Today's Digital Marketing Pulse
Accenture Song Acquires Whalar to Bolster Influencer Marketing
Accenture Song announced the acquisition of Whalar, adding a 170‑person global creator agency and keeping co‑CEOs Emma Harman and Jo Cronk in place. The deal also 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 capabilities.
5 Influencer Marketing Programs Brands Use to Scale Creator Campaigns
Influencer marketing is moving from isolated campaigns to structured, always‑on programs as 72% of marketers plan to boost budgets by 50% and 85% see the channel meeting their goals. These programs centralize creator recruitment, content production, payments, and performance tracking, enabling brands to scale partnerships across dozens or hundreds of influencers. Platforms such as Linqia, Creator.co, Upfluence, Aspire and Impact.com offer distinct models—affiliate, ambassador, UGC, marketplace and managed—to match varying objectives. Selecting the right program hinges on a brand’s primary goal, internal resources, scale ambitions, and measurement needs.
BackLite UK Unveils The Knightsbridge as Newest Addition to Landmark Series
BackLite UK has upgraded the Piccadilly Underpass in Knightsbridge with two massive 2.8 m × 14.4 m digital screens, delivering over three million fortnightly impressions. The revamp, powered by Daktronics’ 10 mm Outdoor Blue LED panels, moves the site into BackLite’s premium Landmark Series aimed...
Netflix's TikTok‑style Feed to Boost Engagement and Ads
All the $NFLX bears are not pricing in a addictive TikTok-style video feed coming out at the end of April. This means doomscrolling clips from shows, movies & video podcasts. How it benefits Netflix: • ad revenue (big one )...
Instagram Enforces Global Teen Account Restrictions to Shield Users Under 18
Meta has begun automatically converting all new Instagram users under 18 into “Teen Accounts,” applying a default private setting, follower‑only messaging and a strict “13+” content filter worldwide. The change aims to standardize child‑safety protections across markets and could reshape...
IronChess Rolls Out Integrated SEO Suite for Oklahoma City Pest‑Control Firms
IronChess Oklahoma City SEO announced a new integrated search‑marketing service built exclusively for pest‑control companies in Oklahoma City. The agency blends local SEO, technical site health and industry‑specific content to lift rankings and generate higher‑quality leads for home‑service firms.
Netflix Q1 Ad Buys +16%, Expected To Double This Year
Netflix reported a 16% jump in first‑quarter ad spending, aiming to reach $3 billion in ad revenue by the end of 2026—double its 2025 total. The platform now works with 4,000 advertisers, a 70% year‑over‑year increase, and the ad‑supported tier was...
Week in Review: Netflix Talks Up Programmatic, Viant Acquires TVision, and Digital Video Sees Rapid Growth
Netflix reported Q1 revenue of $12.3 billion, staying on track for $3 billion in ad sales this year, with programmatic expected to represent half of its non‑live ad inventory. Co‑CEO Greg Peters said scaling programmatic will broaden the advertiser base beyond large...
Meta Editor Auto‑adds Related Media, Risk Unintended Publishing
Meta media buyers, LOOK OUT 👀 If you go to EDIT an ad, even just to look at an ad's setting without changing anything, the system automatically adds Related Media. It won't publish automatically, buuuut, it will queue to publish the next...
Reclaiming the Power of the Story — Fueled by Data and AI
MarTech’s May 6 conference will host a panel titled “Marketing’s moment: Reclaiming the power of the story — fueled by data & AI.” Moderated by Content Monsta CMO A. Lee Judge, the discussion features Dale Bertrand, Melanie Deziel, Lexie Haggerty, and AI strategist Jordache Johnson....
Google Bans Back Button Hijacking, Agentic Search Grows – SEO Pulse via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Google added back‑button hijacking to its spam policy, making it a manual violation effective June 15, and gave publishers two months to audit all scripts, including third‑party libraries. The company also updated its spam‑report guidelines, stating that user submissions can now...
Skycom Installs ‘The Social Tree’ DOOH Structure at Select CityWalk
Skycom has installed a 50‑foot‑tall, 46‑foot‑wide digital out‑of‑home (DOOH) structure called “The Social Tree” at Nexus Select CityWalk. The cuboid LED screen offers 1,950 sq ft of 12K resolution display, 360‑degree visibility, 3D anamorphic capability, and synchronized lighting and sound. It also...
ENCO Upgrades SPECai With Multi-Voice and Video Capability
ENCO, Benztown, and Compass Media Networks announced a major upgrade to the AI‑driven spec‑ad platform SPECai at the NAB Show. The new features add multi‑voice generation with emotion control, integrated sound‑effects editing, and a plug‑in that transforms radio spots into...
Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Back Button Hijacking Penalty, Spam Reporting Change, Google Ads AI Max Replacing DSAs &...
Google announced a new spam penalty targeting back‑button hijacking, expanding its enforcement toolkit. The company also said spam‑report submissions may be used for manual actions, tightening the feedback loop for abusive sites. In the ads arena, Dynamic Search Ads are...
The Most Overlooked Asset in Your Influencer Program Is the Content Itself
A retail client swapped brand‑produced creative for influencer‑generated assets across paid ads, email, and its website, delivering a 57% lift in ROAS, a three‑fold increase in email click‑through rates, and a 3.5× boost in on‑site conversions with a zero‑bounce rate....
Ahrefs' Crawler Outshines Claude's AI Attempts
Death by Clawd - have you checked if your company is safe? Here at @Ahrefs we are going to be just fine it seems. 🙃 EULOGY: "We gather here today NOT to bury Ahrefs, but to acknowledge the uncomfortable truth: you can't replace...
Google Ads Safety Improves Year‑Over‑Year, Report Shows
Google Ads Safety report - here are the numbers year over year for the past several years https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-safety-report-41173.html
Redefining Enterprise Engagement at InnoEX Hong Kong: Aurora Mobile’s EngageLab Unveils AI-First Solutions
Aurora Mobile unveiled its AI‑first engagement platform, EngageLab, at InnoEX Hong Kong, showcasing solutions that tackle fragmented channels, siloed data, and costly integrations for global enterprises. The demo highlighted intelligent fallback workflows that automatically shift messages from email to WhatsApp...
Google’s Product Feed Strategy Points To The Future Of Retail Discovery via @Sejournal, @Brookeosmundson
Google is repositioning Merchant Center product feeds as the backbone of retail discovery across its ecosystem, including Search, YouTube, Maps, Lens and AI‑driven formats. The company cites more than 1 billion daily shopping interactions and 20 billion Lens visual searches per month,...
Success Lies Beyond the Click, Not the Creative
Most distribution systems don't die at the top. They die at the handoff. Ad performs. Page doesn't convert. Email opens. Link doesn't get clicked. Content lands. No next step exists. Everyone optimizes the first moment. Nobody designs what happens right after it. Ran paid campaigns with 4%...
Google's Dan Taylor on AI Mode & Evolving Marketing Measurement
In this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast, I speak with Google’s Dan Taylor about AI Overviews, AI Mode, the evolution of marketing measurement as platforms like PMax have gained a greater share of spend, Google’s UCP protocol,...
Anthropic Debuts Claude Design for Building Marketing Assets, Decks, and UIs
Anthropic Labs launched Claude Design, an AI‑powered platform that creates marketing assets, slide decks, and UI mockups using natural‑language prompts. Built on the upgraded Claude Opus 4.7 model, the tool lets users generate, edit, and collaborate on designs in real time,...
Immersive Map View Videos Revolutionize Google Ads
If you focus on the ad side of Google, you should be following Anthony. Here's just another great find, which is super interesting. "Immersive map view videos in ads".
Google’s Gemini Powers Massive Ad Purge and Local Dominance
And beyond 8.3B ads removed by Google (with the help of Gemini), here is another important area where Google has a massive advantage -- Local. I'm sure OpenAI is like, "Whoa... do we have to do that as well? Can...
Google Blocks 8.3B Policy-Violating Ads in 2025, Launches Android 17 Privacy Overhaul
Google announced that in 2025 it blocked or removed 8.3 billion policy‑violating ads and suspended 24.9 million accounts worldwide. At the same time it rolled out Android 17, which replaces the broad READ_CONTACTS permission with a granular Contact Picker and adds a one‑time...
OpenAI Stunned by Its Own Ad Platform Launch
I'm sure OpenAI is like, wait, what? ... as they roll out their new ad platform. LOL
Creator Partnerships Drive Explosive Growth, Not Ad Spend
Manscaped sponsored 2,000+ YouTubers, generating 2 billion views in one year and scaling revenue from $3M to nearly $300M. Meanwhile you're complaining about Facebook ad costs while ignoring the massive leverage of creator partnerships.
Mega Influencers Explained: Definition, Follower Count, Cost, and When to Use Them
Mega influencers are creators with over 1 million followers on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, positioning them closer to celebrities than typical influencers. While they deliver massive reach and rapid brand awareness, their engagement rates hover around 1.97%, far...
Poppi Lands $400K Shark Tank Deal While Founder Was Pregnant, Valuation Climbs to $2 B
Poppi’s co‑founder, Kayla Ellsworth, clinched a $400,000, 25% equity deal on Shark Tank while nine months pregnant, a deal that helped launch the brand to a $2 billion valuation after PepsiCo’s $1.95 billion acquisition. The story underscores how TV exposure, viral TikTok...
Netflix Targets $3 B in Ad Revenue by 2026 as Advertising Tier Fuels Growth
Netflix said its ad‑supported tier will generate about $3 billion in advertising revenue by 2026, roughly double the current level. The streaming giant now works with more than 4,000 advertisers, a 70% year‑on‑year increase, and programmatic buying is set to exceed...
Paramount Appoints Jay Askinasi as CRO to Unite Pluto, Paramount+ and BET+ Ads
Paramount announced that Jay Askinasi will serve as its new chief revenue officer, tasked with consolidating Pluto TV, Paramount+ and BET+ onto a single tech stack and rolling out premium streaming ad products. The move aims to leverage the company’s...
Dove Awards Seven-Figure Influencer Brief
Unilever’s Dove has awarded a seven‑figure micro‑influencer marketing brief to a creative communications agency after a four‑way competitive pitch. The brief targets micro‑influencers to drive authentic engagement for Dove’s personal‑care products. The deal underscores Dove’s shift toward performance‑based, socially resonant...
College Influencer Nah Turns Side‑Hustle Into Six‑Figure Career, Redefining Campus Marketing
Amherst College sophomore Nah has leveraged TikTok and Instagram to earn a six‑figure income from brand partnerships, signaling a shift toward student‑generated content as a core marketing channel for universities. The rise of “StudyTok” creators is prompting institutions to formalize...
Picsart Launches AI Playground to End Creator Subscription Fatigue
Picsart introduced AI Playground, a single‑prompt interface that bundles over 100 AI models from more than 24 providers. The tool replaces multiple subscriptions with a pay‑for‑use model, targeting the growing cost burden on independent creators.
DoorDash Unveils Three Data‑Driven Ad Tools, Claiming 14% Higher ROAS for Restaurants
DoorDash announced three new advertising products—Brand Interest Targeting, Brand Sales Growth and Average Ticket Sizing Reporting—designed to help restaurant partners acquire higher‑value customers. Early tests showed a 14% boost in return on ad spend and a 35% increase in average...
Munch Studio Launches AI Video Editing Suite That Turns Long-Form Video Into Social Media Content in Minutes
Munch Studio unveiled an AI‑powered video editing suite that converts long‑form footage into platform‑ready short clips in minutes. The tool automatically clips, captions, scores relevance, adds music and formats videos for Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Facebook and LinkedIn. All...
Your Favourite Commenter Might Not Be Writing Their Own Comments
A five‑week investigation of the Slow AI Substack newsletter scraped 4,929 comments from 139 posts and profiled 595 commenters. By analyzing comment‑to‑post ratios, conducting live Turing tests, and deploying canary traps, the author identified five accounts that use virtual assistants—human...
The Stack: Advertising’s Next Phase
Advertising, streaming and regulation converged this week as platforms intensified monetisation while facing heightened scrutiny. The IAB unveiled a guide to mature AI‑driven commerce‑media networks, and Publicis reported 6.4% revenue growth with 86% of its services now AI‑powered. OpenAI rolled...
Should Affiliates Buy Likes on Social Media? Here’s What the Articles Promoting It Won’t Tell You
The FTC’s Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, effective October 21, 2024, prohibits buying fake Instagram likes, followers or engagement when used to misrepresent commercial influence. Violations carry civil penalties of up to $53,088 per infraction. For affiliate marketers, the rule means that...
Spain Study: Streamers Using Geo-Targeted Ads to Boost Revenue
A Spanish university study of Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and HBO Max reveals that all four services are integrating geo‑targeted, personalised advertising into ad‑supported tiers. Researchers examined 920 ads across 536 episodes, finding that Prime Video runs the most ads...
Why Aspiring Actors and Critics Are Turning to Celebian for Instant TikTok Growth
Aspiring actors and film critics are turning to Celebian, a platform that sells TikTok followers, to jump‑start their online presence. A robust follower count signals marketability to casting directors, producers, and brands, helping creators break the visibility loop where content...
Consumer Use of Google for Discovery Declines
Clutch Research reports a sharp decline in Google reliance as AI assistants take center stage. Sixty‑nine percent of AI‑assistant users now use Google less, while 32% turn to AI first, surpassing the 28% who still start with Google. Daily AI...
MAG International Picks Oliver Chislett as Group Head of Programmatic
Media Agency Group International (MAG International) has appointed Oliver Chislett as Group Head of Programmatic. Chislett arrives with two decades of media‑sales and trading experience from firms such as Spotify, News UK, CarGurus, Etisalat and JCDecaux. In his new role he will...
PUMA India Turns RCB Jersey Into Everyday Fandom with #RCBEverywhere
PUMA India launched the #RCBEverywhere campaign, urging Royal Challengers Bangalore fans to wear the team jersey in everyday settings. The initiative features Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya in a digital film and highlights a viral Kumbh Mela fan moment. PUMA reports a...
Facebook Affiliate Partnerships Brings eBay, Amazon, and More Into Creator Commerce
Meta unveiled Facebook Affiliate Partnerships at Shoptalk, letting creators tag products from major retailers directly in posts and Reels. The rollout starts with Amazon in the United States and Shopee across eight Asian and Latin American markets, while eBay, Temu...
Hot Take: YouTube Shouldn’t Rely On Creators To Convince Brands It’s TV
YouTube is positioning its platform as a television equivalent to capture premium ad budgets, emphasizing the growing share of viewing on living‑room screens. At its NewFronts event, the company let creators pitch the TV narrative, citing data such as 62%...
TikTok Upgrades Ads to Bridge Content and Commerce
TikTok is rolling out upgraded high‑impact ad formats—including Logo Takeover, TopView and Prime Time—to turn the platform into a seamless "content + transaction" experience. These formats give brands immediate, full‑screen exposure when users launch the app and allow multiple impressions within short...
Sydney Sweeney Is Back, This Time in Shorts, for American Eagle
American Eagle relaunched its campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney, this time in shorts, after the previous ad sparked controversy over alleged white‑supremacy references but also drove a sales surge. The new spot leverages Sweeney’s rising profile from the final season of...
DoubleVerify Creates AI SlopStopper for Social to Tackle Low-Quality AI Content
DoubleVerify has launched AI SlopStopper, a new tool within its DV AI Verification suite designed to identify and block low‑quality AI‑generated content on social and video platforms. The solution blends proprietary AI detection with human oversight, feeding results into the...
Amazon Closes a Long-Standing SEO Loophole in A+ Content
Amazon has eliminated the seller‑controlled alt‑text field in A+ Content and Brand Story, replacing it with AI‑generated image descriptions. The change applies to new and existing assets across marketplaces, starting in Europe and expanding globally. Sellers can no longer edit...
The Rundown: Q1 Dealmaking Cools Across Ad Tech and Martech as AI Remains the Hottest Ticket
Deal activity in ad‑tech and martech cooled sharply in Q1 2026, with LUMA Partners reporting an 11% drop in total M&A volume to 103 transactions and a 30% decline in deals over $100 million. While ad‑tech deal counts held steady, high‑value...