Meta announced new product updates at its Brand Building Summit to help brands engage with cultural moments on its apps more effectively. These updates focus on expanding ad formats, leveraging AI for targeted delivery, and enhancing brand connection through popular content and platforms like Reels and Threads.
Reels Trending Ads Expansion
Meta is broadening access to Reels trending ads for more advertisers and agencies, allowing brands to align with the most trending and culturally relevant Reels content. Early tests show these ads can increase unaided awareness by +20%, comparable to YouTube Select and outperforming TikTok Pulse. Reels trending ads use AI to curate top trending content across categories like animals, beauty, fashion, cars, and sports.
Examples include:
- JCPenney: Achieved 32% higher ad recall and 6x greater favorability by placing ads after top-trending Reels.
- SharkNinja: Saw 91% incremental reach, 16 million video views, and +8.2 point lift in ad recall using Reels trending ads for influencer campaigns.
Reels engagement is strong, with over half of Instagram time spent on Reels, 4.5 billion daily shares, and high Gen Z interaction—85% follow businesses and 80% have purchased after watching a Reel.
Threads Ad Features and Growth
Threads, with 400 million monthly active users, is growing as a platform for authentic brand connections. Meta is expanding ad formats on Threads, including:
- Carousel ads
- 4:5 aspect ratio for single image and video ads
- Upcoming tests for Advantage+ catalog and app ads
Advertisers can now create Threads ads using Instagram accounts or existing Facebook/Instagram posts, even without a Threads profile. Three-quarters of Threads users follow at least one business, making it a valuable space for brands.
AI-Powered Value Rules and Landing Page Optimization
Meta is extending value rules—previously for sales and app campaigns—to awareness and engagement objectives. This allows advertisers to guide AI to focus on audiences most valuable to their brand, resulting in 2x more high-value conversions in tests.
Landing page view optimization has also been enhanced for advertisers unable to use Meta pixel tracking. This feature optimizes ads to users likely to click and load the destination website, leading to a 31% lower cost per landing page view, reduced bounce rates, and higher quality traffic.
Cultural Connection and Brand Building
Meta emphasizes that culture grows naturally through genuine connections around shared interests. Its advanced AI technology enables personalized discovery and meaningful interactions between people and brands. Campaigns on Meta’s apps are 66% more cost-effective at building brands compared to average channels, highlighting the platform’s strength in driving authentic engagement and results.
These updates collectively enable brands to better tap into cultural trends, engage audiences authentically, and optimize campaign performance across Meta’s ecosystem, particularly through Reels and Threads.
