News•Feb 17, 2026
Unilever Turns to AI for ‘New Era of Shopping for Brands’
Unilever has signed a five‑year partnership with Google Cloud to embed advanced AI, data and platform capabilities across its global operations. Leveraging Google’s Vertex AI and Gemini models, the consumer‑goods giant will build an AI‑first digital backbone that powers faster demand generation, real‑time personalization and agentic workflows. The move builds on Unilever’s existing AI portfolio of 500 applications and its recent multi‑year Accenture deal, aiming to reshape how its brands such as Dove and Hellmann’s are discovered and purchased. Unilever reported €50.5 bn revenue in 2025 and serves 3.7 bn daily users.
By DecisionMarketing
News•Feb 17, 2026
Snap Inc. Reveals Insights Into Its Users’ Behaviour for Ramadan 2026
Snap Inc. released its Ramadan 2026 consumer insights, highlighting that the holy month will fall in winter for the first time in the Middle East, altering fasting hours and spending patterns. The report shows 40% of GCC Snapchat users plan Ramadan...
By Campaign Middle East
News•Feb 17, 2026
Retail Brand Monitoring Software: Track What Customers Say
Retail brand monitoring software transforms the way retailers listen to digital word‑of‑mouth, using AI to aggregate mentions across social, review sites, forums and emerging AI‑generated answers. The tools deliver real‑time alerts, sentiment scores and competitor share‑of‑voice, turning scattered feedback into...
By The Retail Bulletin
News•Feb 17, 2026
How to Use Zapier for Social Media Automation
Zapier, the leading AI‑orchestration platform, enables marketers to automate repetitive social‑media tasks such as posting, resharing, and responding. By linking content sources—RSS feeds, blogs, or AI writers—to networks like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, teams can maintain a constant presence without...
By Zapier – Blog
News•Feb 17, 2026
MarTech Interview With Misha Williams, Chief Operating Officer @ GWI
Chief Operating Officer Misha Williams of GWI discusses the launch of Agent Spark, an AI‑powered platform that injects analyst‑grade human insights directly into tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot. He warns marketers that AI outputs must be grounded in representative...
By MarTech Series
News•Feb 17, 2026
How To Dominate March Madness With Show-Level Data
Rain the Growth partnered with Spectrum Reach to leverage show‑level metadata for CTV placements during March Madness, delivering the agency’s highest response rate of the quarter. Using Nielsen Gracenote’s TMS IDs, the partnership identified exact game, recap and related content...
By AdExchanger
News•Feb 17, 2026
Quince Appoints First Head of Brand Strategy and Narrative
Quince hired Dakota Kate Isaacs as its first head of brand strategy and narrative, tasking her with global positioning and storytelling to deepen consumer connections. The San Francisco‑based DTC retailer has doubled sales to over $700 million, yet still battles a dupe‑maker...
By The Business of Fashion (BoF)
News•Feb 17, 2026
Beauty Briefing: Why Every Beauty Brand Is Collaborating with a Soda
Beauty brands are increasingly partnering with soda companies, leveraging the drinks' cultural cachet to launch limited‑edition collections and co‑branded experiences. The trend reflects a broader shift toward experiential marketing aimed at younger, social‑media‑savvy consumers. At the same time, Rare Beauty...
By Glossy
News•Feb 17, 2026
Countdown to SBS Media Sustainability Challenge with $500k Free Advertising Inventory up for Grabs – Applications Close 5pm AEDT, March...
The 2026 SBS Media Sustainability Challenge invites brands and agencies to compete for $500,000 in free advertising inventory. Applications close at 5 pm AEDT on March 6, and entrants must submit a 30‑second TV script plus a 500‑word rationale. The competition focuses...
By Campaign Brief
News•Feb 17, 2026
Drive’s Latest Campaign Shows Car-Buying As Easy As Ordering From Drive-Thru
Drive has launched a multi‑million‑dollar "Drive‑thru" campaign during Nine’s broadcast of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, positioning car buying as simple as ordering food at a drive‑thru. Created by the Not Bad Pretty Good studio, the ads use a relatable...
By B&T (Australia)
News•Feb 17, 2026
Bajaj Broking Makes Investing Simple for Indians with ‘Seedhi Simple Investing’ Campaign
Bajaj Broking rolled out the "Seedhi Simple Investing" campaign during the T20 World Cup, positioning its platform as an easy‑to‑use solution for Indian investors. The ads use everyday confusion—like unclear washroom signs or lift buttons—to illustrate how the Bajaj app...
By Campaign Brief Asia
News•Feb 17, 2026
Ogilvy Malaysia + Scentify Launch Xiaohongshu CNY Drama ‘Fabric Scented, Fortune Granted’
Ogilvy Malaysia partnered with home fragrance brand Scentify to launch a Chinese New Year drama series on Xiaohongshu called “Fabric Scented, Fortune Granted.” The episodic social drama promotes Scentify’s new Golden Breeze scent as the “lucky scent of the year,”...
By Campaign Brief Asia
News•Feb 17, 2026
How to Use Close Forms with Workflows (and Never Miss a Lead Again)
Close’s native Forms and Workflow tools let inbound teams capture a prospect’s information and instantly trigger a series of automated actions. When a form is submitted, a lead is created or updated in the CRM, assigned to an owner, set...
By Close Sales Blog
News•Feb 16, 2026
Big 4 Sends Aussies on Year-Long Roadtrip in ‘Boldest Campaign’ yet, via Pangea
Big 4 Holiday Parks has launched its most ambitious campaign in 46 years, offering a selected couple or family a year‑long roadtrip across its network of over 300 parks. The winners will receive a Ford Ranger and a Crusader caravan,...
By Mumbrella Australia
News•Feb 16, 2026
How Retailers Should Respond to Events Like Ramadan and the Lunar New Year
Retailers face a rare calendar convergence as Ramadan and Lunar New Year begin almost simultaneously in February 2024. Luxury and beauty brands are launching limited‑edition products and pop‑up events, but many consumers criticize superficial zodiac imagery and token gestures. Experts...
By Inside Retail Australia
News•Feb 16, 2026
Revolution360 to Exclusively Represent Wrappr’s OOH Inventory
Revolution360 announced it will exclusively represent Wrappr’s out‑of‑home inventory, merging the vehicle‑wrapped advertising platform with its own static street‑level sites. The combined network claims over 98% monthly metro reach across Australia, delivering both street‑level signage and city‑wide mobile coverage. Advertisers...
By Mumbrella Australia
News•Feb 16, 2026
Account Manager (Influencer Campaigns) – Round – London
Round is hiring an Account Manager for its Influencer Marketing team in London, targeting music and entertainment clients. The role involves leading creator campaigns on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts while managing client relationships and presenting strategic decks. Candidates...
By Music Ally
News•Feb 16, 2026
Episode 134 - The Freelancer Niche Explosion
Superpath’s latest podcast, Episode 134, spotlights the rapid expansion of the freelancer niche market. The episode draws on insights from Ryan Sargent of Verblio, who explains how to break through the content echo chamber, and John Collins, who shares his customer‑obsessed...
By Superpath
News•Feb 16, 2026
Google Ads Tool Is Automatically Re-Enabling Paused Keywords
Google Ads’ Low‑activity system bulk changes tool is unexpectedly re‑enabling keywords that advertisers have paused. Logs show automated bulk updates with an undo option, a function previously used only for pausing inactive elements. Google has not confirmed whether this is...
By Search Engine Land
News•Feb 16, 2026
Your Retail Media Network Isn’t a Network — and What to Do About It
Retail media is booming, but most so‑called retail media networks are merely on‑site ad products. True networks demand off‑site reach, unified cross‑channel measurement, and first‑party data activation, a capability only a few retailers like Walmart and Amazon currently possess. The...
By Total Retail
News•Feb 16, 2026
Introducing iSpot SAGE: A Proprietary Agentic AI Platform
iSpot launched iSpot SAGE, an agentic AI platform that leverages its proprietary TV ad measurement data to deliver actionable insights. The system runs on NVIDIA AI servers and was built over two years with input from brands like General Motors...
By Radio & TV Business Report (RBR+TVBR)
News•Feb 16, 2026
Ad Monetisation Basics in Mobile Gaming
The guide outlines how mobile game developers can monetize free titles through ads, emphasizing early design decisions. It breaks down three primary ad formats—banners, interstitials, and rewarded videos—and provides placement and frequency best practices. It explains mediation platforms such as...
By PocketGamer.biz
News•Feb 16, 2026
How Warner Bros. Could Supercharge Netflix’s Advertising Business | Analysis
Netflix’s potential acquisition of Warner Bros. and HBO Max could dramatically accelerate its fledgling advertising business. By adding Warner Bros.’ premium library, Netflix would expand ad inventory and attract higher‑value advertisers, pushing its ad‑supported revenue toward a $9 billion target by...
By The Wrap
News•Feb 16, 2026
Rank Street Marketing Launches GEO Systems to Help Local Brands Win in AI Search
Rank Street Marketing has launched a Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) service suite aimed at helping local businesses secure visibility in AI‑driven answer engines such as Google Gemini and ChatGPT. The offering expands traditional local SEO by optimizing Google Business Profiles,...
By MarTech Series
News•Feb 16, 2026
Are Your Google Ads Gen Z Proof? Strategies To Win The 18-24 Segment
Brands targeting Gen Z (ages 14‑29) must abandon legacy Google Ads tactics that rely on static search and polished creative. Younger shoppers now start product discovery on TikTok and other short‑form video platforms, using Google only to verify claims. Authentic, user‑generated...
By Search Engine Journal
News•Feb 16, 2026
Ranbir Kapoor Fronts the New ‘Farm-to-Bag’ Lay’s Identity
PepsiCo India is rolling out a refreshed brand identity for Lay’s in the country, anchored by a new “Lay’s ke liye kuchh bhi” campaign fronted by Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor. The redesign emphasizes the farm‑to‑bag journey, featuring on‑pack cues like...
By ET BrandEquity (Economic Times) — Marketing
News•Feb 16, 2026
Betway Appoints M&C Sports Agency for Global Strategy
British gambling operator Betway has selected M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment as its global agency partner after a competitive pitch. The agency will craft a worldwide “Feel the Action” campaign covering advertising, sponsorship activation, content and fan engagement across Betway’s...
By DecisionMarketing
News•Feb 16, 2026
Google Warns Not To Serve "Not Available" With JavaScript
Google’s John Mueller warned that displaying a “not available” message through JavaScript before the real content loads can cause Google to treat the page as missing, preventing it from being indexed. The issue was highlighted in a Reddit thread where...
By Search Engine Roundtable
News•Feb 16, 2026
New Google Ads Calculate Your Conversion Value For New Customers
Google Ads has rolled out a feature that automatically calculates a conversion value for new customers by letting advertisers set a lower target ROAS. The system then proposes a suggested value, eliminating the need for manual entry. This approach ties...
By Search Engine Roundtable
News•Feb 16, 2026
Google & Bing: Markdown Files Messy & Causes More Crawl Load
Google and Bing have publicly labeled markdown (.md) files as “messy” and a source of unnecessary crawl load. Representatives John Mueller and Fabrice Canel warned that search engines will prioritize the rendered user experience and may filter out or de‑index...
By Search Engine Roundtable
News•Feb 16, 2026
International PPC: Why Consistency Is So Hard To Maintain via @Sejournal, @Brookeosmundson
International pay‑per‑click (PPC) programs become chaotic when brands expand across borders, juggling different languages, regulations, and agency partners. The article argues that consistency is the primary obstacle, not scaling, and outlines a framework that blends a global brand playbook with...
By Search Engine Journal
News•Feb 16, 2026
Google Ends Parked Domains (AFD) On Search Partner Network
Google announced that parked domains (AFD) will no longer serve ads within its Search Partner Network, effective February 10, 2026. The removal also eliminates the option to include parked domains in Content suitability settings. This follows a prior commitment to...
By Search Engine Roundtable
News•Feb 16, 2026
Building Resilience with Registration
The Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report shows digital subscriptions have plateaued at about 18 % across twenty countries, indicating a ceiling for many publishers. In response, the FT Strategies and Google News Initiative Subscriptions Academy recommends shifting focus from full...
By The Audiencers
News•Feb 16, 2026
Why Community-Led Growth Is the Future of B2B Marketing Trust: Meet B2BMX 2026 Keynote Speaker Elfried Samba
Elfried Samba, co‑founder and CEO of community‑centric agency Butterfly Effect, will headline B2BMX 2026 with a keynote titled “Building a Sexy Brand in an Unsexy Industry.” Drawing on his success scaling Gymshark’s 20 million‑member community and partnerships with Netflix, Bumble, McDonald’s...
By Demand Gen Report
News•Feb 16, 2026
Access THG’s Cult Beauty and LOOKFANTASTIC Audience Through The Trade Desk
THG has struck a strategic partnership with advertising technology leader The Trade Desk, allowing media buyers to access THG’s Cult Beauty and LOOKFANTASTIC audience segments via The Trade Desk’s self‑serve Kokai platform. The integration brings high‑quality, real‑world commerce data to...
By ChannelX (formerly Tamebay)
News•Feb 16, 2026
Morrisons Fights Germans with Greater Personalisation
UK supermarket Morrisons has teamed up with digital‑marketing specialist Ecrebo to roll out real‑time, personalized coupons both in‑store and via its app. The new capability expands physical coupon usage, targeting its older customer base that prefers tangible rewards, and may...
By DecisionMarketing
News•Feb 16, 2026
TikTok Joins EASA to Advance Advertising Standards
TikTok has joined the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) as a full digital member, aligning with 28 self‑regulatory bodies across Europe. The move underscores the platform’s push for responsible advertising, complementing its expanded TikTok Safety Suite and clear commercial‑disclosure settings....
By ChannelX (formerly Tamebay)
News•Feb 16, 2026
Antitrust Filing Says Google Cannibalizes Publisher Traffic via @Sejournal, @Martinibuster
Penske Media Corp (PMC) filed a federal memorandum opposing Google’s motion to dismiss its antitrust lawsuit, alleging the tech giant broke the long‑standing “fair exchange” of search traffic for indexed content. The complaint says Google’s AI‑driven, zero‑click answers repurpose publisher...
By Search Engine Journal
News•Feb 16, 2026
Are Social Sellers Missing an Important Piece of the Data Puzzle?
Social commerce now accounts for roughly 20% of Southeast Asia’s online spending, a surge accelerated by the pandemic. iKala’s research shows that revenue per order on social channels jumped 88%, indicating not just higher volume but larger baskets. While new...
By e27
News•Feb 16, 2026
Asda Raids B&Q for New Vice President of Marketing
Asda has appointed Tom Hampson, former B&Q marketing director, as vice‑president of marketing for both the supermarket and its George clothing brand. He succeeds Adam Zavalis and will report to chief customer officer Rachel Eyre, starting in June. Hampson brings...
By DecisionMarketing
News•Feb 16, 2026
Data: Negative Reaction to Six Nations In-Game Ads
Research by Quantcast shows that in‑game advertising during the Six Nations boosted online engagement for brands but provoked strong negative sentiment among viewers. Samsung achieved a 13% engagement rise while Virgin Atlantic saw an 18% uplift, yet Samsung’s ads generated...
By Advanced Television
News•Feb 16, 2026
Cadbury 5 Star and Cricket Scotland Celebrate World Cup Qualification With ‘Do Nothing’
Cadbury 5 Star has teamed up with Cricket Scotland to celebrate the team’s unexpected qualification for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The partnership riffs on Cadbury’s long‑running “Eat 5 Star, Do Nothing” slogan, positioning Scotland’s “do nothing” route into the tournament as a...
By Campaign Brief Asia
News•Feb 16, 2026
Why Media Mix Modeling So Rarely Works for B2B
Media mix modeling (MMM) excels for consumer brands with high transaction volume, stable offers, short purchase cycles, and direct paths, but B2B marketers often encounter wide uncertainty intervals and volatile recommendations. The core issue is statistical: B2B deals are few,...
By MarTech Series
News•Feb 16, 2026
Maybank Partners with Alchemy79 and Directors Think Tank for Chinese New Year Campaign
Maybank Malaysia joined forces with creative agency Alchemy79 and the Directors Think Tank, led by filmmaker Sling Ng, to launch the Chinese New Year 2026 film *Blessings All Around*. The cinematic piece reframes traditional CNY wishes by spotlighting love, connection and...
By Campaign Brief Asia
News•Feb 16, 2026
Intrepid Travel Rolls Out ‘Golden Gap Year’ Campaign for 55+ Travellers
Intrepid Travel has launched the Golden Gap Year campaign aimed at Australians aged 55 and over, offering a competition for a 12‑month, tailor‑made travel experience valued up to $100,000 plus $25,000 for flights. The initiative is built on research showing...
By Mumbrella Australia
News•Feb 16, 2026
Good Drinks Australia Launches ‘Love at First Cider’ Valentine’s Day Campaign for Magners
Good Drinks Australia has unveiled a Valentine’s Day campaign for Magners Irish Cider called “Love at First Cider.” The campaign features a series of playful illustrations that incorporate the gold foil from Magners’ iconic brown pint bottle, forming elements like...
By Campaign Brief
News•Feb 16, 2026
Westpac NZ Deploys Immersive ‘Laneway Loot’ Campaign at Laneway Festival 2026
Westpac NZ, together with Saatchi & Saatchi NZ and Spark Foundry NZ, launched the immersive “Laneway Loot” experience at Laneway Festival 2026. The activation featured limited‑edition street posters that were ripped down and claimed within 24 hours, and a Westpac‑branded...
By Mumbrella Australia
News•Feb 16, 2026
Snapchat Releases Next Phase of ‘Say It in a Snap’ Campaign in Australia
Snapchat has launched the next phase of its “Say it in a Snap” campaign across Australia, targeting university‑aged Gen Z with a mix of out‑of‑home billboards, digital video and brand‑integrated Snaps. The rollout highlights how students use the platform to...
By Mumbrella Australia
News•Feb 16, 2026
Hero MotoCorp + FCB Interface Create Futuristic Glamour X Campaign with Robotic Love Story
Hero MotoCorp teamed with FCB Interface India to launch a futuristic Glamour X campaign that tells a robotic love story, emphasizing the bike’s sleek design and advanced features such as cruise control. The ad runs across television and digital channels, timed...
By Campaign Brief Asia
News•Feb 16, 2026
2026 CB HOT LIST: AGENCIES RANKED 11-20
Campaign Brief’s 2026 CB Hot List has unveiled the agencies ranking 11 to 20, selected from more than 200 Australian and New Zealand firms. The list spotlights agencies whose 2025 work earned the Seen+Noted distinction for creativity and effectiveness. This mid‑tier...
By Campaign Brief