ClickZ MarTech Newsletter - 01.23.2025

Plus, how Listrak’s RCS campaign doubled holiday revenue for Dooney & Bourke

Author

Sophie Bruxner-Randall
January 23, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

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MarTech Invest is your weekly fix for the hottest marketing tech trends, cutting-edge tools, and actionable insights redefining digital marketing.

MarTech TL;DR 📋

📱 RCS Revolution: Listrak's RCS campaign with Dooney & Bourke doubles revenue, redefining personalized messaging.

🔀 Diversification Post-TikTok Ban: Marketers embrace resilience as TikTok's temporary U.S. ban sparks innovation.

📈 M&A Surge: Martech and ad tech industries hit a five-year high with 414 deals in 2024.

🤖 AI Shapes Intentions: Tools are subtly influencing user actions—transparency is key to protecting choices.

AI & Innovation in Marketing 🌟

Exploration Listrak launched the first Rich Communication Services (RCS) marketing campaign in the U.S. with Dooney & Bourke during the 2024 holiday season. RCS doubled revenue compared to SMS/MMS campaigns, highlighting its transformative potential for personalized communication, marking a new era in messaging technology.

AI tools are evolving from attention-grabbing to intention-shaping, subtly influencing user actions. While promising for marketers, these tools must prioritize transparency to protect user trust and ensure ethical usage.

LPL Financial launches an enhanced Digital Marketing Platform to boost advisor-client engagement. Customizable tools streamline communication, offering both hands-on and full-service options. With advanced analytics and AI-powered recommendations, advisors using this platform have reportedly grown assets 39% faster than peers, enhancing client retention and referrals.

MarTech News & Industry Shifts 📊

With 414 mergers and acquisitions in 2024, the martech and ad tech industries hit a five-year high. This trend highlights opportunities for growth and strategic expansions, setting the tone for 2025.

H.I.G. Capital buys Kantar Media for $1 billion, spotlighting shifts in ad measurement. With industry leaders like Nielsen facing competition, Kantar's support of cross-media tools and AI positions it as a strong contender. The deal highlights private equity's belief in the sector's evolving opportunities and potential growth.

Inmar Intelligence, prioritizing its Healthcare and Martech divisions, has sold its Supply Chain Solutions to DHL. This strategic pivot aims to enhance innovation and customer engagement through technology, including AI solutions and digital incentives. With this move, Inmar sharpens its focus on evolving safety, access, and affordability within healthcare and digital markets.

Global Tech & Market Trends 🌎

TikTok's recent dark weekend due to a U.S. ban has sent ripples through the marketing sphere, highlighting the risks of over-relying on single platforms. This is not just about TikTok going offline; it’s a wake-up call for creators and brands to take control of their digital assets. Imagine this as the universe nudging us toward creativity and diversification. Growth always lies in opportunities like these—when one door closes, another opens. Just like Vine and MySpace were yesterday’s TikTok, today brings the chance to innovate with AI channels or decentralized platforms.

Marketers, often the early birds, are already adapting. Influencers are exploring platforms like RedNote or retreating to YouTube, Snapchat, or Instagram. However, none can replicate TikTok’s unique virality. The urgency now is on diversifying strategies to tell compelling stories without being platform-dependent. Sure, it's a bit of marketing musical chairs, but resilience and creativity will lead to exciting innovations. Take Meta and YouTube, for instance; they’re in a prime spot to benefit—if they roll out that red carpet for content creators, offering better revenue and algorithmic support.

In essence, this TikTok saga reiterates the importance of building a robust, multi-platform marketing strategy. We, in the marketing realm, have to stretch beyond the comfort zones, test novel avenues, and always have a back-up, even as we look ahead with brilliant optimism.

Latin America’s tech ecosystem is thriving, with Globant Ventures investing in AI marketing startup Connectly, Vtex strengthening ad tech through acquisitions, and Bluepex expanding its cybersecurity footprint. These moves showcase the region’s rapid innovation and growth.

Digital advertising growth will slow to 7.3% in 2025, a decline from last year's 11.8%, mainly due to fewer major events like the Olympics. Despite this, channels like Retail Media Networks and Connected TV see opportunity. Marketers focus on performance-driven media, leveraging genAI for media planning.

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