“Buyability” Isn’t Really New, But It Is Really Important
LinkedIn and Bain & Company have launched a research initiative to define “Buyability,” the set of beliefs that give B2B buyers confidence to purchase or recommend a solution. A survey of 750 buyers revealed five key factors, with the ability to defend a decision if it goes wrong emerging as the top priority, slightly ahead of product performance. The findings reaffirm long‑standing ideas about buyer risk aversion but package them into a actionable framework that LinkedIn plans to operationalize soon. Industry bodies such as WARC, ANA and IAA are already backing the effort, signaling rapid adoption among B2B marketers.
WA Startups Score $2.5 Million in Cook Government Innovation Funding
The Western Australian government has earmarked $2.5 million AUD (≈$1.65 million USD) for the Innovation Pathways Program, distributing $2,556,885 across 14 organisations. Grants of up to $300,000 AUD for accelerators and $200,000 AUD for education initiatives will support five accelerators and nine...
Dubai Culture: Storytelling Rooted in Culture
Dubai Culture’s Saleh Al Breiki argues that authentic, culture‑rooted storytelling is now essential for brands in the Middle East. He cites the Emirati animated series *Freej*, which leveraged local dialect and heritage to achieve regional and international success. The piece highlights...
SpiceJet Begins Trimming Workforce Amid Cash Crunch
SpiceJet has begun a workforce reduction affecting more than 500 employees in its first phase, using six‑month furloughs and unpaid leave. The airline’s fleet has contracted from 50 aircraft to 13 owned planes plus 14 wet‑leased units, intensifying operational strain....
The Six Reasons Why Startups Fail (and only One Is Unavoidable)
Bernard Bulkin, a veteran venture‑capitalist, outlines six common traps that sink startups, noting only one—technology that can never work—is truly unavoidable. The other five—misreading the market, underestimating engineering scale‑up, weak leadership, dysfunctional boards, and inadequate financing—are largely preventable. Bulkin argues...
What 400 Sites Reveal About Organic Traffic Gains via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Cyrus Shepard analyzed over 400 websites and identified five traits that strongly correlate with estimated organic traffic gains in the past year. Sites that sell a product or service, let users complete their search‑intent tasks, own proprietary assets, focus tightly...
“An Own Goal that We Don’t Need:” Investor Group Sounds Alarm over New Tax on Renewables
The Albanese government released draft legislation to extend capital gains tax to large‑scale solar, wind and battery storage projects. The reforms would subject foreign investors—who fund over 70% of Australian renewables—to a 30% CGT on project sales, with a limited...
The Cheap Labour Era Is Dead, Here’s How SEA Companies Win Now
The article argues that Southeast Asia’s growth model built on cheap labor is collapsing as AI automates tasks that once required large workforces. The Philippine BPO industry, which generated $38 bn in 2024, exemplifies the scale of the labor‑intensive economy now...
Kashish Kapoor Appointed Global CHRO, Newgen Software
Kashish Kapoor has been appointed Global Chief Human Resources Officer at Newgen Software, succeeding a nine‑year stint as CHRO at NEC Corporation India. Her career spans over three decades, covering roles at Modi Xerox, Essar Cellphone, Oriflame India, ING Vysya...
Nielsen: Netflix’s ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ McDonald’s Tie-In Shows Strength of Streaming Fandom
Netflix’s animated feature *KPop Demon Hunters* sparked its largest consumer‑brand partnership to date, teaming with McDonald’s on themed meals that drove roughly $100 million in sales within the first days. The movie amassed 569 million global Netflix views and 20.5 billion U.S. streaming...
Glossy Pop Newsletter: I.AM.GIA Sold 1 Million Blare Tracksuits — Now It’s Betting on Coachella for Its Next Viral Moment
I.AM.GIA’s Blake tracksuit line, launched after founder Alana Pallister sold her house to fund 300,000 units, has now sold 1 million pieces across 44 styles. The brand is turning Coachella 2026 into a live‑marketing blitz, dressing Sexyy Red and her dancers while...
Primed For Upfronts; How Much AI Is Too Much AI?
The upcoming TV upfront season will be dominated by performance measurement as advertisers push for outcome‑based analytics, spurred by Nielsen’s delayed integration of the DASH TV Universe Study and a recent dip in reported streaming viewership. At IAB NewFronts, Tubi...
India Inc Ramps up Exports as Iran Ceasefire Reopens Middle East Trade
India Inc is rapidly reactivating exports to the Middle East following a two‑week Iran ceasefire that reopened the Strait of Hormuz. Pharma, packaged‑food and electrical‑goods manufacturers report rising demand as regional inventories are restocked and reconstruction projects loom. Companies such...
OpenAI Has Quietly Launched Its Ads Manager as It Races to Build Out Its Ads Business
OpenAI quietly rolled out a self‑serve ads manager last week, giving a limited group of advertisers real‑time control over impressions, clicks and spend. The pilot’s entry barrier was cut from $250,000 to $50,000, and the platform charges a $60 CPM...
Booking Restaurants in the UK Just Got Easier with AI in Search
Google has launched agentic AI capabilities in its Search AI Mode, allowing UK users to book restaurant tables directly from search results. By describing preferences such as cuisine, location, group size and dietary needs, the AI scans multiple reservation platforms...
Why Pfizer and Other Blue-Chip Brands Are Building Internal AI Search Hubs to Reclaim Control
Major advertisers such as Pfizer are moving SEO and AI discoverability functions in‑house, creating dedicated internal search hubs. Pfizer assembled its team in just 60 days, adding former agency talent, while peers like Georgia Pacific, U.S. Bank, Adobe and T‑Mobile have...
AX Beauty Names Noelle Cantarano as First Chief Marketing Officer
AX Beauty has appointed Noelle Cantarano as its first chief marketing officer, marking the company’s inaugural C‑suite marketing role. Cantarano arrives from Future Beauty Labs, where she served as vice president of global marketing. She will direct brand strategy, positioning,...
Ray-Ban Taps BlackPink’s Jennie as Global Brand Ambassador
Ray‑Ban has appointed Blackpink’s Jennie Kim as its global brand ambassador, pairing the partnership with a six‑piece capsule collection. The line blends iconic silhouettes like the Daddy‑O and Alix with pieces from the brand’s Asian Design collection, featuring low‑bridge fits...
Luxury Briefing: Luxury Brands Proceed with Retail Plans in the Middle East
Luxury brands are pressing ahead with new retail projects across the Middle East, signaling confidence in the region’s high‑net‑worth consumer base. Orlebar Brown’s CMO highlighted a strategy built around the luxury travel circuit, while other players such as Saks, Brunello...
What Is Cognitive Automation? 5 Examples to Transform Your Business
Cognitive automation augments traditional workflow tools with AI capabilities such as machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, allowing systems to interpret unstructured data and make decisions. Unlike rule‑based robotic process automation (RPA), it learns patterns and adapts over...
EXCLUSIVE: Khloé Kardashian Fronts It’s a 10 Haircare’s Rebrand Campaign
It’s a 10 Haircare, celebrating its 20th anniversary, has appointed Khloé Kardashian as its first celebrity ambassador. The partnership launches alongside a brand-wide rebrand slated for the coming months, featuring refreshed packaging and an expanded portfolio of over 80 SKUs. Founder...
Partnerships Excite Ingredient Market
Ingredient supplier Wixon named Jason Williams, a veteran with more than 25 years in the sector, as chief commercial officer, tasking him with expanding industrial and protein sales and tightening project‑management and marketing. At the same time, Apura Ingredients partnered with NewTree...
How to Scale Production With the Right Adjustments at the Right Times
Scaling volume machining requires timing adjustments to the data the machine provides. The first part should be used only to validate the setup, correcting gross errors and chatter while ignoring subtle deviations. Between parts two and ten, a small population...
Venezuela’s Treacherous Recovery
The United States has installed an interim caretaker government in Venezuela after removing President Maduro, opening the door to a potential economic rebound driven by oil, mining and diaspora capital. Restoring oil production could require more than $100 billion and a...
Bloom, Pacsun and More Chase Coachella Crowds on the Way to the Show with Roadside Activations
Maruchan turned a viral Coachella‑ticket joke into a full‑scale roadside pop‑up called MaruMart, parked near the Cabazon Outlets about 45 minutes from the festival. The activation features a DIY ramen station, limited‑edition merch and a new Flamin’ Hot chicken flavor, all...
InvestingLive Asia-Pacific FX News Wrap: Doubts over Islamabad Talks This Weekend
Iranian state media rejected reports of a U.S. delegation in Islamabad, insisting talks will only resume after a Lebanon ceasefire. Japan’s finance minister Shunichi Katayama warned of possible FX intervention as oil‑driven volatility spikes, while the Bank of Japan flagged...
Kuaishou Amplifies Deaf Voices with “Streaming Out Loud” Campaign via TOPic & Loong China
Kuaishou teamed with TOPic & Loong China to launch the “Streaming Out Loud” campaign, using AI‑driven sign‑language recognition and a voice avatar to make deaf live‑commerce streams audible to hearing viewers. A pilot with deaf streamer @Jingjing attracted over 700,000 viewers and...
CyberCX Kicking Goals with Expanded Collingwood Football Club Partnership
CyberCX has elevated its relationship with Collingwood Football Club to a major partnership, building on a two‑year collaboration that already provided app integration and cyber‑safety training. The firm now delivers 24/7 security operations centre monitoring and penetration testing for the...
WNBA and NBA Board of Governors Approve WNBA Expansion Teams in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia
The WNBA and NBA Board of Governors officially approved three new franchise locations: Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia. Cleveland’s team will begin competition in the 2028 season, Detroit follows in 2029, and Philadelphia launches in 2030. The expansion marks the league’s...
Hindustan Unilever to Focus on Regaining Market Share: Global CEO Fernando Fernandez
Unilever’s global chief Fernando Fernandez told a Barclays fireside chat that Hindustan Unilever must focus on regaining market share lost to online rivals in India. He emphasized making the portfolio “future‑fit” and executing flawlessly, noting India accounts for roughly 16‑17%...
M&M’S Powers up Marvel Tie-Up with APAC Gaming Adventure
Mars Foods is expanding its M&M’S‑Marvel partnership into eight Asia‑Pacific markets with a purchase‑linked gaming campaign that runs from April 1 to May 31, 2026. The initiative, built on SUPERFAN’s game engine, lets shoppers scan QR codes on packaging and...
Subitha Pallithara Is VP-Rewards, Vodafone Idea
Subitha Pallithara, former Group Head‑Rewards at Arvind, has been appointed Vice President‑Rewards at Vodafone Idea. She brings over a decade of experience across FMCG, banking, manufacturing and real estate, including senior roles at L’Oréal and DBS Bank. In her new...
ONDC Appoints Vibhor Jain as MD & CEO
ONDC announced Vibhor Jain as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 7, 2026. Jain, previously the Chief Operating Officer and acting CEO during a leadership transition, now assumes full‑time control of the government‑backed open commerce network. The appointment follows...
Q.ANT Appoints Michael Krueger as Vice President Commercials
Q.ANT, a developer of photonic processors for energy‑efficient high‑performance computing and AI, announced Michael Krueger as its new Vice President of Commercials, effective April 1, 2026. Krueger joins from a two‑decade tenure at Intel, where he led data‑center and AI sales in...
China Flashes Additional Signs of Reflation as Iran War Impact Emerges
China’s March CPI eased to 1.0% YoY, reflecting typical post‑Lunar price declines, while the PPI rebounded to 0.5% YoY – the first positive reading since September 2022. Energy‑related subcomponents, especially transportation fuel, surged sharply, with a 10% month‑on‑month jump, indicating...
Why Retailers Are Rethinking In-Store Music as a Revenue and Brand Driver
Retailers are moving beyond treating in‑store music as mere ambience, recognizing it as a measurable driver of revenue and brand perception. Studies show 40% of Australian shoppers leave a store if the music feels wrong, while appropriate playlists can extend...
Labor Secretary Faces Civil Rights Complaints From Department Staff
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez‑DeRemer is facing three civil‑rights complaints filed by women who worked in her executive office. The allegations describe a hostile environment, citing sexual harassment by her husband, retaliation for participation in an internal probe, and misuse of...
Unilever Acquires Greens Supplement Company Grüns
Unilever announced the acquisition of Grüns, a U.S. greens supplement startup founded in 2023, to bolster its wellbeing portfolio. Grüns, known for science‑backed vegetable, algae and grass powders, sells through both retail and direct‑to‑consumer channels. The financial terms were not...
I Had 15 Years of Experience, but I Still Had to Start over – Nigerian Lady Building Marketplace and Magazine...
Nigerian media veteran Abiodun Adetu relocated to Canada and discovered her 15‑year career didn’t translate into local credentials, prompting her to complete a digital‑marketing course. She leveraged that experience to launch Naija Market Day, a traveling Nigerian‑style marketplace now operating...
Stray Kids’ Felix Fronts Gong Cha’s New Global Campaign From Jung Von Matt HANGANG
Gong cha has launched a new global brand platform fronted by Stray Kids member Felix, developed by Jung von Matt HANGANG. The campaign shifts the tea brand from an occasional treat to an everyday lifestyle vibe, targeting 18‑34‑year‑old female consumers. It emphasizes customization through a...
Most U.S. Public Pensions Underuse Proxy Voting to Manage Climate Risk, New Report Finds
Most of the 33 largest U.S. public pension funds are not leveraging proxy voting to address climate risk, according to the Sierra Club’s 2026 report. Only four funds earned top “A” grades, while 12 received “D” or “F” scores and...
U.S. Companies Are Wasting Millions of Dollars Each Year Paying Middle Managers to Do Low-Value Work, New Research Shows
SafetyCulture’s fifth Feedback from the Field report finds U.S. frontline middle managers lose an average of 33 days per year to low‑value tasks such as endless meetings and duplicate data entry. The wasted time translates to roughly $6,400 per manager,...
47% of Consumers Hold Brands Responsible for Toxic and Spammy Comments, Respondology Report Finds
Respondology’s 2026 Business of Comments Report, based on 168.8 million comments across seven platforms, finds that 20% of comments contain spam, bots or abuse and only 47.3% carry positive sentiment. Nearly half of consumers (47%) hold brands accountable for toxic remarks,...
Rethinking Agency Internships: Building Fair Pathways For Creative Talent
The op‑ed argues that Australia’s media and creative sectors still rely on unpaid internships, a practice that, while legal under narrow Fair Work provisions, often blurs the line between learning and free labour. This model excludes candidates without financial support,...
Asian Economies Face ‘Formidable Test’ as Middle East Conflict Drags On: ADB
The Asian Development Bank warned that the ongoing US‑Israeli war with Iran will blunt Asia’s growth momentum, revising the region’s 2026 GDP expansion to 5.1% from 5.4% in 2025. If the conflict persists for a year, the bank estimates a...
Wise Highlights the Pitfalls of Traditional Banks in OOH Campaign
Wise has launched its "Be Smart. Get Wise" campaign in the UK, using a side‑by‑side out‑of‑home (OOH) approach that pits its ads against a fictitious competitor called Unwise. The visual contrast, displayed on more than 6,000 London Tube panels and...
Karla Judge On The Value Of Mentoring Women In Media
Karla Judge, head of marketing tourism at Ingenia Communities Group, contributed to IMAA’s Female Leaders of Tomorrow series, emphasizing the power of mentorship for women in media and marketing. She highlights how formal mentorship shaped her own career and how...
‘Insight Deflation’: The Lab Co-Founders Explain Why More Data Can Mean Less Clarity
The Lab’s co‑founders Neale Cotton and Paul Labagnara label the surge of data and AI‑driven analysis as “insight deflation,” where abundant information clouds true consumer understanding. They argue AI can process massive datasets but cannot translate inconsistent, subconscious human behavior...
RINA Strengthens Foreship Brand and Global Marine Consulting Offering
RINA has unified its marine consulting teams under the Foreship brand, unveiling a new visual identity. The combined workforce now exceeds 150 professionals, with more than 20 hires already made and plans to grow staff by up to 45% before...
TV Ratings (9/4/2026): 1.4M People Tune Into The NRL For A ‘Famous Night’
The NRL broadcast of the Canterbury‑Bankstown Bulldogs’ 16‑point victory over the Penrith Panthers attracted more than 1.4 million viewers, with a national average audience of 699,000. The upset ended the Panthers’ five‑game winning streak and marked the Bulldogs’ third win of...