The Benefits Of Literacy: Kids Read Books, Get A Free Pizza

If you thought the punchline was going to be a Wanamaker paraphrase, "the trouble is I don't know which two-thirds," you might be right. But the point of this column is that AI-enabled media-buying now has a benchmark -- 69.5% -- according to GroupM, which devoted a chunk of its mid-year update to calculating that figure. It also updated its own internal estimate for when AI-enabled media buys will top 90%. "Two years ago, we said we would pass 90% by 2032. We are now going to hit more than 90% in 2029, three years earlier than we had previously predicted based off of just how quickly this space is growing and how quickly tools are being incorporated," GroupM Global President of Business Intelligence Kate Scott-Dawkins late last week said during a press briefing ahead of today's update release.

The scarcity is real, and for most retailers – the occasional backorder went from a low-grade and fairly infrequent problem to major outages, much of the time, and backorders of 3-4 months are increasingly common. Customer reactions range from anger and frustration to panic that they won’t get what they need. Believe it or not, it’s possible to make the best of a bad situation. A brand’s response to trying situations: returns, backorders, and out-of-stocks, can make or break your customers’ perception. So what moves make sense? First, your customer has an immediate need. So when possible, sell what’s available today (SWAT). Something that can fill that is far superior to a perfect solution that’s available in 4-6 months. You need a reliable inventory system, and a knowledgeable staff that’s empowered and capable to direct customers to the right solution that’s available on hand, or smart website algorithms that can suggest an appropriate alternate product. But what if offering an alternative product is not possible? Then it becomes about managing expectations, communicating early and often, and empathizing with the customers’ likely frustrations. More at: https://www.brandunited.com/article/supply-chain-woes-communicating-customers/

The U.S. ad market expanded for its 11th consecutive month in March -- rising 4.3% over March 2023 -- according to the latest monthly installment of Guideline's U.S. Ad Market Tracker. Smaller ad categories outpaced the growth of the top categories by a margin of nearly four-to-one. While the top 10 increased spending only 1.9% over March 2023, all other categories expanded 7.9%. March's growth was also due to a massive increase in digital vs. traditional media ad spending.