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.
Nest Hits Road with Coach Trip Star to Drive Awareness
Nest Pensions has launched the "Everyday Investors" social campaign, starring Coach Trip host Brendan Sheerin, to show members that their pension pots fund local projects across Yorkshire. The initiative, created by Atomic Supernova, is built on research revealing only 23% of Britons think their pensions are invested locally. By blending humour, on‑the‑ground footage and relatable life‑stage messaging, Nest aims to demystify pension investing and reinforce its auto‑enrolment promise. The series runs on paid social and YouTube, with production by Thin Reel and media buying by Goodstuff.
Incubeta Hires Ex-Wunderman Chief to ‘Join the Dots’
Incubeta has appointed Adam Woods, former CTO of Wunderman Thompson Data, as its first global chief product officer. Woods will consolidate Incubeta’s fragmented product suite into a unified, AI‑driven platform that delivers integrated media, data and creative intelligence. The hire...
EscalaX Reinforces Its Privacy & Compliance With BidSafe One
EscalaX announced a strategic partnership with privacy‑focused consultancy BidSafe One to strengthen its data‑protection and regulatory compliance posture. The collaboration will help EscalaX optimise consent management and align its operations with GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, IAB TCF and GPP standards. By integrating...
The Death of the Ad, the Birth of the Episode
In 2026 brands are abandoning the traditional 30‑second spot for vertical, episodic micro‑dramas that unfold on smartphones. Campaigns like Prada’s global series, Ajio’s *Suit Yourself*, and Cash App’s financial‑literacy reels treat the product as a background character while foregrounding emotion. The...
Havas Helia Appoints Andy O’Carroll in Major Shake-Up
Havas Helia has appointed Andy O’Carroll as its first chief creative officer, replacing two regional executive creative directors as part of a broader agency overhaul. O’Carroll brings a track record of Cannes Lions Grand Prix and D&AD awards from stints...
"B2B Is Human to Human": Why Anjali Gupta Is Replacing Machine-Talk with Storytelling
Anjali Gupta, founder of The Fractional CMO Company, says B2B marketing is reverting to brand‑centric, human‑to‑human storytelling amid a flood of AI tools. She warns that over‑reliance on superficial metrics like MQLs can distort true intent, while AI is reshaping...
Nissan Highlights Heritage, Connects Locally Ahead of Kuwait National Day
Nissan Kuwait launched the “Japanese but Kuwaiti at heart” campaign, highlighting its Japanese heritage while emphasizing local cultural relevance ahead of the 2026 National Day. The initiative, developed by Horizon FCBKuwait, centers on a hero film distributed across social media,...
As It Ramps up Push to Fund AI Bets, Meta Makes a New Play for Agencies
Meta has launched the Agency Growth Collective, a pilot program for independent agencies in the United States. The initiative replaces the traditional single Meta representative with a shared alias that routes communications to a rotating bench of specialists and offers...
LinkedIn Gets Real About Work, One Awkward Moment at a Time
LinkedIn unveiled a global brand campaign, “The network that works for you,” created with McCann New York. The humor‑driven ads spotlight awkward, everyday work moments while positioning LinkedIn as a partner for career and business growth. The rollout is split...
15 Smarter Interview Questions For Hiring Digital Marketers In 2026 via @Sejournal, @Brookeosmundson
Digital marketing hiring now demands strategic thinking over platform familiarity. The article presents 15 interview questions that probe candidates’ use of AI, data privacy adaptation, budget prioritization, metric storytelling, and cultural fit. It emphasizes evaluating the reasoning behind answers to...
Threads Now Offers Simplified Sharing to Instagram
Meta has added a one‑tap sharing option that lets Threads users push public posts straight to Instagram Stories without leaving the Threads app. The feature automatically formats the Thread into a full‑screen Stories frame, but it does not allow any...
Red Rooster Champions Australia’s Heartland in New Brand Campaign via Leo Australia
Red Rooster, Australia’s first chicken shop, has unveiled a sweeping brand campaign developed with Leo Australia. The rollout features two 30‑second TV commercials, shorter cuts, and a full suite of social, digital, OOH, PR and in‑store assets. Filmed in authentic...
Tariffs Spike Costs—Recalculate Your Break‑Even ROAS
Your ROAS looks fine, but your margins are bleeding. Why? Because tariffs jumped COGS 20-30% while your break-even ROAS stayed the same. You’re still trusting a dashboard number that’s been outdated for months. Recalculate your break-even, and thank me later.
Building High-Impact Enterprise SEO Teams: Creative Roles & Personal Branding SEO
In this brief episode, host Tyson Stockton talks with Ahrefs' Patrick Stokes about building an effective enterprise SEO team from scratch. Stokes emphasizes hiring versatile, creative talent for technical, content, and especially video roles, and stresses the importance of personal...
Frame Price as Cost per Wear to Boost Sales
Selling a high priced article of clothing? Increase purchases by framing the price in terms of “cost per wear.” New (2025) research shows this tactic works, but you need to do the math for people because they may not get...
Email Marketing Awaits True AI
Email marketing remains a revenue powerhouse for ecommerce despite predictions of obsolescence, thanks to its owned, measurable nature. Marketers envision AI delivering true audience‑of‑one experiences, tailoring offers, timing, and content to each subscriber. Today’s AI tools, however, function more as...
Google Shifts to Continuous Core Updates, Boosting 2026 Volatility
I shared some thoughts yesterday about what we are seeing. Would be great if Google would provide some info... I feel like they are moving to continuous updating of systems (which would align with what they said about 'more core...
Custom Apps vs SaaS: Weighing Innovation Against Crowd Wisdom
Replacing paid tools with vibe coded apps is all well and good, but something I'm thinking about is the importance of staying on top of what existing apps are launching. Sure you can bring a tool to parity today with the...
Steelers Strip Back to ‘Officially Unsponsored’ Kits in Bold Sponsorship Play via Ogilvy
The Australian Steelers wheelchair rugby team has unveiled an “Officially Unsponsored” campaign, stripping its green‑and‑gold kit to all‑white uniforms with QR codes where sponsor logos would sit. The QR codes direct fans to SponsorSHOP, a digital marketplace that showcases naming‑rights,...
ChatGPT Ads Intrude, Miss Targeting, Threaten User Retention
More examples of ChatGPT ads in the wild. The experience didn't sound great for @EmilyForlini. And the targeting might be off -> I'm Seeing Ads in ChatGPT, and OpenAI Broke Its Promise. Here's What They Look Like From Emily: "On mobile,...
Add Organization & WebSite Schema to All Homepages
SEO Tip: when it comes to using Schema for the homepage on a site, there are two types that I gravitate towards and recommend (especially for eCommerce stores). The two types are Organization and WebSite Schema, being tags that I see...
From the Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE/CRM Blogs: Set up reCAPTCHA V2; Extend D365 CE?; Business Process Flow Stages; New Rules...
Microsoft’s February 2026 update to Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys removes the legacy HIP captcha from real‑time marketing forms. The change mandates using Google reCAPTCHA v2 for all new forms immediately and requires retrofitting existing forms by June 30 2026 to maintain bot protection. In parallel,...
Boomers Unknowingly Flood Threads via Facebook Auto‑posting
The fact that Threads probably gets a ton of boomers posting on FB and not realizing it’s auto-posting to Threads explains *so much* of this app.
Final Drop: All‑In‑One E‑Commerce AI Toolkit
🎁 FINAL DROP: Complete E-commerce AI Toolkit. 50+ prompts for products pages ads emails funnels. Competitor analysis templates. Testing frameworks. Product research guides. Comment 'AI TOOLKIT' and follow. Sending in 24 hours. Let's dominate.
SEO ROI: How to Measure the Return on SEO Efforts
In this episode the host breaks down how to measure SEO ROI, walking listeners through calculating costs, attributing revenue via tools like GA4, and applying the ROI formula. Kyle Risley, senior SEO lead at Shopify, emphasizes that vanity metrics only...
Overpromise, Underdeliver: Lose Trust, Lose Leads
Marketers: Don't massively hype up your lead magnet and then fail to deliver. You might get someone's email but... You'll lose their trust. And trust is the currency of business.
Weekly SEO Support Newsletter Helps You Survive Search
🐵 #SEOFOMO : Your weekly newsletter emotional support companion for surviving search 💪 Subscribe now if you haven’t and join +42K SEOs : seofomo(.)co https://t.co/674n119BdG
How To Run an Instagram Takeover: Tips + Real World Examples
In this episode Lance Walker breaks down how to execute an Instagram takeover, covering what a takeover is, its three core benefits—new audience exposure, fresh brand perspective, and partnership opportunities—and who makes a good host, from loyal customers to influencers....
Share Your SEO Challenges, Win a Hoodie
🚨 Take the #SEOFOMO's Ecommerce SEO & AI Search Optimization Survey [2026] and participate in an SEOFOMO Hoodie & Mug Giveaway 👇 Answer the SEOFOMO Ecommerce SEO & AI Search Optimization Survey and help us identify this year’s biggest ecommerce SEO...
Yotpo Review 2026: The Definitive Guide for Shopify Brands at Every Stage
In this episode Steve Hutt breaks down Yotpo’s 2026 review platform for Shopify brands, outlining who benefits most from its multi‑channel UGC syndication and where it falls short. He categorizes Shopify merchants into emerging, growth, and established stages, recommending Yotpo...
Klaviyo Review 2026: The Definitive Guide for Shopify Brands at Every Stage
The episode reviews Klaviyo as the premier email and SMS platform for Shopify brands, comparing it to Omnisend and Mailchimp and outlining which business stages benefit most. It highlights Klaviyo’s unique ability to turn Shopify data into a real‑time customer...
Agentic Coders Accelerate Content Quality and SaaS Upsells
Agentic coders allow us to quickly iterate on what’s best for our customers using ClickFlow (our AEO/SEO content creator). I can’t understand any modern company that doesn’t use these. The speed we have as an org now would have been unfathomable 12...
Google Kills Excuses: PMax Now Mandatory
Google just killed every excuse you had for ignoring PMax. Full reporting. Negative keywords. Real split tests. This thread is your wake-up call 🧵 https://t.co/FqYcvnZVbf
Are ChatGPT Ads the Next Retail Channel? | Fast Five Shorts
Target and Albertsons are piloting conversational ads in ChatGPT, where sponsored product suggestions appear alongside user queries based on keywords. Early results show a 40% monthly traffic lift for Target, and the ads are clearly labeled and separate from the...
Non‑SEO Users Frustrated by AI Mode Shift
I’m not a fan of this change and have watched non SEO folks complain when they get stuck in AI Mode
Differentiating Enterprise SEO Content & Teams
In this brief episode of Voices of Search, host Tyson Stockton chats with Ahrefs expert Patrick Stokes about how enterprise SEO content and teams differ from smaller-scale operations. They explore the need for strategic alignment, cross‑functional collaboration, and specialized content...
AdX Publishers Warned: No Action Needed Amid Google Probe
As we await Judge Brinkema's decision in US v Google whether to break up Google's adtech business, evidence continues to be unsealed in SDNY tonight. "NEVER USE THE WORD BERNANKE EXTERNALLY, EVER." "All AdX publisher will be impacted." "Publishers do not need to...
The Economics Of Retention: How MoEngage Built A Defensible Moat In A Crowded Market
MoEngage has turned the high cost of user retention—estimated at five to twenty‑five times acquisition expense—into a core SaaS proposition. After raising $280 million in a Series F round, the company reported close to $100 million in ARR and achieved profitability in the...
Tube Trends: ‘Primetime’ For Social Video? It Depends
Tubular Labs’ analysis of U.S. YouTube activity shows a clear “primetime” window from 7 a.m. to noon ET, with the highest average daily views (6.1%) occurring at 8 a.m. ET. Early‑morning uploads also generate the most views per video, suggesting untapped potential...
Canela Media Partners with LiveRamp
Canela Media has teamed up with LiveRamp to let advertisers use LiveRamp’s interoperable RampID for seamless access to Canela’s over‑the‑top (OTT) inventory and broader digital destinations. The partnership opens a LiveRamp Data Marketplace offering more than 1,000 audience segments that...
Engineer‑style AI Marketing Tour: Live Demos Worldwide
I'm going on the WORLD TOUR 🌍 I've spent the last few months building marketing skills for Claude Code — automating the work I've done with 60+ startups over the last two and a half years. The repo has over 8,400+ stars...
Microsoft: ‘Summarize With AI’ Buttons Used To Poison AI Recommendations via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Microsoft’s Defender Security Research team unveiled a new threat called “AI Recommendation Poisoning,” where website buttons labeled “Summarize with AI” embed hidden prompt‑injection instructions. Clicking these buttons feeds AI assistants a URL‑encoded command that tells the model to remember the...
Embrace the Cringiest Platform, Scale to $7.3M ARR
4 years stuck at $2.5M ARR. I had no idea if this was my retirement plan or the thing that broke me. Then I built a $7.3M ARR company in 18 months with 3 employees and zero funding. The weapon turned out to...
Subscription Exodus: Consumers Are Fleeing 'Digital Overload'
Consumers are increasingly abandoning digital subscriptions, with email leading the exodus, according to Profit Engine’s analysis of the most Googled “how to unsubscribe” queries. The top ten services—ranging from Amazon Prime and Disney Plus to ChatGPT and HelloFresh—are cited for fee...
Pre‑filled LLM Prompts Drive Smarter Brand Traffic
Most marketers right now are trying to figure out how to get the LLMs to send them more Web traffic. Maybe the pro move is to do the opposite. Check out what Amplemarket HQ is doing. And when you press...
Google Ads Surfaces PMax Search Partner Domains In Placement Report via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Google Ads now displays Performance Max (PMax) placement data, revealing Search Partner domains, network types, placement types, and impression counts that were previously hidden. The change, documented to start in March 2024, converts an empty report into a tangible inventory of...
Gold Medal CTV
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan is drawing about 20 million U.S. viewers each day, with NBC’s Peacock platform delivering more streaming hours than the last two Games combined. Advertisers are abandoning traditional “Be Right Back” filler and deploying real‑time, native...
Why Scoring Hotel Image Quality Matters More Than Ever
Hotel images now shape traveler perception before price or reviews. Platforms and AI algorithms increasingly classify and rank photos, turning visual content into a data quality issue. To address this, hotels adopt structured image quality scores, typically 0‑100, evaluating dimensions...
Merchant Center Flags Feeds Disruption
Google Merchant Center announced a service disruption affecting product feeds, which began on February 4, 2026 at 14:00 UTC. The public status dashboard still lists the issue as under investigation with no estimated resolution time. Feeds power Shopping ads and free listings, so...
Trio of Lloyds Ads Highlights the Realisation of "Long-Held Dreams"
Lloyds Bank has rolled out a new series of advertisements under its "Bank on Lloyds" brand platform. The creative work was produced by Publicis Go, a bespoke agency team assembled for the project. The campaign highlights the realisation of long‑held...