
A retailer’s marketing manager asks if an employee‑influencer can post a product video on social media. The FTC mandates a clear disclosure of any material connection between the employee and the company, and violations can result in fines. The company must address policy gaps, compensation for non‑exempt staff, and protect confidential information. A written agreement and review process are recommended to manage brand risk and labor compliance.
TikTok introduced the Smart Promotion program on Jan 20, 2026, replacing its Co‑funded Promotion model. The initiative co‑invests marketing spend with merchants, guarantees a 5× return on investment and reports a 70% GMV boost during Black Friday. Fees are streamlined to 3.5%,...
X is launching a $1 million contest inviting users to create Grok‑generated video ads for its upcoming Super Bowl promotion. Participants must use the newly released Grok Imagine 1.0 engine to produce 30‑second clips that showcase the tool’s video and audio capabilities....

Google rolled out the February 2026 Discover core update, initially to English‑speaking users in the United States, with a global rollout planned over the next months. The algorithmic change aims to surface more locally relevant, in‑depth, and original content while demoting...

First‑party data is now the most powerful lever for AI‑driven advertising, according to Julie Warneke of Found Search Marketing. By feeding CRM‑derived signals into Google’s AI bidding, advertisers can boost conversion quality, revenue, and ROAS even as CPCs rise. Performance...
Google is testing AI-generated “Good to Know” labels on hotel photos in its Google Hotels listings. The labels provide brief descriptions summarizing the photo content and related user reviews, and appear on both owner‑uploaded and visitor images, though not on...

Brands are sidestepping the $7 million Super Bowl TV spot by rolling out real‑world activations across the Bay Area. eBay is converting its End Zone pop‑up into a live‑shopping studio, while Abercrombie & Fitch debuts an NFL‑licensed capsule and Pro Bowl...
The article outlines five March 2026 content‑marketing ideas—spring renewal, National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, Live Long and Prosper Day, Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, and the America at 250 celebration. Each concept pairs a seasonal or cultural moment with product‑focused storytelling...
Microsoft Advertising is piloting a magazine‑style layout within its Answer Card ad format on Bing’s search results page. The new design places ads in the prominent card slots that appear at the top of queries. Advertisers can access the space...

Kentico announced the AIRA Agentic Marketing Suite, expanding its AI‑powered Xperience platform. The suite introduces specialized AI agents, starting with a Content Strategist, that automate tasks across the marketing lifecycle. Built directly into the platform, the agents eliminate the need...

GWI surveyed 26,000 UK male football fans ahead of the 2026 World Cup and found only 9% feel represented by current advertising, which still leans on the outdated "lager lout" stereotype. Nearly half now choose non‑alcoholic beer and 10% abstain...
Freshpaint, a Y Combinator S19 startup, is hiring a senior software engineer focused on data to expand its HIPAA‑compliant infrastructure for healthcare marketers. The company enables 100s of healthcare businesses to collect, protect, and activate customer data while staying privacy‑first....

Tatari announced that four of its clients—Ro, Manscaped, Tecovas and Life360—will run commercials during NBC’s Super Bowl LX, marking the highest number of advertisers the platform has placed in a single game. The company secured two streaming‑only placements on Peacock,...

New Credos Trust Tracker data shows public trust in advertising climbed to 40% in 2025, the strongest level in five years. Trust is strongest for TV (46%) and traditional channels, while online, social media and influencer ads lag behind at...
Author Seth Godin argues that true integrity is built through countless small, consistent actions rather than occasional grand gestures. He warns that large corporations often sacrifice their founding mission for short‑term gains, eroding brand trust. Using the calculus integral as...

Twilio created the Head of Marketing Innovation and AI role for Piyush Sagar Mishra, leveraging his B2C background to re‑imagine B2B go‑to‑market. Mishra’s team built the MAISON framework—a trust‑first AI stack that combines a solid knowledge base, sandboxed models and agentic workflows....

The SAMY Marketing Trends 2026 report shows that 87% of CMOs will maintain or increase influencer marketing spend despite tightening budgets. While the channel remains resilient, executives are demanding clearer performance metrics, tighter integration, and demonstrable ROI. The study highlights...
Google is debuting a 60‑second Super Bowl commercial titled "New Home" to promote its Gemini generative‑AI assistant. The ad follows a mother using Gemini’s image‑generation tools to visualize a move, emphasizing the platform’s "helpful AI" narrative. The spot anchors an...

The Advertising Association has struck a strategic partnership with Times Media to launch “The Success Files”, a campaign that will turn the findings of its “Advertising Pays 25” report into real‑world case studies. The report showed UK businesses invested £66.6 billion...

Advertising Association, backed by the UK government’s Online Advertising Taskforce, has released a voluntary “Best Practice Guide for the Responsible Use of Generative AI in Advertising.” The guide translates eight core principles—transparency, data use, fairness, human oversight, harm prevention, brand...
Amazon debuted its new generative AI voice assistant Alexa+ in a 60‑second Super Bowl spot starring Chris Hemsworth. The ad humorously imagines Alexa plotting lethal scenarios, from decapitating Hemsworth to trapping him underwater, before ending with a benign massage booking....
![Why Off-Page SEO Still Shapes Visibility In 2026 [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Hethr_campbell](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://cdn.searchenginejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1-1-261.png)
The Search Engine Journal webinar, hosted by Michael Johnson of GrowResolve, explains why off‑page SEO remains pivotal for visibility in 2026 despite AI‑driven SERP changes. It outlines which signals—links, brand mentions, topical authority and trust—still influence Google’s rankings. Attendees receive...

eClerx Services Ltd has been named a Gold‑level Adobe Solution Partner for the Americas, joining an elite tier of certified providers. The designation reflects the firm’s mature Adobe practice, AI‑driven capabilities, and a workforce of more than 1,500 specialists. eClerx...

Krikey AI unveiled an enhanced 3D video editor tailored for marketing teams, enabling brands to produce cinematic‑quality promotional videos in minutes. The platform offers customizable characters, immersive environments, and templates that align with Gen Z graphic design trends. By automating...

Artlist, an AI video‑creation platform, launched a Super Bowl‑level commercial that it conceived, produced, and delivered entirely in‑house within five days using its own AI tools. The spot parodies other 2026 Big Game ads and showcases broadcast‑quality results typically requiring...

Gymshark has promoted Carly Natalizia to chief commercial officer after four years as vice president of marketing and most recently chief digital officer. Natalizia previously led marketing at The Very Group and held senior roles at Virgin Money, MBNA, Bank...

Best & Less has partnered with Connecting Plots Group to launch a new brand repositioning campaign called “So. Much. Better.” The campaign reframes value as freedom for Australian families, emphasizing authentic, messy moments over curated perfection. Research underpinning the work...

The 2026 Asia Pacific Loyalty Awards announced a 50% jump in entries, underscoring loyalty’s rising strategic weight across the region. Eighteen categories, from Best Overall Program to Best Use of AI, showcase innovations from retailers, banks, travel and telecom giants....
Marico announced the acquisition of a 60% stake in plant‑based nutrition startup Cosmix, adding the brand to its growing D2C portfolio that already includes Plix, True Elements, Just Herbs and Beardo. Cosmix more than doubled its FY25 revenue to ₹50.93 crore...

JB Hi-Fi announced the launch of its own retail media network, the first dedicated to the consumer electronics sector. The service is built in partnership with Retail MediaWorks and will allow brands and agencies to run targeted omnichannel campaigns across...

TikTok’s U.S. operation was sold for roughly $14 billion to a consortium that includes Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, underscoring the platform’s strategic value. Recent data shows TikTok Shop moved about $19 billion of goods globally in Q3 2024, rivaling legacy marketplaces. Brands...
Google has acknowledged a bug in its AI Overviews feature that omits citation links from certain responses. The issue was first highlighted by SEO researcher Lily Ray, and Google’s VP of Search Engineering, Rajan Patel, confirmed the problem and said...
Alphabet announced its Q4 2025 earnings, showing ad revenue climbing 14% to $82.3 billion. Total revenue rose 17% to $113.8 billion, pushing annual revenue past $400 billion for the first time. The company highlighted AI‑driven growth, citing Gemini 3 integration in Search and a surge...

Google Search Advocate John Mueller publicly dismissed the practice of serving raw Markdown files to AI crawlers, calling it a “stupid idea.” Developers experimenting with Next.js middleware claim the approach can slash token usage by up to 95 % for LLMs...

Senators Ruben Gallego and Bernie Moreno introduced the Safeguarding Consumers from Advertising Misconduct Act (SCAM Act) on Feb. 4, requiring online platforms to take reasonable steps to block fraudulent and deceptive ads. The bill expands the Federal Trade Commission’s and...
X announced a $1 million cash prize for the best January article, part of a push to encourage long‑form content on the platform. The competition awarded $250 k to a self‑help piece, $250 k to a Trump‑focused analysis, and $500 k to a government‑spending...
MEXC’s 2026 ranking spotlights the ten leading crypto marketing agencies, placing Bond Finance at the top followed by Coinbound, NinjaPromo, ICODA and others. The agencies were evaluated on ROI, Web3 expertise, regulatory compliance, community building, client portfolio, innovation, market presence...
YouTube is rolling out its auto‑dubbing feature to all creators, expanding language support from eight to twenty‑seven. The tool automatically translates videos and lets creators review scripts before publishing. New “Expressive Speech” AI adds emotional nuance in eight languages, and...
User‑generated content (UGC) videos are emerging as a practical tool to curb e‑commerce returns by filling the information gap that static images and copy often leave. Short, authentic clips demonstrate fit, material feel, color fidelity, setup steps, and performance, turning...

Dentsu UK&I announced James Bailey as media CEO and Shenda Loughnane as Ireland market lead and global president of Dentsu X. Bailey moves up from leading iProspect UK, where he secured major accounts such as Kering, eBay, Netflix and Tapestry....

Ulta Beauty has introduced its inaugural Ulta Beauty Roster, partnering with six high‑profile female athletes across emerging and established sports. The roster is supported by a Roster for Change grant program aimed at reducing the dropout rate of girls in...

Google Ads has introduced multi‑party approval, a security layer that obliges a second administrator to sign off on high‑risk actions such as adding or removing users and changing roles. When an admin initiates such a change, an in‑product request is...

Google Ads automation in 2026 relies entirely on signals rather than manual settings, turning AI into the primary performance driver. Every account element—from conversion actions and keyword data to creative assets and budget pacing—feeds the learning model. High‑quality signals, especially...

Intuit Mailchimp’s new “Art of the Opt‑In” report reveals that most marketers misjudge consumer willingness to share data, leading to low‑quality email and SMS lists. Only a third of marketers rate their lists as very high quality, and merely 8%...

Automation is handling routine PPC tasks, pushing specialists toward consulting roles. The most valuable PPC experts now blend profit‑focused economics with campaign execution, moving beyond ROAS to contribution margin. They diagnose when paid search isn’t the answer, integrate cross‑channel insights,...

Fibr AI announced a $5.7 million seed round led by Accel, bringing total funding to $7.5 million. The Boston‑based startup uses autonomous AI agents to convert static webpages into real‑time, one‑to‑one experiences for each visitor. Early adoption is picking up among large...
Google’s John Mueller warned that serving raw Markdown files to large language model (LLM) crawlers poses significant technical risks. He highlighted uncertainties around link parsing, internal navigation, and whether bots even recognize Markdown as anything beyond plain text. Mueller also...
Mike Ryan examined over 550 million ecommerce clicks from Q4 2025 using Google’s new “general invalid clicks” metric. He found the Google Display Network (GDN) registers the highest invalid‑click rate—nearly one in five clicks—though most are accidental. In contrast, the Search Partner...

Catalyst IQ introduced an AI‑focused SEO, AEO and GEO platform at the NADA convention, targeting automotive dealers. The solution uses real‑time market intelligence to match keywords with actual inventory and local demand, updating content as AI‑driven search trends evolve. Powered...

Similarweb’s premium digital performance metrics are now embedded in Bloomberg Terminal’s Alternative Data Analytics Platform (ALTD ). Bloomberg selected Similarweb as its premium alternative data provider, delivering near‑real‑time signals such as unique visitors, average visit duration, bounce rate and page...