#phan 2024 predictions

[absolutefilthimsosorry]

Y’all are so fire with your 2024 predictions. I’m gonna try not to repeat ones I’ve seen so here’s some filthy ones from me:

- Another furry adjacent photo from dan like the catboy one except this time the tail is a distinctive one that someone finds online and is undeniably one with a plug

- Sponsorship from a sex toys company. Idk if bad dragon do sponsorships but 👀

- Dan and Phil react to The Urge and The Hand. This is a thinly veiled excuse to reiterate that they’re totally fine with us writing about them and making phanart and is actually them asking us to write and draw more filth for them

- Dan in a leather harness and choker. ‘For fashion’ (I don’t think they’re anywhere near this kinky but I think Dan likes to imagine he could be!)

- More Phil ass content. Specifically Phil in tight underwear candid from dan bc I think he’s moving past ‘this is mine hands off’ possessive to ‘look at my man’s amazing ass aren’t you jealous’ possessive

- Video of dan sucking something phallic (the ice lolly pics but up a gear. More like the old banana clip)

- Phil in something like the cat maid outfit but better quality/ a better fit. Maybe in a vpmo3 on AP? (A girl can dream)

- Something I can’t even begin to predict to one up the onlyphans nude on april 1st. I’m already scared.

[lesbiandanhowell]

I have slowly been coming up with unhinged dan and phil 2024 predictions, some more and some less realistic but you get to pick

dan will casually wear a skirt at one point

he/ they dan

dan wears more make up

they will continue but not finish their It Takes Two series (they'll finish it in 2025)

they will release or at least announce a podcast

more tour teasers (announcement in 2025 tho)

they get a cat

more PJ collab videos, some kind of big creative project (think the funeral video)

we will get the WAD movie and re-release of the merch

they do some kind of liveshow again

they go on some kind of vacation and are radio silent for weeks and we all lose our minds (I can't explain this one)

Phil uploads a video with Dan and Kath (if it's a "who knows Phil better" they let Kath win)

some kind of appearance of Sophie in a video

[energeticwarrior]

2024 predictions

a *cooking video* not just baking i want to see these two make a proper beef wellington or something

dan and phil try to play pickleball

i want to see them play minecraft hunger games don't ask

in the spring/summer maybe they'll show us what they've been planting in their garden!!!

new houseplants

phil x mullet (this one is a joke)

one of them will have a hilarious interaction with a random large business again on twitter (pizza hut?)

dan gets a comedy special on netflix (i'm just hopeful and he is talented what can i say)

dab and evan have babies on the sims and their child get named devan (because eab is gross-sounding and devan is so gender)

i hope they get a dog (i have been wishing for this every year since 2017)

[slayter-kinney]

made this draft back in january and ran out of ideas but here:

2024 dnp predictions :-)

-tiktok zoomers “discover” dan formerly being a fan of k*nye w*st and launch a cancel campaign

-video is uploaded to DNPG titled “the vegas video” but is obviously completely unrelated

-they make a fitness channel for april fools à la dan and phil crafts

-

[simplydnp]

be honest with me. what are the chances of a hard launch in june

anon this question goes back years. and the thing is. we have been right once before.

you ask me this this time last year? fuck no. i might even quip that dapg would come back before dnp would hard launch. well. look at us now.

and even then, you look back on the content they started with in the revival--it honestly kind of felt exactly like where we left off, only a lot more explicitly queer (we stan). and then... trying to see without my glasses 2. and bang, spooky week happened. and that shifted the balance. we suddenly got slo-mo replays of handholds. day, after day, after day, finishing with the absolute masterpiece of halloween baking cinnamon rolls. in all honesty it was so much more than i'd've ever expected from them. truly another post-baking universe.

and it never really slowed down. suddenly we had cat prom photos, catboy butlers, catboy dan w/ phil photography credit, theyre 'wrestling' --running us full throttle into gamingmas, the first since 2017. and every day we had a new thing to freak out over: standing close. golf jokes. and then... pinof reacts. i don't know what compelled them to do it but i do have speculations. genuinely, i think they wanted to defang a lot of their history. we treated pinof 1, especially, with this... reverance. and it wasn't talked about too publicly--and dnp didnt do it either. so if they really wanted to move on, to bring down the walls, open the floodgates, define this new era: they had to throw the first stone. and they did. quite heartily too. suddenly this almost taboo part of their history--almost too intimate to be perceived--was on the table. and we were talking about it. joking about it. giving clear signals of 'we see it, it's okay.' and suddenly we existed in a post-pinof reacts world. of anything, i would've never predicted they would've done that. absolutely wild. follow that with it takes two being so chill and fond. incohearant being so blatant and heartfelt. trombone champ being unhinged and chaotic. the genuine and sweet complimenting of each other in the red carpet video. devan wedding... happilyphoreverafter... we crashed forward in time. never knowing what would be next. where is the line? how far will they go.

they teased us with japhan honeymoon and we knew 2024 would be wild. but we didn't know how much. from wdapteo 2023, to specific reminiscing about japan w/ devan, WAD happening, and phil playing a huge role in it all--from the orange carpet hosting, to 'ive been in *sex noises* with phil from the start!', to 'remote crisis manager phil lester', to dan saying he can stay during the thank you.

one of the biggest videos so far this year was the tiktok likes one. i will be forever haunted by the dog eating cheeseburger and willy wonka tiktoks--theres some things i was never meant to know. and yet. they tell us. explicitly.

every single video on amazingphil since the return of dapg has mentioned or featured dan. there's been a palpable shift in the way they interact. have you seen the way phil has been glowing in videos lately? this guy is on cloud nine all the time. it's really not hard to see why.

the energy of keep or yeet w/ dan... the absolute Lack of pretense of it all. phan twitter... watch your step baby girl...

dan and phil fucking crafts. talk about an unexpected return. legacy defining, one might even say. we're still in this tailspin of what everything means and they drop this insanely iconic video on us. from the storytelling to the production to the aesthetic--and its all capped off by explicit handholding. yes, it was part of the sacrifice. but hand in hand, the heart dan ripped from phils chest in one, and the knife that did it in the other... oh boy. we're really in it now. and then they put it on fucking merch. genius. truly no one does it like them.

and the foot has been on the accelerator since. dan and phil connections, shuffleboard & mocktails, getting deep slumber party, acknowledgement & approval of fics (yes previously given but never like this)--hell, even the sims today was wild for 'is their love language horrible banter 👀'.

you didn't ask for an essay but i gave you one. all of this to say, they've been moving the line. quite intentionally so. they intentionally revived their joint branding. they are 'dan and phil' again, and seem happier than ever about it, and i think that means something. they're saying things they never would have before--out of the closet or not.

as for june... 5 years since coming out is a big deal. so is this year being 15 years of dnp. hell, so is this year for being the first out pride month where they're explicitly a duo and regularly making content together. they're sentimental, there will be something.

my craziest idea is reacting to their coming out videos ✌️😔 --but i don't think it'll actually happen. as for more realistic, i could see pride merch. and however that goes will be significant, in my opinion. i'm excited and curious.

i don't know if they'll hard launch. it's hard to put all of the implications, complications, and speculations back into the box once it's opened. dan's talked about it before--wanting to be able to fuck up and not be publically executed, instead, being able to learn and grow and work it out. i think that's a very understandable stance to have. very grounded. we'd have to ask him if tour/dapg has changed that now. i do think he's had some sort of life epiphany--whether it's about that specifically, only he can say. but i think it's there.

even if i portray a lot of level-headedness, i wear my clown nose with pride. sometimes the only option is to go with whatever is funniest at the time. they're both jokesters, so they could commit to a bit like that. but it's also like, it can be too serious for them to want to joke about. i don't know. i think we're in this almost beautiful state right now--the we know you know of it all. there's no expectations, no demands to be met, no obligations of types of content. they're happy. we're happy. it depends on if they feel ready. if they want to. we'll be here, always.

[thinking-emoji]

I'm seeing your 2024 predictions and they're so fun, I wanted to join in! Here's what I absolutely believe will happen in 2024:

- Both Dan and Phil expand their presence here on Tumblr. Tumblr phannies panic.

- Twitter phannies cancel dnp for being on Tumblr. After all, people on Tumblr are all problematic!

- Dnp let us decide via a poll which game should become a series on dnpg. Dragon City wins unexpectedly.

- Tier list video on dnpg: Ranking Phan Conspiracy Theories! It turns out that the theories are mostly post-hiatus, and we do not recognise the majority of them.

- Dating app sponsorship with similar levels of credibility as the old tinder sponsorships, just gay this time

- Phil posts about another medical experience and gets armchair diagnosed by phannies with some rare disease. Further research shows that this "disease" does not actually exist in the medical literature.

- Cornelia/Martyn break up rumours

- They take a 4 month summer break and we lose our fucking minds

- WAD is released for streaming. Shortly after, the streaming platform it's released on is exposed to have very unfortunate political affiliations.

- Phil changes his hair again. And again. And again! He's discovered that he can change his hair after all these years with the fringe. Now he's unstoppable!

- Dan announces a live show - in Mexico City! In order to, his words, "make up for the II clusterfuck". At last minute, the show is cancelled.

- Conversely, dnp go on a holiday to Iceland, where the one Icelandic person who watches them meets them by pure chance at a bar in Reykjavik.

- The Christmas tree delivery guy finally wears a kilt this year! Phil takes a celebratory selfie with him (and the tree) at their front door, posts it, a casual new viewer submits the picture to one of those geoguessr youtubers, who then outs dnp's address to their surprisingly large audience.

[ferallester]

fuck it, 2024 phan predictions

- dan uses his tiktok account for outdated trends and we eat that shit up anyway

- the boys get cancelled; when we all hurriedly rush to check if it’s something bad, it’s just someone reacting to their april fools jokes over the years who now thinks they’re satanists

- we get the philussy in phull

- they actually use their tumblr accounts for actual scrolling and rb a fuckload of phanart; one of them leaves commentary in the tags about how accurate it is

[viewerspookyhappenings]

dan and phil predictions 2024

- some sort of media reaction (film/tv show watch along reaction)

- reactions to phan vids/theories and saying which ones are correct

- reading phanfic

- couple picture that overshadows april fools day last year (not more nude but maybe more explicitly coupley)

- nude calendar 2025 (the phutt calendar if you will)

- wad film reaction/commentary???

- livestream (plssss)

- some sort of daily vlog (shoot day for something??)

- bdsm dnp plushies

- drunk vid

- *adult* spon

- tour announcement

- tatinof or ii commentary vid

- tumblr tag 4

- some comment about how dab and evan are exactly like them

[philsmeatylegss]

chaotic d&p prediction for 2024! go!

My predictions except it’s for the gaming channel and it’s what I want

-Dream daddy continuing

-Dalien is gay

-Easter baking in slutty bunny costume

-Reacting to 2009 tweets

-So many live streams

-More mario kart live streams

-GeoGeusser comeback

-gay bloopers from before coming out

-more bloopers

-reacting to phan proof compilations

-more exposing each other’s camera roll

-drunk livestream

-drunk gaming

-more horror games

-super long videos

-more crash bandicoot

-charades

-challenges (blindfolded, dizzy, not my hands, etc)

-more pj and Charlie collabs

-keep talking and nobody explodes comeback

-personality quizzes

[newengen]

Holiday 2023 Outlook for Consumers and Marketers

Inflation has been on the decline for over a year, and in June it fell to 3% - the lowest rate recorded since March 2021. Coupled with this is a steady rise in consumer confidence, which in June hit a high not seen since early 2022. And even though these trends are a step in the right direction, economic uncertainty is still expected to play a large role in the purchasing decisions being made this holiday season. Price-conscious consumers will look to cut costs by shopping the sale section, using coupons, downsizing holiday celebrations, and simply buying fewer items. With so many brands competing for share of wallet, it won’t be enough to differentiate on price alone. Instead, brands should make a concerted effort to secure share of mind right now so that they are top of mind during the holidays and beyond.

At a high level, the best way to accomplish this is twofold. First, it’s critical to embrace an audience-first, channel-agnostic mindset so that you are reaching the right audience at the right time. Once you’ve found your audience, it’s important to meet them with strong messaging that is centered on brand value. In this article, we make the case for programmatic channels as effective marketing avenues for expanding brand reach and, ultimately, nurturing long-term brand favorability (i.e., when the holidays roll around).

Changing the Narrative on Programmatic Advertising

Let’s start with some housekeeping - when we talk about programmatic, we’re referring to a method for buying ads on specific channels, including Display, Video, Audio, and Digital Out of Home. Within each channel, there are myriad ways to target audiences based on interests, behaviors, device, location, and demographics.

“When you bring up programmatic to a performance marketer, you might see their eyes glaze over - they’re imagining annoying banner ads placed on low-quality inventory that don’t drive results,” says Erin Morningstar, Director of Strategy at New Engen. This attitude is pervasive and, according to Erin, informs the two primary reasons that brands are wary of investing in programmatic advertising: concerns about brand safety and equity, and limitations of measurement. These reservations are understandable, especially if you believe that programmatic is strictly used for generating brand awareness. But Erin explains that "programmatic is more than banner ads or dynamic product retargeting - it’s the turnkey option for accessing the wealth of ad inventory outside of walled gardens and paid search."

Teka Phan, Associate Director at New Engen, adds:

It’s important to understand that programmatic buying is performance buying. It powers actionable insights into how this media drives actions and conversions across the entire marketing funnel.

The reality of digital marketing in 2023 is that brands can’t successfully grow on the Meta-Google duopoly alone (the aforementioned walled gardens). Instead, it’s essential to meet your customers, both existing and prospective, where they are. This begs the question - where are they?

Media Consumption is Changing (Rapidly)

The channel landscape is more diverse than ever, and consumers are increasingly discovering brands through podcasts, in-app ads, and music streaming services. eMarketer predicts that, by 2024, 20% of all time spent consuming digital media will come from audio. What’s more, CTV already constitutes more than 25% of the time consumers spend with digital media, yet accounts for less than 10% of digital ad spending in the US. To put this in context, Meta receives roughly 20% of ad investment despite representing just 7.6% of all digital media consumption.

This is precisely why we, as an agency, believe that brands can win on channels like digital audio, CTV, and yes, even display. It’s true that direct-buying channels are often part of a mature media mix for many brands. But the benefit of embracing a programmatic-first approach is that it allows marketers to keep an eye on performance at scale while maintaining a direct buy approach for branding-first initiatives.

The Benefits of Investing in Programmatic

Thought leaders at New Engen have identified four primary benefits to investing in programmatic:

Control: Despite some preconceived notions, programmatic ad buying affords marketers tighter control over targeting, placements, and optimization. This level of control enables measurement testing in the form of geo holdouts, known audience split tests, and platform lift tools. Such exercises are critical to proving the value of channels outside of last-click.

Flexibility: Budgets can be seamlessly moved around across channels and publishers on a daily or even hourly basis. In contrast, brands buying directly from multiple publishers are beholden to more rigidity driven by campaign minimums and contract terms.

Value at Scale: Not only are CPMs generally cheaper when buying programmatically, but DSPs often provide access to a variety of inventory types, formats, and audiences - in turn, this variation powers the development of diverse, mature programs. The inventory is virtually endless and continuing to grow as more platforms and publishers open their inventory to exchanges.

Actionable Insights: By investing in programmatic activations, brands can quickly gather learnings about what kind of inventory and formats are driving performance. While this may not be a unique function of programmatic channels, it’s differentiated by actionability - “Many people see programmatic as an upper funnel, impression-buy only. The value is that we can measure action (conversions, traffic, etc.) and then act on it in real-time,” Teka explains.

How New Engen Clients Have Found Success With Programmatic

Programmatic buying has driven strong results for New Engen clients, with brands finding synergy between their programmatic programs and other marketing channels, including Paid Search and Social. Below are two New Engen case studies that exemplify the benefits of incorporating programmatic into your marketing mix.

Unlocking Incremental Site Traffic Through CTV

In Q4 of 2022, our client, an outdoor apparel brand, tasked us with driving incremental site traffic through new channels. We first identified CTV as their target audience's top digital destination, then we built three rich consumer segments: in-market for outdoor apparel gear, recent competitor site and store visitors, and recent outdoor equipment purchasers. Ads were served across a variety of CTV platforms like Roku, Hulu, Pluto TV, and the Discovery Channel, and optimized based on insights from real-time incrementality studies.

Under this approach, our exposed audience was 2.5X more likely to visit the brand’s site than our non-exposed audience. What’s more, we achieved a 1.9X lift in checkouts. In other words, the brand was able to reach and capitalize on a more qualified audience through its CTV initiative. To top it all off, we identified a previously under-served audience as a standout performer - a learning that is pivotal to refining the program downstream.

Proving the Revenue Impact of West Marine’s Digital Video Awareness Media

In order to validate the direct revenue impact of digital video awareness media, we designed an audience holdout test for our client, West Marine. We activated precision media buys across CTV and YouTube in Florida, a key growth market for the brand. The audience segments included prospecting, retargeting, and lapsed customers, and were compared against national performance.

By the end of the two-week period, the target audience delivered a 1.7X lift in online lapsed user transactions and a 4.6X lift in in-store transactions. Omnichannel ROAS also improved, and West Marine measured a 1.4X increase in year-over-year omnichannel revenue from new-to-file customers.

Programmatic Advertising Best Practices for Holiday 2023

Whether you're bought into programmatic after reading this or just curious to learn more, we want to leave you with our recommendation for what to do next. Here's what New Engen leaders say are the most important steps to successfully incorporate programmatic into your Holiday 2023 strategy:

First and foremost, set clear objectives

→ Identifying what you want to accomplish and learn from your programmatic initiative is the most important step, as this will inform how to design your program. Before you can drive awareness with a new segment or increase AOV within an existing one, you’ll need to understand your audience - then, you can tailor your channels, targeting, and creative parameters to their specific needs. Once you’re aligned on the plan, stick to it.

Set expectations with your team

→ Know that every channel should have its own goals and benchmarks. Don’t track your programmatic performance against your Paid Search campaigns, because these are inherently different channels and so are their outcomes. Performance will even vary across, Podcast, CTV, and Display given their different mediums.

For example, a consumer who searches for “shoes” is more likely to make an immediate purchase because they are actively searching for the product. Programmatic channels, on the other hand, expose audiences to products before they are ready to purchase. So if that same consumer sees a CTV ad for a pair of shoes before they start their search, there’s a likelihood that they will have been influenced before their final purchase decision.

Launch early

→ We anticipate that the holiday season will stretch across Q4, and consumers will start their holiday planning and shopping early - you want to be there when they’re in the consideration stage. As a rule of thumb, you should be in market at least 4 weeks prior to your peak shopping period.

Anticipate different scenarios

→ As an agency practice, we create decision playbooks with our clients going into critical peak periods that allow our teams to move quickly when optimizing campaigns.

If you’re interested in chatting more about your programmatic strategy for the holidays or beyond, reach out to us at programmaticleadership@newengen.com. For more holiday insights and digital marketing news, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn.