The Grip is a newsletter that compiles essential news and insights for bold healthcare marketers, brought to you by Grippi Media.
The Department of Justice is turning up the heat on Google, asking the judge in its antitrust case to make the tech giant sell off its Chrome browser.
This couldn't come at worse time for the tech giant, as rising competition from gen-AI and social media threaten its stronghold on the search market.
In issue 23 of The Grip, we’ll explore the real cracks forming in Google’s once-dominant monopoly and what these shifts could mean for its future.
Other stories from this issue include:
👉 Instagram Allowing Users to "Reset" Recommendations Algorithm
👉 OpenAI to Pay Dotdash Meredith $16M Annually for Content License
👉 How Influencer Agencies Are Using Content Studios to Boost Production and Revenue
👉 Index Exchange and Cognitiv Use AI for Programmatic Curation
👉 Women Influence 80% of Healthcare Decisions, But Brands Fall Short
👉 Worldwide B2B Digital Ad Spend Set to Triple its Pre-Pandemic Level
👉 Novo Nordisk Sells Hit Weight-Loss Drug in China at a Fraction of US Price
👉 Perplexity’s AI Can Now Shop for You
All this and much more in issue 23 of The Grip!
I Can’t Believe That’s a Keyword
Using Semrush, we hunt down bizarre (and totally real) search queries and try to answer them.
This Week’s Keyword: Why Do Cats Make Biscuits?
Avg. Monthly Search Volume: 22,200
Answer: I own two cats and they've never baked me anything.
Top Stories We’re Tracking
Essential marketing and healthcare headlines of the week.
U.S. Regulators Push to Break Up Google with Chrome Sale
U.S. regulators are urging a federal judge to break up Google to curb its monopoly, proposing the sale of its Chrome browser and restrictions on Android’s integration with Google Search.
Additional measures include banning multibillion-dollar default search deals, increasing transparency in ad pricing, and requiring Google to license search data to rivals.
If this happens, the implications on data collection and advertising will be huge. The real questions: (a) Will it actually happen? (b) If so, will it be a full divestiture?
I never thought I would say this again, but search is actually the most exciting area of digital marketing right now.
📄 Read Article (Source: The Associated Press)
Reshape Your Instagram With a Recommendations Reset
Instagram’s new "Recommendations Reset" feature lets users, especially teens, refresh their suggested content across Explore, Reels, and Feed to align with evolving interests.
This tool allows a clean slate while gradually recalibrating recommendations based on new interactions.
Users can also review and unfollow accounts during the reset.
IG's recommendation algorithm has been notoriously one-dimensional. Like or click on one post about, say, a pair of sneakers, and suddenly your entire feed is a never-ending Foot Locker catalog.
📄 Read Article (Source: Meta)
OpenAI to Pay DotDash Meredith $16M Annually for Content License
OpenAI is paying at least $16 million annually to license content from Dotdash Meredith, with the potential for higher payouts based on variable components tied to future calculations.
This partnership allows OpenAI to use Dotdash Meredith's content, including well-known publications like Food & Wine, InStyle, and Better Homes and Gardens, to train ChatGPT.
In return, Dotdash Meredith will leverage OpenAI's models to enhance its ad-targeting tools.
This deal reflects a shift toward formal licensing agreements for AI training, as OpenAI faces legal challenges over unauthorized content usage.
📄 Read Article (Source: Engadget)
How Influencer Agencies Are Using Content Studios to Boost Production and Revenue
Influencer agencies are expanding content studios to meet the growing demand for high-volume, dynamic social media content as users spend more time online.
Companies like SuperOrdinary, managing 45 global studios, produce livestreams and manage creators, with some generating millions in sales.
Strategies vary from high-production styles, like Linqia’s VFX network, to lo-fi, authentic content from in-house teams like GALE's.
Studios also boost revenue by renting spaces and offering services, catering to brands seeking differentiation and consistency in a competitive digital marketplace.
📄 Read Article (Source: Digiday)
Index Exchange and Cognitiv Use AI for Programmatic Curation
Cognitiv and Index Exchange have partnered to integrate Cognitiv’s AI-powered ContextGPT product into Index’s Marketplaces platform, revolutionizing ad targeting by combining deep learning and OpenAI’s language models.
This enables advertisers to analyze millions of websites in real-time, craft audience segments, and predict ad performance without cookies.
The system identifies ideal placements in milliseconds, optimizing relevance and efficiency for advertisers while boosting publishers' revenue potential.
As AI-driven curation tools gain traction, they promise greater accuracy and transparency in ad placement, though challenges like AI bias and data security persist.
📄 Read Article (Source: Digiday)
Dexcom Invests $75M into Oura Smart Rings
The investment enables the integration of Dexcom’s continuous glucose monitoring data with Oura’s smart ring and app, offering users a comprehensive view of health metrics such as sleep, fitness, and glucose levels.
This partnership also includes plans for co-marketing, cross-selling, and user data sharing starting next year.
The funding will support Oura’s international expansion and potential acquisitions, following its recent purchase of metabolic care company Veri.
📄 Read Article (Source: Modern Healthcare)
Women Influence 80% of Healthcare Decisions, but Brands Fall Short
Women make 80% of healthcare decisions in the U.S. yet remain underrepresented in medical marketing, according to a report by the Association of National Advertisers’ SeeHer initiative, Abbott, and CVS Health.
The guide highlights that over half of women want more realistic portrayals in pharma ads, yet only one-third of ads accurately represent them.
Ads with high Gender Equality Measure (GEM) scores—SeeHer’s tool to identify gender bias—show significant benefits, including a 43% boost in brand reputation and 22% higher purchase intent.
By authentically depicting women, brands can drive a 10-fold increase in sales while fostering societal change.
📄 Read Article (Source: MMM Group)
Worldwide B2B Digital Ad Spend Set to Triple its Pre-Pandemic Level
Global B2B digital ad spend is projected to nearly triple pre-pandemic levels, reaching $48.15 billion by 2026, up from $38.67 billion in 2024, according to EMARKETER.
The market is set to grow by 13.1% in 2024, with B2B's share of total digital ad spend rising slightly from 5.5% in 2020 to 5.8% in 2026.
The U.S. accounts for 47.4% of this spend, with $18.34 billion expected in 2024, a 14.9% year-over-year increase.
📄 Read Article (Source: EMARKETER)
Novo Nordisk Sells Hit Weight-Loss Drug in China at a Fraction of US Price
Wegovywire, Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug, is priced at 1,400 yuan (about $193) in China, significantly lower than its $1,349 US list price.
The price aligns with other countries like Canada ($265) and the UK ($92). The disparity has drawn criticism in the US, where high obesity rates affect over 42% of adults underscoring the need for accessible treatments.
Yale researchers estimate over 42,000 US deaths could be prevented annually with greater access to GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy.
📄 Read Article (Source: Ars Technica)
Perplexity’s AI Can Now Shop for You
Perplexity has introduced a "Buy with Pro" feature allowing Pro subscribers in the US to purchase products directly within its AI search engine using saved billing and shipping details, with free shipping included.
Non-subscribers can still access new AI-powered product cards showing prices, images, and summaries for product-related searches.
Additionally, Perplexity launched "Snap to Shop," a tool enabling users to take pictures of products and ask questions about them, available exclusively to Pro users at launch.
📄 Read Article (Source: The Verge)
The Latest from Grippi Media
Recent articles and videos from the Grippi Media Blog.
AI Search Engines and the Future of SEO
For years, SEO has centered on optimizing for keyword-based searches and rankings on traditional engines like Google.
However, the Google search experience has considerably worsened, with search results increasingly cluttered by low-quality content, from SEO-stuffed fluff to AI-generated spam and affiliate cash grabs.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Google, as The DOJ aims to dismantle its search dominance following the recent antitrust ruling.
These shifts have created an opportunity for AI-driven search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Microsoft CoPilot to enter the market, promising to streamline search and deliver better results.
So, with new players in the game, what does that mean for SEO?
And what do marketers need to know to avoid getting lost in the shuffle?
In my latest blog post, we explore the changes to search brought about by AI-driven search engines and how this massive shake-up might change SEO forever.
Our Latest Podcasts
Recent episodes of the podcasts that we produce.
How Will We Make America Healthy Again?
With the election decided and over, Americans are looking at Republicans to make good on their campaign promises.
One important promise to voters was to make America healthy again.
With only six in ten Americans trusting that national health authorities act in the public's best interest according to Statista, the country needs meaningful change in healthcare.
But what does this agenda entail?
And what impacts can we expect to see in healthcare?
In this episode of CareTalk Podcast: Healthcare. Unfiltered., David E. Williams and John Driscoll discuss the framework of Make America Healthy Again, covering what they have right, what they have wrong, and how it is set to change healthcare.
Transforming Diagnostic Labs Into Strategic Assets
There’s no shortage of data in healthcare.
In fact, according to RBC Capital Markets, approximately 30% of the world's data volume is generated by the healthcare industry.
However, when it comes to deeper insights into patients’ futures and provider costs, the industry is sorely lacking.
Is it possible to unlock this data and create both better patient outcomes and more profits for providers?
In this episode of HealthBiz Briefs, guest Bradley Bostic, chairman and CEO of hc1, dives into the role of diagnostic testing labs and the ability to turn them into strategic assets by identifying risks before they become dangerous and costly problems.
Accelerating Scientific Breakthroughs Through Collaborative R&D with Bogdan Knezevic from Kaleidoscope Bio
In this episode of the AWS Health Innovation Podcast, Yin He, Principal Business Development for Healthcare & Life Sciences Startups at AWS, explores the future of scientific research with Bogdan Knezevic, Co-Founder & CEO of Kaleidoscope.bio.
Discover how their innovative software platform is transforming R&D by making it more collaborative, reproducible, and scalable across the life sciences industry.
What We’re Listening To
New music that has been inspiring us.
Vincent's Pick: Fazerdaze - Soft Power
In case you couldn’t tell from previous issues, I’m on a major shoegaze kick this year. Just when I thought I had my top 20 releases of the year locked in, Fazerdaze went and dropped this gem.
Blending indie synth-pop with a shoegaze sensibility, Soft Power delivers a dreamy, free-flowing listening experience that feels like a late-night drive. The album avoids the pitfall of monotony, skillfully balancing mood and restraint, prioritizing atmosphere over catchiness.
Sal's Pick: Linkin Park - From Zero
Linkin Park's From Zero brings a mix of nostalgia and reinvention, with Emily Armstrong stepping in as the new lead vocalist.
The album leans into the band's nu-metal roots, blending heavier riffs and energetic vocals with moments of melody that feel both fresh and familiar.
Armstrong’s dynamic range pairs well with Mike Shinoda’s contributions, creating a balanced sound that nods to their past while exploring new territory.
It’s a solid effort that longtime fans will appreciate, even if it doesn’t quite break new ground.
Don't forget to check out our 2024 Digital Health Inbound Marketing Report:
Thanks for reading! See you next week! 👋
Get in Touch:
👉 Follow Grippi Media on LinkedIn
👉 Follow Vincent Grippi on LinkedIn
👉 Follow Grippi Media on YouTube
👉 Visit us at www.grippimedia.com
Want to connect? Shoot us a note here.
Comments