Welcome to Katalys Connect - your weekly shortcut to the latest in performance marketing.
What’s in this issue? Each week, we pack the latest trends, actionable insights, and industry breakthroughs into a quick read - ensuring you're not just keeping up, you're staying ahead.
- Katalys Insights: Learn how advertisers can access exclusive holiday placements with top publishers on Katalys Marketplace.
- Monetization: Discover how publishers are leveraging AI tools, performance marketing strategies, and content licensing deals to unlock new revenue streams and drive ad growth.
- Growth: Explore how Perplexity, TikTok, and Meta are creating innovative ad opportunities, from AI-driven creative tools to unique audience targeting and fresh ad channels.
- The Future of Commerce: Uncover how TikTok, Amazon, and Perplexity are transforming e-commerce with shoppable content, budget-friendly platforms, and AI-powered shopping tools.
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💡 Katalys Insights
Access Premium Holiday Placements • The Katalys Marketplace offers access to exclusive paid placements in holiday gift guides from top publishers, helping brands boost visibility and drive sales during the busiest time of the year.
- These gift guides are read by millions of holiday shoppers looking for the perfect gifts and offer a key opportunity to maximize brand impact this season.
- Advertisers can sign up to explore hundreds of curated opportunities tailored to their unique campaign goals and connect with publishers ready to showcase their brand.
💸 Monetization
OpenAI’s $16M Content Deal • OpenAI partners with Dotdash Meredith for a $16M annual licensing agreement, with variable payments likely boosting the total, fueling AI training and ad innovation.
- Dotdash Meredith has seen a rise in licensing revenue, averaging $29.75M in the two quarters since the deal, compared to $25.5M prior, signaling how content licensing can supplement other revenue streams like Apple News+.
- Beyond content licensing, the partnership enhances Dotdash Meredith’s D/Cipher contextual ad-targeting tool, contributing to three consecutive quarters of double-digit digital ad growth and showing how AI can enhance publisher strategies.
AI-Powered Publisher Strategies • Publishers are leveraging AI to streamline ad operations, enhance audience targeting, and develop privacy-conscious solutions, with tools like Hearst’s Aura and BrandMatch leading the charge.
- AI tools like TIME’s Glean and Hearst’s Aura empower teams with real-time insights, boost ad targeting precision, and integrate seamlessly with first-party data strategies, advancing monetization efforts.
- Publishers navigate complex regulations by monitoring AI-driven algorithms for bias, ensuring transparency in ad targeting and maintaining human oversight in AI-assisted content creation for compliance and trust.
Performance Marketing’s Momentum • Nearly 50% of global advertisers plan to increase media budgets in 2025, prioritizing performance marketing for its measurable ROI, faster returns, and adaptability to digital-first strategies, creating new opportunities for affiliates.
- As brands prioritize performance, affiliates who deliver high-quality leads and conversions are becoming indispensable, with partnerships valued for their ability to drive direct action and measurable results.
- The challenge for brands lies in integrating short-term performance goals with long-term brand loyalty, where affiliates can bridge the gap by combining storytelling with data-driven strategies to enhance both engagement and conversion.
📈 Growth
Perplexity’s Ad Experiment Begins • With 100 million weekly searches and a high-income, educated audience, Perplexity’s new sponsored follow-up questions offer a unique advertising channel for brands seeking premium exposure.
- Perplexity’s users include 80% with undergraduate degrees and 65% in high-income professions, presenting an exclusive opportunity for advertisers like Whole Foods and Universal McCann to connect with decision-makers.
- The ads support Perplexity’s revenue-sharing program for publisher partners, addressing the limits of subscription-based funding while opening new pathways for brand engagement.
TikTok Taps Getty • TikTok integrates Getty Images into its AI-powered Symphony Creative Studio, enabling advertisers to create engaging, TikTok-first content with licensed visuals and AI avatars.
- The partnership offers brands seamless access to Getty’s vast library of commercial-ready content, helping advertisers produce visually compelling and language-adapted campaigns tailored for TikTok’s platform.
- Advertisers can now generate multiple ad variations and experiment with AI avatars that "speak" about products, streamlining creative workflows while boosting engagement potential.
Ads Coming to Threads • Meta plans to launch ads on Threads in early 2025, tapping into its 275 million monthly users and offering brands a fresh alternative to X.
- Starting in January, Meta will allow select advertisers to publish ads on Threads, with Instagram’s ad team driving the initiative and refining its approach before a wider rollout.
- Despite Threads' rapid rise, Meta has prioritized user value over monetization, introducing ads slowly while adding new features to strengthen the app’s appeal and long-term revenue potential.
🚀 Future of Commerce
TikTok x LTK • TikTok’s new integration with LTK enhances e-commerce by embedding shoppable links, streamlining purchases directly through creator recommendations.
- This partnership boosts creators' earnings by linking their recommendations to affiliate commissions, giving influencers, especially in fashion, a more efficient monetization path.
- The move solidifies TikTok’s push into e-commerce, aligning with its goal to be both a cultural and shopping hub while reshaping how users discover and purchase products.
Amazon Haul is Here • Amazon launches Haul to challenge Temu and Shein with rock-bottom prices and U.S-exclusive perks, aiming to dominate the budget-conscious market.
- Haul targets value-driven shoppers feeling the pinch of inflation by leveraging Amazon’s trusted features, like product compliance checks and an A-to-Z Guarantee, while adopting a mobile-first grid design to streamline browsing and mimic rivals like Temu.
- While Temu and Shein grapple with regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe, Amazon emphasizes safety, authenticity, and easy returns via its vast logistics network, including 8,000 drop-off locations.
E-Commerce Meets AI Power • Perplexity takes a bold step into e-commerce with AI-powered shopping tools for Pro users, offering product recommendations, one-click checkout, and seamless integrations with Shopify.
- There are currently no sponsored slots in its shopping results, as Perplexity emphasizes trust and transparency, appealing to consumers wary of biased search algorithms.
- Perplexity's merchant program offers free API access for enhanced search capabilities on sellers’ sites, positioning it as a key player against giants like Amazon and Google.
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