Today's Digital Marketing Pulse
Ad tech vendors pivot to cloud‑hardware ownership to cut latency and costs
Vendors are splitting between owning their own cloud infrastructure and renting from public clouds such as AWS, Google Cloud and Azure. SSPs PubMatic and Index Exchange introduced containerized solutions—Decision Fabric and Index Cloud—that let DSPs run models on‑premise, lowering latency and data‑transfer expenses. The shift balances cost savings against control of the stack.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Accenture Song acquires influencer marketing agency Whalar
Crocs CMO on Microdramas, TikTok and Gen Z at Shoptalk
Crocs’ chief marketing officer Carly Gomez highlighted the brand’s focus on Gen Z at Shoptalk, showcasing a new micro‑drama series called “Charmed To Meet You” launched on ReelShort. The five‑episode, snackable story has garnered over 10 million views since its February 2026 debut and remains in ReelShort’s Top 20. Gomez explained that Crocs leveraged TikTok for promotional teasers while keeping the full series on platforms where longer video thrives. The company also noted its position as the No. 1 footwear brand on TikTok Shop and plans to expand social‑selling markets in 2026.
Plan Monthly, Film Weekly, Repurpose Daily for Efficiency
My new content workflow... 📆 Monthly: strategy + planning only. No creating. 📆 Weekly: film + edit same day. Done in under 2 hours. 📆 Daily: 1 hour on supplemental content from that video.
Uproxx Makes Play for TV Ad Spend With TikTok-Ready Shows
Uproxx TV debuted at NewFronts, positioning itself as a top‑10 entertainment property on connected TV with over 160 million monthly viewers, more than half of whom watch on traditional TV screens. The company is launching creator‑driven shows like “Love, Songs,” leveraging...
Regain Ad Control, Boost Sales 69% in 10 Days
I spoke with a founder in November who had her sales get cut in half almost immediately after hiring an agency. She had no idea what they had changed or why it was happening, and the agency couldn't give her a...
Instagram to Sell Reels Ads for Viral TV and Movies Content, ‘Cultural Moments’ Like NFL Games and Black Friday
Meta announced that Instagram’s Reels Trending Ads will now include a "TV & movies" category and dedicated line‑ups for cultural moments such as NFL games, Black Friday and Fashion Week. A limited‑alpha reserve‑buy option will let brands secure up to...
Stop Marketing Money Leaks with a Deep‑Dive Audit
Hello Thriends- I am gauging interest in a multi-day marketing leak audit. I’d use my investigative journalism skills to find where you’re marketing and comms are bleeding, and map out a plan with you 1-1 to plug said leaks. It’s a...
Creator Economy Briefing: Alix Earle Launches Skincare Brand, Unilever Appoints Influencer Agency, Ambassador Marketing Gains Traction
Today's creator‑economy briefing highlights a shift toward long‑term ambassador partnerships, the rise of influencer‑turned‑founders, and enterprise‑level investments in structured influencer programs. Brands are replacing one‑off campaigns with ongoing creator relationships to boost credibility, while Alix Earle launched her skincare line...
Nintendo's Physical Switch 2 Game Prices Outpace Digital, Sparking Pricing Debate
Nintendo's latest Switch 2 console retails for $696 in stores, while flagship titles like Mario Kart World sell digitally for as low as $51.99. The price gap between physical and digital game formats is prompting industry analysts and consumers to...
Multiply Raises $9.5M, Focused on B2B Self-Learning Ads
Multiply, an AI‑native media agency for B2B firms, emerged from stealth with a $9.5 million Series A led by Mayfield. Its self‑learning advertising platform links Google Search and LinkedIn campaigns to sales call recordings, CRM data, and performance metrics, automatically generating and...
Upgrade Your Creative Performance with March’s Demand Gen Drop.
Google’s Demand Gen platform now includes AI‑powered Veo, which turns static images into video ad variations, helping advertisers achieve “Excellent” ad strength. The suite also expands creator partnerships, enabling authentic YouTube Shorts content that lifts conversion rates by roughly 30 %....
Looking to Generate Better B2B Leads? Why Industrial Companies Are Refining Their Strategy
Industrial manufacturers are moving from traditional trade‑show outreach to sophisticated, digital‑first lead generation. Because industrial sales involve multi‑million‑dollar contracts and multiple stakeholders, companies must align precise technical messaging with buyers’ pain points. The article highlights how data‑driven tactics—intent monitoring, account‑based...
Colruyt Partners with Retail Media Platform in Which Ahold Delhaize Holds a Stake
Colruyt Group has teamed up with advertising platform Adhese to accelerate its retail media services, aiming to deliver omnichannel campaigns that leverage first‑party data. The partnership will provide the retailer with technology infrastructure, onboarding support, and scalable campaign management tools....
Meta’s New Ad Checkout Isn’t True Agentic Commerce
Meta partners with Stripe for in-ad shopping If Instant Checkout didn’t represent agentic commerce, using that term to describe Meta’s new ‘purchase-from-an-ad’ experience is simply absurd. An agent plays no role in this transaction: a user sees an ad and clicks...
Podscribe Announces Airchecks for RON Campaigns and Turnkey Tealium Integration
Podscribe unveiled two major upgrades: airchecks that now capture run‑of‑network (RON) podcast campaigns and a turnkey server‑to‑server integration with Tealium’s customer data platform. The RON airchecks use pixel activity and expanded transcription to verify ad placement, deliver brand‑safety signals and...
The Platform Updates You Need to Know From March
Meta will count only link clicks for click‑through attribution, moving likes, shares and saves to a new “engage‑through” category. Spotify launches an interactive BTS ARIRANG campaign and introduces SongDNA, a discovery‑focused music experience. Anghami adds AI‑generated metadata to 2.5 million songs,...
How To Avoid Top Down SEO Systems Failures With The Visibility Governance Maturity Model via @Sejournal, @Theshelleywalsh
Ash Nallawalla warns that most SEO breakdowns stem from missing governance, not poor practitioners. He illustrates the danger with a case where 22 million orphaned pages would take 310 billion years for Googlebot to crawl. To address this, he created the Visibility...
MessageGears Delivers Warehouse-Native Revenue Tracking for Enterprise Marketers With New Cross-Channel Conversion Analytics
MessageGears unveiled a warehouse‑native conversion reporting suite that links campaign performance directly to an organization’s data warehouse. The new capabilities deliver real‑time revenue and purchase attribution across email, SMS, push, in‑app and embedded messaging without adding extra tools. By reading...
X Suffers Brief Global Outage, 20,000 Complaints Logged, Service Restored Within an Hour
X (formerly Twitter) experienced a widespread outage on March 26 that left thousands unable to log in or view feeds, prompting more than 20,000 complaints on Downdetector. The disruption was resolved in under an hour, but it follows a pattern...
Cubs’ 150th‑Season Launch Leverages Cookie Data Up to 750 Days
The Chicago Cubs have teamed with at least ten advertising‑technology vendors to harvest fan data through cookies that can persist for up to 750 days. The extensive collection of IP addresses, device identifiers, browsing behavior and precise location data raises...
Settlement Bars Federal Threats to Social Media Platforms in Missouri V. Biden
The New Civil Liberties Alliance secured a settlement in Missouri v. Biden that bars the surgeon general, CDC and CISA from threatening social‑media firms for not removing or down‑ranking protected speech. The consent decree, pending Judge Terry Doughty’s approval, curtails...
Wyndham And Goop Are Using AI To Scale Creative And Avoid Burnout
Wyndham and lifestyle brand Goop have partnered with Adora, an AI‑driven performance‑marketing platform, to automate creative generation and real‑time ad optimization. The system produced over 90 ad variants for Wyndham, tailoring imagery and messaging to 15 audience segments and boosting...
Q4 2025 EMEA Ad Viewability Trends Report
Pixalate released its Q4 2025 programmatic ad viewability report for the EMEA region, covering the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Israel. The study shows non‑viewability rates ranging from 21% to 50% across mobile web, mobile in‑app and desktop web platforms, with...
Q4 2025 APAC Ad Viewability Trends Report
Pixalate released its Q4 2025 Asia‑Pacific programmatic ad viewability report for India, revealing that 46% of mobile in‑app ads, 30% of mobile web ads, and 36% of desktop web ads were not viewable. The study, based on 106 billion global open‑programmatic impressions,...
Q4 2025 CTV Ad Supply Chain Trends Report
Pixalate’s Q4 2025 CTV Ad Supply Chain Trends Report, based on over 7 billion programmatic transactions, shows Roku commanding the largest market share of voice (SOV) in North America (32%) and Latin America (30%). Samsung leads in EMEA with 24% SOV while...
Lengthy Middle East War ‘to Cost Ad Industry $93.9bn’
A new WARC study warns that a prolonged Middle East conflict could erase $49.9 bn of advertising growth in 2026 and total $93.9 bn over the next two years. The baseline forecast still expects a 10.4% rise to a $1.32 trn global ad...
Create 10‑second Videos From Images Directly in Google Ads
Powerful, but will it trick prospective customers? i.e. Will there be realistic expectations? -> Veo Video Generation Now Available in Google Ads "Upload up to three images, and Veo generates unique videos up to 10 seconds long with natural motion. These...
VideoWeek Podcast: #56 Rhys McLachlan, ITV
In the latest VideoWeek podcast, ITV’s Director of Advanced Advertising, Rhys McLachlan, detailed the broadcaster’s evolving programmatic strategy. He highlighted ongoing challenges such as fraud and waste in the ecosystem and warned about the "enshittification" of social media platforms. The conversation...
Lipton Drafts in Ice-T to Kick Ass and #RespectThePeach
Lipton has tapped legendary rapper Ice‑T to lead its pan‑European #RespectThePeach campaign, aiming to correct the widespread misuse of the peach emoji for butt references. The initiative rolls out a video message, a new “buttmoji,” TikTok‑friendly audio remixes, and digital...
After the LA Court Verdict, the UK Must Disrupt Surveillance Capitalism Business Models
A Los Angeles jury ruled that Meta and YouTube are liable for deliberately engineering addictive products and failing to protect users. The verdict marks the first U.S. judgment holding major social‑media platforms accountable for engagement‑driven design that fuels the attention...
Are We Due Another Florida-Style Update? Via @Sejournal, @TaylorDanRW
The article warns that the surge of AI‑generated, low‑value pages is recreating conditions that triggered past Google algorithm overhauls such as Florida, Allegra and Brandy. Google’s current suite of continuous signals—Helpful Content, SpamBrain and ongoing core updates—has shifted from single‑day...
Google Ads API Version 23.2 Now Available
Google has launched version 23.2 of the Google Ads API, introducing a new VideoEnhancement resource and refreshed HotelSettingInfo fields. The update follows a rapid release cadence, with version 23.1 arriving in February and earlier versions rolled out monthly since October 2025. Developers must...
How The Wall Street Journal Is Reaching the Next Generation on TikTok
The Wall Street Journal surpassed one million followers on TikTok by pairing platform‑friendly formats with its hallmark journalism. The newsroom’s strategy hinges on purposeful videos, a Talent Lab that equips reporters to promote themselves, and dedicated social video producers who...
Menopause Claims Back Under the Spotlight Following ASA Review
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has flagged three menopause‑focused supplement brands—Lunera, Minerva Wellness and Nova—for making unauthorized health claims in paid social media ads. The advertisements suggested the products could treat menopause symptoms such as weight gain, hot flushes,...
Merchant Center Titles Dominate; Price Data Must Align
Ecommerce SEO: when it comes to ranking within free listing results on Google, there is a sphere of influence for data sources. This relates to features such as product grids, product knowledge panels, within the Shopping tab, AI Mode...
When a Handbag Brand Makes Better Podcasts than Podcasters
Chinese luxury brands are abandoning the short‑video‑first playbook, targeting affluent urban women who are growing weary of Douyin and Xiaohongshu. Brands like GIADA and Songmont have launched long‑form podcasts on Xiaoyuzhou FM, amassing over a million and 140,000 subscribers respectively....
James M. Staines Joins Marquis Who's Who, Spotlighting Two Decades of Marketing Leadership
James M. Staines, Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Media at Healthy Paws, a Chubb company, has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who's Who. The honor reflects his two‑decade track record in marketing automation, integrated campaigns, and industry leadership,...
ChatGPT’s Ad Platform Cannot Tell You If Your Money Is Working: What That Means for Affiliate Budgets
OpenAI will roll out its ChatGPT advertising product to all U.S. free and lower‑cost tier users, but the platform provides virtually no performance data, no automated buying tools, and no reliable attribution. Advertisers must negotiate deals manually and rely on...
Reddit Surpasses Google in B2B Search Rankings
Eye-popping research from @TheCoolestCool on Reddit's unexpected domination of Google's B2B results: https://foundationinc.co/lab/reddit-b2b-saas Just look at these numbers 🧐🤯
Premium+ Fails to Boost Posts, Forced X Pro Upgrade Ripoff
I tried Premium+ @nikitabier I didn't do anything that it promised wrt to post-boosting Forcing me to upgrade to X Pro is a ripoff
![[Industry News] DIVA Agency Launches New Community and Creator Division Dedicated to Fan Engagement, Creator Partnerships and Community Building](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://mcvuk.com/wp-content/uploads/div.png)
[Industry News] DIVA Agency Launches New Community and Creator Division Dedicated to Fan Engagement, Creator Partnerships and Community Building
Diva Agency is launching a dedicated Creator and Community division in March 2026, led by Charlotte Willis, who grew the firm’s influencer business by 300% in 2025. The new team will serve the agency’s global games and entertainment clients, acting as...
Better Content Beats Paid Engagement Boosts
Not sure who needs to hear this but stop paying to boost your engagement. If you want more engagement, post better content. Such a shame. https://t.co/CkHIQoHJLD
Google Revises Shopping Ads Political Policy Worldwide
ICYMI: Google will update its Shopping Ads political content policy in several countries https://t.co/YI3Sj141FI https://t.co/5WbKVkbuZl
HAVAS Red Middle East Launches CRed to Bridge Brands and the Creator Economy
HAVAS Red Middle East has launched CRed, a new creator‑marketing practice that integrates the agency’s PR, influencer and experiential capabilities. CRed aims to shift brand‑creator collaborations from short‑term transactions to long‑term, credibility‑driven partnerships rooted in regional culture. The service will...
Instagram Launches Reels Ads for TV, Movies, Cultural Events
Instagram to Sell Reels Ads for Viral TV and Movies Content, ‘Cultural Moments’ Like NFL Games and Black Friday https://t.co/yxkIQNZSec via @variety
Fewer Reply‑guy Bots Could Boost Organic Reach
Now that reply-guying may be dead, will the algorithm become more generous with post exposure?
Closing the Incrementality Gap with Northbeam on April 8
The gap between marketers talking about incrementality and marketers actually using it to drive efficient scale is MASSIVE. @northbeam's Brayden Cruz and I are changing that for folks who tune in here on April 8. https://t.co/TwO3b0W6pP
Twitter Leverages AI for Real‑Time SEO, Threads Lags
The difference between Twitter and Threads right now: Threads: AI can’t do SEO research for you it doesn’t have access to real time data. Twitter: I just hooked up Claude to SEMrush MCP and setup 5 skills to handle all my...
Share NYC Billboard Photo, Tag Gemini, Earn BTC
Spot our billboard in NYC? ✅ Post a picture on X ✅ Tag @Gemini ✅ We’ll send BTC to our favorite posts https://t.co/me0e394cbA
AI Stripped All Schema—Over‑optimizing Went Too Far
Asked Claude Code to optimize the schema for a 1000+ page client website. It stripped all schema and tags from all pages. Seems like that was the most efficient way to solve it huh 🤔 https://t.co/hxf16MBIhB