Is direct mail making a comeback? It sure looks like it. With digital fatigue setting in, brands are finding new ways to make an impact offline. Today, we’ll look into this surprising forecast, along with the other top stories of the week: ads on Threads, Google Ad updates, and a new AI search engine with a human touch.
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1. Ads Are Coming to Meta’s Threads
Meta is finally rolling out ads on Threads, its micro-blogging social platform, which has amassed over 300 million monthly users since its launch in 2023. Marking its first attempt at monetisation, the company will begin testing ads with select businesses in the US and Japan.
Advertisers can extend their existing Meta campaigns to Threads by simply ticking a checkbox to publish their ads in the home feed. Meta will also be integrating its existing ad safety controls from Facebook and Instagram, which help advertisers control where their ads appear.
While some investors anticipate Threads to match Twitter’s pre-Musk revenue of $5 billion, Meta is keeping expectations in check, saying it won’t drive major revenue—at least in 2025.
What this means for you:
Meta is taking it slow with the ad rollout, but advertising on Threads is something you’ll need to add to your strategy soon. The company’s calculated moves and focus on brand safety suggest a stable advertising environment for your brand. Plus, the fact that the platform attracts millions of monthly users and high engagement rates definitely don’t hurt.
2. Google Ads’ Performance Max Updates
Google Ads expands Performance Max capabilities in 2025 with new controls and features. Advertisers can now use campaign-level negative keywords, demographic exclusions, device targeting, and refined brand exclusions for better directed ad campaigns.
Other reporting updates include deeper search insights, a “usefulness” indicator for search themes, and more detailed asset group performance tracking.
In other news, Google Ads will be marking search queries with fewer than 50 unique searches in 90 days as “private” in Performance Max campaigns. While it sounds like a limitation, it could help advertisers see a clearer picture of their long-tail traffic composition.
What this means for you:
Google Ads’ Performance Max is still heavily reliant on AI, but the new features provide you more control over your campaigns through refined targeting and deeper insights.
On the other hand, the new “private” label at least helps you understand which queries are too low-volume for detailed reporting—not perfect, but useful.
3. Say Hello to Pearl: A New AI Search Engine
Yet another search engine has emerged, but with a twist. Pearl, a new AI search engine, tries to fix what’s broken in search by bringing in human experts to fact-check AI-generated answers. The catch? While the AI response is free, human verification understandably comes with a price tag—a $28 monthly subscription fee, to be exact.
That said, users who are not willing to pay can enjoy the alternative: a TrustScore™ on their AI-generated responses as the first layer of fact-checking.
Although CEO Andy Kurtzig praises the groundbreaking nature of Pearl, unfortunately, the search engine seems to fall short during initial testing. While it yielded good answers to simple queries, it struggled with more complex questions, which might not justify the steep subscription fee.
What this means for you:
For now, Pearl might not be quite ready to replace traditional search engines. However, it does reflect an underlying insight about the importance of human verification despite the growing popularity of AI.
Could it be that users have become sceptical of AI-powered responses? This is something to keep in mind when creating messages that need to stand out in a sea of AI-generated content.
4. Is Direct Mail Making a Comeback in 2025?
We’ve officially come full circle, as direct mail just might become the preferred marketing strategy of the year.
According to Nicola Davis, Head of Customer Strategy of Indicia Worldwide, consumers have become more wary of digital tracking and fatigued by relentless emails and online ads. Hence, the prediction for direct mail’s comeback. And when you think about it, it makes perfect sense: in the midst of clogged inboxes and ad-riddled social media feeds, physical mail feels more personal and trustworthy, almost radical.
This forecast didn’t come out of nowhere, either. A recent study reveals that over three-quarters of consumers are more likely to open physical mail from brands they find interesting. And no, this is not just nostalgia talking, as direct mail is said to resonate really well with the digital-native Gen Z.
Done right, with smart targeting and compelling design, direct mail can reach your desired audience in a way an email never will.
What this means for you:
Physical mail offers a rare moment of undivided attention, so use it to your advantage by creating well-targeted mailings that complement your digital channels (e.g. personalised catalogues with QR codes).
Direct mail may sound like a relic of a distant past, but today, a piece of physical mail actually creates a premium, tangible experience for your most valued audiences. And ultimately, that’s what marketing is all about.
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