Ryvalmedia Pulse (Vol.43)

Google announce key AI developments in response to shifting consumer behaviours

Google’s annual conference, Google I/O, took place earlier this month and off the back of it some significant developments have been announced. With AI remaining the focal point of platform developments, generative AI stole the show with Google announcing AI Overviews that will provide AI-generated summaries at the top of search results. This is a significant advancement with how users interact with search functions as the feature will now provide an answer to search queries with links for more detailed information, in turn keeping up to date with how user behaviour is leaning more and more into AI-powered information searches. Powered by Google’s Gemini AI, this search capability will extend to text, speech, image and video searches. With chatbots becoming increasingly more powerful and relied on for an optimal user experience, this development by Google is a direct acknowledgement of the future of AI in everyday use and to challenge key competitors such as ChatGPT. As we continue to see AI functionalities used more informally by everyday users, it is important to be aware of ongoing platform updates by key players in the space such as Google as this will inevitably have an impact in how people seek information and ultimately affect how brands position themselves in these spaces through paid search advertising. Learn more

In the digital world, the tried and tested silver screen is still key for brand success

Whilst advertising spend fell 6.6% at the end of Q1 2024, cinema saw a 46% increase which is significantly larger than the next highest channel ad spend growth of digital news at 6.1%. While the media landscape continues to ebb and flow in opportunities to invest and pull back on spending, it is well documented that cinema offers a unique opportunity that delivers significant ad memorability and higher levels of sustained and undivided attention. The effectiveness of delivering ‘brand fame’ is so key to cinema that it is stated that 1 cinema spot delivers the same level of brand fame as 10 spots on digital, 9 spots on BVOD and 6 spots on linear TV. While cinema and ad memorability go hand in hand, the benefits when combining cinema with additional video formats deliver significant brand uplift of upwards of 20%. As we continue to embrace digital channels over traditional channels, it is important to be aware of the value that these traditional channels still provide both individually and as part of a wider screens approach to ensure not one channel is saturated and the benefits of each channel can be leveraged in a mass screens approach. Learn more

Government bodies continue to crackdown on data breaches, with Pizza Hut the latest culprit

Pizza Hut Australia has been ordered to pay a fine of $2.5 million for breaching the Australian spam laws across a four-month period, after they have been found in breach of Australian spam laws across a four-month period. Between January to May 2023, Pizza Hut Australia had sent upwards of 6 million texts and emails to customers who had not consented or unsubscribed to the companies marketing and mailing list. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has recently been cracking down on spam breaches with other high-profile brands such as DoorDash, Ticketek and Uber all breaching the laws over the last 18 months – with a total of $15 million in fines being paid to the governing body. The ongoing conversation around cookie deprecation and changing privacy laws are a sign of the times with the government taking an active approach in protecting the privacy and rights of the Australian public. With more crackdowns expected to take place to ensure privacy requirements are being met by brands, it is now more important than ever to ensure that internal privacy policies are up to date and are being closely adhered to. Learn more

The Ryvalmedia Pulse is prepared fortnightly by Alex Pupko (Strategy Manager), with this issue in collaboration with Chris Piccolo (Business Coordinator).