30 Digital Ad Tactics
Advertising is everywhere
Random Observation/Comment #876: The Attention Economy is the new form of control.
//Generated with AI via ImageFX by Google
Why this List?
This list came to mind when I saw how one of the ChatGPT o3-mini-high Deep Research search results for a random startup idea brought up a fake website with a cool hook and cool product name, but the “How it works” linked to a bad page. I think Google normally filters these out, but perhaps ChatGPT was trained on sites without this filter. It made me think that the bombardment of pop-ups will show up differently in the next few years. This was a way for me to keep in mind what the manipulation of trends looks like in our current digital world.
Google Search Results - Paid placements for keyword ad searches secure the top positions in search results. In Dark Mode, they’re harder to see, but who clicks on the first few links anymore? Page 2 is where it’s at.
Sponsored Social Media Posts - Advertisements are integrated into users’ social media feeds. I hate it when it also happens inside of the threads like in Reddit or X.
YouTube Pre-Roll Ads - Short video ads play before the main content begins because no one watches cable TV anymore. This is why YouTube premium is worth every penny.
Podcast Sponsorships - Hosts include sponsored messages during podcast episodes. I’ve gotten used to this, but I also like how it when they say the advertising product rather than play a pre-programmed ad. I’ve seen some of the Smartless and XM Radio podcasts go back to traditional ad placements, which totally makes me want to create a shortcut for skipping 10 seconds via my headphones.
Native Sponsored Content - Articles are produced as paid advertisements that blend with editorial content. This is pretty hard to notice sometimes. I hate it even more when it’s an actual scientific paper where the funding is from big Tobacco or Coca Cola telling you it’s okay to drink a soda again.
Influencer (KOL) Marketing - Influencers promote products and services in their posts. I’m less annoyed by this because they’re just trying to do their best as an independent idea/brand maker on a weird niche. The new entrepreneur is a struggling narcissistic content creator.
Programmatic Display Advertising - Automated systems place ads on various websites based on bidding. I honestly still see this all the time on boredpanda and buzzfeed when they show me those funny memes I don’t have time to comb through myself.
In-App News Ads - Ads are embedded within mobile news applications like Google News. It’s so hard to know what’s actually trending or what some larger group is telling me should be trending based on what Comedy News channels cover.
Mobile Native Advertising - Ads designed to match the look and feel of mobile content. I hate the ones that are on the bottom of games that have the android symbols and you click them by accident because your regular navigation buttons are hidden. *Shakes fist at ad bars*
TikTok Branded Challenges - Brands launch sponsored challenges on TikTok to increase engagement. I don’t really watch TikTok, but this is a pretty brilliant idea.
Instagram Stories Ads - Advertisements appear in users’ Instagram Stories. This is wild that even the ephemeral stories version isn’t safe. I guess I’ll just go look at LinkedIn job updates of arms reach professionals.
Web Banner and In-Video Overlay Ads - Traditional banner ads are still used on many websites. Advertisements overlay content within videos. The video ones are the worst. It stops all background music playing and sometimes you have no idea where the ad is on the site.
Streaming Platform Ads - Ads are shown on streaming platforms during breaks in content. Just let me watch Reacher on Amazon Prime. The good thing is that the advertising is usually in-house for another addictive looking show.
Airplane Media Ads - They play ads before movies and also try to sell me expensive Sky Mall things.
E-Commerce (Amazon, Etsy, Pinterest) Sponsored Listings - Promoted items appear at the top of product listings on Amazon. The weird thing is that sometimes the top one looks “good enough” and has a nice bundled deal. They’ve figured out my filtering mechanisms.
Email Newsletter Sponsorships - Advertisements are included in email newsletters as articles. I actually mind this less because newsletters are usually run by one person who’s just interested in the subject and sharing cool things.
X (Twitter) Promoted Tweets - Promoted tweets are interspersed with organic tweets and it’s harder to tell which one is which.
Virtual Event Sponsorships - Online events feature sponsored segments or content. After going to so many events, I actually think this is not malicious. Events need sponsors to run them and this is just giving them the space.
Live Stream Sponsorships - Ads and sponsored messages appear during live streams.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Ads - AR/VR experiences in games or apps include branded content. I haven’t seen it that prevalent in the VR games I play like Eleven Table Tennis, but I actually think they’d make more money if they did do some product placement of actual paddles inside of the games.
Sponsored Directory Listings - Business directories feature paid, promoted listings. I’ve seen these even for job postings.
Sponsored Talk Show / Podcast Interviews - Interviews and discussions may be sponsored by brands or be a part of a circuit for getting on a bunch of shows in order to promote a new movie or TV show. The whole show might still be genuine, but the ad part is getting me to watch the show afterwards.
In-Game Ads to other Games - Some games have ads between levels that are playable games (which always gets my daughter if I’m not watching close enough). The in-game mini game leads you to download the full game, which also has ads to the same dozen of games. I have a random conspiracy that this is to install some malware on your phone. If I were a smarter person, I’d have a separate phone just for games and keep my regular phone for good habits like messaging friends and reading news.
SMS Marketing Campaigns - Direct mobile marketing via SMS delivers sponsored promotions to users’ phones. This is just crazy. You’ve already sold my phone number and now you’re trying to sell me insurance via my number?
Voice Assistant Suggestions - When you ask the smart speaker, you really don’t get the chain of thought behind the answers. It’s usually first searches and Wikipedia, but I may have no idea if there’s a promotional twist to it. This will be super relevant when you ask your Alexa+ additional questions.
Chatroom bots - I’m sure most of social media, discord, and random telegram groups are just LLMs trying to act normal. I am always suspicious of links.
Smart TV Menu Ads - I’m just trying to get to my streaming service and there’s a random built in ad app on the Samsung bar.
In-Game digital skin Sponsorships - In games like Fortnite and Call of Duty, you might get these monthly packets to get new skins for weapons or players. This is actually pretty clever because who doesn’t want a Redbull parachute?
Google Maps Paid Search Results - When you look for restaurants near a certain location, the restaurants shown aren’t just the ones with the highest ratings. This one pisses me off a bit because sometimes I just want to support a struggling restaurant and eat some good food. Don’t mess with my real world experiences.
AI Chatbot Deep Research results - AI Bots are free from some of the algorithms, but may also have suggested sites that are filtered out for good reason. I’m worried my Clembot will go off clicking things and get a virus.
~See Lemons Hate Ads