ClickZ Digital Ad Platform Newsletter | 🧠 Outthink Last Click Attribution

Plus: 🧠 PMAX vs Paid Search – Fospha Reveals the Winning Ad Mix

Author

Rafe Houston
April 09, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 33 minutes

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Welcome to ClickZ Digital Ad Platform News, your essential newsletter for digital marketers and eCommerce professionals.

Editor’s Pick 🌟

Curious to know the optimal way to allocate your Google Ads budget? Fospha’s latest analysis of top performers reveals key insights into balancing Performance Max (PMAX) and Paid Search:

🥇 How Top-Performers Do It: For the highest-performing 25% of brands, a strategic allocation of around 55% of total Google budget to Performance Max and 12% to Paid Search appears to be the sweet spot for driving results.

🏢 Size Matters: Note, this optimal allocation does vary slightly between different brand sizes. Top-performing small brands were found to have a 52% PMAX / 15% Paid Search split, while top-performing large brands allocated more to PMAX, with a 59% PMAX / 9% Paid Search split.

Why? Consumer goods adopt search-heavy strategies because their products often address specific functional needs that consumers actively search to solve. Fashion brands, by contrast, primarily sell products through visual storytelling and emotional appeal, better suited to other Google ads formats including PMAX.

Unlock the full potential of your Google Ads budget! Fospha’s new Performance Max and Paid Search Playbook is your guide to cultivating cross-channel synergies, reducing wasted ad spend, and maximizing blended performance.

Expert View 🧠

Navigating the New Ad Platform Frontier

As Meta, Google, and other major platforms evolve with new privacy and personalization features, digital advertising is entering a new era. These aren’t just backend tweaks—they reflect shifting consumer expectations for more relevant, less intrusive ads.

At the same time, economic uncertainty is reshaping buyer behavior. With cautious spending on the rise, especially in retail, marketers need to be more strategic than ever with their ad spend.

The key? Smarter, data-driven, cross-channel campaigns. AI-powered tools can optimize targeting, creative testing, and engagement across platforms, helping brands stay visible without wasting budget.

Success today isn’t about bigger spend—it’s about sharper strategy. Brands that adapt quickly and stay audience-focused will be best positioned to thrive in this evolving landscape.

Sector Spotlight 🎥

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Instagram's 2025 algorithm prioritizes engagement metrics like watch time and shares to enhance content visibility, urging marketers to optimize profiles, create engaging Reels, and use AI tools for audience insights. Understanding these factors helps target both existing and potential followers effectively, driving growth and adapting to future algorithm shifts. Key takeaways include:

  • Enhanced Collab Tools: Tag multiple collaborators on a post to cross-promote to wider audiences.

  • Add Yours Templates: This sticker trend boosts Stories engagement and encourages user interaction.

  • Comment Pinning: Use it strategically to highlight positive or relevant feedback and guide conversation tone.

  • Customisable Story Highlights: Treat Highlights like a mini-website—organised, branded, and clear.

  • Instagram Notes: Resurfacing in 2025 as a great way to drop quick updates or promos directly in DMs.

  • AI-Powered Captions & Filters: New AI integrations help streamline content creation and personalization.

SOCIAL COMMERCE INNOVATION

TikTok Shop is transforming eCommerce with live shopping events, as highlighted at the Retail Technology Show 2025 in London. Nora Zukauskaite from TikTok Shop UK & EU emphasized that 2025 will be pivotal for mainstream adoption of live shopping, particularly benefiting sectors like fashion and beauty where real-time product demonstrations provide strategic value. Unlike traditional TV shopping channels, TikTok's dynamic interaction between hosts and customers creates an engaging, responsive experience, fostering customer loyalty and boosting sales.

Highlighting success stories, Zukauskaite discussed brands like P Louise, which sold two million products in 12 hours during a TikTok event, underscoring the platform's capability to scale from a simple setup to an expansive studio. Despite misconceptions, TikTok Shop isn't limited to Gen Z or low-value items; it also caters to Millennials and high-end products, showing growth in premium categories. As more traditional brands like Lidl explore innovative digital strategies, a shift led by agile startups is reshaping eCommerce retail towards integration and collaboration.

AI INNOVATION LAUNCH

Meta introduces new open-source Llama 4 AI models, enhancing capabilities in generative AI. The most powerful model, Llama 4 Behemoth, remains in development, aiming to outperform competitors. This advancement holds strategic importance for marketers interested in leveraging cutting-edge AI tools for enhanced consumer and business engagement.

In the last 12 months, we made £2.5 MILLION through TikTok Shop Alone... 🤯 

Last Year this platform SAVED my company. ☠️

I know my last post said see you in 2026, but I'd feel so guilty not telling you about the opportunity right now on TikTok Shop. 😥 

DIGITAL ADVERTISING EXPANSION

The global AdTech market is projected to grow from $785 billion in 2025 to $2,593.4 billion by 2034, driven by factors such as AI-driven advertising and the rise of Connected TV ads. Key players like Google, Meta, and Amazon are vital, while challenges include stricter data privacy regulations. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for marketers to navigate the expansive, competitive landscape efficiently.

CONSUMER INSIGHTS

In 2025, the MarTech Expo highlights key advertising trends stressing the use of data and AI to enhance consumer connections. Companies are advised to focus on simplifying user experiences, revamping loyalty programs to foster emotional engagement, ensuring robust cybersecurity measures, and tailoring content to specific platforms. This shift empowers marketers by underlining the importance of marrying technology with consumer-centric strategies.

DIGITAL ADVERTISING IMPACT

A TikTok ban would significantly drive up ad prices on Meta's platforms, especially impacting small businesses that rely on TikTok for affordable advertising. This shift could consolidate Meta's ad market dominance, making it harder for smaller advertisers to compete effectively. These dynamics highlight the broader implications for digital advertising strategies and market competition.

Influencer Corner 📢'

We chatted with Amy J. Oelkers, TikTok’s GM, US Head of Commerce, about how the power of discovery on TikTok is driving commerce everywhere | TikTok for Business

📌 4 in 5 users are discovering brands through creators' recommendations.*

📌 After discovering something on TikTok (via a creator), 45% of users continued searching for more information on the platform.

📌 1 in 4 users search within the first 30 seconds of opening the app (internal user data).

In our Shoptalk 2025 wrap up with ClickZ.com, one thing was clear | Lee Arthur

This industry is operating in a new reality. From full-funnel AI to omnichannel orchestration, the conversations weren’t speculative,they were tactical.

Here are the biggest shifts we heard on the ground:

🔹 AI is everywhere
“AI isn’t a concept -it’s a capability,” summed up by voices across the floor. From text-to-buy to media measurement, brands are moving from testing to scaling.

🔹 Omnichannel is baseline
“Omnichannel isn’t a trend - it’s the new baseline,” said Sam Carter, CEO at Fospha. The new standard is unified journeys online and off.

Optimization Hub ⚙️

BUSINESS MEASUREMENT FRAMEWORK

Breaking organizational silos is essential for building effective measurement frameworks, ensuring data-driven insights drive marketing success. By involving all stakeholders and focusing on real-world applications, businesses can align metrics with strategic objectives. Tailored frameworks improve communication and performance across departments, essential for today's competitive landscape.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Instagram's new monthly recap feature provides creators with valuable insights into their content performance, including total views, follower engagement, and specific audience activity times. This feature aids marketers by offering actionable tips to enhance content strategy based on the unique behaviors of their audiences, fostering a more tailored approach to growth and engagement.

ECOMMERCE OPTIMIZATION

Adjusting the Google Ads bid strategy, specifically the Target ROAS, can enhance Shopping Ads revenue without reducing profitability for eCommerce businesses. Use Impression Share and Search Lost IS metrics to identify and rectify revenue loss. Gradual budget and ROAS adjustments ensure consistent performance improvement.

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