Insights from Nebo

RankBrain is Google’s machine-learning artificial intelligence (AI) program that helps process the massive amount of searches Google receives. RankBrain was first announced in a Bloomberg article in October 2015, though Google said it had been using it since April 2015. By June 2016, Google said that RankBrain was being used to process every search made on their search engine.

It’s not even noon and the Slacks are flying. Monday morning is here and the “Game of Thrones” channel is a fury of fan theories, mortality bets and fiery dragon memes.

When we think of UX, we think site layouts. We think interaction. We think user flow. However, too often, we don’t think copy.

Yes, we design amazing user experiences. But when it comes to site copy, we UX designers often fall back on for-placement-only (FPO) copy. While UX may be a (relatively) new field, FPO copy has roots all the way back in classic Latin literature. Thus, the famous — well, infamous, in our opinion — lorem ipsum.

Even though it goes way back, could it be that lorem ipsum is actually causing more harm than good? If you pause to think about it rather than just doing it because it's always been done that way — the answer is yes. Here’s why.

Arguably, we’re in the midst of the mobile age. Google says we’re moving into an AI-first world, beyond the mobile-first one. Mobile surpassed desktop back in 2015, and today, more than half of all Google searches are done on a mobile device. Over 60 percent of all searches came from mobile devices in 2016.

From the inception of the first banner ad to today’s AI chatbots, digital advertisers have had to continually adapt to changing business demands, new media technologies, disruptive mediums and of course, increasingly savvy audiences. The latest trend in our ever-evolving industry? Programmatic advertising, aptly named the “future of digital marketing.”

Programmatic ad spend is estimated to hit $20 billion this year in the U.S. alone and reach $38.5 billion by the end of 2020, as cited in Business Insider. But while the numbers continue to skyrocket, advertisers continue to be mystified by programmatic advertising. In fact, nearly 41% of marketers admit they are either unaware or lack understanding of programmatic ad buying. Let our programmatic advertising guide help clear things up. From The Little Mermaid to Inside Out, we’ll use Disney-inspired examples to simplify this so-called programmatic revolution, as well as identify the next steps in finding the right programmatic partner for you.

Email is magic — everyone knows it. On average, it yields an ROI of $44 for every $1 spent. It converts high, and unlike many forms of advertising, people actually look forward to it. More than any other form of marketing, email builds an intimate relationship with consumers. And that is exactly its downfall.