Throughout history, the world has witnessed the contributions of renowned minds such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein. Ron Popeil, often humorously included in this list, is nonetheless celebrated for his marketing expertise.
Popeil, the inventor and founder of the direct response marketing company Ronco, introduced society to a variety of novel gadgets like the Veg-O-Matic, the Chop-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, the Cap Snaffler, and Mr. Microphone. These products are some of the iconic “as seen on TV” items, and his marketing prowess popularized the tagline, “But wait, there’s more.”
Additionally, Popeil coined the slogan “set it and forget it” for the Ronco Rotisserie oven, highlighting the ease of use where users could cook without constant supervision.
Analysts at Bernstein referenced this famous slogan on October 25 when revising their target for Meta Platforms. Bernstein emphasized that Meta has emerged as a “set-it-and-forget-it” blue chip holding, boasting a robust core business and strong prospects in AI, alongside a management team focused on shareholder interests. Meta’s stock has risen by 62% this year, surpassing Google’s growth in the same period.
The year-end forecast presents a balanced risk-reward scenario with positive advertising trends, rising CPMs, and a shorter holiday season being contributing factors, according to Bernstein.
Shares of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, have increased by 18% year-to-date, with the company slated to announce its third-quarter earnings on October 29.
Bernstein noted the offsetting gains from favorable foreign exchange trends due to reduced ad spending by Chinese online platforms like Temu and Shein. Shein’s profits reportedly declined by over 70% in the first half of the year amid competition, impacting its initial public offering plans.
Meta Platforms is expected to disclose its third-quarter earnings on October 30. Bank of America Securities anticipates positive earnings due to increased ROI and advertiser share growth, reaffirming a buy rating with a $630 price target. The firm predicts further evidence of AI’s influence on Meta’s ad growth but noted potential volatility risks due to high market expectations.
Meta’s AI capabilities and app usage growth among younger users were highlighted as strengths, alongside the development of infrastructure and language modeling technologies. Despite expected positive revisions, Bank of America cautioned about the potential for near-term volatility.
In a strategic move, Meta Platforms has signed a multi-year agreement with Reuters, allowing Meta’s AI chatbot to access Reuters news content for updates on current events. This partnership will enable Meta AI to provide news-related responses with summaries and links to Reuters content, offering a new dimension of engagement for users across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.
