Basware Appoints Chief Marketing Officer
Basware announced the appointment of Kira Mondrus as its new Chief Marketing Officer, joining the executive team reporting to CEO Jason Kurtz. Mondrus brings over 20 years of B2B technology marketing experience, most recently scaling Tricentis from $13 million to more than $500 million in revenue. Her mandate is to craft and execute a marketing strategy that amplifies Basware’s AI‑powered Invoice Lifecycle Management platform, especially within the SAP S/4HANA migration wave. The hire underscores Basware’s ambition to accelerate growth and capture a larger share of the evolving finance‑tech market.
Privy Acquires Sendlane to Strengthen Its Position as an Ecommerce Growth Platform
Privy announced the acquisition of Sendlane, an email and SMS marketing platform, to strengthen its unified ecommerce growth solution. The deal follows Privy’s 2023 purchase of Emotive and builds on a client base of more than 6,000 brands. Privy reports...
Google: Search Algorithms, Spam Detections & Policies Don't Fundamentally Change With AI Search
Google’s John Mueller told the SEO community that the rise of AI‑driven search does not fundamentally alter the core ranking algorithms, spam‑detection systems, or policy framework that have long governed Google Search. He emphasized that while the web is constantly...
Bing Multi-Turn Search Rolls Out Worldwide
Microsoft has launched its multi‑turn search feature in Bing for users worldwide, extending a capability first tested in the United States last year. The new interface appears as a floating box at the bottom of the results page, allowing users...
Walmart Connect Canada Academy Ad Certification Designed to Educate and Empower Advertisers
Walmart Connect Canada has launched the Walmart Connect Canada Academy Ad Certification, a free, self‑paced program designed to teach advertisers and partners the fundamentals of retail media and Sponsored Products on its platform. The certification includes two initial courses—Retail Media...
Google's Top Crawling Challenges In 2025
Google’s 2025 crawling report, presented by Gary Illyes and Martin Splitt, highlights five primary URL‑parameter issues that strain Googlebot. Faceted navigation accounts for half of the problems, followed by action parameters, irrelevant tracking strings, WordPress‑generated URLs, and miscellaneous encoding errors....
Google: Don't Spend Too Much Time On Redirects Analysis For SEO
Google’s John Mueller warned that exhaustive redirect‑chain analysis is unnecessary for most sites, noting that problematic redirects and CSP settings are usually visible in a standard browser. He emphasized that simple tools like the Redirect Path extension can surface these...
How to Structure Pages for AEO and Answer Engines: A Quick-Start Guide
Consumers now pose questions directly to answer engines like ChatGPT, forcing marketers to move beyond traditional SEO and adopt Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). The guide explains how to structure pages—using explicit H1s, early TL;DR sections, question‑based headings, concise lists, and...
‘Ill-Prepared and Work Shy’ Graduates Being Left Behind
A Regent’s University London study of 552 recruiters reveals that recent marketing and advertising graduates lack the work ethic and soft‑skill maturity employers demand. Strong work ethic, communication, decision‑making and accountability rank as the top missing competencies, while 82% of...
Brand Building: How Lowe’s Is Transforming Into a Culture-Driven, AI-Powered Lifestyle Brand
Lowe’s is repositioning from a traditional home‑improvement retailer to a culture‑driven, AI‑enabled lifestyle brand. The shift reflects a broader view of the home as a space for personal expression, supported by AI tools that help associates and shoppers visualize projects....
WordPress Publishes AI Guidelines To Combat AI Slop via @Sejournal, @Martinibuster
WordPress has released a set of AI usage guidelines aimed at ensuring contributions remain transparent, GPL‑compatible, and of high quality. The five principles require contributors to take responsibility for AI‑assisted work, disclose any AI involvement in pull‑request descriptions, ensure AI‑generated...
“Everybody Wants to Win”
Seth Godin argues that the blanket claim ‘everyone wants to win’ oversimplifies human motivation. He shows that personal circumstances, priorities, and individual definitions of success shape behavior, making uniform measurement unreliable. By clarifying what ‘win’ means for each person and...
‘Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid’: Pot Noodle ‘Slurp’ Returns
Unilever’s Pot Noodle has re‑introduced its infamous “slurp” sound in a new advertising campaign developed with Adam & Eve TBWA. The 30‑second cinema spot, set among horror‑movie fans, emphasizes the brand’s “Nothing Satisfies Like Pot Noodle” platform and will run...
Brands up Loyalty Spend as ROI, Data and Retention Soar
Brands are channeling more than half of their marketing budgets—51.5%—into loyalty and CRM programs, driven by a third‑year streak of rising returns. The Antavo Global Customer Loyalty Report 2026 shows an average ROI of 5.3:1, with 83% of program owners...
Elvis Is King as Next 15 Takes Axe to House 337 Brand
Next 15 has retired the House 337 brand, folding it into its longer‑standing Elvis agency as part of a “simplification strategy” that cut its portfolio from 22 to 12 brands. The change saw Elvis CEO Tanya Whitehouse step down after...
Q&A with Ashley Burkle, Director of Business Development at Identiv
In a February 2026 interview, Ashley Burkle, Director of Business Development at Identiv, outlined the company’s push to embed secure digital identities into consumer packaging through NFC, BLE and UHF RFID technologies. Identiv’s solutions turn everyday products into connected data sources,...
Svedka Bets on AI and Its Fembot to Make Super Bowl History
Svedka, now owned by Sazerac, launched “Shake Your Bots Off,” the first primarily AI‑generated Super Bowl commercial and the inaugural vodka ad in the game. The spot revives the brand’s Fembot after a 12‑year hiatus, adds a new Brobot character,...
How Tree Hut Used AI to Turn Customer Feedback Into Product Insights and Quadruple Social Engagement
Tree Hut, a bath‑and‑body brand under Naterra, has deployed an AI‑powered community‑management platform to mine comments, DMs and other social signals. The technology transformed routine engagement into a data engine that quantifies product demand, sentiment and collaboration ideas, enabling the...
How Tree Hut Used AI to Turn Customer Feedback Into Product Insights and Quadruple Social Engagement
Tree Hut integrated an AI tool into its social channels to automatically process community comments and direct messages, creating a searchable database of consumer requests. The system quantified demand for the Cinnamon Dolce scent, revealing thousands of mentions that justified expanding the...
Bain on China’s More Selective Luxury Consumer and What It Means for Brands
Bain & Company’s 2025 China luxury market report shows the mainland personal luxury segment contracted 3‑5% in 2023 after a sharper decline in 2022. Growth is now limited to affordable‑luxury and ultra‑premium categories, while mid‑priced items lag. Beauty products posted...
Publicis CEO: We Won’t ‘Marry’ Our Business to One Single AI Player
Publicis Groupe posted strong Q4 and 2025 results, with organic growth of 5.9% and net revenue reaching $17.18 billion, up 5.6% year‑over‑year. The firm generated $8 billion in new business, adding major accounts such as Coca‑Cola North America, Mars, and Nespresso. AI...
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2026 Social Media Benchmarks [Infographic]
Socialinsider released its 2026 social media benchmarks, analyzing 70 million posts across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. The report shows TikTok’s engagement rate climbing to 3.70%, a 49% year‑over‑year increase, while Instagram remains flat at 0.48% and Facebook slips to 0.15%....
The New Digital Paradigm: How Your Brand Will Be Discovered in 2026
AI-driven search is redefining brand discovery as generative engine optimization (GEO) replaces traditional SEO. By 2026, consumers will phrase queries conversationally, prompting retailers to craft natural language content. AI chatbots already influenced 17% of Cyber Week 2025 orders and will...
AI Is Not the only Threat Menacing Big Tech
Big tech’s revenue engine—digital advertising—is losing its perceived recession‑proof status. While the AI boom dominates headlines, analysts warn that a future economic slowdown could sharply cut ad spend, exposing firms like Meta and Google to revenue volatility. The sector has...
TikTok Shares Insight Into Effective Ad Measurement Approaches
TikTok, together with Ebiquity, released a research report showing that its premium ad formats generate substantially higher revenue per thousand impressions than standard inventory. Econometric analysis of UK brands isolates TikTok’s incremental sales lift, revealing a 3‑4× revenue advantage for...
The Performance Marketing Channel Retailers Are Overlooking
Retailers are rethinking costly search and volatile paid‑social spend as consumer budgets tighten, yet many still treat cashback as a peripheral affiliate tactic. In markets like Singapore and Europe, cashback platforms drive tens of billions in sales and deliver 18‑25%...
Omnicom Media Appoints UK Influencer Marketing Chief
Omnicom Media has appointed Stevie Johnson as head of its UK influencer arm, Creo, to steer the agency group’s creator‑marketing capabilities. Creo, launched in 2025, unifies Omnicom’s influencer services and taps data partnerships across the creator ecosystem. Johnson, formerly managing...
Amazon Opens Its Ad Stack to AI Agents With MCP Rollout
Amazon announced an open‑beta of its Ads Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server, a unified gateway that lets AI agents connect to Amazon Ads with a single integration. The MCP translates natural‑language prompts into structured API calls, turning multi‑step advertising tasks...
Moore Announces Dan Thain as Chief Integrated Creative Officer
Moore, a leading constituent experience management firm, announced Dan Thain as its new chief integrated creative officer. Thain will set the strategic direction for Moore’s integrated creative function and oversee the digital creative team, leveraging his background in nonprofit fundraising...
Chrome Ad Blocker Caught Hijacking Amazon Affiliate Links
A Chrome extension called Amazon Ads Blocker, marketed as an ad‑hider, was found to silently replace creator affiliate tags on Amazon product links with its own identifier (10xprofit‑20). Socket researchers discovered the extension injects the tag on page load and...
Advanced Ways to Use Competitive Research in SEO and AEO
The article urges marketers to integrate competitive research for both traditional SEO and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) in 2026. It contrasts the benefits of SEO tools—keyword intent, demand capture—with AEO tools that shape demand, influence early‑funnel decisions, and dictate brand...
Google Ads Replacing Support Form With AI Agent
Google Ads has replaced its traditional support form with an AI‑driven chat agent, accessible via the usual support URL. The chatbot introduces itself as an AI advisor, prompting users to describe issues before offering assistance or escalating to human help....
The In-House Vs. Agency Debate Misses the Real Paid Media Problem by Focus Pocus Media
The article argues that the long‑standing in‑house versus agency debate overlooks the real paid‑media challenge: how performance leadership is structured. Companies often see campaigns run smoothly, yet growth stalls because tracking, strategic ownership, and systematic testing are weak. The author...
SERPs with Ads + AI Overviews Grew by Over 394% in 2025
Google has dramatically increased ad presence on search results that feature AI Overviews, jumping from 5.17% in March 2025 to 25.56% by October—a 394% rise. The growth is uneven across placements, with bottom‑of‑SERP ads now appearing on roughly a quarter...
Custom Channels Intros In-Store Engagement Platform
Custom Channels has launched a unified in‑store engagement platform that links audio promotions with digital signage and loyalty applications, aiming to influence purchase decisions at the point of sale. The solution moves music from background ambience to a data‑driven communication...
Controversial Proposal To Label Sections Of AI Generated Content via @Sejournal, @Martinibuster
A proposal by David E. Weekly suggests a new HTML attribute on the element to label AI‑generated sections of a page. It aims to meet the EU AI Act Article 50 requirement for machine‑readable AI content disclosure, addressing the gap...
Motorsport UK Picks Agency to Steer Transformation
Motorsport UK has selected digital agency Engage to spearhead a long‑term strategic transformation, beginning with a comprehensive website refresh. The governing body, representing over 100,000 members across grassroots to elite racing, aims to modernise its digital presence, improve accessibility, and...
Havas Helia Beats Off Four to Retain Avanti West Coast
Havas Helia has secured a three‑year extension—potentially up to 2030—to continue managing Avanti West Coast’s CRM and loyalty programmes after a five‑agency pitch. The renewal builds on a partnership that began in 2020 and includes full‑service delivery from acquisition strategy...
Faire Teams up with Spring Fair to Launch National Survey
Faire and Spring Fair have launched the "Voices of Retail" campaign, a national survey inviting UK independent retailers to share insights via a five‑minute questionnaire available at the Spring Fair exhibition and online. The survey runs until 2 March 2026 and will...
Four Things to Think About When Targeting Mobile Monetization Strategy
Mobile app developers must move beyond acquisition to a nuanced monetization strategy that blends multiple revenue streams. A hybrid mix of in‑app purchases, ads, and subscriptions mitigates market volatility while increasing lifetime value. Understanding user segments and behavioral signals enables...
Primark Launches New Youth-Focused Label
Primark has introduced a new youth‑focused label called The Primark Scene, aimed at Gen Z shoppers who feel underserved by traditional kids’ ranges and adult fashion. The line, shaped over an 18‑month research period with direct input from teenagers, features low‑rise...
Exclusive: Mac and Depop Are Teaming up to Convert Gen Z to Buy Lipstick
Estée Lauder’s MAC brand is launching a first‑ever beauty partnership with resale platform Depop to tap Gen‑Z shoppers. The collaboration features influencers Jordyn Woods and Leah Kateb curating wardrobes, with each purchase rewarding buyers a MAC lipstick and custom Depop...
Gymshark’s Jennifer Lai Discusses Building Range Before Chasing Titles
Jennifer Lai, a former Adidas and Dyson executive, has joined Gymshark to design and launch its first North American brick‑and‑mortar stores. She will oversee expansion, operations and people, creating a community‑first retail experience that mirrors the brand’s digital DNA. Lai...
TikTok Announces ‘TikTok Live Fest’ Event
TikTok announced its first large‑scale Live Fest, scheduled for February 12 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Emmy‑winner Keke Palmer will host a showcase that mixes Hollywood star Demi Lovato with top global TikTok creators and competition winners across multiple creator leagues. The...
TikTok Announces Creator Showcase for Black History Month
TikTok announced its 2026 Black History Month showcase, spotlighting a curated roster of #BlackTikTok creators across fashion, entertainment, sports, food and more. The platform highlighted an 11‑fold increase in unique #BlackTikTok posts since 2020 and promised in‑app exposure, branded‑account promotion,...
Meta Announces Discovery Improvements for Creator Marketplace
Meta has upgraded its Creator Marketplace with smarter recommendation engines that surface creators who have previously engaged with a brand, tagged its products, or shown explicit interest. The platform now includes a “Similar Creators” search that mirrors top‑performing past partners...
Reclaim Traffic with Smarter Ads
With AI chatbots and shopping agents siphoning organic visits, ecommerce marketers are shifting toward smarter ad targeting to sustain growth in 2026. A Harvard Business Review survey shows 74% of U.S. adults 18‑30 used an AI chatbot in the past...
Relisting: Boost eBay Views Without Ad-Spending
David Brackin shows eBay sellers how a manual bulk relist of stale inventory can dramatically boost visibility without spending on Promoted Listings. By ending and restarting the bottom third of low‑engagement listings during their scheduled renewal, the items receive a...
The Redesigned Offerwall Monetization Dashboard: What’s New and Next
Tapjoy, now part of Unity, has rebuilt its offerwall publisher dashboard to deliver a unified, data‑rich interface. The redesign adds advanced filtering, dynamic visual reports, and new app‑level metrics such as DAU, DUV, and DUC. A refreshed placement page gives...
WordPress Announces AI Agent Skill For Speeding Up Development via @Sejournal, @Martinibuster
WordPress unveiled wp‑playground, an AI agent skill that integrates with the Playground CLI to spin up a full WordPress sandbox instantly. The skill automatically mounts generated code, launches the site, and provides built‑in scripts that shrink startup time from roughly...