Meta is chasing two advertising trends – short-form video and retail media – and it’s doing so by leaning into the biggest trend out there: AI-based ad tech.
On Tuesday, Meta released new products in its Advantage+ suite of automated ad products that focus on AI and video and campaigns for retail media networks.
Advantage+ optimizes creative, including automatically resizing videos or making multiple personalized versions of ads for testing. Advertisers using automated Advantage+ catalog ads can now import video creative, such as customer demos, to enliven sponsored product listings. Meta will insert advertiser videos into the ads at a product and SKU level, according to Karin Tracy, VP and head of industry for retail, luxury and fashion.
The Swiss sneaker brand On incorporated video images into its Advantage+ catalog ads and saw 41% higher ROAS as well as 45% lower cost per purchase, according to Tracy.
As for retail media networks, Meta is rolling out a collaborative self-service offering that lets brands and retailers team up to run performance ad campaigns across Meta’s platforms and, with its advanced analytics measurement tool, attribute in-store, online and in-app sales. Meta can also run these collaborative ads on Advantage+ shopping campaigns.
Lowe’s is working with Meta to measure the effectiveness of its retail media network campaigns. Since retail media measurement isn’t standardized, Meta saw an opening for itself as arbiter.
Why AI
Meta is investing in video because its average watch times grew 25% in Q4 2023, the company reported on its latest earnings call. That growth is partly driven by a “huge surge” in Reels, which people reshare 3.5 billion times daily, Tracy said.
And Meta’s power to drive advertising value lies in its scale.
Hundreds of millions of users interact with Meta’s API and services, Tracy said. “We have these feedback loops that are feeding [our AI tools], giving us the ability to move quickly and deliver value for our marketing partners.”
Most of Meta’s advertisers use the Advantage+ product suite and are increasingly comfortable with funneling their ad dollars to its automated products, she said. The company called this past holiday season “our first AI-powered holiday.”
It seems Meta won’t rest until every advertiser on its platform is celebrating.
