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
Google Bets on ‘Helpful AI’ to Push Gemini Into the Zeitgeist in Super Bowl Ad
Google is debuting a 60‑second Super Bowl commercial titled "New Home" to promote its Gemini generative‑AI assistant. The ad follows a mother using Gemini’s image‑generation tools to visualize a move, emphasizing the platform’s "helpful AI" narrative. The spot anchors an integrated campaign spanning TV, digital, out‑of‑home, Lyft credits and a Madden Bowl sponsorship, marking Google’s tenth Super Bowl appearance. Gemini now serves roughly 650 million monthly active users, with its web‑visit share climbing to 22.5 % in December.
AA Signs Times Media Deal to Big up £66.6bn Sector
The Advertising Association has struck a strategic partnership with Times Media to launch “The Success Files”, a campaign that will turn the findings of its “Advertising Pays 25” report into real‑world case studies. The report showed UK businesses invested £66.6 billion...
Industry Urged to Adopt New GenAI Best Practice Guide
Advertising Association, backed by the UK government’s Online Advertising Taskforce, has released a voluntary “Best Practice Guide for the Responsible Use of Generative AI in Advertising.” The guide translates eight core principles—transparency, data use, fairness, human oversight, harm prevention, brand...
Chris Hemsworth Thinks AI Is Trying To Kill Him in Amazon’s Super Bowl Ad
Amazon debuted its new generative AI voice assistant Alexa+ in a 60‑second Super Bowl spot starring Chris Hemsworth. The ad humorously imagines Alexa plotting lethal scenarios, from decapitating Hemsworth to trapping him underwater, before ending with a benign massage booking....
![Why Off-Page SEO Still Shapes Visibility In 2026 [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Hethr_campbell](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://cdn.searchenginejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1-1-261.png)
Why Off-Page SEO Still Shapes Visibility In 2026 [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Hethr_campbell
The Search Engine Journal webinar, hosted by Michael Johnson of GrowResolve, explains why off‑page SEO remains pivotal for visibility in 2026 despite AI‑driven SERP changes. It outlines which signals—links, brand mentions, topical authority and trust—still influence Google’s rankings. Attendees receive...
EClerx Recognized as a Gold-Level Adobe Solution Partner
eClerx Services Ltd has been named a Gold‑level Adobe Solution Partner for the Americas, joining an elite tier of certified providers. The designation reflects the firm’s mature Adobe practice, AI‑driven capabilities, and a workforce of more than 1,500 specialists. eClerx...
Krikey AI Launches Advanced 3D Video Editor Tools to Revolutionize Marketing Videos for Business
Krikey AI unveiled an enhanced 3D video editor tailored for marketing teams, enabling brands to produce cinematic‑quality promotional videos in minutes. The platform offers customizable characters, immersive environments, and templates that align with Gen Z graphic design trends. By automating...
Artlist Debuts Its Big Game Ad Made In-House in Five Days Using AI
Artlist, an AI video‑creation platform, launched a Super Bowl‑level commercial that it conceived, produced, and delivered entirely in‑house within five days using its own AI tools. The spot parodies other 2026 Big Game ads and showcases broadcast‑quality results typically requiring...
Gymshark Appoints Carly Natalizia as Chief Commercial Officer
Gymshark has promoted Carly Natalizia to chief commercial officer after four years as vice president of marketing and most recently chief digital officer. Natalizia previously led marketing at The Very Group and held senior roles at Virgin Money, MBNA, Bank...
‘A Beautiful Mess’: Best & Less Unveils New Branding Campaign
Best & Less has partnered with Connecting Plots Group to launch a new brand repositioning campaign called “So. Much. Better.” The campaign reframes value as freedom for Australian families, emphasizing authentic, messy moments over curated perfection. Research underpinning the work...
Asia-Pacific Loyalty Awards Reveal Surge in Innovation
The 2026 Asia Pacific Loyalty Awards announced a 50% jump in entries, underscoring loyalty’s rising strategic weight across the region. Eighteen categories, from Best Overall Program to Best Use of AI, showcase innovations from retailers, banks, travel and telecom giants....
Cosmix by the Numbers: What Marico Gets in Its Latest D2C Acquisition
Marico announced the acquisition of a 60% stake in plant‑based nutrition startup Cosmix, adding the brand to its growing D2C portfolio that already includes Plix, True Elements, Just Herbs and Beardo. Cosmix more than doubled its FY25 revenue to ₹50.93 crore...
JB Hi-Fi Launches Retail Media Network, a First for the Electronics Sector
JB Hi-Fi announced the launch of its own retail media network, the first dedicated to the consumer electronics sector. The service is built in partnership with Retail MediaWorks and will allow brands and agencies to run targeted omnichannel campaigns across...
Gemini's AI Boosts Ad Inventory From Complex Searches
I found this part interesting: “…the longer AI Mode queries are creating new ad inventory. Gemini’s understanding of intent “has increased our ability to deliver ads on longer, more complex searches that were previously challenging to monetize.” https://t.co/VuF4kuWVJK
Glossy Beauty Podcast: Why Creators Are Building Systems — Not Chasing Virality — on TikTok Shop
TikTok’s U.S. operation was sold for roughly $14 billion to a consortium that includes Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, underscoring the platform’s strategic value. Recent data shows TikTok Shop moved about $19 billion of goods globally in Q3 2024, rivaling legacy marketplaces. Brands...
Sell Out Your First Batch in 30 Minutes by Building an Audience With No Product to Sell
In this episode, founder Kendall Kransdorf of COTTO explains how she sold out her first production batch in just 30 minutes by prioritizing audience building over product readiness. She shares concrete social‑media strategies—such as pre‑launch content, community engagement, and demand...
Ecommerce: How We Really Scale to $10 Million — Part 2
In the second half of their $10 million scaling playbook, Mark and Ian dive into the concrete tactics that turn traffic into sustainable revenue. They argue that email is the true growth engine, outline three levers—margin, lifetime value, and inventory—that dictate...
What Is A Transactional Email? (2026 Statistics And Services)
In this episode Karolina Petraskiene explains what transactional emails are and why they are the biggest revenue drivers for ecommerce, citing 2025‑2026 stats that show a $2.87 average revenue per email and a 19‑times higher conversion rate than marketing blasts....
How the SCAM Act Would Encourage Platforms to Go After Scammers
In this episode, Paul Benda explains the SCAM Act introduced by Senators Ruben Gallego and Bernie Moreno, which would impose new know‑your‑customer and ad‑takedown obligations on major tech platforms that profit from fraudulent advertising. He outlines why current market incentives...
Google AI Overviews Bug Removes Links & Citations
Google has acknowledged a bug in its AI Overviews feature that omits citation links from certain responses. The issue was first highlighted by SEO researcher Lily Ray, and Google’s VP of Search Engineering, Rajan Patel, confirmed the problem and said...
Internal Links: SEO Best Practices for Internal Linking
In this episode, Shopify Senior SEO Specialist Arthur Camberlein explains what internal links are and why they’re vital for both user navigation and search‑engine crawling. He breaks down the main types of internal links—navigational, sidebar, footer, breadcrumb, contextual, CTA, and...
Google Ad Revenue Up 14% - Google's Biggest Revenue & Ad Revenue Yet
Alphabet announced its Q4 2025 earnings, showing ad revenue climbing 14% to $82.3 billion. Total revenue rose 17% to $113.8 billion, pushing annual revenue past $400 billion for the first time. The company highlighted AI‑driven growth, citing Gemini 3 integration in Search and a surge...
Google’s Mueller Calls Markdown-For-Bots Idea ‘A Stupid Idea’ via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Google Search Advocate John Mueller publicly dismissed the practice of serving raw Markdown files to AI crawlers, calling it a “stupid idea.” Developers experimenting with Next.js middleware claim the approach can slash token usage by up to 95 % for LLMs...
Senate Bill Would Require Online Platforms to Prevent Fraudulent Ads
Senators Ruben Gallego and Bernie Moreno introduced the Safeguarding Consumers from Advertising Misconduct Act (SCAM Act) on Feb. 4, requiring online platforms to take reasonable steps to block fraudulent and deceptive ads. The bill expands the Federal Trade Commission’s and...
X Awards $1 Million to Top Article for January
X announced a $1 million cash prize for the best January article, part of a push to encourage long‑form content on the platform. The competition awarded $250 k to a self‑help piece, $250 k to a Trump‑focused analysis, and $500 k to a government‑spending...
LLM Ads Outperform Meta; Human‑Verified Badges Rise
Well, this is interesting. Update on a few of my 2026 predictions: #1 - LLM Ads Predicted they would knock the socks off of Meta ads. It's early, but reports of OpenAI charging the beta group $60 CPMs, roughly...
Trends in Selling Gifts On Internet This Year
The episode breaks down the 2026 online gift‑selling landscape, highlighting four key trends: personalization as a sales driver, sustainability as a trust factor, the rise of experience‑based gifts, and the dominance of mobile checkout and short‑form video commerce. Listeners learn...
Meta's Targeting Overhaul Forces Brands to Embrace Broad AI
January 15th, 2026 was Meta's deadline for detailed targeting changes. Ad sets using old interest targeting options stopped delivering. Brands with legacy campaigns got completely blindsided because they didn't audit their accounts. If you're wondering what to do now, I’m...
E-Commerce Growth: How Successful Brands Use Instagram in 2026
The episode breaks down how e‑commerce brands can turn Instagram into a direct sales channel in 2026, emphasizing a systematic content mix of product showcases, educational guides, behind‑the‑scenes stories, and user‑generated content. It highlights the power of AI‑assisted growth tools...
Top 10 Best Crypto Marketing Agencies for Web3 Growth – MEXC 2026 Rankings
MEXC’s 2026 ranking spotlights the ten leading crypto marketing agencies, placing Bond Finance at the top followed by Coinbound, NinjaPromo, ICODA and others. The agencies were evaluated on ROI, Web3 expertise, regulatory compliance, community building, client portfolio, innovation, market presence...
YouTube Expands Auto-Dubbing to All Creators
YouTube is rolling out its auto‑dubbing feature to all creators, expanding language support from eight to twenty‑seven. The tool automatically translates videos and lets creators review scripts before publishing. New “Expressive Speech” AI adds emotional nuance in eight languages, and...
UGC Product Videos that Actually Reduce Returns
User‑generated content (UGC) videos are emerging as a practical tool to curb e‑commerce returns by filling the information gap that static images and copy often leave. Short, authentic clips demonstrate fit, material feel, color fidelity, setup steps, and performance, turning...
Unlock Hidden Revenue with Complete Email Flows
5 signs your email program is leaving money on the table. And what to fix first: 1. Under 20% revenue from email Check if you have these 8 flows running: Welcome, Abandoned Cart, Abandoned Checkout, Browse Abandonment, Post-Purchase, Cross-Sell, Win-Back, Back in Stock....
Jewelry Product Line Playbook: $100K Months (2026)
The episode outlines a focused product‑line strategy for DTC jewelry brands to achieve $100K‑plus months in 2026, emphasizing a tight catalog of 3‑5 hero SKUs, consistent visuals, and a hero‑core‑expansion system that adds matching add‑ons to boost average order value....
AI Stalls Due to Orchestration, Not Quality
The AI Integration Problem Nobody's Talking About…Until Now Here's the plot twist: 92% of business leaders have a positive view of AI, yet 40% have paused or adjusted at least one AI initiative. According to RingCentral 's Agentic AI Trends...
Dentsu Appoints Duo to Bolster Leadership Media Team
Dentsu UK&I announced James Bailey as media CEO and Shenda Loughnane as Ireland market lead and global president of Dentsu X. Bailey moves up from leading iProspect UK, where he secured major accounts such as Kering, eBay, Netflix and Tapestry....
Ulta Spotlights 6 Female Athletes with New Beauty Roster, Strengthens Support for Women’s Sports
Ulta Beauty has introduced its inaugural Ulta Beauty Roster, partnering with six high‑profile female athletes across emerging and established sports. The roster is supported by a Roster for Change grant program aimed at reducing the dropout rate of girls in...
Google Ads Adds a Second Set of Eyes for High-Risk Account Changes
Google Ads has introduced multi‑party approval, a security layer that obliges a second administrator to sign off on high‑risk actions such as adding or removing users and changing roles. When an admin initiates such a change, an in‑product request is...
In Google Ads Automation, Everything Is a Signal in 2026
Google Ads automation in 2026 relies entirely on signals rather than manual settings, turning AI into the primary performance driver. Every account element—from conversion actions and keyword data to creative assets and budget pacing—feeds the learning model. High‑quality signals, especially...
Your Logo Should Be as Visible as Your Service
Our logos are not our brands. We hear this a lot. So much so that businesses can be shy about placing their logo too often, out of concern that they are not centering the customer enough. I’m guilty. This is...
How To Excel at SEO for Niche Markets
The episode breaks down how niche businesses can leverage SEO to attract highly targeted, high‑intent traffic by focusing on long‑tail keywords and deep, authoritative content. It outlines the benefits of niche SEO—faster rankings, stronger brand authority, and a defensible market...
Clients Demand AI‑Integrated Consultants Over Traditional Advisors
Why did it take me so long to see this? really, to accept it Had a conversation yesterday that finally crystallized what's been happening in the market. 👇 Companies aren't looking for traditional consultants anymore. They're looking for AI-Powered Consultants....
Free Beats Discount: The Irresistible Power of Zero Cost
A $10 item for $5? A $5 item for free? Both save you $5. But more people are motivated by the second option. Free can be magical. There is no risk. And free, as Dan Ariely points out, creates an...
New Intuit Mailchimp Report Reveals What Marketers Overlook at the Opt-In Moment and Why It Matters
Intuit Mailchimp’s new “Art of the Opt‑In” report reveals that most marketers misjudge consumer willingness to share data, leading to low‑quality email and SMS lists. Only a third of marketers rate their lists as very high quality, and merely 8%...
Flat Budgets Lose Clicks as CPCs Soar
Finance of B2B SaaS: “Your paid search and social budget is flat this year. We still need to grow pipeline by 20%.” Marketing team: “But clicks are down, and so are demos.” Here’s why: Click inflation is real. Paid search...
Review Sites Rebound After 2023 Update Declines
Interesting: Seeing some upward visibility trends among a few different review sites that saw big declines in 2023 (tied to core updates and 'Reviews' updates that year) The number 1 on the pink chart is the 2023 Reviews Update (August) https://t.co/6K8e0cZbpq
Free Platform for Laid‑Off Journalists Boosts Beehiiv
One of my favorite Win Win marketing moves: Offering people in need free digital product A kind gesture from Team @Beehiiv for any journalists that've been laid off. They get a free platform, Beehiiv gets trial from mainstream media writers. Win win....
Bold Return Policies Disrupt Markets, Casper Proves It
Casper made $100M disrupting mattresses with ONE insight: people will buy a mattress in a box if you offer 100-night returns. Meanwhile you're scared to offer 14-day returns. That's the gap.
Stop Blaming Algorithms—Create Better Content
It's honestly infuriating to see professional marketers blame the algorithm instead of being honest with themselves: Their content sucks. And bad content doesn't get seen. So make better content.
Google AI Overviews Missing Source Citations, Raising Ethics Concerns
Hey Google... Whatever happened to including citations in AI Overviews? Where did the sources go? Almost all links here go to new Google searches/YouTube? Are you seriously testing this? It's beyond unethical & unfair to site owners. @rajanpatel @rmstein https://t.co/TmMrYVyA5l