Today's Digital Marketing Pulse
Accenture Song acquires creator agency Whalar to boost influencer capabilities
Accenture Song announced the acquisition of Whalar, adding a 170‑person global creator and social team while keeping co‑CEOs Emma Harman and Jo Cronk in place. The deal includes a three‑year strategic partnership that gives Accenture access to Whalar’s talent‑management, technology and venture assets, integrating the creator network with Accenture’s data and AI tools.
The Trade Desk Launches ‘Ventura Ecosystem’ to Further Optimize CTV Advertising
The Trade Desk unveiled the Ventura Ecosystem, a collaborative framework linking global TV operating systems and streaming platforms to streamline connected‑TV (CTV) advertising. The initiative offers participants access to The Trade Desk’s ad‑tech suite—including OpenPath, Unified ID 2.0/EUID, OpenAds, and upcoming OpenPass—to boost programmatic demand, CPMs, and fill rates. V (formerly VIDAA TV OS), powering over 50 million devices, and Nexxen are the first members. The ecosystem aims to foster a transparent, revenue‑optimized marketplace for OEMs, advertisers, and publishers.
Tariffs Spike Costs, Crashing DTC ROAS
Your ad account looks fine: - ROAS is holding - CPMs are manageable - Conversions are flowing But your spreadsheet is screaming. As of February 2026, the average US tariff rate sits at 17% on all imports. For DTC brands...
Personalized Landing Pages Drive Conversions, Flint Automates Them
Your targeting is personalized. Your copy is personalized. But your landing page is not. That’s why you’re not closing the deals you want. If this is you, you need @tryflint. It’s a platform built for marketers to create tailored pages for...
Why the Smartest Omnichannel Brands Are Thinking in Moments, Not Channels
Retailers can no longer treat omnichannel as a checklist of platforms; they must view it as a storytelling discipline anchored in the customer’s moment. At eTail Palm Springs 2026, leaders from Furniture.com, Lowe’s, Stila, Perfect Corp. and tentree highlighted the...
Live Shopping Boom Awaits India: Seize Early Opportunities
On a previous #TeawithGaryVee I was asked how someone could take advantage of the opportunity presented by live shopping on platforms like WhatNot, since India is "not in yet" If you have a question for me, drop it here https://t.co/QjOodl7fTy so...
February Discover Update Extends Past Expected Timeline
We are now almost three weeks into the February Discover core update. Google said it could take up to two weeks to rollout. We are beyond that now. It's a tougher one to track since Discover data is personalized and...
What BodyArmor’s NCAA Deal Means for Coca-Cola’s Hydration Portfolio
BodyArmor has reclaimed the official NCAA sports‑drink title for the 2026 March Madness tournament, supplanting Powerade and rolling out a refreshed “Choose Better” campaign featuring athletes like Flau’jae Johnson and Jalen Brunson. The brand will be the exclusive hydration provider on‑court,...
Turn Spreadsheets Into AI Assistants for Instant Productivity
I keep hearing marketers say they don't know where to start with AI. Not an excuse. Start with the spreadsheet you're staring at right now. Last week, someone on my team had a ton of webinar leads that needed personalized...
Olaplex Links with ‘SNL’ Star to Blend Science, Style and Humor in New Ads
Olaplex has launched a new multichannel campaign titled “Science Never Looked So Good,” featuring Saturday Night Live star Chloe Fineman as the brand’s Chief Hair Officer. The 45‑second hero spot introduces the No. 3Plus bond‑repair treatment, which claims three‑minute application repairs three...
QYOU Media Earns TikTok Agency Partner Badge, Expanding Creator Marketing Capabilities
QYOU Media has earned TikTok Agency Partner status, joining a select group of trusted advertising partners. The badge gives the Toronto‑Los Angeles agency direct access to TikTok’s premium tools, analytics, and support for both organic and paid campaigns. QYOU already...
How Adidas Built A Loyalty Infrastructure That Blends Commerce, Fitness, And Content
Adidas has transformed its adiClub loyalty program into a multi‑dimensional ecosystem that blends commerce, fitness tracking, and user‑generated content. Members earn points not only for purchases but also for workouts, reviews, and outfit photos, with points serving both as tier...
BidOn Expands Leadership and Establishes Board to Advance Open Source Ad Tech
BidOn, a non‑profit open‑source ad‑tech platform, has announced a new board of senior executives from leading mobile‑gaming companies and the creation of a dedicated engineering team. The board will guide strategy, product direction, and governance, while the engineering group will...
Web Almanac Data Reveals CMS Plugins Are Setting Technical SEO Standards (Not SEOs) via @Sejournal, @Chrisgreenseo
The 2025 Web Almanac reveals that more than half of all web pages are built on content management systems, making CMS defaults the primary driver of technical SEO standards. Data from the HTTP Archive shows strong correlations between CMS adoption...
Shopify Adds ChatGPT to Merchant Ad Network
Well, that's interesting -> Shopify Shows Ads on Behalf of Its Merchants in ChatGPT "Shopify has started arranging for ads to promote its merchants to run in ChatGPT, the company told merchants, in an expansion of Shopify’s existing ad network. The...
Google Ads Support Form Requires You To Authorize Google To Make Changes
Google has updated the Google Ads support contact form to include a mandatory authorization checkbox. By checking the box, advertisers consent to a Google Ads specialist making direct changes to their account to reproduce and troubleshoot issues. The disclaimer emphasizes...
Microsoft Ads Test Multi‑Image Shopping Carousel
Microsoft Advertising is testing shopping ads with individual product image carousel/sliders https://www.seroundtable.com/microsoft-advertising-muti-image-shopping-carousel-40953.html #microsoftadvertising #bing #bingshopping
Later, Rebranded: The Story Behind Our Boldest Move Yet
Later announced a comprehensive rebrand, unveiling a new logo, color palette, typeface and a bold brand voice. The overhaul aligns the company's public image with its evolution from a social‑media scheduler to the world’s most intelligent influencer‑marketing platform, leveraging AI...
How To Start A Digital Marketing Agency In 12 Steps
Starting a digital marketing agency involves a systematic 12‑step process, from selecting the agency type and niche to establishing pricing models and building a team. The guide emphasizes defining ideal clients, investing in your own SEO, and using retainer contracts...
Simplify Landing Page Copy to Double Conversions
Here's something that feels deeply wrong but the data is undeniable. When you write landing page copy at a professional reading level—the kind that sounds polished and sophisticated—it converts at 5.3%. When you simplify that same copy to a 5th-7th grade reading...
Kylie Cosmetics Crowned Best-Performing US Beauty Brand on Social in January Based on Creator Marketing
Kylie Cosmetics topped the U.S. beauty brand social performance rankings for January, propelled by the launch of its new perfume, Cosmic Intense. On Traackr’s influencer‑marketing platform, the brand surged 47 positions to rank fifth overall and captured 83 % of its...
Future Boosts Creator Content, Personal Buying Advice and Registrations
Future plc unveiled three new initiatives—Signal, Collab, and Future+—to revamp affiliate e‑commerce, creator content, and membership registration. Signal shifts buying advice to personal “collections” that drive up to three‑fold social and email traffic, while Collab lets vetted creators publish directly...
How Amazon’s Creative Agent Turns Retail Media Into a ‘Commerce Engine’
Amazon Ads unveiled Creative Agent, an AI‑driven creative partner inside Creative Studio that lets advertisers generate video and display ads through a chat‑based workflow. Leveraging Amazon’s retail insights, the tool pulls product pages, shopper signals and brand guidelines to produce...
A Musician's Guide to Advertising on Facebook
The Hypebot guide walks musicians through Facebook advertising, outlining seven best‑practice tactics and a step‑by‑step setup for a first campaign. It emphasizes audience profiling, authentic short‑form video, minimal text overlays, and clear calls‑to‑action while leveraging Meta’s AI‑driven placement and budgeting...
![[Guest Post] Are Gaming Publishers Maximising Revenue From Programmatic Advertising?](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://mcvuk.com/wp-content/uploads/PHOTO-2026-01-13-15-01-58.jpg)
[Guest Post] Are Gaming Publishers Maximising Revenue From Programmatic Advertising?
Gaming publishers have upgraded to modern programmatic stacks—rewarded video, mediation, and in‑app bidding—but many still see flat or declining revenue. The article argues that the bottleneck is not demand scarcity but a lack of systematic monetisation governance, leading to static...
GWR’s Famous Five Jump Aboard for Myths and Legends
Great Western Railway has launched a new multi‑channel campaign that revives its 1920s myth‑based advertising, featuring the “Five and the Dragon Quest” film directed by Oscar‑winner Peter Baynton. The 60‑second spot stars voice talent such as Richard E. Grant and...
Samsung Ads’ Smart TV Carousel Delivers for Non-Endemic Brands
Samsung Ads introduced an Immersive Carousel ad unit on its European Smart TV home screens, supporting up to five rotating tiles per placement. The format appears on more than 70 million Samsung TVs, auto‑rotating every five seconds and also navigable via...
Bright Mountain and NeuIQ Announce Strategic Partnership to Advance AI-Driven Consumer Decision Intelligence
Bright Mountain’s Big Village unit has entered a strategic partnership with AI services firm NeuIQ to embed continuous, AI‑driven decision intelligence into its marketing platform. The collaboration modernizes data pipelines, adds reusable analytics assets, and delivers real‑time consumer insights to...
GUEST COMMENT Hello, Answer Engines: How Brands Can Stay Seen when Users Don’t Click
In 2025 Google and Bing introduced AI‑powered snippets and chat‑style overviews that answer queries directly, ushering in a zero‑click search era. Brands can no longer rely on traditional click‑through SEO and must instead structure content for featured snippets, FAQ blocks,...
AI‑Powered Descriptions Boost Ecommerce Traffic 368% YoY
Ecommerce SEO: here's how we increased merchant listing traffic for my client by 368% YoY. For this client, the uplift YoY compared to 2024 was so significant that it made 2025 a challenge to outperform... but we managed to do it...
AI SEO Success Demands Classic Change Management Playbook
The AI SEO transformation requires a decades-old proven playbook: Organizational change management. https://t.co/S1mGzgdyUf via @Kevin_Indig, @sejournal
MarTech Interview With Ethan Gustav, Group President, North America @ Infobip
Ethan Gustav, Infobit’s Group President for North America, says AI has moved from a support‑only tool to a core marketing engine, with AI agents expected to handle up to 95% of customer interactions. He highlights the rise of domain‑specific language...
Big SEO Tool Traffic Spikes Rarely Last.
General rule of thumb: if there is a popular SEO/GEO tool out there that promises a big surge in traffic, it 99% won't last forever and will probably crash within a few months.
Grab Attention: Proven Thumbnails That Drive Clicks
Thumbnails that made us stop 👀 Tiger chaos, a “cheating?” reveal, and pure Red Bull adrenaline. Get our free YT Thumbnails Hack Pack with 100 more top thumbnails: https://t.co/H5zQZBPsBe https://t.co/fNTUlQxN3l
Mktg.Tech Launches Independent Ranking and Evaluation Platform for Marketing Technology
Mktg.Tech has unveiled an independent platform that ranks and evaluates marketing technology tools, agencies, and AI solutions using a documented, data‑driven scoring system. The methodology assesses functionality, integration capability, operational impact, and category‑specific performance, delivering transparent comparative insights rather than...
Google Ads Support Demands Full Account Access
Google Ads support form requires you to give Google Ads reps access and rights to make changes to your ad accounts https://t.co/PKHMlOigWF via @beXtremeArpan https://t.co/GBCs6b1rAg
Google Experiments With Date‑Less Articles in Discover
Google is testing removing dates from articles in the Google Discover feed https://t.co/TB90cdSZ4z via @AndellDam confirmed by Google's @rajanpatel https://t.co/khavzoWVeu
GoWit Announces Partnership with Publicis Media Middle East to Scale Commerce & Retail Media Across MENA & Türkiye
GoWit, a commerce‑enablement platform, has entered a strategic partnership with Publicis Media Middle East to expand its retail‑media solutions across the MENA region and Turkey. The collaboration will combine GoWit's AI‑driven shopping tools with Publicis' extensive media network, enabling brands...
Why Custom Algorithm Company 59A Cares So Much About Offline Data
Custom algorithm firm 59A, which has been serving UK advertisers for six years, announced its U.S. launch last week, appointing Jon Nash as the first U.S. CEO. The company builds bespoke media‑buying code by blending online signals with a wide...
‘The Blair Witch Project’ Campaign That Convinced People the Movie Was Real
The Blair Witch Project’s 1999 launch hinged on a guerrilla marketing campaign that presented the fictional disappearance of three student filmmakers as a real event. Directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez built a faux‑documentary narrative, complete with missing‑person posters, a...
Samsung Ads Launches Immersive Carousel Home Screen Ad Unit
Samsung Ads has introduced an Immersive Carousel ad unit for Samsung Smart TV home screens across Europe, allowing up to five interactive tiles that rotate automatically or can be navigated with the remote. The format appears on the home screen,...
Menarini Consolidates APAC Media Mandate with Agency Appointment
Menarini Asia‑Pacific has appointed Omnicom Media’s PHD as its regional media agency, expanding the partnership to seven additional markets—India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea—effective January 1 2026. The new remit consolidates media planning and buying across Menarini’s pharmaceutical and consumer‑health...
Best Practices Are Meaningless Without Audience Research
The article argues that generic best practices produce mediocre marketing results unless they are informed by audience research. It explains that understanding the specific audience’s preferences, language, and hang‑out places transforms bland tactics into resonant campaigns. Practical methods such as...
Cheil India Creates “Many Me’s in Me” Campaign for Samsung Galaxy Book5
Cheil India unveiled a brand film for Samsung’s Galaxy Book5 titled “Many Me’s in Me,” portraying a Gen Z protagonist navigating multiple creative identities. The ad positions the laptop’s AI capabilities—AI Select, Photo Remaster, and Copilot—as seamless enablers rather than technical...
FAST Trend Report 2026: What’s Trending?
Free ad‑supported streaming TV (FAST) has become the new normal in 2026, reshaping audience habits, advertising models, and content monetisation. International programming, especially Asian dramas and anime, generated $8 billion in streaming revenue between 2020‑2024, while FAST sports channels grew 105%...
Data: Champions League on Prime Video Attracting New Advertisers
Amazon Ads reports a surge in demand for UEFA Champions League advertising on Prime Video, attracting brands across automotive, financial services, lifestyle and travel. Brand‑lift studies show average lifts of 20% in favourability, 14% in familiarity and 21% in purchase...
Episode 135 - AI SEO with Gauge's Caelean Barnes
Episode 135 features Gauge’s Caelean Barnes discussing how artificial intelligence is reshaping SEO. Barnes explains Gauge’s AI‑driven keyword research, content optimization, and SERP forecasting tools. He shares case studies showing traffic lifts of 30‑50% after implementing AI recommendations. The episode...
X Plans to Combat AI-Generated Content While Promoting Grok
X announced new anti‑AI‑bot measures, including user‑added tags for AI‑generated posts and upgraded detection tools, while simultaneously promoting its Grok chatbot across the platform. Head of product Nikita Bier emphasized the need to protect the “human pulse” of X from synthetic...
From Clicks to Impactful Visibility: SEO’s 2026 Evolution
#SEOFOMO x Berlín SEO & Content Club: SEO, AI Search and the New Playing Field in 2026 - An excellent recap by @mjcachon going through what was discussed last week at the event: * The Real Shift: From Clicks to...
Optus Launches ‘Pride Blooms From Yes’ For Mardi Gras 2026 Via Apparent
Optus has unveiled its ‘Pride blooms from Yes’ campaign, marking the telecom’s fifth year supporting the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2026. Developed by creative agency Apparent, the platform features a video series that spotlights personal moments from Optus’s...
New Brand Boosts Profitability, Prepares March Scale
First month on with a new brand - already improving profitability overall and looking to scale moving into March. New Offer + New account Strategy. Next week we launch first round of UGC we curated and first large batch of ad creative....