Insights from below deck: February 2024

The Pinterest Palette, learnings from top video ads, and Meta’s labelling of AI-generated images are some of the topics that have got the team talking this month. Here, we discuss the latest news from the digital marketing landscape and how we expect brands to leverage updates throughout March and beyond.

Colour curation with the Pinterest Palette

Pinterest has unveiled its inaugural Pinterest Palette, a custom colour set inspired by its annual trend report, Pinterest Predicts. Pinterest's House of Creative analysed search terms related to colour trends and compared them to industry trends in fashion, interior design, and more to select five prominent colours for 2024:

1. Desert Orange embodies rust-inspired trends

2. Gummy Pink merges dusty and bold pink tones

3. Aqua Blue channels aquatic inspirations

4. Moss Green combines dark olive and lime green

5. Mocha Brown reflects café-inspired hues

By refreshing the palette annually, Pinterest aims to inform creative endeavours, product assortments, and seasonal colour schemes.

Kara Clifford, graphic designer

Meta to label AI-generated images

Nick Clegg, President of Global Affairs at Meta, has announced plans to label AI-generated images on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads to provide transparency to users. Meta is collaborating with industry partners to establish technical standards for identifying AI content, and will apply these to detect and label AI-generated images across platforms.

While progress is being made, challenges remain in detecting AI-generated audio and video content. Despite these challenges, Meta says it remains committed to transparency, responsibility, and collaboration in navigating the evolving landscape of AI-generated content and content moderation.

Amy Taylor, digital marketing executive

Learnings from last year’s best video ads

In reflecting on the most successful video ads of 2023 and their implications for 2024, several key insights emerge:

• Creativity remains paramount, as seen in campaigns that flip conventions, leverage humour, and employ well-known figures to engage audiences authentically.

• Social impact emerges as a crucial element, with brands challenging stereotypes, championing causes, and aligning with societal values to build connections and trust.

• Sustainability messaging, delivered with humour and simplicity, resonates with consumers, as does a customer-centric approach that prioritises human experiences over material possessions.

By embracing these principles of creativity, authenticity, social impact, sustainability, and customer-centricity, marketers can craft campaigns that resonate more deeply with audiences in 2024, fostering stronger connections and driving business success.

Danny Oliver, senior account manager

Changes to Google and Yahoo email

Recently, changes have been made by Google and Yahoo for bulk email senders, emphasising the importance of compliance with regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM to protect consumer data and ensure email deliverability. These changes primarily focus on three areas: unsubscribe and opt-out links, spam threshold, and email authentication.

To avoid your emails ending up in spam or not reaching your audience at all, provide easy unsubscribe options in emails, maintain low spam rates, and authenticate emails through SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. It’s also important to regularly clean up email lists by removing disengaged, invalid, or duplicate contacts, and launching re-engagement campaigns for inactive subscribers.

Liam Hayward, digital marketing executive

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