LinkedIn Adds New Video Ad Options, Expands Access to Conversation and Thought Leader Ads
Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has rolled out an array of new options for video ads accompanying long-form video content on the professional social platform, along with expanding access to its Thought Leader Ads and Conversation Ads, LinkedIn (client) recently announced. Social Media Today

Spotify launches new competition podcast The Perfect Pitch
Spotify has launched a new podcast — The Perfect Pitch — focusing on brand marketing leaders and creatives as they seek to craft successful advertising campaigns, the latest effort as the podcasting platform seeks to continue expanding its use among B2B brands, Spotify recently announced. Podcasting Today

“We’re out in the market, encouraging more B2B marketers to just take a more native approach with more of their brand building work.” — Jim Habig @JimHabig
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AI and marketing: What the stats show
64 percent of B2B marketers have said that they see AI as valuable in their marketing strategy, while 50 percent of marketers view inadequate adoption of AI as a roadblock to achieving their goals, while a leading 54 percent of IT professionals utilize AI — three of numerous statistics of interest to B2B marketers contained in recently-published AI marketing survey data compiled by MarTech. MarTech

Can a B2B Ad Be Interesting? Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort Accepted the Challenge
LinkedIn has launched a new marketing campaign that looks to upend many of the traditionally stoic elements of B2B marketing, featuring celebrity talent and efforts that will coincide with the Cannes Lion festival, which has expanded to include B2B-specific segments, and Hollywood Reporter recently took a look. Hollywood Reporter

Google faces EU break-up order over anti-competitive adtech practices
European Union regulators at the EU Commission have shared new concerns about search giant Google’s digital ad practices, potentially leading to a break-up order for Google and parent firm Alphabet, and a fine that could tally up to 10 percent of Google’s annual turnover, the EU Commission recently announced. Reuters

Podcasters Reportedly Have More Influence on Listeners Than… Influencers
75 percent of weekly podcast listeners have said that podcast hosts wield more influence than purely social media influencers, according to newly-published survey data that may help reinforce why more subject matter experts and B2B brand marketers have expanded into podcasting during recent years. MarketingCharts

Google Finally Launches The Perspectives Search Filter
Search giant Google has launched its new Perspectives search filter, which seeks to surface message forum posts and other content often-underrepresented in traditional search results, while offering brands new optimization opportunities, Google recently announced. Search Engine Roundtable

Brands, Creators Offered Gen AI Art Tools From Adobe
Adobe has given its storied Adobe Illustrator product its new Generative Recolor feature — the firm’s initial integration of its Adobe Firefly AI technology, Adobe recently announced during its MAX London event. MediaPost

Meta open sources an AI-powered music generator
Facebook parent firm Meta has unveiled its open-source AI-powered tool MusicGen, which creates music from descriptive text prompts, as the firm seeks to compete with similar AI-generated music technology from Google and other firms, and TechCrunch recently took a look. TechCrunch

What Do CFOs Want from CMOs?
Communicating the return-on-investment (ROI) that marketing brings to an organization is a top challenge among chief marketing officers, according to Spencer Stuart’s 19th annual “CMO Tenure Study,” and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) recently took a look at this and other top marketing obstacles facing today’s CMOs and chief financial officers. ANA

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE:

A lighthearted look at “Virtual Reality” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist

Take me back: The power of nostalgia in advertising — Kantar

Paul McCartney: AI has enabled a “final” Beatles song — Ars Technica

TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

TopRank Marketing — 25 Popular Blogs about Content Marketing You Should Check — Adsy
Lee Odden — This Week in Marketing: Timeless Trends — LinkedIn (client)
Lee Odden — The Proof is Out There: Experts Discuss the Reality and Future of Buyer-level Intent Data — NetLine

FRIDAY FIVE B2B MARKETING FAVORITES TO FOLLOW:

Meisha Bochicchio @MarketingMeisha
Amy Higgins @amywhiggins
Scott Stratten @unmarketing
Ben Harmanus @BenHarmanus
Dr. Robert Cialdini @RobertCialdini

Learn more about TopRank Marketing‘s mission to help elevate the B2B marketing industry.

Have you come across a key B2B marketing news item we haven’t yet covered? If so, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line in the comments below.

Thank you for taking the time to join us for this week’s edition of the Elevate B2B Marketing News, and we hope that you will return next Friday for another arrayof the most up-to-date and relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news.

The post Elevate B2B Marketing News Weekly Roundup: Spotify Woos B2B Marketers & Google’ EU AdTech Scrutiny appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog – TopRank®.