Latest Marketing Trends in December 2023

Latest Marketing Trends in December 2023: Top 6 Updates of the Week 1:

• Meta to launch Threads App in EU within next few weeks.

• New Website from TikTok called “Creative Cards” for Holiday marketing Ideas.

• Pinterest launches new AI Body-type filter to make search more inclusive & healthy.

• Elon Musk Tells Advertisers to “Go F**k Yourself” if you don’t want to run Ads on X.

• Reddit goes through a rebrand and it’s ok but too outdated.

• Youtube Shorts Ads are being rolled out to more Advertisers.

TikTok 🎶

• Lauded Advertising solution rolls out for UK Marketers.

• TikTok launches new “Artist Account” option to increase discoverability.

• TikTok wins the case against State Ban in Montana, US.

• New AR Event called “Openhouse” on 12th December.

• New Ads Insights about use of Ads for CPG Brands.

• TikTok Users now spend half of their time on app watching 1-min long videos.

Instagram & Threads 🗂️

• Instagram testing “Link Highlight” option for Posts.

• Instagram is said to be in its crisis era, why: Bad moderation & Scandals.

• Threads Keyword Search expands to all regions & languages.

• Threads working on a snowfall animation for Christmas.

Meta 😅

• Meta shares new insights on how they are planning to protect users in upcoming US Elections.

• Meta’s Quarterly Adversarial Threat Report is out now.

• New Six-Page Guide on Post-Holiday Marketing on Meta Apps.

• Meta sues FTC claiming Enforcement Action Unconstitutional.

• WhatsApp launches Chat Lock Codes Option for more privacy.

• WhatsApp testing Pin a message feature in iOS for regular chats.

X (Twitter) 🕹️

• X Spaces will soon allow to use Incognito Mode.

• Gork AI is now live on Web with new updates.

• Private accounts can now join Communities.

• You can now Embed Videos from X without adding Tweet Texts.

• X testing long-form Article posting feature.

Youtube 🕹️

• Youtube premium users can now find playable gaming hub.

• Youtube’s product drops feature made more accessible to all creators.

• New Changes to Post Creation flow & Revenue Analytics in YT Studio.

• The “Skip Ads” button gets smaller for more people with its expansion.

• YT Music Recaped was also launched.

Google 🔦

• Google Ads Chief: Jerry Dischler steps down after 15 years with Company.

• Google’s new RETVec Update tp prevent Gmail Spam.

• Google Patent explaining how SGE AI works.

• Google gets called out again for placing Ads on blacklisted sites.

• Google November 2023 Core update finished rolling out.

• Personalised Ads for Consumer Finance starting on Feb 2024 won’t be allowed.

• Google updates video publisher policy.

• Google announces .meme as top-level domain.

Agency News

• Mullenlowe US names new CEO.

• Ubisoft launches global media review.

• Denny’s names Mindshare & Finn Partners new AORs.

• GUT Agency got acquired this week by Globant.

• Dentsu expands its retail media business.

• LeoBurnett launches all-new design studio.

• Pathlabs COO shares new insights on Media Agencies & Programmatic Ads.

• M&C Saatchi launches creator marketing agency “Fabric”.

Brands & Ads 🏓

• Mountain Dew’s use of AI to partner with Twitch Streamers with low-effort.

• Disney Hits (music) launches their first Multi-Spot Ad campaign.

• Walmart’s New Video-Ad Series banking on “Romcom + Online Shopping”.

• Mars is recycling Old Ads in the name of sustainability.

• Avon promotes CMO Kristof Neirynck to CEO.

• Taika Waititi’s New Ad for Apple is the storytelling Ad of the week.

• McDonald’s New Product, Kevin Frost Box using Character Marketing.

• Olivia Colman calls out Oil Industry in new Ad campaign.

• Burger King UK goes TV-free this Christmas, Opts for OOH Ads only.

AI 🤨

• GPT Store is set to launch in Early 2024.

• Perplexity launches Always Online LLMs.

• Microsoft’s new Study highlighting better use of Prompts for GPT-4.

• Looking back at ChatGPT’s marketing journey on its One-year Anniversary.

• LinkedIn’s new system to detect AI content and replies on platform.

• Meta launches new language models for speech-to-speech translation.

Pinterest & Reddit

• Pinterest Expands Direct Links feature to more Ad formats.

• Reddit launches new Conversation Placement Ad formats.

• Reddit shares new insights about their International Growth as a platform.

• Reddit adds another certification course to its Ads formula Platform.

Microsoft & LinkedIn

• New Technical Updates announced for LinkedIn Ads.

• Microsoft launches new publisher dashboard called “Monetise Insights”.

• GPT-4 Turbo coming to Microsoft Bing AI.

• New tools to find Nursing Jobs on LinkedIn.

• ID Verification expanded to more regions.

Marketing & AdTech 🔉

• Canadian Media Execs react to new Bill C-18 Agreement.

• Tesco ramps up In-store Ad Network with screen roll-out.

• AWS expands its Martech competency program.

• Apple is ending Credit Card partnership with Goldman Sachs.

• Tubi plans to enter new Markets in 2024, starting with UK.

• Salesforce & AWS expand their partnership for AWS Marketplace.

• Instacart Adds Peacock as first-ever Streaming Partner.

• Substack comes for Video Content with launch of new video publishing features.

• Telegram’s new set of features & updates to launch Channels & fight rival WA.

• Pastel Magazine acquires Jezebel from G/O Media.

• Samsung launches Flip-park with Iris Agency for Samsung Flip launch.

• Johnny Bauer is starting a new brand agency with his Blackstone Team.

What I’ve learned in 20+ years of building startups

Marketing & Advertising For marketing communications + advertising industry professionals to discuss and ask questions related to marketing strategy, media planning, digital, social, search, campaigns, data science, email, user experience, content, copywriting, segmentation, attribution, data visualization, testing, optimization, and martech. We are a support network for people working at brands, businesses, agencies, vendors, and academia.

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  guys I belong to India ,consider me as a noob rn, I wanna make an ai influencer for promoting my products
  by /u/Remote-Ad-8129 on May 17, 2026 at 4:04 pm

  How to run it successfully without getting banned? I have seen so many accounts getting banned. Should I clearly mention that it’s AI? Also, how would ID verification work since I’m a boy? submitted by /u/Remote-Ad-8129 [link] [comments]

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  I love marketing…but I hate working in marketing.
  by /u/foxesinthecity on May 16, 2026 at 1:07 am

  Anyone else feel this way? I love marketing. The psychology behind it, the theory, thinking through how to get to a target audience. Love talking shop! But being an in-house marketer….it’s eating away at me. All of the pressure of growth is on my shoulders. Yet when my team delivers the glory isn’t pointed to us. I’m just losing the love of it which makes me sad because when I’m around marketing peers, I feel so energized. submitted by /u/foxesinthecity [link] [comments]

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  Need Help Understanding Local Google Ads
  by /u/Successful-Toe5502 on May 15, 2026 at 9:17 pm

  Hey everyone, I’ve got experience running Google Ads for a large digital marketing agency, primarily on statewide, national, and large-metro-area campaigns. In those situations, I consistently hit KPIs. Where I’m struggling is with smaller, hyperlocal campaigns. I’m seeing decent CTRs, but conversions have been very limited. It could be a landing page issue, but I’m also questioning whether my account structure/setup is part of the problem. Most of these clients already have a web agency handling the site, while I’m only managing the ads. Since I’m trying to build a stable MRR model, I really need to get these campaigns dialed in. Most of the underperforming accounts are also brand-new accounts with little to no historical data. Current setup: * Phrase match keywords with negatives * Conversion tracking is firing correctly and sending hashed data * Starting campaigns on Max Clicks with a bid cap * Presence targeting enabled * Search Partners turned off * All Google auto-optimizations turned off For comparison, I’ve had strong success running ads for a concrete company that had prior account history. That campaign used Max Conversions, had around 1k monthly search volume, and performed well on a $35/day budget. More recently: * Ran a Fractional CFO campaign with only ~70 monthly searches. CPCs were extremely expensive, and I got zero conversions. * Running campaigns for a senior care facility with around 1k monthly searches. Started on Max Clicks during the learning phase and got 2 conversions early on, but performance has basically died since then. So I switched to max conversions after 3 weeks because some people say modern Google Ads performs better with max conversions, and I haven't seen any difference. * Also running a remodeling campaign with roughly 160 monthly searches and a solid budget for my market. It’s been live for over a week, CTR is around 7%, but still no conversions. At this point, I’m trying to figure out whether: * Hyperlocal Google Search campaigns are just too volume-constrained * The issue is my campaign setup/strategy * Or if LSAs simply make more sense for these types of local service campaigns, and if Google Ads don't work due to loss of volume anymore because of LSA and AI overview Would appreciate any insight. Thanks! submitted by /u/Successful-Toe5502 [link] [comments]

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  Am I crazy or is this workload impossible in 25 hours a month?
  by /u/Ok_Eye_8974 on May 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

  I freelance for a startup doing social media + some community work. The issue is that they keep reducing the amount of hours I’m “allowed” to work per month, while still expecting the same level of output. For context, they expect: 2–3 social posts per week reels/trend research weekly calls/admin work comment/community management occasional event attendance/content capture extra coordination tasks I recently tried properly calculating how long things realistically take. Even conservatively, it realistically comes out far beyond the allocated hours. But after going over hours last month, they told me I now need to stay around 25 hours this month to “average it out.” The problem is that I’ve realised I’ve started delaying logging hours, underreporting work, trying to squeeze unpaid work in just to stay within limits; otherwise the workload literally doesn’t fit the allocated hours. I understand startups have budget limitations, and I genuinely like the work/team, but at what point does this become unrealistic or unethical? do you think i should upfront to them about how i feel, or anything else? is this normal for western startups? any advice would be appreciated. submitted by /u/Ok_Eye_8974 [link] [comments]

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  How do you communicate a repositioning without a trigger or news angle
  by /u/Niles_Rumford on May 15, 2026 at 5:52 am

  I work in comms on a brand repositioning right now. More of a visual refresh and brand pillars update than a full rebrand, and running into a tricky situation. There’s huge internal pressure to communicate the change but there’s nothing new to anchor the story. At the same time, the positioning itself is generic (broad pillars shaped by internal stakeholder inputs with next to none clear audience-backed insights), which makes it even harder to turn into something meaningful externally. Have you ever successfully handled situations like this? I mean should we actively communicate without a clear news angle, shift the focus entirely (e.g. embed it into ongoing comms instead of announcing it) or let it roll out organically and focus on embedding it over time? submitted by /u/Niles_Rumford [link] [comments]

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  Feeling stuck!
  by /u/0rang3p0p on May 14, 2026 at 11:19 pm

  Hey Y'all! Not sure if it's okay to post this here, but if it's not, my bad! I’m looking for some outside opinion on a small business I help with. It has been around for about 20 years, is Japanese owned (part of the branding), and works closely with independent artists. All the tees are printed in house in California, and none of the designs are AI made. The brand has a cool vibe and a long history, but the e-commerce side just does not convert the way it should or can imo. We have tried affiliates and some content creator marketing, but nothing has really clicked yet. The tricky part is that upper management is pretty cautious about spending. Paid media is not off the table, but they are not open to big creator budgets or anything expensive. So I am mostly looking for ideas that are low cost and realistic for a small brand, not zero budget, but definitely not high spend. For anyone who has worked with small or artist driven brands, what would you focus on in this situation? Now, if this sounds like we are just dead in the water, then you can let me know that too! ;n; submitted by /u/0rang3p0p [link] [comments]

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  How to pivot to a sustainability marketing role?
  by /u/Lost_Blockbuster_VHS on May 14, 2026 at 3:26 pm

  I’ve worked in advertising for a decade in media planning and strategy and I’ve worked across a variety of clients but my desire has always been to align my work with my values. Does anyone have any advice on how to get a marketing role at a company like Beyond Meat, Oatly or Patagonia? Would it be beneficial to get a masters in sustainability or pursue an MBA that has a sustainability focus? Are there any sustainability specific job boards or networking groups that I should be aware of? submitted by /u/Lost_Blockbuster_VHS [link] [comments]

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  What’s wrong with CMO’s these days
  by /u/QualityOverQuant on May 14, 2026 at 1:16 pm

  I have lost count of the number of times I see a head of marketing or lead marketing role advertised where the JD literally reads out what’s expected from a CMO! Yet unashamedly they mention role reports into a CMO! wtf is wrong with people these days! HR and CEO’s ? Can you not clearly distinguish what the F is expected from a head of marketing and what’s expected from a CMO? Stuff like positioning/ vision setting/ marketing strategy. Then why the F do you guys have CMO’s and Please don’t give me the “it’s strategic role” BS I read reports perhaps 10 years ago stating that the CMO role would have to evolve and no more severe to be strategic but execution. It disgusts me how CMO’s now need to hire junior people to Rip Off their strategy and then represent it as their own . Anyone else seeing these JD’s? submitted by /u/QualityOverQuant [link] [comments]

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  ow do I break into luxury marketing without direct luxury experience?
  by /u/Far_Option4080 on May 14, 2026 at 10:47 am

  Hi everyone! I wanted to share a bit about my situation and ask for some advice. Sorry if it's too long! I’ve always wanted to work for fashion houses or luxury groups such as Chanel, Dior, Puig, LVMH, Kering, etc. However, when I studied my Bachelor’s in Marketing and later my Master’s in International Business, there were basically no internship opportunities in that sector available to me at the moment, the only opportunities were for people with plenty of experience. The closest experience I had was working in marketing for luxury cosmetics and perfumes for a travel retail company (airports), and I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, HR decided to eliminate my position along with several others, and now I currently work in marketing in the automotive industry. It’s not my passion, but I’m comfortable there and the salary is decent. I’m now 26 (turning 27 soon), so I feel a bit too far removed from university to “start over” with internships again. I graduated years ago and realistically I can’t afford to live on an intern salary anymore. What I truly enjoy is marketing in all its areas: branding, PR, communication, trade marketing, retail, analytics, etc. I would really love to work in the luxury industry doing something related to that. Since I don’t have direct experience in luxury, I’ve been considering doing a course or diploma related to the industry (I’m not fully convinced about doing another Master’s, although I could consider it). I know a course or degree won’t magically get me a job or open doors automatically, but I do think it could help me better understand the industry and maybe improve my employability/networking opportunities. I’ve been researching schools like IFM and ESSEC, which seem to offer programs in luxury management/marketing but they seem to be directed at recent graduates from bachelor's. I was wondering if anyone here has experience with these kinds of courses or Master’s programs, and whether you think they are actually worth it. I’d also love to know: Which programs you would recommend (better if it's online or online owith occasional on-campus sessions) Whether these programs genuinely help with networking/recruitment opportunities in luxury How to get a job in the industry!!! In my home country, these types of specialized luxury programs don’t really exist, and some of the “prestigious” ones honestly seem more like money grabs. One advantage is that I could work remotely while studying, so balancing both wouldn’t be a problem for me, I’m already used to working and studying at the same time. Also, if the course is in countries like France or Italy, both my French and Italyianare quite good. My only issue is that for studying, I’m much more comfortable in either my native language or English. I can work in French and Italian without a problem (I already use it at work), but studying in those languages would probably be difficult for me, so it would be nice if the program is in English. I’d really appreciate any advice or personal experiences. Thanks a lot! submitted by /u/Far_Option4080 [link] [comments]

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  Help: How do you scale Digital PR for a client that refuses to leave their (very small) niche?
  by /u/GreatJoey91 on May 14, 2026 at 9:49 am

  I’m currently building out a strategy for a construction client where we handle a small remit of their digital PR strategy. We have been tasked with delivering thought leadership to help build their profile, brand visibility and SEO/AI visibility performance in their specialist field. The challenge is two-fold: we are limited in the scope of digital PR work we can do due to the small remit, and the client is laser-focused on one specific topic: **Shoring.** They are a leading expert in it, but they are incredibly resistant to "Newsjacking" or commenting on broader construction/engineering trends because they feel it won't impact their SEO performance for that specific keyword/s. I’ve occasionally encouraged them to move “out of their lane” and had articles published on things like women in construction and wider policy changes impacting the industry, but in a recent meeting they said they felt these wouldn’t impact the SEO performance of Shoring specifically. My plan involves: \> Topic mapping: Breaking shoring down into "un-Googleable" technical angles (Urban Regen, Risk Mitigation, etc.). \> Executive profiling: Pitching the lead expert for Q&As/Interviews to humanise the brand, while remaining on topic \> Content amplification: Turning thought leadership articles into micro-insights for LinkedIn and the company’s content hub hosted on their website for SEO and AI visibility purposes \> Competitor backlink analysis: Hunting for where rivals are getting mentioned in the same niche. My question is, what else can I do from a Digital PR perspective that stays within a tight hourly budget and doesn't "dilute" the topical authority? I feel like we’re going to hit a wall with trade editors if we only talk about Shoring for the next six months. Have any of you successfully "stretched" a hyper-niche topic without losing the SEO benefit? Any "lean" PR tactics I’m missing that would work for a technical engineering client? submitted by /u/GreatJoey91 [link] [comments]

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  Dunkin' marketing campaign idea for foray into Canada
  by /u/coolinjapan001 on May 14, 2026 at 12:27 am

  For my Canadians out there, let's say Dunkin' only hires canadians (i.e. zero TFW etc) and goes hard with a marketing push about how they are supporting local communities etc. What impact do you think that would have on Tim Horton's sales if any? submitted by /u/coolinjapan001 [link] [comments]

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  Who finalizes disclosures in marketing ads?
  by /u/TerrifiedQueen on May 13, 2026 at 3:14 am

  For those of you working in industries with sensitive disclaimers, do you manually add the disclosures to your advertisements or email campaigns, or do you have a team handling it? What is your team's process of creating, finalizing, and coordinating advertisement disclaimers? I'm in an industry with heavy disclaimers in all products, and sometimes the legal team expects me to figure them out. I'm not sure how common this is. I am in a mid-level marketing position. submitted by /u/TerrifiedQueen [link] [comments]

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  Marketing Folks, which is the more fun place to be in between brand and growth marketing in the long term?
  by /u/give_me_wings101 on May 12, 2026 at 8:52 pm

  Hi you marketing geniuses! Help this human out please. A little bit about me - Marketer with 2.6 years of experience. Had been a generalist until 1.5 years back when I moved to growth full time but now confused again as to if I should maybe move back to doing more brand marketing since it seemed more fun to be in when I was actively working in it. Growth in my current org is all about chasing numbers left, right and center which is honestly been draining me all this while. So, just want everyone’s perspective here about what’s a fun space to be in and also compensation how would you say it looks like between growth and brand marketing?! Thanks in advance 🙌 submitted by /u/give_me_wings101 [link] [comments]

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  New Job Listings
  by /u/AutoModerator on May 9, 2026 at 7:10 pm

  Are you looking to hire? Share your opening to the marketing professionals here on r/marketing. Please include title, description, full-time or part-time, location (on-site location or remote), and a link to apply. Don't forget to add to our community job board for more exposure. If you are looking to be hired, this is not the place to post that and your post will be removed. submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

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  How to switch from content marketing to a more impactful and broader marketing role?
  by /u/Any-Competition8494 on May 9, 2026 at 5:23 pm

  Hi everyone. So for the last 10 years, I have been doing content marketing. I have only worked for content agencies. This mostly involves writing B2B content and some strategy work. Over the last 12 months, I have also re-invented myself to work with AI and also focus on ranking my clients for both SEO and AI visibility. While I seem to have a stable job for now, I want to pivot because of two reasons. 1- Content marketing has been affected a lot by AI and I don't see a bright future. Have seen lots of experienced and ex-collegues losing jobs and struggling. I am lucky to have my job. 2- Based on #1 and as well my personal analysis, I want to be able to tie my work to revenue. Content marketing isn't respected compared to growth or product. Those roles are paid and seen more seriously because their work is more visible for the company's success. So, I have two questions. 1- First, where to pivot? Product, growth, or GTM engineering (been reading a lot about this). I want to be in a role where the founder of a startup needs me the most when they think about marketing. 2- How to pivot to any these fields? P.S: I have been working remotely from a South Asian city for US-based agencies for the last 6 years. So, keep in mind that I can't work on-site. submitted by /u/Any-Competition8494 [link] [comments]

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  Going into my 3rd year of marketing…
  by /u/smalltalkisntfun on May 9, 2026 at 5:11 am

  Losing my passion. Don’t understand a single thing. I do really enjoy the study of consumer behavior, but the manipulation tactics and competing with other ideas is exhausting. I just turned 21 and feel like everyone my age has some kind of cool, niche job. Marketing position titles sound lame. Help me find my passion again. submitted by /u/smalltalkisntfun [link] [comments]

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  Looking for advice!! How to scale + marketing effectively high-ticket ecommerce/furniture brands?
  by /u/Careful_Guidance3310 on May 9, 2026 at 2:11 am

  So here is a quick recap about my situation: Selling a ~$1,000 luxury sofa online and honestly struggling hard with conversions. We offer free returns, 30-day home trial, financing, etc. Advertising: Running Meta sales + awareness campaigns, Google PMax + Shopping. Getting traffic, clicks, even ATCs, but almost no actual sales. What marketing strategy do you would work best and what type of campaign do you think would get the best ROI? Anyone here have experience scaling high-ticket ecommerce/furniture brands? Would really appreciate any advice or things that helped you finally convert. submitted by /u/Careful_Guidance3310 [link] [comments]

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  Fulfillment house for swag and POP materials
  by /u/musicfanatic76 on May 7, 2026 at 8:17 pm

  Looking for a recommendation for a company that could manage inventory and shipping of branded swag and POP materials. I would also want them to have the ability to build an ordering site for internal staff and sales people. In addition, if they could handle some orders generated by a Shopify web site, that would be great. In old-school terms, it was a "mail house" but logically, there's not very many of those any more. I know there are companies that provide "end to end" services in terms of creating, printing and shipping (even Staples does) but we have some specialty items that we would make elsewhere and then simply store and ship with this new partner. They may be able to take on some printing, but that's not my top priority. submitted by /u/musicfanatic76 [link] [comments]

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  Service which can tell me the historical frequency of keywords on Reddit?
  by /u/polygraph-net on May 7, 2026 at 10:07 am

  Hi all I want to know how often the phrase "click fraud" was mentioned on Reddit for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 so far. Is there a service which can do this? If it's your own service, please mention that. No stealth ads please. Thanks submitted by /u/polygraph-net [link] [comments]

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  PR releases are just too expensive. Tell me I'm wrong.
  by /u/krajacic on May 7, 2026 at 7:30 am

  For the last 1 to 2 months I’ve been trying to figure out the PR / guest post / media placement world for a SaaS launch in the AI space. We’re not starting completely from zero. We’ve already had strong traction with a few related things, some pre-seed investments.. but I don’t want to turn this post into self-promotion, so I’ll keep the company details out of it (dont' even ask). What surprised me is how expensive this whole game seems to be. I’ve been looking into highly authoritative publications like WSJ, Bloomberg, Inc, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, NYT, The Economist, Washington Post, Mashable, Engadget, Business Insider, and similar sites. I contacted some publications directly. Most did not respond. Then I spoke with a few PR companies / people who claim they can help with placements or sponsored editorial opportunities, and the numbers are honestly wild. Examples I’ve heard: $15k for Inc / VentureBeat type placements. $25k for a TechCrunch hosted article where you write the article yourself. Maybe I’m naive, but that feels insane. I understand that serious publications have value. I understand authority, trust, distribution, backlinks, brand credibility, and all of that. I also understand that earned media and paid media are not the same thing. But at some point, I have to ask: Are these actually normal market prices? Or is this just the “AI startup tax” because everyone assumes you raised money and can burn cash? For marketers who have done this before: What is the realistic way to get strong exposure and high-authority backlinks without spending $15k to $25k per article? Is it better to (gpt helped me with the questions): Work with niche publications first? Build relationships with journalists directly? Use HARO / Qwoted / Featured-style platforms? Publish data reports and pitch them as stories? Focus on founder-led LinkedIn / Twitter instead? Ignore big media and put that budget into SEO content, partnerships, and affiliates? Pay for placements only when the publication is extremely relevant? I’m genuinely trying to understand whether this is just how the market works now, or whether I’m looking in the wrong places. Would love to hear from people who have actually secured meaningful PR, backlinks, or media exposure for SaaS companies without burning a ridiculous amount of money. submitted by /u/krajacic [link] [comments]