Marketing
12 May
Meta rolls out AI advances for advertising, including Advantage+
A new AI Sandbox is the testing ground for generative features that could be soon rolling out to Facebook and Instagram ads.

Photo by Dima Solomin on Unsplash
A new AI Sandbox is the testing ground for generative features that could be soon rolling out to Facebook and Instagram ads.
Meta is bringing advancements in AI to its advertising tools, as the Facebook and Instagram owner seeks to improve performances for brands.
With AI advancing rapidly, the company is seeking to harness generative capabilities for social media advertising that has been an engine of ecommerce over the last decade.
Here’s a look at a series of new tools that Meta rolled out this week:
Meta rolled out a “testing playground” for new AI features. The idea is to provide space to learn what works, and create tools that are easy to use. The work is beginning with a small group of advertisers, and will roll out more widely in July. Some features may roll out more widely later this year, according to the company.
Initially, Meta is testing the following capabilities in the sandbox:
Text variation: This generates multiple versions of text, allowing advertisers to test different messages.
Background generation: This creates background images from text inputs, allowing rapid testing.
Image outcropping: Creative assets can be adjusted for different aspect ratios across Stories, Reels and other formats.
Advantage is Meta’s suite of automation and personalization tools for advertising. This week, it rolled out a series of features that are focused on expanding AI within this product set. These include:
Advantage+ audience: This product will provide a new way to reach people. Here’s how Meta describes it:
"Instead of using an advertiser’s audience targeting inputs as hard constraints, such as Men, 18-35 years, who like baseball, advertisers who use Advantage+ audience will add their audience inputs as suggestions to guide who sees an ad,” Meta writes. “This allows our ad system to find more people outside of those suggestions if we think they will be interested and likely to convert.”
Those "hard constraints" have long been key to Meta's targeting tools. The new product signals that their reach could extend. While intriguing, keep in mind that this is still in pilot mode, so it won't bring a paradigm shift just yet. The tool is currently in testing with a select group.
One-click Advantage+: Businesses will be able to switch from manual campaigns to AI-powered Advantage+ shopping campaigns with one click by clicking “duplicate” on a campaign in Ads Manager. The feature will roll out gradually within the next month.
Video creative: Advertisers will now be able to add video creative to catalog ads, which promote a variety of products. This includes the ability to upload brand creative or customer demos. Meta will then apply AI to show the “best” video to people Feed, Stories, Watch and Reels.
Performance comparisons: A new automatic report will allow a comparison between manual campaigns and Advantage+ shopping campaigns. This will enable a better understanding of how AI has a positive impact on performance.
On the Move has the latest hiring update from The Vitamin Shoppe and At Home.
Heidi O’Neill has a new role at Nike. (Courtesy photo)
This week, Unilever, Nike and BigCommerce are seeing major transitions in the executive ranks. Meanwhile, The Vitamin Shoppe named a permanent CEO, and At Home brought on a longtime Walmart executive as president.
Conny Braams. (Courtesy photo)
Consumer goods giant Unilever announced key changes in top leadership roles. These include:
Graeme Pitkethly will retire as chief financial officer, effective at the end of May 2024. The board is set to launch a formal search for his successor. Pitkethly has been with Unilever for 21 years.
Conny Braams, who serves as chief digital and commercial officer, will leave the company, effective August 2023. Braams previously held senior management roles including Executive Vice President (EVP) of Middle Europe; and EVP Foodsolutions Asia, Africa and Middle East.
Craig Williams. (Courtesy photo)
Nike, Inc. announced several key leadership changes focused on consumer-led growth and marketplace. They are as follows:
Heidi O’Neill who is currently president of consumer and marketplace, will become president of consumer, product and brand.
Craig Williams, who is currently president of the Jordan Brand, will become president of geographies and marketplace at Nike, Inc.
Matthew Friend, EVP and Chief Financial Officer at NIKE, Inc., will expand responsibilities to include procurement, global places and services and demand and supply management.
Jared Carver will serve as CEO of Converse. Over the last four years, he served as VP/GM of North America for Converse.
Scott Uzzell, the previous CEO of Converse, transitioned to a new role as VP/GM, North America for Nike, Inc.
“These shifts will allow us to streamline our focus across product, brand storytelling and marketplace, mining deep consumer insights to deliver breakthrough innovation and engagement, while building long-term growth and profitability,” said Nike CEO John Donahoe, in a statement.
Lee Wright. (Courtesy photo)
Lee A. Wright was named CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe on a permanent basis, after serving as interim CEO since January 2023. Wright previously served as Chief Commercial Officer of Franchise Group and in executive roles at Conn’s.
Muriel Gonzalez was promoted to president of the retailer, after serving as EVP and chief merchandising and marketing officer of The Vitamin Shoppe since August 2020.
BigCommerce announced the following leadership roles:
Daniel Lentz was promoted to chief financial officer of BigCommerce, effective July 1. He previously served as SVP of finance and investor relations. Lentz will succeed CFO Robert Alvarez, who is retiring after a 12-year stint as CFO.
Chuck Cassidy was promoted to general counsel, effective June 2. Cassidy previously served as VP and associate general counsel. He will succeed Jeff Mengoli, who is retiring.
Hubert Ban was named chief accounting officer. He will replace Vice President of Accounting and Principal Accounting Officer Thomas Aylor, who departed the ecommerce platform on May 19.
Jeff Evans. (Courtesy photo)
Jeff Evans was named president and chief merchandising officer of At Home, the home goods retailer.
Evans previously served as EVP of entertainment, toys and seasonal at Walmart, managing the largest general merchandise business for the retailer. He rose to the position after serving in executive roles at Walmart US and Sam’s Club.