Vaseline Turns Viral Social Media Hacks Into Real Products
Vaseline’s new global campaign, "Vaseline originals (OGs)", turns viral TikTok beauty hacks into shelf‑ready products. Partnering with Ogilvy Singapore, the brand co‑creates two items—a brow tamer and an all‑in‑one primer/highlighter jelly—directly inspired by early creators Jen Chae and Lauren Luke. The products launched via a TikTok Live event on March 30, 2026, and sold out within minutes. The initiative expands the earlier "Vaseline verified" platform, moving from testing hacks to crediting and commercialising creator ideas as "Vaseline OGs".
Australian Retirement Trust’s ‘Awaken Your Super’ Tops Cubery Hot List for Q1 2026
Australian Retirement Trust’s ‘Awaken Your Super’ campaign, created by M + C Saatchi, topped Cubell’s Q1 2026 Hot List, which ranks ads based on consumer recall. The ad outperformed Telstra’s ‘Wherever We Go’ (second) and Allianz’s ‘Flight of the Finch’ (third). Cubell also launched...
ACAM Warns Marketers as AI Drives Surge in Zero-Click Search
Australian Centre for AI in Marketing (ACAM) warns that AI‑generated answers are causing a surge in zero‑click searches, with more than 70% of Google queries in Australia yielding no click‑through by early 2026. When AI summaries appear, click‑through falls to...
Reddit Expands Reminder Ads Globally
Reddit has rolled out its Reminder Ads feature to every advertiser on the platform, allowing brands worldwide to add a “Remind Me” button to their campaigns. When users tap the CTA, they receive two push notifications—one day before and one...
Unifying MMM & Last Touch for a Modern Marketer’s Edge
Kochava has integrated its Always‑On Incremental Measurement (AIM) marketing mix modeling solution with its core last‑touch and multi‑touch attribution platform, creating a single measurement suite. The migration opens to AIM customers on April 16, with the legacy AIM login available until...
Google Simplifies Analytics and Ads Consent Rules
Google is overhauling how consent signals flow between Google Analytics and Google Ads, effective June 15. The new model drops the reliance on Google Signals and other Analytics settings, using only the `ad_storage` consent flag for Ads data collection. This...
NAB 2026: Mediaproxy Adds AI Brand and Advertisement Tracking to LogServer
Mediaproxy unveiled an AI‑powered brand and advertisement tracking suite integrated into its LogServer compliance platform, with a live demo at NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas. The solution leverages machine‑learning models to automatically spot logos and visual identifiers across broadcast, streaming...
Overlay Ads and the Streaming Ad Tech State of Play
IAB Tech Lab’s VP of Product Jill Wittkopp outlined the current state of streaming ad‑tech, focusing on overlay formats such as L‑bars, squeezebacks and corner overlays. The lab applied an 80/20 rule to distill eight ad experiences down to six,...
MozCon New York 2026
Moz is hosting MozCon New York 2026, a single‑track, one‑day SEO and digital‑marketing conference on July 14 in Midtown Manhattan. The agenda covers SEO strategy, content marketing, data‑driven tactics, and AI’s impact on search, delivering actionable frameworks and networking sessions....
“Global Affiliate Programmes Are Becoming a Hot Topic”: PartnerBoost VP on China’s Affiliate Ecosystem
William Hamer‑Jones, VP of Partnerships at PartnerBoost, says global affiliate programmes are moving from siloed niches to a hot topic, especially in the APAC region. Agencies are overcoming resource gaps by establishing local offices in China, Japan and South Korea,...
New Google Spam Policy Targets Back Button Hijacking via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Google has added “back button hijacking” to its spam‑policy malicious‑practice category, with enforcement beginning June 15, 2026 after a two‑month grace period. The move follows a rise in complaints about scripts that alter browser history, redirect users, or block navigation. Violations...
How Brands Should Respond to CTV Ad Fatigue Before Viewers Tune Them Out
Streaming platforms are rapidly expanding ad‑supported inventory, with Prime Video doubling its ad load, Netflix adding ad minutes, and Amazon rebranding its ad‑free tier. The U.S. CTV audience now exceeds 240 million, and projected ad spend is set to surpass $46 billion...
Dollar General Expands AI-Powered In-Store Audio Network
Dollar General is expanding its retail media footprint by launching an AI‑enabled in‑store audio network in roughly 6,000 stores, with a goal to reach 12,000 locations by Q2 2026. The system blends point‑of‑sale data, curated music and AI‑generated ads to deliver...
Tofu Raises $12M to Consolidate Campaign Execution for GTM Teams
Tofu announced a $12 million Series A round to accelerate its AI-powered unified platform for go‑to‑market (GTM) teams. The funding, led by SignalFire with participation from HubSpot Ventures and other investors, will fund new product capabilities and deeper integrations. Tofu’s...
Meta Set to Overtake Google as the World’s Number One Digital Advertiser
Emarketer forecasts Meta will generate $243.46 billion in ad revenue in 2026, narrowly surpassing Google’s $239.54 billion. The gap reflects Meta’s rapid climb from $196.17 billion in 2025, driven by AI‑enhanced tools like Advantage+ and strong performance on Facebook, Instagram and Reels. The...
18 Growth Marketing Channels That Actually Work in 2026
The 2026 growth marketing playbook highlights 18 channels, with agentic AI emerging as the most transformative. Marketers must address infrastructure gaps in identity resolution, attribution, and unified behavioral data to unlock AI agents’ potential. Internal AI‑powered tools, account‑based outbound, and...
Nigerian Creators Are Turning to Rage-Bait to Cash in on X
X’s Creator Ads Revenue Sharing program pays roughly $8.50 per million verified impressions, prompting many Nigerian creators to adopt rage‑bait tactics that spark angry replies and inflate impression counts. By posting provocative takes on marriage, tribalism and trending news, they aim...
Dropbox Enlarges Big Spaceship's Scope As Social AOR
Dropbox has elevated Big Spaceship from project‑based work to its official social agency of record, expanding the scope to full‑funnel duties and IRL activation content for 2026. The partnership has already driven quarter‑over‑quarter engagement gains among Dropbox’s 700 million users, supported...
Archer Teams with ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ for First Entertainment Deal
Archer Meat Snacks announced its first entertainment partnership, teaming with the upcoming theatrical release *Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu*. The multi‑channel campaign includes three co‑branded snack packs, a 30‑second ad spot on Disney+ and sports playoffs, and a QR‑code reward that gives...
How Advertisers Can – And Cannot – Get In Front Of Chatbot Shoppers
Advertisers face a stark reality: there is no paid gateway to appear in most LLM‑driven shopping chats. Google’s AI Overview (AIO) ads are the sole open‑market option, automatically surfacing in search results without exclusion controls. ChatGPT’s ad pilot remains a...
AIP, Castlabs To Demo Next-Gen Streaming Ad Formats
Ad Insertion Platform (AIP) and Castlabs will demo next‑generation streaming ad formats at the NAB Show in Las Vegas (April 18‑22). The showcase centers on AdBlendr, AIP’s server‑guided ad insertion engine, paired with Castlabs’ PRESTOplay player to deliver non‑intrusive formats such as...
Premier Inn ‘Chief Kipologist’ Stars in Born Social Debut
Premier Inn has teamed with UK comedian Al Nash and its new agency Born Social to launch a social‑first campaign called “You Know What You’re Getting.” The series of short, comedic “sleep experiments” starring Nash as a “chief kipologist” dramatise the brand’s...
Daily Search Forum Recap: April 13, 2026
Google is piloting an AI Contribution report in Search Console, echoing Bing’s AI performance tools, while a logging error has inflated GSC impression data since May 2025. The March 2026 broad core update finished its 12‑day, 4‑hour rollout, and Google confirmed it...
AI Search Adoption Isn’t Equal and Income Is Driving the Divide
AI search tools like ChatGPT are gaining traction, but adoption is uneven across income groups. Overall, 27% of users report regular ChatGPT use, yet households earning roughly $70,000‑$100,000 adopt at about 50%, while those earning $31,000‑$38,000 lag at 18%. The...
The Chatbot Closed the Sale. The Publisher Created the Demand. That’s a Problem.
Criteo has embedded sponsored product placements directly into ChatGPT answers, turning AI responses into a new ad inventory. The move sidesteps traditional attribution because the publisher content that shaped the recommendation never appears as a clickable URL, leaving creators without...
Meta Is Closing in on Google's Title as the World's Largest Digital Ad Platform
Meta is projected to generate $243.46 billion in net ad revenue in 2026, narrowly surpassing Google’s $239.54 billion and claiming the title of the world’s largest digital‑ad platform for the first time. The social‑media giant’s growth is driven by a 24.1% ad‑revenue...
Ready, Set, Goal: Capturing Peak Attention on Soccer’s Biggest Stage
Integral Ad Science released a cross‑channel playbook titled “Ready, Set, Goal” to help advertisers capture peak attention during soccer’s biggest stage, such as the 2026 World Cup. The guide provides data‑driven benchmarks that have delivered up to three‑times return on...
Google Patent Signals New Search Layer
Google secured U.S. patent US 12536233 B1 for a system that creates AI‑generated landing pages tailored to individual users and queries. The invention evaluates candidate pages, grades them, and dynamically produces customized versions that feed user‑behavior signals back into the model. If...
Hearst Built A Unified Ad Marketplace To Simplify Omnichannel News Buys
Hearst announced a unified programmatic ad marketplace that bundles inventory from its TV stations, newspapers and digital news sites into a single offering. The new Hearst News network lets agencies buy across the company’s local‑news footprint using their existing DSPs,...
How To Measure PPC Performance When AI Controls The Auction via @Sejournal, @Brookeosmundson
The rise of AI‑driven campaign types like Performance Max and AI Max is upending traditional pay‑per‑click measurement, as ads now appear on keyword‑less queries and across multiple Google channels. Conversions increasingly stem from AI‑generated assets and multi‑step journeys, making click‑level...
How Malaysia Airlines Is Using AI to Speed up Campaign Production
Malaysia Airlines has partnered with creative‑automation firm Kingdom Digital to overhaul its marketing workflow. The AI‑driven Digital Creative Automation model can slash campaign production times by up to 80% while supporting human oversight. The system generates localized assets for more...
Top 100 Connected TV (CTV) Bundle IDs in March 2026
Pixalate released its March 2026 Top 100 Connected TV (CTV) Bundle ID rankings, analyzing over 1 billion programmatic impressions across 851 apps. The data show Hulu’s bundle ID (2285) topping the Roku list, while PlutoTV (ID 751712884) leads on Apple TV. Rankings span Roku, Apple TV,...
The Next Era of OpenX: The Intelligent SSP
OpenX announced a rebrand as the "Intelligent SSP," emphasizing AI‑driven simplicity and transparency. The company highlights three pillars—quality, performance and adaptability—backed by a cloud‑native platform and a proprietary supply‑side identity graph. By cutting intermediaries and fraud, OpenX aims to deliver...
A Framework for Auditing Generative AI Outputs Pre-Launch
Marketing teams are urged to view generative AI outputs as draft inputs and run them through a four‑stage audit before publication. The framework starts with source and prompt validation, then checks brand‑voice alignment, followed by originality and copyright screening, and...
Scribbld Bags Digital Mandate for Brushers Co
Independent agency Scribbld has secured the digital mandate for oral‑care startup Brushers Co as it prepares to enter India. The Mumbai‑based team will steer the brand’s go‑to‑market strategy across pre‑launch, launch and post‑launch phases, handling social‑media, performance and awareness initiatives....
AI Is Nothing Without Data Fidelity. Here’s A Four-Step Approach to Protect It
AI’s effectiveness in advertising hinges on the fidelity of the data that fuels it. The industry often relies on inferred or fragmented signals, which degrade model accuracy and erode trust. A four‑step framework—starting with quality inputs, building low‑degradation infrastructure, demanding...
Meet the Newest ‘Running Point’ Character: Jake From State Farm
State Farm announced a co‑branded partnership with Netflix’s basketball comedy *Running Point*, inserting its mascot Jake from State Farm into Season 2 as a scripted character. The move marks the first time Jake appears in a television narrative rather than a...
Deeper Influencer Messaging For Linear's Old-School Ad Ecosystem?
Influencer creators are increasingly being featured in traditional 30‑second linear TV spots, blurring the line between social‑media ads and broadcast commercials. Brands argue that a personal, influencer‑driven tone can counteract consumer fatigue with corporate‑sounding messaging. The article examines whether addressable...
Trendos Launches in the UK, Giving Brands Free Access to AI Visibility Insights
Trendos, a global AI search‑visibility platform, has launched its free service in the United Kingdom and across Europe. The tool aggregates real‑time data from AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overview and Gemini, covering more than 13 regions and...
AI-Powered Search Is Reshaping How Consumers Find Local Businesses, Creating an Invisible Gap for Small Companies
AI‑driven search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI mode are replacing traditional keyword queries, delivering only a few direct business recommendations instead of long result lists. Small local firms that lack a coherent, authoritative digital footprint are being omitted...
Google AdSense Will Experiment With New Ad Technology Partners
Google announced that AdSense will begin experimenting with an updated roster of commonly used ad‑technology partners on August 20, 2026, after a preliminary rollout starting April 20, 2026. The trial will assess partner performance and privacy compliance, with a full list update slated for...
When Platforms Become Part of the Channel
Affiliate operators are witnessing a fundamental shift as major platforms move from pure traffic sources to active shopping environments. Google’s Sponsored Shops, Shopify’s ChatGPT‑linked storefronts, and Meta’s creator‑tagged “Buy Now” flows embed product discovery, comparison, and cart building inside the platform...
Google Search Console Testing AI Contribution Report
Google Search Console is quietly testing a new AI contribution report, a feature hinted at by John Mueller in early February. The pilot appears in the Help documentation but lacks screenshots or detailed explanations. Analysts suspect the report will surface...
Google Still Processing Status To XML Sitemaps - Nothing To Announce
Google has confirmed that it will not be adding a new “still processing” status to XML‑sitemap error reports at this time. The request, raised by SEO specialist Kyle Risley, sought a clearer signal for sitemaps that have been crawled but...
Displayce Powers Ubisoft’s Multi-Country DOOH Campaign for Just Dance 2026
Ubisoft teamed with Displayce, Artefact and VIOOH to launch a programmatic digital‑out‑of‑home (DOOH) campaign for Just Dance 2026 across the UK, France, Germany and Australia. The effort ran on 179 premium screens—86% in shopping malls—targeting families within 0.5‑1 km of key retailers such...
The Financial Case for Hiring an Amazon Marketing Agency Vs. Building In-House
CFOs facing Amazon advertising budgets in the six‑ to eight‑figure range must decide whether to build an in‑house team or hire an Amazon marketing agency. The article breaks down fully loaded costs for specialists—including salaries, benefits, software and turnover risk—and...
Focus on TikTok Affiliate Marketing
TikTok affiliate marketing leverages the Creator Marketplace to pair brands with vetted creators who promote products for a commission. The model emphasizes micro‑influencers and niche communities, where authentic recommendations outperform polished celebrity ads. By integrating affiliate links into TikTok Lives,...
Only a Fraction of TikTok Trends Last Beyond Two Weeks, Publicis Groupe Finds
Publicis Groupe APAC’s new study of millions of TikTok data points across seven markets finds that nearly half of trends vanish within five days, and only a small fraction survive beyond two weeks. The research shows that longevity, not initial...
Adobe Summit 2026: How Adobe Hopes to Redesign Marketing and Creativity with AI
Adobe’s annual Summit kicks off in Las Vegas on April 20, 2026, with a parallel virtual stream, marking a pivotal moment as CEO Shantanu Narayen announces his departure after 18 years. The event will spotlight Adobe’s response to the surge...
Analysis: Movies Carry Fewer Ads than Series on Streamers
Ampere Analysis’s new Streaming Advertising Analytics shows movies carry significantly fewer ads than TV series on U.S. streaming platforms. Movies average about three minutes of ads per hour, while series exceed five minutes, with ad breaks roughly every 36 minutes...