer behavior as shoppers spread out their purchases over multiple days, taking advantage of various promotions and deals.

Therefore, if you think that the competitive Cyber Monday marketing space is not fruitful enough for your strategy, focus on the other days of heavy demand. Understand your consumer shopping behavior to better schedule your campaigns. 

Marketing to Gen Z audiences 

Marketing Week, a well-known name among those seeking marketing news and inspiration shared an insightful post that discusses some valuable tips from Derek Morrison, MD of Retail Marketplace at UNiDAYS. This post is about engaging with Gen Z, a generation that’s reshaping how brands operate.

The post highlights the fact that brands must go beyond traditional marketing tactics to target this young audience. By understanding their unique values and preferences, and offering tailored incentives and experiences, businesses can build lasting relationships with this influential demographic. Additionally, to succeed in the Gen Z market, it takes focus on authenticity, inclusivity, and value. 

So, if your target audience consists of Gen Zers then this is an article you cannot miss. 

In the Content Marketing Realm

The future of SEO in the AI era 

The moment a transformative tech like AI begins taking center stage, there is one question that pops up – will this new tech affect jobs? The post here from Search Engine Journal addresses this question, particularly in the SEO segment. 

Given that there are several AI tools that can transform the SEO workflow, there is a question of whether AI will replace SEO specialists. Therefore this article digs deeper to answer this question. 

The post discusses AI’s strengths and how it SEO tools for competitor analysis, keyword research, and content optimization. However, AI content lacks the human touch and needs to be edited by humans for accuracy and brand voice. Moreover, SEO specialists need to guide AI with strategic direction. 

Discussing all these perspectives, the article concludes that AI will likely become a productive partner and augment the work of SEO specialists rather than replace them.

The good and bad of AI content 

The next post we have builds on what the previous post discussed and this one is from the popular online marketing tool Semrush. The post delves into the pros and cons of AI content and provides readers with some tips to make the most of AI rather than resist the change. 

The post starts by explaining how AI tools can be useful in content generation and then proceeds to discuss the benefits. AI tools help save time and cost in content creation. Moreover, they also provide a scalable solution for content generation. But yes, there is an inherent lack of originality and compromise on quality when using these tools. Thoroughly weighing these pros and cons, the post concludes with a few tips on overcoming the pitfalls and making the most of the benefits that these tools have to offer. 

In the Design Realm 

Cornetto’s unique summer-themed poster design 

Ad Age, a popular source of information and inspiration in the world of advertising shared a post discussing an innovative poster design from Cornetto. 

This stunning new poster campaign transforms the brand’s iconic peeled wrappers into vibrant summer landscapes. The campaign features handcrafted collages with elements like surfers, boats, waves, and beach umbrellas, capturing the essence of the season. 

This campaign serves as a reminder of the power of creativity in connecting products to meaningful, seasonal experiences.

Bold packaging design inspiration 

Formerly known as Magpie Distilling, &Peabody Spirits has undergone a vibrant transformation. The aim of this rebranding was to capture the urban and adventurous spirit of a broader Sydney audience.

Packaging of The World shared the post below, discussing a new packaging design created for this refreshed brand identity. 

The new packaging is a celebration of creativity. It features bold, colorful illustrations and multi-colored foils that reflect the unique ingredients and flavors of each variety. With a distinctive bottle shape and playful, color-coded topper seals, the brand sets itself apart from minimalistic designs, radiating originality and fun.

This project shows how packaging design can be used to effectively transform a brand’s visual narrative post a rebranding campaign. 

Adobe announces Firefly Video Model 

Adobe’s Firefly has truly been a trendsetter in the creative realm. In a recent post, Adobe announced that a Firefly Video Model is soon to be launched to augment the existing functionalities of the Firefly Suite. 

Set to be available in beta later this year, the model brings generative AI to video editing across Creative Cloud, Adobe Experience Cloud, and Adobe Express. According to Adobe, this model is designed to be commercially safe and optimized for professional workflows.

This new model also promises to provide editors with tools to streamline tasks like filling gaps in footage, adding visual effects, or generating B-roll with text prompts.

Rebranding inspiration 

The Contented Copywriter has undergone a transformative rebranding journey to become Wonderthink. The popular design inspiration page The Brand Identity shared a post discussing this rebranding campaign of the brand. 

Reportedly, this new identity was created to reflect the agency’s broader scope beyond copywriting. 

The creative agency that worked on the rebranding of this company created an energetic and playful illustrative style that perfectly captured the spirit of Wonderthink. According to the post here, the illustrations embody both imagination (wonder) and strategic thought (think), forming the heart of the brand’s identity.

Typography also has a big role to play in this new brand identity. This shows how the clear definition of the purpose for rebranding and the revamped personality of the brand can boost the effectiveness of the campaign. 

In the AI Realm 

Google announces Audio Overview in NotebookLM

NotebookLM was launched by Google to allow users to break down and consume complex information. In a recent post, they unveiled an Audio Overview feature in NotebookLM.

This feature brings two AI hosts to summarize the content being analyzed in the form of an engaging discussion. The conversation can also be downloaded for future reference. 

Replit announces AI-powered assistance in software development 

Replit has launched the Replit Agent. This experimental tool is designed to assist users in building software projects by understanding natural language prompts and helping create applications from scratch.

Replit has made this tool available through a limited early access program. And it is currently available to Core and Teams subscribers. Unlike simple AI tools for code generation, this one can help with a more expansive software development process. 

Stability announces updates for Stable Assistant 

Stability AI has been expanding the features and capabilities of the Stable AI Assistant making it a more productive partner in the creative workflow. Recently, they also unveiled the “Generate With Style” feature in the assistant. 

The feature can be used when working on text-to-image, video, or 3D content on the assistant and lets you apply a predefined style to your design. You can easily choose from the style references and create designs based on the selected style. 

Midjourney upgrades Niji with personalization 

Collaborating with Spellbrush, Midjourney introduced Niji, their AI model, particularly for anime generation. From specific styles to overall anime aesthetics, Niji simplifies the work of anime illustrations in many ways. In a recent post, they announced that personalization options are now live on Niji. This lets you take better control of your anime designs.  

Popular AI startup Groq announces LLaVA V1.5 7B

While big players like OpenAI and Stability AI are progressing leaps and bounds there are also other AI startups making big waves. A good example is Groq who has now announced a revolutionary tool in the AI segment. The post below discussed the launch of LLaVA V1.5 7B touted to be faster than GPT-4. 

LLaVA (Large Language and Vision Assistant) is a multimodal model that merges language and vision capabilities. Built on OpenAI’s CLIP and a fine-tuned version of Meta’s Llama 2 7B model, LLaVA reportedly excels in tasks such as visual question answering, caption generation, optical character recognition, and multimodal dialogue.

OpenAI’s pricing might change soon 

While the free version of OpenAI tools like ChatGPT supports a host of features to truly experience the capabilities of their models, their paid plans are currently the best option. Now there are rumors that OpenAI is working on revising their pricing with the possibility of their premium plans spiking up to $2,000 per month. 

With their much-anticipated models like Strawberry and Orion on the horizon, the price change comes with access to more AI features. However, there is no concrete news from OpenAI about this possible price revision. Only time can answer the question of whether users might be willing to shell out the big bucks to keep up with the new features.

Social Media Feature Updates and Algorithm Changes

More shopping features coming to Shorts 

In recent times, YouTube introduced a host of useful features to make Shorts more engaging. And there have been several new updates to allow creators to simplify shopping recommendations through their Shorts and for consumers to find products from their favorite Shorts. 

In a recent post, they announced that creators will soon be able to add clickable stickers to their Shorts videos. With this, users can directly click on the stickers to find the recommendations in the video and shop for them conveniently. 

TikTok’s Digital Safety Initiative 

TikTok recently announced their partnership with FOSI ( Family Online Safety Institute) to work on their Digital Safety Initiative. 

Through this initiative, TikTok is reinforcing their commitment to online safety. Given that more and more kids and teens are becoming active on social media platforms, measures like these help curb safety concerns. 

This initiative from TikTok provides parents with useful resources to understand safety issues and measures to ensure the safety of their teens when using social media platforms like TikTok. This comes along with feature updates like disabling DMs for users under 16. 

Instagram DMs are getting a makeover 

Instagram recently announced several new updates coming to DMs. Some of these include the option for users to add birthday notes which appear very much like notes on DM. 

You can also add doodles, stickers and effects to personalize photos sent via DM. Finally, you can also include custom cutouts to personalize your messages. 

Given that DMs have become some of the most effective ways in which users can interact with their friends and with brands as well, these creative features are sure to make the interactions more fun and memorable. 

Wrapping Up…

And that was our list of social media posts to summarize the events and announcements of this week. We hope this gave you a quick look-back to catch up on all the big discussions that happened on social media. For more such updates and to be sure that you are in the loop with all the big AI news and more, stay tuned and we’ll be back next week with the next KIMP’s Picks Edition. 

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Posted On

13 Sep, 2024

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