At HK Digital, one of the most important questions we help brands answer is: Are we truly acquiring new customers—or just paying for customers who would have purchased anyway? That’s where Incremental New Customer Acquisition (iNCA) comes in. Rather than optimizing solely for ROAS or blended CPA, iNCA focuses on net-new growth—identifying and scaling the strategies that genuinely drive incremental value. Below, we break down actionable strategies for doing this in Go

Promoted Pins come to Maps for Demand Gen How it works: Existing image assets from campaigns can be repurposed for these pins Pins show up in Maps when users browse areas, search for directions, or check out specific places The move aims to increase visibility in these “browse-worthy” moments, helping to convert digital interest into physical visits Google Clarifies Where Ads Show in AI Overviews TLDR: Ads can appear either above/below or within Google AI O

We just wrapped up Google Marketing Live 2025, and wow—Google’s going all-in on AI. While some of these updates feel like game-changers, others? Let’s just say we’re cautiously optimistic. Here’s our quick take on the top 10 most interesting updates—and what they really mean for marketers like us.

Google Marketing Live Google is leaning further into... you guessed it... AI! It can almost sound exciting in a buttoned up presentation, but anyone who runs App or PMax campaigns is well aware of the limitations and frustrations. AI Max for Search is the next testing grounds Google AI Mode Traffic is Untrackable Google’s newly launched AI Mode in Search isn’t passing referral data. That means it’s impossible to know how many clicks you got from AI Mode in you

RIP Xandr Microsoft Advertising is closing its demand-side platform, with the online giant informing clients the ad tech unit no longer aligns with its AI priorities. YT Tests "Peak Point" Ads Gemini, Google’s AI, can identify parts of videos where viewer attention is at its highest, such as emotionally impactful moments, and suggest placing an ad after it, just as viewers are the most invested. This could be a welcome boost to Creators and Advertisers, but le

Another Bad Week for Google. In a court filing on Sunday, the DOJ said Google should divest its AdX exchange, where ad inventory is bought and sold. It should also sell its DFP platform, used by publishers to manage and serve ads. The sales would be overseen by a court-appointed trustee, who would find buyers and monitor compliance. Cozying up to Trump (including a $1M donation to his inauguration fund) has not yet yielded any preferential treatment TikTok Sale Deadline t

Google Engagement is Falling Users are visiting Google more often but staying less. Total visits are up after AI Overviews launched in May 2024, but Time-on-site is flat or declining. Google Ads Payment Profile Transparency Starting today, Google is displaying the payer name – drawn from an advertiser’s payment profile – if it differs from their verified advertiser name. This can cause headaches for agency owned payment profiles that have not yet been updated. Redd

↕️ Google to Serve Ads in Top and Bottom Positions Google will now allow relevant Search ads from advertisers who showed amongst top ads to also participate in the bottom ads auction. As a reminder, the definition of top ads changed about a year ago, as Google began mixing ads in various organic positions throughout the search results. 💥 Meta Expanding Ads to Threads Threads feed will be default on within Advantage+ and Manual Placements for new campaigns leveraging select o

4/18/25: Marketing to AI Agents & Google Antitrust

HK Digital’s Direct-to-Expert Model Is Reshaping Digital Marketing With a team of expert strategists executing campaigns, HK Digital offers a smarter, faster way to drive performance.

Google to Punish AI Generated Content, BeReal Launches US Ad Platform, Google Expands Discover to Desktop

Advertisers can buy Rewarded Video ads on Roblox via Google Ad Manager

Meta Revamps Friends Tab to Bring Back 'OG Facebook'

“TikTok videos that are longer than one minute get 63.8% more watch time than videos in the 30-60 second range.”

Brace yourself for a new influx of misleading posts on Facebook and IG, with Meta announcing that it’s launching Community Notes next week.

AI Will Soon Dominate Ad Buying, Whether Marketers Like It or Not Tech giants want marketers to let go of control & trust their algorithm

Pour one out for Skype, the internet-based phone and video service that was once the dominant way of staying connected in the mid 2000s will

Google's update enhances ad flexibility, optimizing asset combinations dynamically to improve engagement, relevance, and performance.

TikTok reinstated in US app stores after assurance from the attorney general

Pinterest reached a new high of 553 million monthly active in Q4, up 16 million on Q3.