Welcome to the AMPlifier – a spotlight on the latest and greatest industry updates. Whether you want to learn more about this week’s marketing trends, the newest updates to your favorite social platforms, or simply what meme is currently taking the internet by storm, then read on. You never know what you might learn. FACEBOOK WILL TEST SHOPPING FROM REELS LATER THIS YEAR Instagram only widely launched its TikTok competitor Reels in August, and it’s already looking to monetize the format. The company announced today that it’ll start testing shopping within Reels later this year and will also start making shoppable IGTV videos global starting today. Eventually, these IGTV videos will also be available through Instagram Shop, a dedicated page for shopping within the app. Viewers can just tap through an IGTV video and purchase the items they’re interested in through Instagram checkout or the seller’s website. Learn More COVERING COMMENTS IS INSTAGRAM’S NEWEST ANTI-BULLYING TOOL On Tuesday, Instagram is adding two new tools to its repertoire. First, the platform will automatically hide comments that look like they might constitute bullying even if they aren’t obviously breaking the rules. Second, it will send a new warning message for users whose comments are repeatedly flagged as toxic, in the hope of changing behavior at the onset. Read More FACEBOOK LAUNCHES 'SEASON OF SUPPORT' TO ASSIST SMBS, INCLUDING NEW #BUYBLACKFRIDAY PUSH Facebook has announced a new 'Season of Support' initiative to provide a boost SMBs in the last quarter of the year, which will include free resources, education, and training to help small businesses make the most of the holiday season. Learn More ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION RECOMMENDS MAJOR CHANGES TO FACEBOOK, GOOGLE, APPLE, AND AMAZON After a 16-month investigation, the House Antitrust Subcommittee has found that Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon do hold ‘monopoly power’ over their respective markets, and has proposed significant changes to address how they operate. Read More That’s a wrap on this week’s feed. Stay tuned to see what happens next. 

Spanning September 15 - October 15, Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the contributions, history and culture of Hispanic and Latinx communities in the United States. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we wanted to share how some of our AMPers are celebrating and what their heritage means to them. Check out what they had to say below. Shayne Ortiz, Senior Analyst “We are resilient, hardworking, passionate, caring and unified. We have heart, spirit and soul, sabor Latino. We celebrate the importance of family, tradition and most importantly the culture that continues to inspire people outside of the Hispanic/Latinx community generation after generation.”  Michael Mish, SVP, General Manager “I think it’s important for all of us to appreciate where we come from. I’m proud of my Puerto Rican heritage, the family & cultural values instilled in me, and the examples of hard work, strength, sacrifice, dedication and passion that have guided me. The food and music is kind of good too  :)" Sam Cabrera,  Associate Director of Experience “I’m a proud daughter of immigrants from Mexico and Nicaragua. My childhood was spent with my mom’s small family here in the states for every holiday or visiting my grandparents in the summer in Guadalajara, Mx (this picture is of me by the famous cathedral). HHM is a time for me to reflect and celebrate my mixed culture, language, food, family, and music with others.” Jon Bishop, Director of Creative Technology “Family is everything. It doesn’t matter how far or how long we’re apart. My favorite memories are the food, the dancing and visiting la finca in my mom’s hometown in Puerto Rico.” Eva Parlato, Senior Art Director "There are so many things I love about being Puerto Rican, so to celebrate, I try to enjoy things like our delicious food, music, and dancing. When it comes to Puerto Ricans, where there's music playing, there are probably people dancing. And if there isn’t music playing, we'll usually bring it ourselves! Being part of a culture that is so vibrant, warm, and energetic is something I’m very proud of, but my absolute favorite thing is probably the love for dancing!" Gabe Sousa, Junior Creative Technologist  “My favorite thing about being Brazilian is how friendly and welcoming Brazilians naturally are especially when we find each other outside of Brazil” Interested in working at AMP? Check out our careers page for our current openings.

We’re excited to announce that Ken Blake has joined the AMP team as the new VP of Analytics. In his new position, Blake will help elevate the analytic footprint of the agency while working with notable clients, such as Zillow.  Check out what General Manager, Michael Mish had to say about the hire: “Our agency value proposition is grounded in driving growth for our brand partners. Advanced analytics, data science and modelling is an area that AMP will continue to invest in to enable us to identify, recommend and prioritize high value initiatives. We’re excited to welcome Ken to the team”- Michael Mish Here’s what Blake aims to do in his new role on the AMP team:  “We want to continue to enhance the analytics practice at AMP and lead with analytics as a service offering. Many agencies have strong measurement and dashboard capabilities, but fall short with predictive analytics and customer insight. For us, it’s about using data to figure out which customers our clients should invest in, and then applying deep insight to help them better serve those customers.” Prior to joining AMP Agency, Blake was the Senior Director of Customer Analytics at Staples, Where he led a 45 member team.  Want to know more about our newest AMPer? Take a look at these industry publications:  https://adage.com/people-on-the-move/ken-blake  https://www.lbbonline.com/news/former-staples-executive-joins-amp-agency-as-vp-of-analytics  Learn more about AMP Agency’s analytics practice.