Know What's Happening in Digital Marketing
Know What's Happening in Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing Pulse
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EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
Samsung Ads and Crumbl drive 23% conversion on CTV campaign
Samsung Ads partnered with Crumbl for a seven‑week CTV acquisition push, delivering over 16,000 app installs and five‑figure revenue. The effort achieved a 23% conversion rate that outperformed Crumbl's social campaigns, aided by transparent attribution through AppsFlyer, and Samsung later reduced the guaranteed cost‑per‑install.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Cvent acquires ON24
PPC is moving past traditional search as AI‑first ad formats like Microsoft’s showroom ads and immersive gaming placements gain traction. Visual creative is becoming a staple throughout the funnel, with brands needing richer asset libraries to feed AI‑driven optimization. Experts from Google and Microsoft warn that AI should amplify, not replace, human creativity, emphasizing distinct assets to avoid “AI chaos.” Measurement is shifting toward first‑party data, incrementality and theme‑based insights as privacy constraints tighten.
The 2026 GEO and AI‑Search conference circuit now features 14 dedicated events worldwide, from AEO Conf in San Francisco to GEO KNOW HOW in Berlin. These gatherings blend traditional SEO programming with new AI‑search tracks, showcasing speakers from OpenAI, Ahrefs, Moz, and HubSpot....
Roku retained its position as the leading connected‑TV (CTV) platform for open programmatic ads in Q4 2025, commanding a 32% share of impressions. Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV followed with 16% and 15% respectively, while LG surged 79% quarter‑over‑quarter to reach 10%...
A study by Audio Visual Nation examined Google search activity for all 67 Super Bowl advertisers and found that curiosity‑driven ads generated the highest return on attention. AI search startup Genspark led the pack with a 5,852% search spike, far...
Microsoft announced that longtime Xbox head Phil Spencer and president Sarah Bond are departing the division. Asha Sharma, previously Microsoft’s CoreAI product president, will take over as Xbox CEO, while Matt Booty moves into the chief content officer role. The...
Canadians express strong support for ethically produced goods, yet rising food prices push cost to the forefront of purchase decisions. Researchers found that framing the ethical premium as a price increase discourages buying, while offering the same price with a...
In this episode, Steve Hutt outlines a 2026 playbook for building direct‑to‑consumer brands in heavily regulated categories like cannabis, CBD, and alcohol, emphasizing a shift from paid ads to owned media. He details a tech stack—Shopify, Klaviyo, and subscription/loyalty apps—and...
Meta will host its Marketing Summit Online 2026 on March 11, a virtual event spanning three continents for marketers, brand executives, and creators. The agenda includes Meta’s 2026 product roadmap, AI‑driven advertising tactics, and performance measurement sessions led by senior...
Google’s John Mueller publicly discouraged large sites from force‑indexing pages, emphasizing reliance on natural crawling. The company also refreshed its Google Business Profiles review policies, tightening prohibited content rules. Google Ads announced new budget‑pacing mechanics for ad scheduling that take...
LG Ad Solutions’ February‑May 2024 study of 1,435 Connected TV users shows that 94% of Hispanic Americans can access Connected TV, and most favor streaming over traditional broadcast. The primary drivers are greater control and broader content choices, with the...
An ANA survey of 84 brand marketers reveals that only half have full visibility into influencer agency payments, with up to 61% potentially facing opaque compensation structures. More than half of respondents intend to revise their compensation models within the...
A recent survey shows that most American internet users find ads embedded in AI‑generated search results intrusive, preferring organic answers. The finding coincides with broader ad fatigue on streaming platforms and signals a shift in how marketers must approach AI‑driven...
I'll be heading down to Tampa for Digital Summit soon. The topic: Delivering AI-Powered Content and Automations That Scale Here's more about my session: Marketing leaders are expected to produce more content, faster, without sacrificing quality or team bandwidth. But...
Emina Demiri Watson, head of digital at Vixen Digital, revealed that the agency deliberately terminated a client that generated roughly 70% of its revenue after a three‑month toxic relationship deteriorated. The move exposed a severe customer‑concentration risk that the firm...
Here’s a question most agency owners can’t answer: What is a single lead actually worth to your business? When you know that number, everything changes: what you spend on ads, which partnerships you say yes to, whether that content strategy is actually...
Holy shit...Buzzy AI just killed the entire "viral video" industry. It uses AI to research what's actually going viral, then generates videos that match those patterns with your brand. This changes everything for content creators. Here's how it works↓ https://t.co/FGWGX9AUam
UK investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown launched a new television advertisement created by Wonderhood Studios that emphasizes the value of experience in today’s rapidly changing financial landscape. The spot portrays seasoned advisors guiding clients through market turbulence, positioning experience as a competitive...
Google Ads is changing app‑campaign conversion attribution from the click date to the actual install date. This aligns Google’s reporting with Mobile Measurement Partners such as AppsFlyer and Adjust. The shift eliminates the default 30‑day lag that often delayed conversion...
AI Search Isn’t Replacing SEO — It’s Rewriting Visibility: Key Insights from the @Conductor 2026 AEO / GEO Benchmarks Report - B2B Marketing Blog | Webbiquity - https://t.co/Cs3W27UiQI
Google unveiled a Scenario Planner inside its Meridian Marketing Mix Modeling platform, enabling marketers to model budget‑allocation shifts and forecast outcomes without coding. Microsoft introduced a scenario‑based Performance Max learning path that guides advertisers through realistic campaign situations, from setup...
Music‑marketing startup Plates captured the top prize at Music Ally’s SI:X startup contest. The platform offers a unified dashboard that aggregates artist streams, followers, and growth metrics across a label’s entire roster. Built‑in AI features, including a chatbot, deliver instant...
Research by Popmenu of 328 restaurant leaders shows 44% already use AI and another 25% plan adoption, while 78% are optimizing sites for AI‑driven search. Consumer spending dropped to $90 weekly, a $25 decline, prompting operators to lean on digital...
Google Ads now shows advertisers how landing‑page images can be turned into Performance Max (PMax) creatives. By opting in, brands allow Google to pull visual assets directly from their webpages and automatically generate ad variations. The platform previews these automated...
Google Ads announced a change to budget pacing for campaigns that use ad scheduling, rolling out on March 1, 2026. The update ensures the system will proactively spend up to the monthly limit of 30.4 times the average daily budget,...
Press releases alone no longer guarantee coverage, but a data‑driven, journalist‑centric approach can revive their impact. By researching recent relevant stories, citing journalists in the release, and then pitching them directly with tailored messages, practitioners can secure multiple organic features....
In this 1‑minute 42‑second episode of Voices of Search, host Tyson Stockton chats with Ahrefs expert Patrick Stokes about building a high‑impact enterprise SEO team. They discuss the evolving nature of SEO, the importance of giving back to the community,...
OtterlyAI released a study of over 1 million AI‑generated citations from ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, finding that roughly 95% of AI answers draw on third‑party sites rather than brand‑owned domains. The report, titled “The AI Citation Economy,” maps citation...
Coca‑Cola is pivoting from price‑driven growth to AI‑enabled persuasion, testing generative AI across its marketing pipeline. The company is using AI to draft scripts, create images, and tailor campaign messaging in near real‑time as inflation eases. This shift positions AI...
AuthorityStack.ai launched an AI visibility tracking platform that monitors how large language models cite and summarize brand content. The service covers major LLMs such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews, providing real‑time citation alerts and traffic attribution....
![[Industry News] Second Stage Brings Innovation in Wishlist Forecasting, Attribution, and More to the Games Industry](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://mcvuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2s-blog-insights-650x325-1.png)
Second Stage has launched the TRACKS platform to give PC and console game marketers precise attribution of ad spend to wishlist adds and purchases. The solution consolidates over 65 data integrations, turning fragmented reporting into a single, real‑time dashboard. Backed...
Meet The People (MTP) has launched MTP Intelligence, a proprietary AI‑enabled platform that consolidates creative, media, commerce and analytics into a single environment for its ten agency brands. Powered by its own data firm RADaR Analytics, the platform orchestrates end‑to‑end...
KNOREX announced the launch of its agentic AI‑ready Ads API, a unified infrastructure layer designed to automate cross‑channel advertising workflows. The API, compatible with Amazon Ads MCP and the open Advertising Common Protocol, enables AI agents to manage campaigns on...
Luzia, a Latin‑American AI assistant, moved from generic Google Display ads to Koah’s generative‑AI ad network to deliver native, context‑aware ads within its chat interface. Koah’s flexible formats—color, size, interactive polls—and hybrid CPC/CPM/CPE pricing let Luzia experiment with placement before...
Hakuhodo Bangkok unveiled the “Quick Click. Life Slick.” campaign to promote the Provincial Electricity Authority’s new digital hub, PEA Sabuy Service, which bundles five electricity‑related functions into a single online portal. The effort uses humor and the Thai notion of...
Early‑stage startups often drown in fragmented marketing tools, wasting precious runway on dashboard management instead of growth. The article outlines a lean AI‑powered stack built around five core jobs: customer research, content creation, search/AI visibility, distribution, and measurement. By mapping...
Tinder has teamed with Netflix to roll out the “Let Thy Swipe Season Begin” campaign, leveraging the popularity of Bridgerton’s Regency romance to re‑energize Australia’s dating market. The partnership is anchored by Tinder’s new Yearn Index, which shows more than...
Later’s 2026 guide argues that social‑media success hinges on intent, not platform hype. Brands should select a single "home base" platform for authority and one supporting channel for reach, avoiding the performance leak of platform sprawl. The article provides a...
Marketing‑Interactive’s Gen Z Perspectives highlights three standout Chinese New Year campaigns in Singapore and Malaysia. Australian Pork’s CNY initiative reframes prosperity around trust and quality, featuring MasterChef judge Audra Morrice. The Singapore Kindness Movement released a cheeky short film, “Pineapple...
CeraVe has entered the Australian hair‑care market with a dermatologist‑developed Anti‑Dandruff and Gentle Hydrating line. The launch is supported by creative agency 2045 and a "Game‑Changing Hydration" campaign that positions scalp health as a performance issue. Australian athletes Thanasi Kokkinakis...
When I’m crafting a marketing strategy, these are the areas I’m considering to make sure my client gets the best ROI: 1️⃣ High-Impact Channels → Drives potential return (more impact = more ROI) 2️⃣ Team Strengths → Increases efficiency and quality...
Retail giant Walmart expanded its shoppable video strategy by hosting a 25‑minute livestream from the Milan Olympic Village during the Winter Games. The event, titled “Her Day Made Easy,” featured Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez and showcased Procter & Gamble...
Live Shopping—also called video commerce—combines real‑time video, interactive chat, and instant checkout to turn product demos into sales. Success hinges on four essentials: attracting viewers through pre‑event promotion and multi‑streaming, offering exclusive incentives that compel purchase, keeping audiences engaged with...
Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) hosted its 69th Adrian Awards on February 18 in New York, honoring the year’s most innovative travel and hospitality campaigns. The ceremony introduced a refreshed structure with 30 categories split across Paid, Earned,...
Joolies, a California‑grown Medjool date brand, revamped the sleepy dried‑fruit category with vibrant mint‑green stand‑up pouches and clear tubs, targeting younger shoppers. Leveraging nano‑influencers under 5,000 followers, the brand emphasized authentic lifestyle messaging rather than clinical claims. The strategy propelled...
Most subject lines announce. The best ones tease. "Our New Spring Collection" tells me what's inside before I open it. There's nothing left to be curious about. "We almost didn't release these" makes me need to know why. One gives away the answer....
Academic research by Rasmus Kleis Nielsen argues that news publishers continue to rely on tech platforms despite vocal criticism because audience reach and incremental revenue outweigh the desire for platform independence. The study cites that only about 4 % of traffic...
SalientMG announced a strategic partnership with Hivekind AI to combine its B2B go‑to‑market (GTM) advisory services with Hivekind’s pre‑pipeline decision engine. The joint offering promises startups a unified system that aligns ideal customer profile (ICP) definition, account prioritization, and buyer‑group...
The article argues that influencer campaigns deliver higher ROI when brands give creators genuine autonomy rather than rigid scripts. Data shows Gen Z audiences distrust brands that micromanage creators, and only 10 % of creators feel they have creative control despite 53 %...
These 3 changes to our cold email copy 5x’d demos booked last week. OLD VERSION: Subj: $18 per lead is a lot Body: You’re paying ~$18 per lead or more on Meta right now. And, some more if they don’t...
Big. A major new law & tech paper takes on the economics of behavioral advertising - the kind that tracks users across multiple businesses and contexts, not just on sites they choose to visit. It challenges industry’s favorite claim: that tracking...
