The Newsletter

Monthly dispatches from Mason Interactive — covering what's shifting in digital marketing, and what it means for your business. Two editions: eCommerce and Higher Ed.

Edition:
eCommerce Edition February 2025

Meta's Andromeda + AI Search Readiness

This is our monthly newsletter for friends and family of Mason — what's happening in the industry, trends we see across our portfolio, and pertinent goings-on here.

A quick note: We were nominated for our first Clio Award for the Laurent Ferrier campaign; Mike Melia and I are speaking at Eastern Connecticut State University on AI and virality; Jenna spoke at the State of Search conference about AI search.

  • Meta's biggest shift since 2020 is here
  • Why AI search is reshaping discoverability in online shopping and brand discovery

Meta's Andromeda Update

In the last few months, Meta rolled out its biggest update since iOS 14. Before 2020, targeting was partly fueled by phone data — if I was reading about Cowboy boots on GQ, that data could be sold to Meta. Ropers could build a micro-targeted audience of fashion-literate boot shoppers. iOS 14 ended that signal.

Best-in-class ads from that era tested CTAs — "50% OFF" vs. "Most Comfortable Boots Ever" vs. "SALE ENDS SOON!" vs. "All-Day Cowboy Comfort" — against niche audiences. Those tests still matter. But Meta now treats all four as functionally one ad and penalizes the lack of creative diversity.

What's different with Andromeda?

Creative is now a key audience signal — equaling or exceeding pre-iOS 14 targeting. If you want to reach people who prioritize style, comfort, or durability, your creative must do the lifting.

  • More creative. 3–5 totally unique assets per $5K in spend. Spending $50K? You need ~40.
  • Video first. Video feeds the AI with far more signal than static images.
  • Persona-specific messaging. Creative must speak to the exact customer you want.

AI Search

Customers ask complex questions before visiting your website — "Best suits for a summer wedding," "Most luxurious bag," "Is XYZ brand durable?" — and get an AI overview instead of clicking links. Discovery is happening before the click.

Websites must be structured to be retrievable by LLMs: clearly defined, well-cited, semantically reinforced. We need to optimize for AI-generated answers, citation frequency, and topical authority — on top of the fundamentals.

  • LLMs.txt governance matters
  • Structured data matters
  • Clear brand positioning matters
  • Brand consistency across the web matters

What do Andromeda and AI search have in common? Both add complexity on top of existing best practices. It's not about doing more — it's about layering on brand authority infrastructure.

Out
  • Over-targeting niche audiences
  • Optimizing to last-click only
In
  • Creative diversity
  • Structured authority
  • Clear positioning
  • Persona specificity

If you'd like to discuss any of this or compare notes, feel free to book time on Brook's calendar.

eCommerce Edition January 2025

Creative is King — and There's More Than One Way to Define Efficient

This is our January note for friends and clients of Mason: what we saw in 2025, what's changing, and what we believe will matter most in 2026.

Short version: Brands that defined "efficiency" as ROAS fell behind. Brands that invested in new customers created leverage.

The strongest performers didn't "win" Holiday in November. They won it in August — entering peak with warmer audiences, clean conversion paths, high creative velocity, and systems that let spend compound when results justified it.

1. AI Is Compressing Discovery

Organic sessions declined across our portfolio — but downstream outcomes (leads, sales, add-to-cart) remained stable or went up. Non-brand search is now the evaluation layer, not the final step before buying. Brand searches carry more conversion weight than ever, and landing page experience is now one of the biggest conversion levers.

Takeaway: If you're not building a durable brand and an evaluation footprint, your funnel will leak before checkout.

2. Brute-Force Spend Lost to Signal

During BFCM, many clients increased spend modestly and still saw disproportionately large gains — not because traffic got cheaper (it absolutely did not), but because of warmer audiences, pre-peak testing complete, and cleaner conversion paths.

Takeaway: The brands that won weren't spending more. They were spending into signal.

3. Google and Meta Are No Longer Upper and Lower Funnel

The old model — Meta creates demand, Google captures it — is outdated. Meta CPMs rose YoY, impressions fell, yet purchases climbed. Google non-brand softened as users used Search for comparison. Meta is now a signal + conversion engine. Treating platforms in silos is structurally disadvantageous.

4. Creative Velocity Beat Promo Depth

Brands that refreshed creative aggressively maintained efficiency even as auctions tightened. Brands relying on last year's winners saw decay within 48 hours. Meta's Andromeda rewards diversity — formats, hooks, angles — not more versions of the same ad.

  • Spending $5K → 3–5 unique ads live
  • Spending $50K → 30–50 unique ads live

Takeaway: The new advantage isn't promo depth. It's creative throughput.

Out
  • ROAS as the only metric
  • Siloed platform thinking
  • Last-click optimization
  • Annual creative cycles
In
  • New customer investment
  • Cross-platform orchestration
  • Signal-based spend
  • High-velocity creative

If you'd like to compare notes or see how this maps to your 2026 goals, feel free to book time on Brook's calendar.

Higher Ed Edition February 2025

Meta's Andromeda + AI Search Readiness

This is our monthly newsletter for friends and family of Mason — what's happening in the industry, trends we see across our portfolio, and pertinent goings-on here.

A quick note: I joined Dr. Michael Horowitz's Radical Cooperation podcast to talk marketing in higher ed; Mike Melia and I are speaking at Eastern Connecticut State University on AI and virality; Jenna spoke at the State of Search conference about AI search. We were also nominated for our first Clio award.

  • Meta's biggest shift since 2020 is here
  • Why AI search is reshaping discoverability in higher education

Meta's Andromeda Update

Before 2020, Meta's targeting was fueled by phone data — if a student was studying Italian on Duolingo, a school like La Scuola d'Italia could build a micro-targeted audience of NYC middle schoolers interested in Italian language high schools. iOS 14 ended that signal.

Best-in-class ads tested CTAs — "Chase Your Dreams" vs. "Your Future Awaits" vs. "Prepare For A Career" vs. "Complete your degree". Those tests still matter. But Meta now treats all four as one ad and penalizes the lack of creative diversity.

What's different with Andromeda?

Creative is now a key audience signal. If you want community-focused students, mid-career professionals, or commuters, your creative must do the lifting to appeal to those personas.

  • More creative. 3–5 totally unique assets per $5K in spend. Spending $50K? You need ~40.
  • Video first. Video feeds the AI with far more signal than static images.
  • Persona-specific messaging. Creative must speak to the students you want to enroll.

AI Search & Student Discovery

Students form opinions before visiting a website — "Best online MBA for working parents," "Most affordable PsyD programs," "Is XYZ University respected?" — and get an AI overview. Evaluation is happening before the click.

Institutions must be structured to be retrievable by LLMs: clearly defined, well-cited, semantically reinforced. We need to optimize for AI-generated answers, citation frequency, and topical authority — on top of the traditional fundamentals.

  • LLMs.txt governance matters
  • Structured data matters
  • Clear program positioning matters
  • Brand consistency across the web matters

What do Andromeda and AI search have in common? Both add complexity on top of existing best practices. It's not about doing more SEO — it's about layering on institutional authority infrastructure.

Out
  • Over-targeting niche audiences
  • Optimizing to last-click only
In
  • Creative diversity
  • Structured authority
  • Clear positioning
  • Persona specificity

If you'd like to discuss any of this or compare notes, feel free to book time on Brook's calendar.

Higher Ed Edition January 2025

What 2025 Taught Us — and What 2026 Demands

This is our monthly newsletter for clients and partners of Mason — what's happening in the industry, trends we see across our portfolio, and pertinent goings-on here.

Short version: The very top and bottom of the market are holding steady. Institutions not delivering flexibility and clear career outcomes have to work harder to compete.

The institutions that performed best in 2025 weren't simply spending more. They were clearer in message, earlier in the student journey, and more persistent throughout consideration. A few forces are converging:

  • The enrollment cliff is no longer theoretical — demographic contraction is tightening the pool
  • Policy uncertainty around endowment taxation is creating real financial pressure
  • Foreign applications remain volatile, influenced by geopolitics
  • Increasing financial constraints in medical and nursing programs

1. AI Is Compressing the Student Discovery Journey

Organic sessions declined — but downstream outcomes (applications, inquiries, enrollment actions) remained stable. AI is absorbing early, low-intent searches. Students arrive closer to decision with clearer intent. Non-brand search is now the evaluation layer, not the final step before applying.

Google's AI Max for Search reinforces this — advertisers typically see ~14% more conversions at similar efficiency. Landing page experience is now a bigger conversion lever than ever before.

2. Signal Beats Spend — Especially With Fewer Students in Market

Schools that turned on marketing late — near application deadlines — struggled. Schools that built awareness, retargeting pools, and intent signals months earlier performed materially better.

Takeaway: Enrollment efficiency is earned upstream. There is no last-minute fix.

3. Channels Have Converged — Students Don't Think in Funnels

Instagram ads are often the first serious exposure to a program — and it's wrong to judge them by applications. Their job is to earn consideration. Winning institutions orchestrate the full experience from first exposure to application across every platform.

4. Creative Velocity Is a Competitive Advantage

Institutions that refreshed messaging frequently — testing program outcomes, student stories, value propositions, and objections — maintained efficiency as competition intensified. Those relying on annual creative cycles saw performance decay quickly.

Out
  • Last-minute enrollment pushes
  • Siloed channel thinking
  • Annual creative cycles
  • Traffic volume as the goal
In
  • Upstream awareness investment
  • Cross-channel orchestration
  • High-velocity creative
  • Intent density + clarity

If you'd like to discuss any of this or see how it maps to your goals, feel free to book time on Brook's calendar.