Digital Video Spend Surges Past $80 Billion, Leaving Linear Behind
The Interactive Advertising Bureau reports U.S. digital video ad spend will surpass $80 billion in 2026, outpacing traditional linear television for the first time. Growth is driven by programmatic buying, higher CPMs on streaming platforms, and advertisers’ shift toward audience‑centric formats. Linear TV ad revenue continues to contract, marking a structural realignment in the media landscape. The milestone signals digital video’s transition from a disruptive niche to the dominant advertising medium.
Magnite Says It’s Not Afraid Of The Agentic Era – Or Of Google
Magnite reported first‑quarter revenue of $164.4 million, up 6% year‑over‑year, driven primarily by CTV and an 80% surge in March Madness ad spend. Its DV+ exchange posted a 5% decline, though mobile and app revenue grew 8%. The company is embedding AI...
Kargo Announces Integration with ChatGPT, Unlocking Access to Emerging AI-Native Advertising Opportunities
Kargo has become an OpenAI technology partner, integrating its adtech platform with ChatGPT to deliver AI‑native advertising formats. The move lets brands place adaptive, localized creative directly within conversational AI experiences, extending Kargo’s Creative Science® engine to this emerging surface....
How To Leverage AI Ad Placements And Are They Worth It? – Ask A PPC via @Sejournal, @Navahf
Advertisers can access AI ad inventory either by buying directly on AI‑first platforms or by integrating AI surfaces into existing campaign types such as Performance Max. Metrics for these placements differ from classic search ads, with internal Microsoft data showing...
Amazon, LinkedIn Help Advertisers Reach Professionals via CTV Ads
Amazon Ads and LinkedIn have launched a collaboration that integrates LinkedIn’s first‑party audience data into Amazon’s demand‑side platform for connected‑TV inventory. Through Microsoft’s Monetize SSP, advertisers on Amazon DSP can now target LinkedIn’s 1 billion‑plus members by job title, industry and...
Google Ads AI Max Content & Titles Exclusions On Account Level Coming
Google announced that its AI‑driven campaign type, Ads AI Max, will gain account‑level exclusions for content and titles later this year, likely within six months. The new setting lets advertisers block any undesired page elements across all campaigns, extending the platform’s...
InMobi Acquires MobileAction to Strengthen iOS Advertising Business
InMobi announced the acquisition of MobileAction, an AI‑powered iOS app growth and analytics platform, to bolster its advertising capabilities across the iOS ecosystem. While the purchase price was not disclosed, the deal adds MobileAction’s extensive data set—covering more than 90 million...
AI SEO Punishes Lazy Marketing Strategies by Brick Marketing
Brick Marketing warns that AI‑driven SEO is exposing lazy, siloed marketing tactics. The article explains that AI search pulls brand signals from a wide array of online sources—social media, directories, press releases, and more—making a website just one piece of...
AI SEO Punishes Lazy Marketing Strategies by Brick Marketing
Brick Marketing warns that AI‑driven SEO is reshaping digital marketing by rewarding brands with a cohesive, cross‑channel presence. Traditional tactics that focus solely on website optimization are losing ground as AI pulls data from social media, directories, press releases, and...
Snap Launches Promoted Places, Transforming the Snap Map Into Real-World Discovery
Snap Inc. introduced Promoted Places, a new ad product that embeds sponsored locations directly into the Snap Map. The feature debuted in Saudi Arabia, where brands like Almarai and Starbucks used it in Ramadan campaigns to drive in‑store visits. Promoted...
Amazon Bets AI Can Rewrite the Upfront Playbook in a Fragmented TV Market
Amazon is revamping its upfront pitch by marrying premium streaming content with AI‑driven ad technology. The company’s DSP now reaches roughly 90% of U.S. households through an authenticated graph and has added LinkedIn’s CTV inventory, tapping over a billion first‑party...
Emerging Channels, Cleaner Pipes: Assembly’s Tom Cogan on Where MENA Programmatic Is Heading
Tom Cogan, programmatic associate director at Assembly Global, says MENA advertisers must broaden beyond Google and Meta by embracing emerging channels such as connected TV, digital audio, programmatic DOOH and AI‑driven search. He points out that less than 10% of...
Sainsbury’s Tech and Data Chief to Steer Future of ISBA
Mark Given, Sainsbury’s chief technology, marketing and data officer, has been appointed president of the Institute of Search & Business Advertising (ISBA), succeeding Pete Markey. He will chair the ISBA Council, guiding the trade body as AI and generative AI reshape...
Digest: ChatGPT Ads Manager Opens to All US Advertisers; Amazon Targets Supply Chain; Publishers Sue Meta Over AI Copyright
OpenAI has opened its ChatGPT Ads Manager to all U.S. advertisers, eliminating the previous $50,000 (≈ $49,000) minimum‑spend threshold to attract small and midsize brands. The beta now includes cost‑per‑action bidding and plans for third‑party measurement, signaling a push toward a...
Mumbrellacast: High-Flyer Hugh Marks, Dentsu Joins the Merging Lane, and Kyle Strikes Back
The latest Mumbrellacast episode spotlights several media‑industry shake‑ups. ABC managing director Hugh Marks accepted a Qantas Chairman’s Lounge membership, raising questions about the broadcaster’s editorial independence. Dentsu Australia announced it will retire the Carat and iProspect brands, consolidating under a...
From Sneaky Kisses To First Jobs: Scentre Group Says Westfield Gives Punters The Feels & Drives Better Performance For Brands
Scentre Group used its BrandSpace Upfront event to rebrand Westfield as an emotional, experience‑driven ecosystem, unveiling the "World of Wonder" positioning for its media arm. The company reported 540 million customer visits in 2025, 99.8% occupancy and record partner sales, underscoring...
A Publisher Didn’t Get Its UID2 Setup Right. The Trade Desk Didn’t Notice. What Went Wrong?
Publishers are under pressure to embed The Trade Desk’s Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) in CTV bid requests, but a major national publisher discovered that its UID2 tokens were incorrectly encrypted for three months. The Trade Desk, which both administers UID2...
Westpac NZ Brings People-Powered Rescue Chopper to Life in First Campaign via Goldilocks
Westpac New Zealand has partnered with Goldilocks, its Omnicom‑run agency model, to launch the first “Chopper Appeal” campaign. The centerpiece is a 60‑inch hero TV commercial that shows a rescue helicopter assembled entirely from people, symbolising community “people power” rather than...
OUTFRONT Media Inc (OUT) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Outfront Media reported first‑quarter 2026 revenue up 10%, propelled by a 22% surge in transit and a 7% rise in billboard sales. Consolidated OIBDA jumped 56% to roughly $100 million and AFFO more than doubled to $61 million, aided by $13.5 million of...
BoAt's Mother's Day Ad Holds up a Mirror to the Impatient Indian Son
boAt released a Mother’s Day commercial that shows a mother struggling to get her son to change her WhatsApp profile picture. Frustrated, she turns to an AI assistant she calls “AI beta,” which dutifully fulfills her requests and even orders...
Google Shares How Brands Should Use AI Creative To Stand Out via @Sejournal, @Brookeosmundson
Google highlighted its AI‑creative suite on the Ads Decoded podcast, emphasizing tools that expand creative variation while keeping advertisers in the loop. New controls—text guidelines, AI briefs, and Asset Studio—let brands steer AI‑generated assets, supporting up to 40 custom rules...
Meta Adds More Insight Tools to Edits to Enhance Video Projects
Meta’s Edits video‑editing app rolled out a suite of new insight tools that surface engagement rates, peak viewing times, and follower‑versus‑non‑follower metrics for Instagram Reels. The update also adds comparative performance data, letting creators see how each Reel stacks up...
LinkedIn Certification Program Aims To Link Marketers With Experienced Agencies
LinkedIn has introduced an “Agency Certification” program that flags agencies with proven expertise in LinkedIn Ads. The certification requires a Business Manager account and completion of LinkedIn Marketing Academy courses, after which agencies earn a badge and promotional toolkit. Harmelin...
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Does The Right Buyer Even Know You Exist? Our LinkedIn Restructure That Took High Quality Lead Rate From 32% to...
The piece introduces a three‑stage LinkedIn framework—Be Seen, Be Believed, Be Chosen—to move B2B advertising from pure conversion to a full‑funnel approach. A healthcare client’s restructure cut quarterly spend from $64,000 to $33,000, lifted click‑through rates over 100×, and raised...
AI Promises Creative Scale. Marketers Discover They Now Need 10 Times More Ads
Marketers are confronting an unprecedented demand for creative assets as AI platforms enable rapid production at scale. A joint Ipsos‑Smartly study finds brands are now creating roughly ten times more ads to stay competitive, yet effectiveness hinges on combining high...
Despite Enthusiasm over Its ChatGPT Tie-Up, Criteo’s Shares Slide on Downgraded Revenue Forecast
Criteo announced a partnership with OpenAI that generated excitement, but its Q1 results fell short of expectations, prompting a share‑price decline. Revenue dropped 6% year‑on‑year to $425 million, with retail‑media revenue plunging 31% to $41.3 million. The company cut its 2026 revenue...
Google Analytics Data API Adds Cross-Channel Conversion Reporting (Alpha)
Google has extended its Analytics Data API to include cross‑channel conversion reporting, now available in an alpha release. The new endpoint mirrors the Conversion performance report in the Analytics UI, delivering paid and organic conversion data via programmatic calls. Developers...
Adobe and OpenAI Integrate ChatGPT Ads Into GenStudio for Performance Marketing
Adobe and OpenAI announced that Adobe GenStudio for Performance Marketing now integrates ChatGPT ads, letting marketers create brand‑approved copy and assets and launch them in ChatGPT with a single click. The workflow pulls assets from Adobe Experience Manager or third‑party...
Teads & Lumen Research Bring Proven Attention Science to CTV for Omnichannel Impact
Teads announced an expanded partnership with Lumen Research to embed attention‑measurement technology into its connected‑TV (CTV) HomeScreen inventory. Lumen’s eye‑tracking models generate an industry‑first attention prediction for CTV, giving advertisers a quantifiable view of how viewers engage with ads across...
Co-Viewing For The Big Screen: How Big A Deal Is This Now?
Nielsen’s latest co‑viewing pilot, using wearable devices, recorded a 4.2% lift in total viewers for February—a month packed with marquee live TV events such as the Super Bowl, Olympics ceremonies, and the NBA All‑Star Game. The wearables provide a more...
Pixalate Releases Global Q1 2026 Rankings For Connected TV Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) Bundle IDs With Highest IVT Rates: ‘Sling...
Pixalate released its Q1 2026 rankings of Free Ad‑Supported TV (FAST) bundle IDs with the highest invalid‑traffic (IVT) rates across Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV and Amazon Fire TV. The study examined over 4 billion global impressions from more than 7,000 CTV apps. Sling TV led Roku...
StackAdapt Announces AI-Powered Marketing Capabilities Through Ads in ChatGPT Pilot
StackAdapt announced it will serve ads within OpenAI's ChatGPT as part of a pilot program. The AI‑powered placement lets marketers reach users while they research and compare products, with ads clearly labeled and context‑driven. StackAdapt adds vertical expertise, cross‑channel orchestration,...
Lamar Launches $2M Ronald McDonald House DOOH Partnership
Lamar Advertising has pledged more than $2 million in donated digital out‑of‑home (DOOH) inventory for a year‑long partnership with Ronald McDonald House, launching on May 15 for International Family Day. The initiative will run across Lamar’s 5,500 digital billboards nationwide, aiming to raise awareness,...
The Influencers That Make Men Shop for Beauty
Male beauty consumption is accelerating as Gen‑Z influencers like TikTok star Bach Buquen and Dwayne Johnson’s Papatui brand normalize makeup and premium skincare for men. Wellness clubs such as Remedy Place are rebranding spa experiences to attract male members, while...
Anchor ‘Absolutely Buttered’ for Havas London Ad Debut
Anchor, the butter brand owned by Arla Foods, has unveiled a new brand platform titled “Let’s Get Absolutely Buttered,” rolled out by its creative partner Havas London. The launch centers on a 30‑second film that humorously depicts a woman oblivious...
Blue Bite’s Matthew Shay on Connecting Real-World Signals to Digital Engagement: A Demand Gen Report Q&A
Blue Bite’s Director of Media Matthew Shay explains that B2B buyers now interact across a web of channels, devices, and real‑world moments before speaking with sales, forcing marketers to adopt contextual, connected, and measurable omnichannel strategies. He highlights the company’s...
IAB Tech Lab Seeks Public Comment On Standardized Signals For CTV Ad Portfolio
IAB Tech Lab has updated its technical specifications to create a standardized signaling framework for the Connected TV (CTV) Ad Portfolio, covering emerging formats such as Pause, Menu, Overlay, and Squeeze Back ads. The proposal, developed with industry working groups,...
Advertisers Spent $1 Billion on Criteo in Q1, Up 8% Year-Over-Year
Criteo processed $1 billion in media spend during Q1 2026, marking an 8% year‑over‑year increase and the first time the company crossed the billion‑dollar threshold. Despite the higher spend, total revenue fell 9% to $425 million, reflecting a broader decline in its core...
When Digital’s Trackability Breaks Down, Radio Has an Opening
A tech‑savvy client shifted Q1 spend from digital to radio after confronting rising Google Ads costs and opaque attribution. The digital model’s auction‑driven pricing forced higher bids merely to maintain market share, while multi‑channel data became fragmented and unreliable. In...
Podcasting Has Already Overtaken TV. Here’s the Proof
The 2026 UK Advertising Landscape Study, funded by Sounds Profitable with a multi‑million‑pound (≈$2.5 million) investment, reveals that podcasting now reaches more 18‑34‑year‑olds (60%) than broadcast TV (57%). While TV still dominates older viewers, podcast reach among 35‑54‑year‑olds is strong, with...
The ‘Hair-On-Your-Pillow’ Theory of Contextual Advertising
Shirley Marschall’s column revisits contextual advertising, arguing that the same ad can feel premium in one setting and intrusive in another, much like a stray hair on a pillow. The piece traces how contextual buying fell out of favor as...
It’s Time To Stop Letting Platforms Grade Their Own Ad Fraud Homework
Ad fraud has become a multi‑billion‑dollar problem, with scammers exploiting automated bots to flood platforms with fake engagement. Meta disclosed that roughly 10% of its 2024 revenue stems from scams and banned goods, and its internal data suggest 15 billion scam...
VIOOH Partners with Abode Media to Expand Programmatic DOOH Footprint
VIOOH, a leading global digital out‑of‑home supply‑side platform, announced a programmatic partnership with Abode Media, the UK’s premium residential DOOH network. The collaboration adds more than 250 screens across 230 high‑value residential buildings in London, Manchester and Birmingham, delivering over...
AB InBev Wins Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year for a Historic Third Time
AB InBev became the first company to win Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year three times, adding to titles earned in 2022 and 2023. The brewer captured 37 Lions in 2025 across 10 countries and 15 categories, including a...
The Hidden Tax of Broken Ad Attribution on LinkedIn
LinkedIn marketers often discover that reported clicks and cost‑per‑lead don’t match actual CRM conversions, leaving many leads tagged as "unknown" or "direct." The discrepancy forces teams to spend hours each week reconciling data, slowing strategy and eroding confidence in dashboards....
The Direct Supply Myth: Why CTV Inventory Looks Better Coming From A Streamer Than Directly From A Publisher
Industry advocates have promoted “direct supply” in CTV as a shortcut to transparency and efficiency. In practice, most impressions travel through OEM and streamer distribution agreements that grant those partners control over ad decisioning, signal access, and pod composition. This...
Marketers at Possible Adjust to the Realities of AI While Trying to Stay Human
The fourth Possible conference in Miami highlighted how generative AI is reshaping marketing strategy while firms strive to keep a human touch. Interviews with leaders from Geico, Marketcast, CROING, Maybelline and others revealed AI’s role in talent acquisition, rapid data...
How Brands Are Advertising AI
The advertising sector is grappling with how to market AI amid a flood of hype, misinformation, and growing consumer fatigue. Agencies are shifting focus from sheer visibility to building credibility, emphasizing proof over promises. Industry leaders warn that AI discussions...
Woolworths Puts Lead Creative Account Out to Pitch Across Australia and New Zealand
Woolworths has opened a formal pitch for its lead creative agency across Australia and New Zealand, ending M+C Saatchi’s tenure that began in 2017. The retailer will keep existing agency partners active during the review, while TBWA\ continues to manage the Everyday Rewards...
POSSIBLE 2026: Industry Experts Dish On AI – And Other Trends To Watch
At POSSIBLE 2026 in Miami, ad‑tech leaders acknowledged that AI is shifting from hype to practical workflow integration. Executives highlighted how generative and agentic AI are accelerating campaign measurement and optimization while also adding new media‑buying complexities. The dialogue also focused...