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.
Inside United Airlines’ ‘Mean Girls Day’ Campaign and the Pivot that Made It Work
United Airlines' social team built a Mean Girls Day campaign for Oct. 3, featuring actor Jonathan Bennett. When Taylor Swift announced a new album release on the same day, the team quickly re‑engineered the concept, weaving Swift’s buzz into the video while keeping Bennett as the focal point. The pivot added cultural relevance, retained United’s brand voice, and generated 15.5 million views across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. The effort illustrates how real‑time agility can turn a potential clash into a high‑engagement moment.
5 Real Writing Rules Behind 1,200+ Posts
I've written 1,200+ social media posts in the last year. here are 5 writing rules I actually follow. none of them are "use hooks" or "add emojis."
Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI) and the Future of Streaming
Server‑guided ad insertion (SGAI) is a hybrid approach that gives publishers server‑side control over ad break timing while allowing the player to manage the actual ad rendering. It bridges the resource‑heavy client‑side insertion (CSAI) and the less flexible server‑side insertion...
Facebook's 2026 Rules for Reach & Relevance
In this episode, Michael Stelzner, Jerry Potter, and Facebook ads expert Tara Zerker break down Meta's 2026 updates that prioritize original short‑form video and crack down on low‑value reposts. They explain how Meta will use a content "fingerprint" to identify...
Winning Growth Comes From Intent, Not Mere Reach
Reach is a vanity metric dressed up as a growth strategy. Everyone's optimizing for impressions. The ones winning are optimizing for intent. Reach tells you how many people saw you. Intent tells you how many were ready. Those are not the same thing. Ran cold email...
AEO, GEO, SEO: Who, What & Why
Reza Moaiandin of SALT.agency explains that SEO, AEO and GEO are interconnected facets of AI‑driven search, not separate silos. He highlights a 20% adoption tipping point for generative AI that is compressing discovery, comparison and purchase into a single interaction....
Digest: Netflix to Refocus on Ads and Content After Warner Bid; IAB Sets AI Commerce Media Guidelines; WPP in Talks...
Netflix is set to report its first earnings since abandoning the Warner Bros. Discovery deal, highlighting a renewed emphasis on advertising and original content. The company projects Q1 revenue of $12.18 billion, up 15.5%, with ad‑supported tiers expected to generate about $634 million. Meanwhile,...
FTC Ruling Leaves Advertisers in the Dark over Brand Safety
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission ruled that major ad agencies—including Publicis, WPP and Dentsu—colluded to boycott platforms such as Elon Musk’s X, resulting in a settlement that prohibits restricting advertising on politically biased or motivated grounds. In response, the agencies...
How to Safely Manage Multiple Facebook Accounts Without Getting Restricted
Marketers and growth operators often need several Facebook profiles to run campaigns, but Facebook’s policy permits only one personal account per individual. Restrictions arise not from the number of accounts but from shared device identifiers, IP overlap, and repetitive behavior...
AI Answer Engine Drive More Effective Advertisng at Reach and Independent
Taboola’s AI‑powered answer engine, Deeper Dive, is now live on dozens of publisher sites including Reach, The Independent and Huffpost UK. The tool draws about seven million monthly users, with roughly one in six visitors asking questions, and delivers ad conversion...
How Meshki Is Winning over Americans with SEO and Storytelling
Australian‑born fashion label Meshki has leveraged SEO, storytelling and a strong social presence to accelerate its U.S. growth. The brand posted FY24/25 revenue of AUD 183 million (≈$131 million), up from AUD 121 million (≈$87 million) a year earlier. Celebrity endorsements and a dedicated "Trending" section...
While Adtech Builds the Homescreen Pipes, Advertisers Can Still Tap Into the Opportunity
The CTV homescreen has become the primary gateway for viewers, consolidating fragmented streaming audiences into a premium advertising surface. However, each OEM—Samsung, LG, Roku, Google TV—imposes its own creative specifications, creating operational friction for advertisers. The IAB’s Ad Format Hero...
Audience Data Enrichment: Keep B2B Data Campaign-Ready
Audience data enrichment—updating contact and account records to stay current—is essential for B2B marketers because roughly 30% of contact information changes each year. Stale data inflates bounce rates, breaks segmentation, misroutes leads, and skews AI‑driven scoring models, costing firms an...
Expedia Courts Non-Travel Brands With New Adtech Deal
Expedia Group has partnered with ad‑tech platform Magnite to monetize its vast first‑party data set. The deal gives brands and agencies access to roughly 200 petabytes of traveler data for targeting across streaming TV, video, display and audio. Expedia’s travel media...
Measurement Biggest Barrier to DOOH Investment, Azerion Finds; It’s Partly a Perception Problem
Azerian’s February‑March 2026 study of 128 UK media planners reveals that while 68% have increased out‑of‑home (OOH) usage and 93% consider it vital to omnichannel strategies, 58% view measurement and attribution uncertainty as the primary barrier to further investment. The...
Hard Truths For Retail Media At The IAB Connected Commerce Summit
At the IAB’s 2026 Connected Commerce Summit, industry leaders warned that retail media is at a crossroads, noting the market cannot sustain hundreds of undifferentiated commerce media networks. The new IAB report stresses that future growth will come from tapping...
Hard Truths For Retail Media At The IAB Connected Commerce Summit
At the IAB’s 2026 Connected Commerce Summit, IAB VP Collin Colburn warned that retail media is entering a painful growth phase, likening it to a child’s potty‑training. He stressed that the market cannot support hundreds of undifferentiated commerce media networks...
As RFPs Shrink, Multicultural Publishers Fight For Dollars With First-Party Data
Multicultural publishers are seeing RFP volumes shrink and referral traffic dry up, pressuring them to prove scale for advertisers. To counteract the reach gap, firms like Q Digital and AURN are adopting AdGrid’s Audience Accelerator, a first‑party data platform that...
LinkedIn Video Secured $100k Brand Deal—Post More
I video on LinkedIn landed me a $100k brand deal. I should really be posting more there.
AI Cuts Keyword Research From Hours to Minutes
Would you rather spend 8 hours researching keywords manually or let Claude analyze 500 competitor pages in 3 minutes and find gaps you missed?
Wonderskin CEO Michael Malinsky on Turning a Viral Product Into a Thriving Beauty Brand
Wonderskin, founded by Michael Malinsky in 2020, turned a TikTok‑viral metallic blue lip‑stain into a multi‑category beauty brand. The $22 Wonder Blading Lip Stain Peel‑Off Mask has sold over 6 million units, fueling a 300% revenue surge that hit roughly $125 million...
Agencies Compete for SEO Talent as Client Demand for Zero-Click Expertise Surges
Ad agencies are racing to fill senior SEO positions as brands clamor for zero‑click and AI‑driven search expertise. Eight firms, from indie shops to large holding companies, posted roles with salaries ranging from $100,000 to $260,000. The hiring focus extends...
How Portland Leather Goods Did $1M in Sales in 20 Days on TikTok Shop Thanks to an Affiliate Blitz
Portland Leather Goods catapulted its TikTok Shop sales from roughly $1,200 a day to a $100,000 peak after launching a seven‑day affiliate blitz in March. By recruiting about 500 creators who posted 3,800 videos and amassed 13 million views, the brand...
Ogilvy APAC and Quad China Launch Tuborg’s New Global Campaign “You Don’t Have To”
Ogilvy APAC and Quad China have launched Tuborg's new global campaign “You Don’t Have To,” aimed at young people overwhelmed by social‑media pressure and performance anxiety. The rollout features two global films directed by Cannes Lions Grand Prix‑winning director Terence Neale,...
The AI Marketing Tools You’re Using Were Trained on Your Competitor’s Customer, Not Yours
Most AI‑powered marketing platforms used by APAC startups are built on datasets that reflect Western, English‑speaking consumers. As a result, the algorithms prioritize urban, smartphone‑native audiences that competitors already chase, driving higher customer‑acquisition costs for founders. The article argues that...
Pinterest’s New Ad Asks: When Did Watching Life Online Become Enough?
Pinterest unveiled a 60‑second in‑house film titled “How did they do it?” that stitches together employee home movies to argue the best thing found online is a reason to go offline. The ad, part of a broader brand campaign against...
Amazon Ads India Launches Generative AI Tools to Speed Ad Creation and Cut Costs
Amazon Ads India has rolled out generative AI capabilities that let brands produce and test multiple ad variants without large creative teams or external agencies. The move promises faster campaign cycles and lower spend, aligning with the platform’s full‑funnel strategy...
TROAS + Lowest Cost Drives Scalable Brand Growth
tROAS + Lowest cost has been crushing for us across brands. They target different audience segments in the auction and the target ROAS allows us to scale into upside with inflated budgets.
GrowthLoop Unveils Composable AI Platform for Real‑Time Causal Marketing
GrowthLoop announced the launch of its Composable AI Decisioning platform, a data‑cloud native system that gives marketers causal insight and real‑time optimization. The New York‑based firm says the tool replaces correlation‑based AI with outcome‑driven decisioning, promising higher revenue and lifetime‑value...
Chang Robotics Names Brian Keith CMO to Drive Growth and Operations
Chang Robotics announced the appointment of Brian Keith as chief marketing officer, tasking him with steering both marketing strategy and operational execution. The move comes as the Jacksonville‑based firm accelerates its acquisition pipeline and expands AI‑driven automation solutions for manufacturers.
Semrush Warns Attribution Gap Erodes SEO Reporting Accuracy
Semrush’s chief marketing officer, Andrew Warden, says the growing attribution gap is breaking SEO reporting. With more than 50% of Google searches ending without a click and AI Overviews appearing in roughly one in five queries, traditional click‑based metrics no...
#ThisWeek on MarkLives MEDIA: WhatsApp Open Rates Hard to Ignore • #NextWeek: OOH & SA Consumers
WhatsApp is emerging as a powerhouse marketing channel, delivering roughly 98% open rates and strong conversion metrics that eclipse traditional email campaigns. Experts caution that the platform’s effectiveness hinges on disciplined execution, including strict opt‑in practices and tailored messaging. Marketers...
How Often Should One Post to Attract More Followers?
Instagram marketers often wonder how many times to post to attract new followers. The article stresses that content quality should trump sheer volume, as over‑posting low‑quality material can fatigue audiences. Consistency and timing are equally crucial; using Instagram Insights to...
Amazon Sellers Boycott Ads
Amazon announced that, beginning April 15, 2026, advertising fees will be automatically deducted from sellers' retail proceeds, prompting a 24‑hour boycott by the Million Dollar Sellers community, which represents over 700 vendors and $14 billion in revenue. After strong pushback, Amazon...
The FTC Ordered WPP, Publicis, and Dentsu to Stop Coordinating on Brand Safety Standards It Says Led to a Boycott...
The Federal Trade Commission, joined by several states, issued a consent order prohibiting WPP, Publicis and Dentsu from coordinating brand‑safety standards that diverted advertising spend from conservative media. The action follows a similar order on Omnicom tied to its $13.5 billion...
Meta's New Link‑click Focus Inflates Traffic, Drops CVR
Traffic up and CVR down lately? Here are 2 of the causes: 1. Meta made ads more link-clicky. Swiping up to view comments on reels (see post below) or tapping to expand feed ads can now drive link clicks to site....
OpenAI Is Moving Toward Click-Based and Conversion-Focused ChatGPT Ad Pricing as Its Early Ad Pilot Struggles to Gain Traction
OpenAI announced it will switch its ChatGPT ad pilot to cost‑per‑click (CPC) pricing within days and begin testing conversion‑focused campaigns. The early experiment has lagged, with advertisers hesitant to exceed modest test budgets due to limited measurement tools and low...
‘The Gatekeepers Have Changed’: Glu Says AI Now Decides Which Brands Get Seen
Glu.ai, a Shopify‑native platform, has introduced its Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) service in Australia to help brands appear in AI‑generated answer engines such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Perplexity. The offering targets mid‑market merchants, promising that clear, structured...
Meta Simplifies Ad Performance Elements
Meta introduced AI‑enhanced tools to simplify its Pixel and a one‑click setup for the Conversions API. The new Pixel feature automatically adds product names, availability and business details to event data, reducing manual coding. The Conversions API can now be...
Spotify Names DEELA Its April EQUAL Africa Artist, Spotlighting African Women in Rap
Spotify has selected Lagos‑born, UK‑based rapper DEELA as its April EQUAL Africa artist, giving her a high‑visibility platform under the company’s gender‑focused initiative. The move highlights the streaming giant’s strategy to amplify African women’s voices in a market traditionally dominated...
Later Names Mohsin Hussain as CTO to Accelerate AI‑Driven Influencer Platform
Later announced the appointment of Mohsin Hussain, former LiveRamp CTO, as its new chief technology officer. Hussain will steer the development of the company’s EdgeAI predictive engine, a move aimed at capitalizing on Later’s $2.7 billion in verified influencer‑driven purchases and...
Pandora Appoints Jennie Farmer as CMO to Drive Cultural Relevance and Brand Modernization
Pandora has promoted Jennie Farmer to chief marketing officer, tasking her with modernising the heritage brand and making it culturally relevant. Farmer will shift spend from traditional TV to creators, influencers and in‑store experiences to win younger consumers.
Oxford Road Shares The Secrets To True Crime Podcast Ad Effectiveness
Oxford Road released its ORBIT ranking of the top‑performing true‑crime podcasts, drawing on more than $1.6 billion in campaign data from over 500 advertisers. The analysis shows true‑crime is the second‑largest spend genre, ranking in the top 20 % for ad efficiency, yet...
Bluefish Secures $43M Series B to Scale Agentic Marketing for Fortune 500
Bluefish announced a $43 million Series B round co‑led by Threshold Ventures and NEA, lifting its total capital to $68 million. The funding will accelerate rollout of its Agentic Marketing Platform (AMP) to roughly 10% of Fortune 500 companies, positioning the startup at the...
MeasureBoard Debuts AI‑Powered SEO, Automation and Analytics Suite
MeasureBoard announced the launch of an AI‑driven platform that merges SEO, marketing automation and analytics into a single solution. The new suite aims to help marketers streamline campaigns and improve performance as AI adoption accelerates across the industry.
Platform Culture Dictates Content Performance Across Networks
Each platform has its own culture, its own audience behaviors, and its own unspoken rules. You can publish the same piece of content across platforms... it doesn't mean it will always perform the same.
Explore 2024 Digital Design Trends in Upcoming Webinar
Campaign design is constantly evolving. Join Zeta Global’s design experts for this Apr. 29 webinar as they discuss current #digitalmarketing design trends, share their favorite campaigns, and highlight opportunities for marketers to be more impactful >> https://t.co/ys1p7m2vNo https://t.co/wqzpl9u0Gv
Trilliad Appoints Rob Gold as President, EMEA to Drive European B2B Expansion
Trilliad announced the appointment of Rob Gold as President, EMEA, tasking him with scaling the company's B2B growth services across Europe. The move follows a series of senior hires aimed at unifying sales, marketing and customer success for enterprise clients.
Meta Last-Click CVR Drops 50%, Hurting Sales
Meta last click CVR is now down 50% from Sunday for one brand that's the most impacted by this in my portfolio. Whatever is going on it's multiple things and it's not only impacting reporting, it's impacting hard sales.
Track Gift‑With‑Purchase Attach Rates Like Ad CTR
Running a Gift with Purchase promo without tracking attach rate is like running ads without tracking CTR. So we added analytics to @promopartypro today. Now you can see attach rate by campaign, product, and variant, and tell which gift is...