Today's Digital Marketing Pulse
Consumer journeys go non‑linear, MiQ study finds
MiQ’s ‘From Funnel to Flexibility’ study, analyzing data from 53 million households and 700 trillion signals, shows 87 % of shoppers change digital activities at least hourly and 42 % describe their purchase path as random. The research, based on surveys of over 4,000 consumers and 600 marketers in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, challenges the traditional linear marketing funnel.
Also developing:
By the numbers: DOJO AI raises $6M Seed round
StackAdapt Brings Campaign Intelligence Into Claude with MCP Server Launch
StackAdapt announced the general availability of its Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server, which injects the platform’s campaign intelligence directly into AI tools such as Claude. The server lets advertisers query performance, creative status, and audience results in natural language without logging into StackAdapt, covering channels from CTV to DOOH. Setup requires minutes, no engineering resources, API work, or additional fees, and it opens the door for AI agents to monitor and automatically act on campaign data. The move positions StackAdapt as a rare ad‑tech provider exposing domain‑specific data to the broader AI ecosystem.
Google Rolls Out New AI Safety Features in Ads Advisor
Google is upgrading Ads Advisor, its AI assistant in Google Ads, with three new agentic safety features. The enhancements include proactive policy assistance, continuous security monitoring, and instant certification capabilities powered by Gemini. By scanning accounts and websites automatically, the...
3 New Ways Ads Advisor Is Making Google Ads Safer and Faster
Google Ads is rolling out three AI‑driven safety upgrades in its Ads Advisor tool. The platform will now proactively flag complex policy violations and guide advertisers through fixes, monitor accounts 24/7 with personalized security recommendations, and automate certification processes using...
OpenAI Turns on Cost-per-Click Ads Inside ChatGPT
OpenAI has activated cost‑per‑click (CPC) advertising inside ChatGPT, allowing marketers to bid $3‑$5 per click. The move follows a rapid decline in CPM rates, which fell from $60 to $25 per thousand impressions within ten weeks. By shifting to a...
Why Your Marketing Keeps Falling Off a Cliff (and What to Do About It)
Accounting firms struggle to keep marketing consistent amid client work, tax season and staff turnover. Generic AI writing tools often produce robotic, jargon‑filled copy that feels disconnected from a firm’s voice. Plot AI, launched for bookkeepers and accountants, uses a...
Hire Social Strategists Who Prioritize the WHY Over Trends
What do I look for in a social media STRATEGIST? Not trends, or ~culture~, or even content. I look for social media professionals that can explain the WHY behind their ideas. Social Media Strategy is all about coming up with strategic...
Prioritize Profit per Ad over Exhaustive Data Testing
Also think that most people are over-complicating "testing" by trying to buy data. You either are focused on performance and growth or you're focused on buying data & information. What's important to you, is it maximizing your profit and CM per ad...
Brands Want To Know How Well Their Affiliate Content Is Performing In The AI Age
Adobe and other brands are struggling to attribute performance in AI‑driven search results. Partnerize’s VantagePoint, a generative‑AI attribution platform launched in 2025, promises to identify which affiliate content drives traffic and conversions. The new Influence Compensation Lighthouse Program ties the...
Brands Want To Know How Well Their Affiliate Content Is Performing In The AI Age
Adobe is turning to Partnerize’s VantagePoint generative‑AI attribution platform to solve the attribution blind spot created by AI‑driven search. The solution, now enhanced with the Influence Compensation Lighthouse Program, assigns influence scores (HaloIndex) beyond last‑click and automates publisher payouts. Brands...
Daily Search Forum Recap: April 21, 2026
The Search Engine Roundtable highlighted several Google updates, including the insertion of shopping ads into the free‑listing grid and a bug in Search Console that blanks job‑listing metrics. Google’s John Mueller reiterated that SEO remains a moving target where imperfect...
WWO: Guidelines for Using AI to Build Your Media Plans
Westwood One’s Audio Active Group released guidelines for local advertisers on leveraging artificial intelligence in media planning. Cumulus Media president of operations Bob Walker emphasizes that AI can be useful but must be used with precise prompts, reputable sources, and...
OpenAI Launches AdsBot to Vet Ad Landing Pages
We've got a new OpenAI crawler and it makes total sense. Meet OAI-Adsbot: From OpenAI: OAI-AdsBot is used to validate the safety of web pages submitted as ads on ChatGPT. When you submit an ad, OpenAI may visit the landing page to...
Why IBM Says Every Brand Now Needs a GEO Playbook
IBM warns that AI‑driven agents will dominate search, estimating 75% of visibility shifting to machine answers within two years. To stay discoverable, brands must adopt a Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) playbook, a 12‑component system covering content, technical foundations, citation strategy,...
AI Cuts SEO Troubleshooting From Hours to Minutes
Old SEO vs New SEO Old SEO: Spend 3 hours analyzing why your organic traffic dropped 40%. Find nothing. New SEO: Connect your Google Search Console to Claude, get a ranked list of issues and fixes in 12 minutes according to your...
Meta’s AI Push Has Made Its Way Into Ad Creative. Not All Marketers Are Happy About It
Meta has been automatically applying AI‑generated tweaks to advertisers' creative assets, often without the brands’ knowledge. Snag Tights discovered altered ads that misrepresented its products, prompting the company to request a shutdown of Meta’s AI testing on its account. Other...
Introducing Index Cloud: Bring Your Own Intelligence Inside the Exchange
Index Exchange unveiled Index Cloud, a neutral compute layer inside its global data centers that lets partners run custom models, data and applications directly within the real‑time auction. Using containerized workloads, partners can process impression‑level signals in under five milliseconds,...
impact.com Expands Creator Management Capabilities with YouTube’s Creator Partnerships API
impact.com announced an expanded collaboration with YouTube as an early adopter of the Creator Partnerships API, letting brands discover creators, manage sponsorships, and pull performance insights. The integration offers end‑to‑end campaign management and access to verified audience and engagement data....
Podcast Data Firm Bumper Unveils Audience Verification Metric to Boost Advertiser Confidence
Bumper, a podcast data and growth firm, launched the Bumper Score, a new audience verification metric that rates podcasts on a 0‑200 scale with 100 as the industry average. The score aggregates first‑party hosting data, verified listener information from major...
Fashion Retailer Quince Tops Podcast Ad Spending, Sports and Comedy Dominate Genre Placements in March
Fashion retailer Quince led March 2026 podcast advertising with an estimated $6.57 million spend, primarily on comedy programs. BetterHelp, Amazon, Meta, and T‑Mobile rounded out the top five, each allocating roughly $5‑6 million, with a strong preference for sports podcasts. Magellan AI’s...
Meta Launches First Instagram Campaign in Thailand to Drive Reels Adoption
Meta has launched its first dedicated Instagram brand campaign in Thailand, a 10‑week digital effort built by BBH Singapore. The initiative features two hero films, six 20‑second Reels and 15 creator‑led pieces starring local influencers to spur Reels creation among...
Scam Texts Are Creating a Friction Tax for Retailers
Scam text messages (smishing) have surged, costing consumers $470 million in 2025 and eroding the near‑98 % open‑rate that made SMS a retail goldmine. Retailers now face a “friction tax” as shoppers delete or ignore legitimate texts, hurting engagement and revenue. Telecom...
The Tech Lab’s New Programmatic Governance Council Is So Over All The Ad Tech Drama
The IAB Tech Lab announced a new Programmatic Governance Council (PGC) comprising major buyers, sellers, and platforms to address inefficiencies in the $200 billion programmatic ad market. Co‑chaired by OMD’s Ben Hovaness and three sell‑side executives, the council aims to curb...
Why Marketers Are Switching Mobile Measurement Partners (And What To Look for Instead)
Marketers are abandoning legacy mobile measurement partners as consumer journeys now span TikTok, QR codes, email, web and apps. Nearly 50% of B2C marketers plan to replace their MMPs within the next 18 months. Branch positions itself as a next‑gen...
New Guide: The Identity Gap Holding Back Travel Marketing Performance
Travel marketers have poured money into orchestration tools, yet 70%‑95% of website visitors remain anonymous, limiting personalization and direct bookings. Wunderkind’s new guide argues that identity resolution is the missing layer that can turn invisible traffic into measurable revenue. By...
Google Veteran Joins Bulgarian AdScout to Tackle “Trust Tax”
Google veteran Lachezar Atanasov has joined Bulgarian adtech scale‑up AdScout as Head of AI Product. He aims to eliminate the industry’s “Trust Tax” by building autonomous orchestration infrastructure that amplifies authentic human advocacy. Leveraging his experience launching Google DeepMind’s GenAI...
What’s The Biggest Technical SEO Blind Spot From Over-Relying On Tools? – Ask An SEO via @Sejournal, @HelenPollitt1
The article warns that the biggest technical SEO blind spot is the false sense of completeness created when SEOs rely solely on tool dashboards instead of raw data. Tools deliver snapshot reports, prioritized issue lists, and simulated metrics, but they...
The Advertising, Media, and PR Award Winners From the 30th Annual Webby Awards
The 30th annual Webby Awards announced winners in advertising, media and PR, highlighting the best digital campaigns across more than 100 categories. Jury‑selected honors went to brands such as Centivo, NikeSkims, LinkedIn, and Wieden+Kennedy, while a new AI category recognized...
B2B Influencer Marketing in 2026: The Rise of LinkedIn Influencers in B2B Tech
B2B influencer marketing has migrated from occasional expert webinars to a creator‑led model anchored on LinkedIn, where founders, CMOs and product leaders publish consistently. These "LinkedInfluencers" build trust through repeated, expertise‑rich posts that shape buyer opinions long before a sales...
Going Global? Contextual AI Needs To Be Your Strategy
US and UK brands expanding globally often rely on accidental attention, but contextual AI is essential. Eskimi’s research shows AI‑driven contextual targeting lifts attention per mille by 74% and reaches a 95% brand‑safety score, far above standard display and keyword...
How to Measure Demand Gen Creative Impact with Asset Uplift Tests
Google introduced asset uplift experiments for Demand Gen campaigns, letting advertisers run A/B tests that isolate the incremental impact of specific creative assets. The framework requires a minimum of 50 conversions, continuous budget, and a 50/50 split to achieve statistical...
Google: When It Comes To SEO, Nobody Knows Everything
Google’s search quality lead John Mueller reminded the community that SEO is not static and no one can claim complete mastery. He warned that self‑proclaimed “SEO gurus” often lack depth and can mislead practitioners. Mueller emphasized humility, acknowledging past mistakes,...
Google: You Can Do A Lot Of SEO That Don't Work & Still Do Ok
Google’s John Mueller reminded the SEO community that the discipline is inherently complex and resilient. He noted that practitioners can implement many tactics that ultimately have little impact and still maintain decent rankings. This underscores the difficulty of pinpointing which...
The Power of Creator and Brand Collaboration Put to the Test
At SMW 2026, Inmar Media’s Heather Riccobono demonstrated that creator‑led branded content can double sales lift, challenging the brand‑vs‑creator dichotomy. In a live 25‑minute UGC experiment, creator Hannah Lorsch shot and edited a dog‑tug‑toy photo with input from the audience...
‘Fastvertising’ Puts Real-Time Cultural Moments in Every Marketer’s Hands
Fastvertising leverages AI to let brands produce ads in minutes, matching the pace of viral cultural moments. The concept was highlighted by Fraser Woollard of MNTN, who cited a Nutella‑in‑zero‑gravity spot during the Artemis II mission as a real‑time win. AI...
DB Digital Appoints Piyush Thakur as Chief Revenue Officer
Dainik Bhaskar Group’s digital arm, DB Digital, has appointed Piyush Thakur as Chief Revenue Officer. Thakur, who spent nearly a decade at Inshorts and previously led its advertising business, will oversee ad revenue across DB Digital’s web and app properties. He reports to...
Mother Dairy Rides IPL Viewership with Targeted JioHotstar CTV Push
Mother Dairy has launched a high‑impact Connected TV (CTV) partnership with JioHotstar for IPL 2026, orchestrated by WPP Media. The campaign embeds the brand in live match feeds, pre‑show segments, and milestone moments such as half‑centuries and centuries. By leveraging...
Craft Transformation Headlines: Promise Results, Relieve Pain, Stand Out
Transformation headlines do 3 things: 1. Promise a specific result 2. Acknowledge the pain point 3. Differentiate you If someone sees your pillar title and thinks "That's exactly what I need," you've nailed it. If they think "Oh, another post about Marketing," you've failed.
Team Tackles SEO, GSC Bugs, and AI Ads
On It's New, @MordyOberstein covers @johnmu on SEO statements, I cover GSC bugs and read more best practices and @TheMarketingAnu covers the Microsoft Ads AI news - no smiling thanks to @gregfinn https://t.co/a66J6LjzNe
JioHotstar Brings Purchase Intent-Led Ads to Streaming Platform
JioHotstar has rolled out a purchase‑intent advertising capability that ties streaming content to immediate product discovery. The solution uses aggregated, privacy‑safe data to form audience cohorts based on behavioural signals, moving beyond traditional demographic targeting. Instamart is the inaugural partner,...
Google Turns Search Into Task‑Based Life Navigation Platform
Google announced new tools for Search that further transform it into a tasked-based platform for navigating modern life. https://t.co/6904wIVGxD via @martinibuster, @sejournal
First‑time Founders Spread Too Thin, Miss Traction
Most first-time founders go wide too early. They set up ads, post on social, maybe do some cold outreach - and then wonder why nothing is sticking.
When It Comes "AI Unleashed" - Big Brands and Media Companies Are Still Uber-Cautious
Big brands and media firms are embracing AI to speed ad creation, but they remain ultra‑cautious. At a recent conference, a media exec warned that every ad will still be manually reviewed, slowing the promised hyper‑automation. Lenovo’s SVP of Intelligent...
ChatGPT Ads Launch CPC Campaigns with $3‑5 Bids
Interested in ChatGPT ads? Looks like CPC campaigns are live for some advertisers. @juokaz pinged me with some screenshots. You can select between Reach or Clicks for objective and then enter your Max CPC for the campaign. ChatGPT says to...
AI Overviews and Zero-Click Search Redefine SERP
#AI Overviews, Zero-Click Search, and the New SERP: Key Takeaways from STAT’s 2026 Analysis [NEW POST] - B2B Marketing Blog | Webbiquity - https://t.co/IlliieKlqo New #GEO and #SEO research from @getSTAT . https://t.co/RKdz1POwmU
The Problem with Influencers No One Seems to Talk About
The post argues that the influencer economy is a cultural virus that spreads misinformation, unrealistic wealth promises, and radical ideas, eroding critical thinking across platforms like LinkedIn, Substack, and TikTok. It highlights how many influencers lack real credentials, using sensational...
Google Search Console's Job Appearance Data Is Buggy
Google Search Console performance report for job appereance data is buggy https://t.co/3NitEYBZHY via @maxjpeters https://t.co/d0nGRKr4Ma
$250b in Ad Budget AI Reallocation: Bad News for Media.
The global advertising market is set to expand from about $1.25 trillion in 2026 to $1.5 trillion by 2030, adding $250 billion of new spend. Analysts predict AI‑native platforms could capture $200‑$300 billion of that growth, effectively reallocating most of the incremental budget. This...
Content Marketing Jobs Are Splitting in Two: Semrush
Semrush’s analysis of 8,000 U.S. content marketing job listings reveals a clear bifurcation of the role spectrum. Execution‑focused creator positions now account for about one‑third of openings, while senior leadership titles such as Head of Content have surged by more...
Creative Testing Beats Secret Algorithms for Scaling Success
I've hired 20+ media buyers. Here's the pattern: The ones who talked about 'secret algorithms' and 'growth hacks' were useless. The ones who talked about 'creative testing' and 'offer construction' scaled accounts. Your guru's secret sauce is a myth. Fundamentals...
Groas Introduces a Fully Autonomous Approach to Google Ads Management by Groas
Groas unveiled a fully autonomous AI‑driven platform that handles every step of Google Ads management, from campaign creation to dynamic landing‑page testing, without human intervention. The system relies on a distributed network of specialized agents that process over 100,000 data...