10 Stories That Defined 2024

The Gist

  • AI missteps. One failed in-person event highlighted how AI is not a magic fix. It requires a clear, executable plan for success.
  • Document leak. One well-known search giant saw a leak of 2,500+ pages of its algorithm, giving an inside look at its ranking system. 
  • Rebrand fail. One big brand attempted — and failed —  to rebrand in a way that would appeal to a larger audience. 

With December quickly coming to a close, it’s time to talk about the 10 biggest stories in marketing from the past year.

If you haven’t kept up with all the headlines — and there were a lot — you might be out of the loop on a couple big topics. A hint for some biggies? Think 2,500+ leaked documents, big AI predictions and sad Willy Wonka, to name a few.

Let’s get into it.

Table of Contents

This year we got the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory prequel that nobody asked for. But one silver lining is we also got the Willy Wonka Experience.

If you missed it, the Willy Wonka Experience was promised as an interactive and immersive event — aimed at families with children — using AI. But when attendees arrived, what they found was a sparsely decorated warehouse, some rough looking oompa loompas and, possibly worst of all, no chocolate.

Attendees demanded refunds, a number of photos went viral online, and we all learned a valuable lesson (probably one you already knew): AI is not magic. So if you’re going to use it to enhance an experience — whether online or in-person — you should have a plan for how to pull it off.

Google caught quite a few big headlines this year. One that definitely made a splash was the algorithm leak — 2,500+ pages made public that documented which factors Google takes into account when ranking content.

Unfortunately for all SEOs and content creators, this was not a step-by-step guide on how to get your content to the top of SERPs. While the leaked docs showed which factors the search giant looks at, it didn’t disclose the weight of those factors when it comes to ranking.

Still, we did learn a few useful things:

  • Links still matter — and they hold more value if they’re from the same country
  • When an article was published (Is it fresh? Old?) is a factor in rankings
  • Contrary to previous statements, it seems Google does look at a site’s overall authority
  • Metrics like click-through rates and user engagement might influence ratings 

Related Article: Google vs. SearchGPT: What Marketers Need to Know

Google has long been the reigning champ of search — as of November 2024, it holds a near 90% market share. But with AI taking the world by storm, that might be about to change. 

Chart showing market share by search engine

Unlike a typical search engine, which relies heavily on keywords, SearchGPT understands the nuances, context and intent behind user questions. The end-result is a more interactive search experience, one where users can continue to ask follow-up questions and receive even more refined results. 

What does it all mean? For marketers, it might be time to start adapting SEO and content strategies to align with AI-driven search. Plus, it likely means that marketers will gain access to new types of analytics and user insight tools to better understand how people interact with content. 

TikTok has taken center stage in the social media world. As of April 2024, it has 1.5 billion active users and is the fifth most popular social media network worldwide. 

Chart showing number of social media users by platform

Despite this success, tough times may be ahead for the platform. Back in March, the US House of Representatives passed the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (quite the mouthful). This bill effectively implements a TikTok ban in the United States. 

The app does have an out, however. The act claims that if TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, divests from the platform and finds a new buyer, it can stick around. 

That contingency had a six-month timeline, however. And as of this writing, that sale has not happened. While TikTok has now asked the Supreme Court to block the ban, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen next. 

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, made moves this year to acquire marketing software company HubSpot. Experts estimated that if the deal went through, it would likely be Google’s biggest acquisition yet. 


link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *