Category: In the News

Curated Performance Marketing News – Consumer and Industry Trends-Affiliate Networks, Business Insights and more.

Tariff saga creates a meme war on social media, making it difficult for brands to ‘control the message’

As the trade war escalates, narratives about how brands’ goods are made, the factories that produce them and whether they’re worth the price are unfolding across social media. Call it the trade war’s meme war.

Narrated videos and AI-generated memes are flooding consumers‘ feeds across TikTok, X and YouTube as the U.S. and China battle over tariff increases. This Wednesday, the U.S. imposed a 125% tariff on China.

Some Chinese-based influencers and manufacturers are taking to social media in an attempt to expose how luxury goods are made and allegedly shipped off to European countries for labeling and significant mark-ups. They’re hoping consumers instead buy directly from China’s manufacturing facilities.

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How Hyundai’s CMO is navigating upfront marketplace uncertainty and rapid-response tariff ads

Tasked with steering their brands down a winding and slippery road, automotive marketers are prioritizing flexibility and speed. To capture consumers buying cars ahead of an anticipated price hit from tariffs, Hyundai has launched a campaign pledging to hold sticker prices steady until June.

The campaign was assembled just a week before its April 11 debut, highlighting the agility required of marketers in this sector right now. Currently, automotive manufacturers are preparing to weather a 25% tariff on imported cars — though President Trump is reportedly considering another stay of execution, adding further uncertainty to an already unpredictable spring. Per MediaRadar, the sector accounted for $14.3 billion of U.S. ad spend last year and according to Statista, Hyundai alone invested over $600 million in advertising in 2023.

The ad itself is a 30-second spot highlighting a pledge to hold its recommended retail price steady until the beginning of June, and features workers at assembly plants located in Georgia and Alabama — a wink to being American-made, and a nod intended to reassure consumers over tariff fears.

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