Digital Connect March 20, 2025

Welcome to DCW Media’s March 6^th edition of Digital Connect, our bi-weekly rundown of platform updates and marketing trends affecting our industry.

Platform Updates

March Madness TV and CTV ads are "virtually sold out" as advertisers buy the coveted spots earlier and earlier each year. March Madness is a 400 million dollar plus industry for CBS and generates over 12 billion impressions. While advertisers might be locked out of TV, other channels such as social media, where thousands of people engage in discussions and read news on the tournament are great alternatives. DCW can help formulate a strategy around March Madness using Meta, X, and more.

Can AI cook? KFC recently tasked AI with coming up with a fried chicken recipe better than the Colonel's secret original recipe. After a blind taste test study, the original recipe won out. This is a fun reminder that while AI is on every body's mind, it's important to balance AI with human ingenuity - a balance DCW Media practices. We use AI to boost creative, run intricate A/B tests, and inform strategy, all while we continue to leverage the human factor informed by over 50 years of industry experience.

DCW Media can now provide B2B clients with information about the companies that are visiting their websites. We can offer Lead Forensics via a simple Google pixel placement that tracks users' IP addresses. This reveals not only the companies visiting a website, but also the pages and services they are interested in most. 

We continue to track the fate of TikTok, and the app is still quite popular in the US less than one month ahead of a looming potential ban. TikTok was the number one most downloaded app in Google Play and iOS AppStore, with over 42 million downloads in February. Federal leadership appears confident that a deal will materialize to a US buyer, which would enable the video giant to keep operating. DCW is prepared whatever the app’s fate may be. We were an early adapter of the platform and poised to continue quality TikTok campaigns but can also pivot ad spend to effective video alternatives, such as Snapchat, Instagram Reels, and YouTube.

Vertical Trends

Creative can be a massive pain point for many advertisers. One of our creative partners has highlighted the top creative trends for 2025,which include: handmade graphics, interplay (interaction between image and illustrated elements), paper cutouts, motion graphics, maximalism, and type-driven design. As for the color of the year -it’s Mocha Mousse. DCW partners with a variety of creative agencies to facilitate creative that’s the perfect fit for our clients. Is imagery and messaging proving to be a challenge for 2025? Reach out and we can help you get stated.

Rural hospitals are still feeling the staffing shortages that began in 2020 as they struggle to hire nurses, doctors, administrators, and other employees. DCW is well-versed in healthcare hiring campaigns an can assist healthcare advertisers working to overcome these situations. Digital media can amplify candidate searches beyond local geographies to efficiently reach the right people, wherever they may be.