MARKETING
Why the Martech Debate Only Delivers Wrong Answers
Is your technology suite sweet? Or is your collection of marketing tools a fabulous “frankenstack?”
The debate of one unified platform vs. best-of-breed solutions has raged in marketing for the last 20 years. Every couple of years, an article or keynote address promises to put an “end to the debate” but only walks through the pros and cons of each. Ultimately, the “debate” ends with a more wishy-washy than a definitive conclusion – choose the best option for you.
#Martech debates about unified platform vs. best-of-breed collection have raged for 20 years with only wishy-washy conclusions, says @Robert_Rose via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet
(Spoiler alert: That’s Robert Rose’s take, too, but he adds a twist.)
Get Robert Rose’s take in this week’s CMI News video, or keep reading for the highlights:
Oracle mounts all-in-one
MarTech.org, the education, content, and event organization, recently featured an article with one of those end-the-debate arguments. It highlighted the proclamation by tech giant Oracle that unified platforms beat a collection of best-of-breed solutions.
Rob Tarkoff, Oracle’s executive vice president and general manager of customer experience, says, “All of those [marketing] flows need to be unified into one streamlined process, one data model, one set of interactions, one clear end-to-end process to build a campaign that has a multichannel touch.”
Doesn’t that sound wonderful?
Well, CMI’s chief strategy advisor Robert Rose says, “If you find an enterprise company that does all that across the customer experience, you have found a candy-coated technology unicorn that will rain magic coins upon you.”
Now, Oracle makes the point to say the ideal scenario will be easier – perhaps not easy – to accomplish using a unified suite of technology rather than a best-of-breed approach where different technologies plug in together.
Oracle argues unified works better because it’s a cloud solution. As Rob Tarkoff of Oracle explains, “(A)s long as the service provides value for you, you’ll keep it; if it doesn’t, you’ll switch.”
As long as the service provides value, you’ll keep it; if it doesn’t, you’ll switch, says @rtarkoff of @Oracle via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet
Any of you who have gone through a CMS, DAM, CRM, or marketing automation implementation should keep on laughing at that quote.
Not an either-or choice
CMI’s Robert Rose says the only sure thing is that the argument of a unified martech platform vs. a best-of-breed collection is not over.
In 2023, best-of-breed solutions will continue to thrive. Why?
He explains: “The unified promises made by the all-in-one suites has not been realized by any vendor. Most assembled their all-in-one suites from acquisitions of best-of-breed vendors. Some are ahead of others. Some make emptier promises than others. Some kill the “best of” part when they integrate the acquired tool into the overall solution. But, on the other hand, best-of-breed is only best until they are acquired, run out of runway, or struggle to evolve.”
Repeating the spoiler alert from the beginning: Each choice’s value will vary for the chooser. You should weigh your requirements, budget, desire for complexity, and overall flexibility before deciding to go all-in or all-out one way or the other.
But here’s the twist to that “it depends” conclusion.
Organizations mistakenly assume the choice is binary. You think you must either pick a suite or a best-of-breed solution. That’s a false choice.
Martech decisions are not an either-or choice. It doesn’t have to be a unified solution or a best-of-breed collection, says @Robert_Rose via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet
“Companies are chasing strategy using technology tools instead of the other way around,” Robert says.
For example, he hears from marketing teams who say they can’t launch mini-sites or blogs because their all-in global customer experience system would need four to six months to execute them. Yes, the suite is bulletproof. Yes, the technology can host the content. But no, it cannot do it quickly.
Instead, Robert asks, why not have a small, secondary CMS that allows for agile development? “If it works, you can then make a business decision to understand whether it’s worth institutionalizing it in the unified solution,” he says.
Best-of-breed solutions aren’t the answer either. Robert relates the story of an enterprise that customized a workflow tool into its foundational digital asset management system. Why? That was what was available. Now that “available” workflow tool – warts and all – has become the foundational tool.
Instead of choosing an all-in-one suite or a best-of-breed collection, build a tech stack as you would a house, Robert says. Start with a solid foundation that won’t change. Next, build a footprint that can change. Construct the walls, doors, and windows (i.e., the internal tech functions) that can be moved if needed.
Yes, you might have a couple of providers for some things or overlap in capabilities, but that’s OK as long it’s a conscious decision. Remember, using the wrong tool might help you start more quickly, but it rarely helps you finish more successfully.
Where do you land on the martech tools debate – unified, best-of-breed collection, or both? What works for your brand? What doesn’t? Let us know in the comments.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
MARKETING
YouTube Ad Specs, Sizes, and Examples [2024 Update]
Introduction
With billions of users each month, YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine and top website for video content. This makes it a great place for advertising. To succeed, advertisers need to follow the correct YouTube ad specifications. These rules help your ad reach more viewers, increasing the chance of gaining new customers and boosting brand awareness.
Types of YouTube Ads
Video Ads
- Description: These play before, during, or after a YouTube video on computers or mobile devices.
- Types:
- In-stream ads: Can be skippable or non-skippable.
- Bumper ads: Non-skippable, short ads that play before, during, or after a video.
Display Ads
- Description: These appear in different spots on YouTube and usually use text or static images.
- Note: YouTube does not support display image ads directly on its app, but these can be targeted to YouTube.com through Google Display Network (GDN).
Companion Banners
- Description: Appears to the right of the YouTube player on desktop.
- Requirement: Must be purchased alongside In-stream ads, Bumper ads, or In-feed ads.
In-feed Ads
- Description: Resemble videos with images, headlines, and text. They link to a public or unlisted YouTube video.
Outstream Ads
- Description: Mobile-only video ads that play outside of YouTube, on websites and apps within the Google video partner network.
Masthead Ads
- Description: Premium, high-visibility banner ads displayed at the top of the YouTube homepage for both desktop and mobile users.
YouTube Ad Specs by Type
Skippable In-stream Video Ads
- Placement: Before, during, or after a YouTube video.
- Resolution:
- Horizontal: 1920 x 1080px
- Vertical: 1080 x 1920px
- Square: 1080 x 1080px
- Aspect Ratio:
- Horizontal: 16:9
- Vertical: 9:16
- Square: 1:1
- Length:
- Awareness: 15-20 seconds
- Consideration: 2-3 minutes
- Action: 15-20 seconds
Non-skippable In-stream Video Ads
- Description: Must be watched completely before the main video.
- Length: 15 seconds (or 20 seconds in certain markets).
- Resolution:
- Horizontal: 1920 x 1080px
- Vertical: 1080 x 1920px
- Square: 1080 x 1080px
- Aspect Ratio:
- Horizontal: 16:9
- Vertical: 9:16
- Square: 1:1
Bumper Ads
- Length: Maximum 6 seconds.
- File Format: MP4, Quicktime, AVI, ASF, Windows Media, or MPEG.
- Resolution:
- Horizontal: 640 x 360px
- Vertical: 480 x 360px
In-feed Ads
- Description: Show alongside YouTube content, like search results or the Home feed.
- Resolution:
- Horizontal: 1920 x 1080px
- Vertical: 1080 x 1920px
- Square: 1080 x 1080px
- Aspect Ratio:
- Horizontal: 16:9
- Square: 1:1
- Length:
- Awareness: 15-20 seconds
- Consideration: 2-3 minutes
- Headline/Description:
- Headline: Up to 2 lines, 40 characters per line
- Description: Up to 2 lines, 35 characters per line
Display Ads
- Description: Static images or animated media that appear on YouTube next to video suggestions, in search results, or on the homepage.
- Image Size: 300×60 pixels.
- File Type: GIF, JPG, PNG.
- File Size: Max 150KB.
- Max Animation Length: 30 seconds.
Outstream Ads
- Description: Mobile-only video ads that appear on websites and apps within the Google video partner network, not on YouTube itself.
- Logo Specs:
- Square: 1:1 (200 x 200px).
- File Type: JPG, GIF, PNG.
- Max Size: 200KB.
Masthead Ads
- Description: High-visibility ads at the top of the YouTube homepage.
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 or higher.
- File Type: JPG or PNG (without transparency).
Conclusion
YouTube offers a variety of ad formats to reach audiences effectively in 2024. Whether you want to build brand awareness, drive conversions, or target specific demographics, YouTube provides a dynamic platform for your advertising needs. Always follow Google’s advertising policies and the technical ad specs to ensure your ads perform their best. Ready to start using YouTube ads? Contact us today to get started!
MARKETING
Why We Are Always ‘Clicking to Buy’, According to Psychologists
Amazon pillows.
MARKETING
A deeper dive into data, personalization and Copilots
Salesforce launched a collection of new, generative AI-related products at Connections in Chicago this week. They included new Einstein Copilots for marketers and merchants and Einstein Personalization.
To better understand, not only the potential impact of the new products, but the evolving Salesforce architecture, we sat down with Bobby Jania, CMO, Marketing Cloud.
Dig deeper: Salesforce piles on the Einstein Copilots
Salesforce’s evolving architecture
It’s hard to deny that Salesforce likes coming up with new names for platforms and products (what happened to Customer 360?) and this can sometimes make the observer wonder if something is brand new, or old but with a brand new name. In particular, what exactly is Einstein 1 and how is it related to Salesforce Data Cloud?
“Data Cloud is built on the Einstein 1 platform,” Jania explained. “The Einstein 1 platform is our entire Salesforce platform and that includes products like Sales Cloud, Service Cloud — that it includes the original idea of Salesforce not just being in the cloud, but being multi-tenancy.”
Data Cloud — not an acquisition, of course — was built natively on that platform. It was the first product built on Hyperforce, Salesforce’s new cloud infrastructure architecture. “Since Data Cloud was on what we now call the Einstein 1 platform from Day One, it has always natively connected to, and been able to read anything in Sales Cloud, Service Cloud [and so on]. On top of that, we can now bring in, not only structured but unstructured data.”
That’s a significant progression from the position, several years ago, when Salesforce had stitched together a platform around various acquisitions (ExactTarget, for example) that didn’t necessarily talk to each other.
“At times, what we would do is have a kind of behind-the-scenes flow where data from one product could be moved into another product,” said Jania, “but in many of those cases the data would then be in both, whereas now the data is in Data Cloud. Tableau will run natively off Data Cloud; Commerce Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud — they’re all going to the same operational customer profile.” They’re not copying the data from Data Cloud, Jania confirmed.
Another thing to know is tit’s possible for Salesforce customers to import their own datasets into Data Cloud. “We wanted to create a federated data model,” said Jania. “If you’re using Snowflake, for example, we more or less virtually sit on your data lake. The value we add is that we will look at all your data and help you form these operational customer profiles.”
Let’s learn more about Einstein Copilot
“Copilot means that I have an assistant with me in the tool where I need to be working that contextually knows what I am trying to do and helps me at every step of the process,” Jania said.
For marketers, this might begin with a campaign brief developed with Copilot’s assistance, the identification of an audience based on the brief, and then the development of email or other content. “What’s really cool is the idea of Einstein Studio where our customers will create actions [for Copilot] that we hadn’t even thought about.”
Here’s a key insight (back to nomenclature). We reported on Copilot for markets, Copilot for merchants, Copilot for shoppers. It turns out, however, that there is just one Copilot, Einstein Copilot, and these are use cases. “There’s just one Copilot, we just add these for a little clarity; we’re going to talk about marketing use cases, about shoppers’ use cases. These are actions for the marketing use cases we built out of the box; you can build your own.”
It’s surely going to take a little time for marketers to learn to work easily with Copilot. “There’s always time for adoption,” Jania agreed. “What is directly connected with this is, this is my ninth Connections and this one has the most hands-on training that I’ve seen since 2014 — and a lot of that is getting people using Data Cloud, using these tools rather than just being given a demo.”
What’s new about Einstein Personalization
Salesforce Einstein has been around since 2016 and many of the use cases seem to have involved personalization in various forms. What’s new?
“Einstein Personalization is a real-time decision engine and it’s going to choose next-best-action, next-best-offer. What is new is that it’s a service now that runs natively on top of Data Cloud.” A lot of real-time decision engines need their own set of data that might actually be a subset of data. “Einstein Personalization is going to look holistically at a customer and recommend a next-best-action that could be natively surfaced in Service Cloud, Sales Cloud or Marketing Cloud.”
Finally, trust
One feature of the presentations at Connections was the reassurance that, although public LLMs like ChatGPT could be selected for application to customer data, none of that data would be retained by the LLMs. Is this just a matter of written agreements? No, not just that, said Jania.
“In the Einstein Trust Layer, all of the data, when it connects to an LLM, runs through our gateway. If there was a prompt that had personally identifiable information — a credit card number, an email address — at a mimum, all that is stripped out. The LLMs do not store the output; we store the output for auditing back in Salesforce. Any output that comes back through our gateway is logged in our system; it runs through a toxicity model; and only at the end do we put PII data back into the answer. There are real pieces beyond a handshake that this data is safe.”
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