Greetings!

Welcome to the August 2025 issue of Key Notes - Marketing Keys' monthly newsletter! As the school year starts to kick off, we hope you're soaking up the final days of summer and settling into a productive routine! Key Notes is an informative, quick-read newsletter to get you caught up on all things media and marketing. Our goal is for you to be informed and entertained with the latest media and marketing happenings quickly and efficiently. 

A couple weeks ago, Marketing Keys turned 18! Our official LLC filing date was July 16, 2007 and, within a week of that filing date, Marketing Keys was up and running.

Every year around this time, I like to acknowledge our anniversary date. It is something I don't take for granted. As other entrepreneurs have told me, "When you own your own business, you will never work harder in your life." In the same breath, they would say "But you know what? It doesn't matter because it is your own business."

I remember the endless nights when I first started. As many of you are aware, there are a lot of businesses that don't make it past Year 1. That is the most challenging year. It is also the year that I probably worked the hardest. When I had told a group of friends that I was starting my own business, I got some great advice from one of my friends. Her name was Karen and she said, 'You need to first develop your logo and then develop your website. You need to look and feel like an actual company. If you don't do that, you are not a company." It was great advice. I found a guy in California that developed the Marketing Keys logo through a great site for entrepreneurs called 'Elance'. I think it might be called Upwork now. Then, I found a firm out of India that developed the first version of the Marketing Keys website through that same site.

When you first start a company, the one thing you have a lot of is time. You also have gobs of energy and excitement. Most of my time during the first 5-6 months or so were making cold calls to prospective businesses, working on how to best market myself as a new company to prospective clients and working on my website. Many nights I was up until 4am working on my website. I was so driven and so energized. After all, my company had my last name in it and I couldn't fail. My name was attached to it.

Our first 2 clients were Direct Buy and The Home Shows. Both of these were clients I had worked with when I was at WLS Radio. I am so grateful for them giving their trust and faith in us as a new company. That laid the foundation for us to grow from there. Four months later, I met the people from Sittercity.com from a Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce event. It was luck and timing. They were ready to launch their brand through mass media and they wanted to do it through radio. At the time, radio was the medium that I really knew the best and I truly understood how to maximize radio's effectiveness. We originally helped Sittercity.com in Chicago and Boston. Later, since the initial campaign was so successful, we ended up helping them in 8 other markets. That account helped get us to over 7 million dollars of billing in our first full year!

We're proud to celebrate 18 years of helping businesses grow through smart, strategic media campaigns. Thank you to all of our clients, media partners, contractors, and partnerships who've trusted us along the way.

Oh, and I can't forget my wife, Kate. She was the one who really pushed me into starting my own business. When we were dating, she would constantly forward me opportunities for me to start my own insurance agency or opportunities to own my own golf course. Media and marketing though was my background so I really wanted to focus on what I was experienced in and truly good at.

Here's to continued partnerships, fresh ideas and even bigger results in the years ahead!

Will AI Outsmart Us?

The battle to lead the artificial intelligence space is turning into a frenzy, with major tech companies investing massive sums to outpace one another. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently shared an update that Meta’s AI models are starting to “improve themselves”—a slow but steady shift that could signal the start of something much bigger. According to Zuckerberg, AI that surpasses human intelligence—also known as superintelligence—isn’t just a sci-fi concept anymore; it’s starting to come into view.

Zuckerberg describes this moment as a turning point for humanity. He likens AI’s potential impact to how agriculture revolutionized life two centuries ago—changing how people live, work, and interact. While the technology may offer breakthroughs we haven’t yet imagined, it also raises tough questions: Are we prepared for what happens when machines know us better than we know ourselves? And with such powerful tools in development, what protections should be in place?

Meta’s ultimate goal, Zuckerberg says, is to bring what he calls “personal superintelligence” to everyday users—AI that understands your goals, knows your habits, and helps you succeed. It’s a bold vision, promising a future where digital assistants can do far more than just set reminders. But with that level of insight and influence, it’s fair to ask: how much personal control are we willing to trade for convenience and advancement?

If you’ve noticed an overwhelming number of pharmaceutical ads on TV lately, you’re not alone—and there’s a reason for it. Prescription drug spending in the U.S. has soared past $600 billion annually and continues to grow. As that category expands, advertisers follow. TV, in particular, remains a powerful medium for the pharmaceutical industry. It offers a highly visual and emotional format that can effectively inform viewers about health conditions and treatments, especially those they might not be actively seeking out.

One big reason TV works so well for pharma brands is that it reaches their target audience. The majority of prescription drug users fall between the ages of 40 and 79—an age range that still watches a lot of traditional television. Unlike digital platforms that often rely on personal data for targeting, TV allows advertisers to reach large audiences using privacy-safe methods. Even without hyper-targeting, pharmaceutical companies can track the impact of their campaigns through spikes in web traffic, doctor visits, and increased prescriptions, often without needing complicated tech or expensive tools.

While there’s been pushback from some government officials about the volume and influence of these ads, especially from health leaders, a full-scale crackdown seems unlikely. For one, the ads help educate consumers about medical options they might not otherwise consider. Additionally, pulling back on pharma advertising would hit local TV stations hard—many of which depend on that revenue to stay afloat. And with regulations differing across broadcast, cable, and streaming, applying sweeping rules would be tricky. So while the debate continues, it’s safe to assume that pharma ads will stay a regular part of your TV experience for the foreseeable future.

YouTube is rolling out a new AI-powered tool starting August 13 to better identify whether users in the U.S. are under 18—even if they entered a different birthdate when creating their account. Instead of relying solely on self-reported info, the platform will use signals like account activity and how long an account has been around. The goal is to better tailor the experience for teens by offering features like wellbeing reminders and non-targeted advertising.

This update comes with a set of added safeguards designed specifically for younger users. Teens will start seeing prompts encouraging breaks, along with fewer repeated recommendations about potentially harmful topics such as body image or weight loss. YouTube will also add privacy reminders when teens post videos or leave comments. For underage creators, certain limits will apply—like making their videos private by default and blocking monetization through features like livestream gifts.

These changes could affect content creators, especially those with large teen audiences. Since YouTube plans to show only non-personalized ads to users identified as under 18, it could mean less ad revenue for some channels. If someone thinks YouTube’s new system guessed their age incorrectly, they’ll have the option to verify it by submitting ID, a credit card, or a selfie. YouTube says it’s starting small in the U.S. and will keep a close eye on the results before expanding this feature globally.

Email marketing still offers a big return on investment—but only when it’s done with care. A new report uncovered key missteps that marketers continue to make, many of which may be quietly dragging down your results. While it’s tempting to focus on flashy promotions or high send volumes, what really matters to subscribers is value. Nearly all consumers say they appreciate non-salesy messages, and over half say they’re more likely to open emails that offer something relevant.

Some of the most common mistakes? Treating every subscriber the same, skipping personalization, and not designing for mobile are just the beginning. Other issues include unclear subject lines, too many emails (or not enough), and failing to monitor engagement metrics. Even things like long opt-in forms or buried unsubscribe buttons can push people away—and worse, send your emails straight to spam.

The big picture? Email is still a powerful and cost-effective tool, but small missteps can snowball into bigger problems. Don’t let avoidable errors hurt your performance.

By keeping your messages clear, personal, and relevant—and following basic best practices—you can make sure your email efforts truly pay off.

Here is a recent highlight from Marketing Keys' blog page. Please start following our blogs and let us know what you think.

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Whether you've been at your marketing position for 1 year or for 20 years, the pressure to produce and come up with the right strategies to reach your target audience is always there.

You no longer need to go about this on your own with 100% of the pressure. Now, you can collaborate with a media expert to help you with the latest, most effective and most efficient media strategies.

We can help by placing your campaigns in the right places, at the right times with the right frequencies. We'll make sure your campaign succeeds by examining the cost effectiveness, engagement potential and audience suitability of different media channels.

It is also critical to reach your customer on multiple platforms. This is how they are spending their media day. Therefore, it is critical that your messaging gets targeted and delivered in multiple online and offline ways.

As a 12 year former Disney executive with 30+ years in the business, I have discovered the best ways on how brands can cut through the clutter to reach their target.

By teaming up with us, we make the process enjoyable with minimal stress.

Furthermore, we will listen to you and always be committed to you. We strive to run our business with passion and humility all with the utmost integrity.

We look forward to empowering you to do your best work.

Until next month,

Roger Keys

Founder and CEO

Marketing Keys

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