In partnership with

Facebook & Google are listening to you through your phone.

A new report has revealed that Cox Media Group (whose clients include Facebook & Google) has been using a tactic called ‘Active Listening.’

This allows advertisers to gather data by listening to us through the microphones on our smartphones. Needless to say, Cox Media Group is facing some pretty serious backlash right now.

In today's newsletter:

• Yes, marketers are actually using your phone to listen to you (find out how this major media firm is using monitoring software to hyper-target ads)

• Mountain Dew is paying fans to move to the mountains (here’s why the brand is giving 5 lucky fans $10k to cover their moving costs)

• Trend plug - So depressing!

• Ask the Editor - How do I write better hooks for my LinkedIn posts? 

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

p.s. Hey can you please take this 30-second survey? We want to understand YOU better so we can keep improving YAP 👇👇👇

Yes, Marketers Are Actually Using Your Phone to Listen to You

You’ve officially been gaslit. And no, I’m not talking about your ex.

Remember how they said your phone doesn’t actually listen to you? And the coincidental ad popping up after a conversation you’d had about that very thing was just a mix of really good targeting and confirmation bias?

Well, we’ve been hoodwinked. Bamboozled. Lied to.

A recent report has revealed that a major marketing firm admitted to using 'Active Listening' software to monitor smartphone conversations for ads.

I feel violated.

Independent news site 404 Media leaked the bombshell news last week. Their report outs Cox Media Group, a marketing firm whose clients include Facebook and Google. The expose even posts the pitch deck the group used to send to prospective clients.

Yes, that’s right. The media giant was marketing itself to clients on the strength of its 'Active Listening Service.' Their clients can use the service to drive hyper-targeted ads based on what you say around your device.

I know what you’re thinking. Is this even legal?

[Keep reading]

-Sophie, Writer

The Ultimate Content Collaboration Platform

Grappling with scattered feedback, disorganized workflows, and switching between too many tools?

Introducing Planable — the ultimate content collaboration tool for agencies and in-house marketing teams. With real-time collaboration and easy-peasy approval, you can create, plan, review, and approve all your awesome content in one space. And you get to organize your content by topic, campaign, brand, favorite color, or anything you please — just by using labels. Schedule your content, then track its performance with analytics and create beautiful reports for your clients. All in one place.

Join 5,000+ teams who trust Planable to streamline their content collaboration processes.

Try Planable for free

We're all moving to the mountains!

Specifically, The Mountain Time Zone (the western part of North America).

And Mountain Dew is paying us to do it.

All we have to do is make a TikTok video explaining why we want to move and how we're planning to enjoy the outdoors. (I already know my answer--swimming under the stars, fungi-hunting, and spiritually connecting with wild animals—duh).

Anyone who does this can get up to $10,000 in moving costs covered and get free Mountain Dew for a year.

Uhh, so what's going on, you wonder? Well, this is apparently Mountain Dew's latest marketing campaign, you see! For a while, their focus has been on promoting the great outdoors. And this time, they're zeroing in on a specific area:

The Mountain Time Zone.

I didn't actually know what this was at first. I thought the brand had created their own time zone (I want credit if they end up doing this).

But this areas is known for rugged, wild landscapes filled with diverse ecology and animals.

So this campaign is a great way for Mountain Dew to push their brand as well as gather data about people who love the drink and the great outdoors.

[Keep reading]

-Maggie, Copywriter

Trend Plug - So Depressing!

Toy Story 2 is still giving us viral trendy content, 14 years later!

Today's trend combines this scene from the film where Wheezy the penguin is in a depressed state, with Khanyisa Jaceni's cover of Alicia Keys' Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready). 

With over 52k videos to the trend, people are channelling their most depressing moments through this one still image of Wheezy. Examples range from 'How your co-worker with no car looks at you when it's time to go home,' to 'Me looking at my mom after she made me pay for my own things at the store.'

How to jump on this trend:

Ok, this is the simplest trend ever to get you right on Monday. Just save this image, add your onscreen text of times you had THAT look on your face, and don't forget to add this sound! 

A few ideas to get you started:

• 'How I look at my intern when they can't get all our work done'

• 'The hole in my sock when I buy another month of LinkedIn Premium/ Canva Pro'

• 'How the coffee machine looks at me when it's my third time in an hour'

-Abdel, Social Media Coordinator

Ask the Editor

Q - I'm trying to get more engagement on my LinkedIn posts but I'm struggling with creating a good hook. Do you have any tips for me? - McKayla

Hey McKayla,

This is a great question, because if your hooks are no good, the rest of your post doesn't matter! One of the best ways to improve your hooks is to go on LinkedIn and pay attention to what stops your scroll. Then ask yourself what about that hook interested you. Did the hook call you out (like, 'Hey account managers')? Did it shock you? Did it make you curious?

Another tip is to think about what the most interesting or controversial thing is about the topic of your post, then lead with that. Ideally, this will be a statement that challenges the way a lot of people think, because that will make them more likely to keep reading to see your explanation.

Lastly, experiment. There are so many types of hooks, and what works for someone else's audience may not work for yours. So try asking a question, using a controversial statement, creating curiosity, using a surprising statistic...and see what your audience engages with.

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Wondering what the heck we do at The ATTN Seeker? Check us out.

Heard about a cool case study we should feature? Hit reply and tell us about it!

Got a question about social media strategy OR marketing? Reply to get it answered in an upcoming newsletter.