- Reels Trending Ads Expand: Meta will now make its trending ad placements widely available, aligning brands with the most culturally relevant content.
- Threads Gains Ad Formats: Carousel ads, 4:5 ratio options, and Advantage+ catalog ads will give marketers new creative flexibility on Threads.
- AI-Driven Value Rules: Expanded to awareness and engagement objectives, delivering 2x more high-value conversions in early testing.
- Landing Page View Optimization: Now available without Pixel integration, reducing cost per landing page view by 31%.
- Strategic Direction: Meta aims to merge cultural relevance with measurable business outcomes, positioning itself against TikTok and YouTube.
From trending Reels to expanded Threads formats, Meta pushes deeper into brand-building tools.
Meta’s latest Brand Building Summit underscored how deeply the company is investing in its short-form video ecosystem and conversational platforms. With Reels and Threads at the center, Meta positioned its updates not as incremental changes, but as a cohesive strategy to link cultural moments with measurable brand outcomes.
The announcements reflect Meta’s dual ambition: to become the go-to arena for trend-driven content and to arm advertisers with AI-fueled tools that drive both awareness and conversion.
Scaling Reels Trending Ads
One of the most significant updates was the expansion of Reels trending ads. Initially tested in limited beta, these placements will now be widely available to advertisers working with Meta sales representatives. Powered by Meta’s recommendation system, trending ads place brands directly alongside the top-performing Reels, curated for cultural relevance, safety, and engagement potential.
According to Meta, these ads delivered a +20% lift in unaided brand awareness during early tests, placing them on par with premium inventory packages offered by rivals. The broader rollout highlights how Meta is leveraging its AI infrastructure to transform cultural discovery into advertising opportunity, making Reels a primary engine for brand storytelling.
Threads Ad Formats Gain Depth
While Reels dominates in scale, Threads is steadily evolving into an ad-ready platform with more than 400 million monthly active users. Meta announced several new ad options, including carousel ads, 4:5 ratio single-image and video ads, and soon, Advantage+ catalog and app campaigns.
Crucially, advertisers don’t need a Threads account to participate. Brands can now extend campaigns from Facebook or Instagram into Threads, removing barriers for those still testing the platform’s role in their media mix.
With three out of four Threads users already following at least one business, Meta is betting that expanded formats will strengthen brand visibility and stimulate more authentic engagement in this conversational space.
AI as the Underlying Engine
Beyond new placements, Meta emphasized the role of AI as the connective tissue between culture and commerce. A key update was the expansion of value rules—previously reserved for sales and app campaigns—to now include awareness and engagement objectives. These rules allow advertisers to instruct Meta’s system on which audiences or interactions matter most, resulting in 2x more high-value conversions in early trials.
Additionally, Meta introduced improvements to landing page view optimization. For advertisers unable to use the Meta Pixel, such as consumer brands relying on retail partners, this feature now ensures ads are delivered to users most likely to both click and load a landing page.
Meta reported a 31% lower cost per landing page view compared to standard link clicks, enhancing campaign efficiency even in constrained environments.
Strategic Implications for Marketers
These announcements highlight Meta’s attempt to unify branding and performance marketing. Reels trending ads tap into cultural momentum, Threads ads expand brand presence in an emerging community, and AI-powered tools refine how campaigns convert. The message to marketers is clear: Meta wants its platforms to be the space where cultural participation directly fuels measurable outcomes.
At the same time, these moves sharpen Meta’s competitive positioning against rivals like TikTok, YouTube, and Amazon. By embedding ads more deeply into cultural touchpoints and streamlining cross-platform integration, Meta is signaling that it intends to dominate not only social discovery but also the full customer journey.
Culture Meets Conversion
Meta’s Brand Summit announcements reveal a company intent on making Reels and Threads indispensable parts of the media toolkit. With AI-driven targeting, new ad formats, and cultural alignment at scale, Meta is positioning itself as the platform where brand relevance and business results converge.
For marketers heading into a high-stakes holiday season and beyond, these updates expand both the creative and strategic levers available to connect with audiences in meaningful ways.
