The Spark writers are taking time off to relax with family, friends, and furry pals.
In the new year, look forward to an updated version of The Spark, delivered biweekly.
The Way the Cookie Crumbles
Unless you’ve been living in Mark Zuckerberg's secret $270 million underground bunker, you’ve probably heard Google is planning to phase out tracking cookies. Since 2020, marketers have been putting together game plans for a post-cookie future as Google slowly rolls out changes. Now, Google is moving on to the next stage of the plan with its new Tracking Protection feature.
Rather than asking visitors to opt in to cookies (usually with a bombardment of pop-ups), Tracking Protection will automatically opt users out. The feature, which is still in beta testing, will be available to a select few Google Chrome users starting January 4. You probably won’t notice a major difference right away in your analytics after the feature gets turned on. But if you aren’t already writing out your recipe for cookie-less marketing, add it to your resolutions for the new year. Consider alternatives like gathering first-party data through forms, surveys, or your CRM, or looking into new tools from Google like Topics API. Because by 2025, all that’s left of cookies will be crumbs.
TL;DR: Google’s latest anti-cookie feature will opt users out of tracking by default. If you aren’t already planning for a post-cookie future, now’s the time.
Spam-A-Not
Stop us if you’ve heard this one: You post on Instagram and immediately are flooded with comments like:
You’re on fire 🔥🔥Collab?? DM! 📭for more 💯🔥
Get 3k followers Q U I C K 🏃♂️
commENT for18 free iPhones 📱 🤑
secret to✨ immortality✨IN MY BIO!!!!!!! 👌🙏🏻
Spam bots (the usual perpetrators) have been a major headache on Instagram for years. It’s estimated that one in 10 accounts are bots. Now, Instagram is adding security measures and strengthening current tools to banish these bots, helping users to better engage with actual followers.
The platform started by implementing more robust filtering and detection features for potential spam activity like fake followers, spam tags, and comments like the one above. Interactions from suspected bots will automatically be added to a separate inbox for you to review, in case any real accounts slip through the filter.
This move is welcome news for any marketers who’ve had to manually sift out bot activity when pulling together social media measurement. Cheers to far fewer interactions with @definitelyreal_notascam_wepromise, and far more authentic engagement!
TL;DR: Instagram is releasing new and improved tools to filter out spam activity, helping marketers more accurately track engagement.
What started as an idea to poke fun at the otherworldly enthusiasm turned into a serious effort (sort of) to sell MoonPies in outer space. After consulting alien experts, MoonPie created a campaign in Lincos (aka lingua cosmica): a language designed to be understood by any extraterrestrial life. We humans can see the intergalactic campaign on MoonPie’s Instagram, X, andYouTube channelas well as billboards in places like Tokyo, New Mexico, and even the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
For a brand that throws LOLs and snarky replies into its social content, the gravitation to a tongue-in-cheek, headline-driven marketing push was written in the stars. MoonPie latched on to a trending topic with increased interest from consumers, made a clever connection back to their brand, and applied the insight with their signature style and snark. Strategic listening doesn’t only apply to audience behavior or brand mentions — keep an eye on news and larger societal events that can turn into ideas for your next campaign no matter how out of this world they may seem.
TL;DR: MoonPie’s latest campaign reaches for the stars and shows how broader strategic listening can help a brand appeal to its audience in new and unexpected ways.
