AppHarbr by GeoEdge Launches the First Index Ranking In-App Ad Networks on Ad Quality & Safety
AppHarbr, GeoEdge’s in‑app ad quality platform, released the first In‑App Network Ad Quality & Safety Performance Index, benchmarking 45 ad networks across 25 billion ads. The study found half of the networks fell short of basic safety standards, with iOS apps facing three‑times more malicious ads than Android. All networks breached ad‑skippability rules, extending short ads to up to 80 seconds. Meta emerged as the top‑performing network for safety, especially in gaming apps, while header‑bidding SDKs showed stronger quality outcomes.
Accessibility Can’t Stop at the Shelf: An $18 Trillion Lesson for Marketers by AudioEye
Rare Beauty’s new fragrance launch turned its accessible bottle design into the centerpiece of a marketing campaign, generating organic buzz and consumer goodwill. The brand’s inclusive approach illustrates how accessibility can be a growth engine rather than a compliance checkbox....
How Ford Is Accelerating Its Global Campaign Amid Return to Formula 1
Ford is re‑entering Formula 1 after more than two decades, partnering with Oracle Red Bull Racing and extending its global "Ready Set Ford" campaign. The automaker is abandoning traditional TV spots in favor of Apple TV’s sequential ad format, creating a micro‑docuseries that links F1...
Tinder Jumps Straight Into Bed with VCCP Social Club
Tinder has appointed VCCP Social Club as its UK social and influencer agency of record, following a competitive pitch run by Ingenuity+. The newly launched division, comprising more than 80 specialists, will handle social strategy, creator content, influencer selection and...
Orange 142 Launches Ignition+, an Integrated, AI-Enabled Programmatic Media Solution Focused on Transparency and Efficiency
Orange 142, a Direct Digital Holdings division, unveiled Ignition+, an AI‑powered programmatic platform designed for Fortune 1,000 brands and large agencies. The solution consolidates activation, supply access, optimization and measurement into a single stack, promising greater transparency and a flat‑fee pricing...
British Bosses Now Ask AI Whether They Should Use AI
Confluent’s Quick Thinking 2026 survey of 200 UK CEOs reveals that 62% now rely on AI for the majority of their decisions, and 70% admit to second‑guessing their own judgment when AI recommendations differ. The report shows a shift toward...
Give Peas a Chance, Says Birds Eye, in Fresh OOH Push
Birds Eye, the frozen‑food brand owned by Nomad Foods, has launched a new out‑of‑home (OOH) campaign that puts peas at the centre of its messaging. The “Give peas a chance” creative, devised by Havas London, decorates London Underground escalator ribbons...
How Hoteliers Can Use Reddit to Strengthen Visibility and Brand Reputation
Reddit, while not a traditional marketing channel, now shapes how travelers research destinations and evaluate hotels, often appearing in search results and AI‑driven answers. Hoteliers can leverage the platform by monitoring brand mentions and competitor discussions rather than engaging directly....
‘Create Your Own Rom-Com Moment’: Fnp.ae Reveals Strategy Behind Valentine’s Campaign
Fnp.ae turned the crowded UAE Valentine’s market into a cultural moment with its “Create Your Own Rom‑Com Moment” campaign. The brand deployed a fully integrated media mix—DOOH billboards, premium digital screens, front‑page print, cultural publishers and live radio—to saturate commuter...
Study: Advertisers Face a ‘Paradox of Plenty’ in Measurement
The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and the 4As released a study revealing a "Paradox of Plenty" for U.S. advertisers: abundant data and sophisticated tools have not translated into higher confidence in media measurement. Surveying 197 senior marketers, the...
Sallie Has An Ad Business And Meta Is Declining Credit Cards
Meta confirmed it will drop credit‑card payments for ads next month, moving advertisers to invoice‑only billing to curb fraud and the “cashback loophole.” At the same time, student‑loan giant Sallie introduced Backpack Media, a retail‑media network that sells ad inventory...
Personalisation without Paranoia
The marketing industry’s long‑standing belief that more data equals better personalization is being upended by AI and privacy regulation. In the Middle East, the Personal Data Protection Law forces companies to redesign systems around contextual, real‑time signals rather than persistent...
Traffic to Top Tech Publications Has Plummeted Since 2024, New Analysis Shows
Organic search traffic to the United States' leading tech publications has plunged 58% since 2024, according to Growtika’s Ahrefs‑based analysis. Combined visits fell from a 2024 peak of 112 million to just 47 million in January 2026. The Verge suffered the steepest...
Tony Bandanza, Uber Technologies
Tony Bandanza has been appointed head of Uber’s US&C Restaurant Advertising business, overseeing strategy and execution for one of the company’s fastest‑growing revenue streams. He rejoined Uber in 2022 to lead the global Yum! Brands partnership, expanding Pizza Hut’s presence across...
Introducing PageSense 3.0 - Agency Edition
Zoho unveiled PageSense 3.0 – Agency Edition, a new experimentation platform tailored for digital agencies, CRO consultants, and growth partners. The solution adds a centralized dashboard, isolated data environments, flexible visitor‑quota management, and real‑time usage alerts to simplify multi‑client testing. Core...
Episode 139 - The Art of Content: Did We Lose the Plot with Blogs?
Episode 139 of the Content, Briefly podcast, titled "The Art of Content: Did We Lose the Plot with Blogs?", examines the waning influence of traditional blog posts in modern marketing. Host Jimmy Daly highlights declining engagement metrics, the rise of...
Google Ads Status Dashboard Flags Ad Manager Reporting Issue
Google flagged a reporting disruption on the Google Ads Status Dashboard affecting Google Ad Manager. The incident started at 13:49 UTC on March 4, and by 13:54 UTC Google confirmed that some users could access Ad Manager but were seeing stale or mismatched...
Google Merchant Center Adds “Build to Order” For Vehicle Listings
Google Merchant Center introduced a new availability value called “build to order,” enabling vehicle dealers to flag cars that are not physically on the lot but can be customized and ordered. Sellers must update both their structured data and Merchant...
VCCP New Biz Machine Crushes All to Top $1bn in Billings
VCCP announced it ended 2025 with over $1.027 billion in new client media billings, topping the global creative‑agency rankings. The growth was driven by a landmark US win with telecoms giant Spectrum and major UK contracts for British Gas, Direct Line,...
Typeface Launches Marketing Orchestration Engine
Typeface unveiled its Marketing Orchestration Engine, a unified operating layer that synchronizes people, AI agents, and enterprise systems throughout the marketing lifecycle. The platform rests on three pillars: a living brand‑intelligence graph (Arc Graph), governed AI‑driven workflows (Arc Agents), and closed‑loop performance...
Google Removes Accessibility Section From JavaScript SEO Section
Google has removed the “design for accessibility” section from its JavaScript SEO basics documentation, citing outdated information. The previous guidance warned that JavaScript could obscure content from search engines and assistive tools, but Google now confirms its rendering engine has...
Google to Disable Customer Match Uploads in Ads API
Google will disable Customer Match uploads via the Ads API for developers who have not used the feature in the past 180 days, effective April 1, 2026. Affected accounts will receive errors and must shift to the newer Data Manager API. The...
Google Non-Skip Ad Concerns Bleeding Into YouTube
Google has launched its Video Reach Campaign (VRC) Non‑Skip ads globally, targeting connected‑TV screens, while YouTube mobile users are encountering persistent overlay ads that cannot be dismissed. The ads stay visible despite repeated taps on “Dismiss,” prompting Reddit complaints and...
Google Ads Retargeting: A Guide to Your Data Segments
Google Ads now labels all retargeting lists as “Your data segments,” covering website visitors, app users, Customer Match, and content engagers. These lists not only power classic retargeting but also feed signals to Smart Bidding and Optimized Targeting across Search,...
Vudoo Announces Partnership with PubMatic to Simplify Activation of Commerce-Enabled Advertising
Vudoo has partnered with PubMatic to embed its commerce‑media technology into PubMatic’s AI‑powered programmatic platform, enabling shoppable ad experiences across verified inventory. The integration lets agencies and brands activate commerce media with a single deal ID, supporting display, video and...
You Can’t Automate Trust: Why AI Still Needs Human Strategy in Marketing
Marketers are discovering that AI can automate data‑heavy tasks, but it cannot set strategy or build trust. The most successful teams pair AI’s speed with human judgment, using automation to execute a clear, human‑crafted vision. Without human direction, AI‑driven campaigns...
Content Creators Didn’t Kill Publisher Video. They Rebuilt The Ad Model
Creator‑led companies like Donut Media are reshaping digital video advertising by building an integrated, 360‑degree ad stack that spans long‑form YouTube, short‑form social, podcasts and real‑world activations. The firm sells custom‑branded segments, 45‑ to 60‑second host‑read pre‑rolls and official partnership...
Creator Agency NewGen Signs Streamer xQc for Social Publishing Deal
London‑based creator agency NewGen has signed Twitch star xQc to a social publishing services agreement, brokered with Evolved Agency. The partnership will repurpose xQc’s live streams and YouTube videos for distribution on additional platforms, aiming to broaden his audience and...
Why Most Enterprise SEO Operating Models Are Structurally Broken via @Sejournal, @Billhunt
Enterprise SEO is failing not because of tactics but due to downstream operating models that treat SEO as a post‑launch audit. Most large firms place SEO inside marketing, relegating it to ticket‑driven fixes after product, content, and development decisions are...
ChatGPT's GPT-5.3 Instant May Show Fewer Links In Web Search Results
OpenAI unveiled GPT‑5.3 Instant, promising more accurate, context‑rich answers while deliberately showing fewer web links. The model blends its internal knowledge with live web data, aiming to reduce dead‑ends and overly declarative phrasing. By surfacing the most relevant information up front,...
New Google Help Doc About Google's Web Crawling
Google has released a new help document titled “Things to know about Google’s web crawling,” outlining nine key points about how its crawlers operate. The guide explains the existence of multiple specialized crawlers, repeat and frequent crawling, automatic optimization, and...
Google Confirms Discover Feed Shows More Social Posts
Google has confirmed that its Discover feed is now showing a higher volume of social media posts, including content from Instagram, TikTok, X and other platforms. The change was announced by John Mueller at the Google Search Essentials for News...
Ad Agencies Are Embracing ‘Vibe Coding’ to Build GEO Products for Clients
Ad agencies such as Havas, Broadhead and Supergood are rapidly creating generative engine optimization (GEO) tools by "vibe‑coding" on top of large language models, often within a single work session. Havas’ Brand Insights AI, built with Anthropic’s Claude Code and Replit,...
How to Focus on Topics (Not Keywords) in Your SEO Strategy
The article argues that SEO should prioritize topics over isolated keywords, leveraging semantic search and AI‑driven vector embeddings. It introduces a three‑tier framework—clearly defined, ambiguous, and expansive topics—to match the scale of a brand’s content universe. Practical steps include auditing...
Yoast SEO’s New Schema Aggregator Improves Entity Disambiguation via @Sejournal, @Martinibuster
Yoast SEO 27.1 introduces a Schema Aggregation feature that creates a single "schemamap" endpoint delivering the entire site’s schema.org data in one response. The endpoint deduplicates entities, preserves relationships such as author‑to‑article, and respects existing privacy settings. Responses are cached...
Bupa UK Picks Start-Up for Customer Centricity Drive
Bupa UK awarded its marketing and advertising account to start‑up agency Ace of Hearts after a competitive pitch. The insurer reported a 16% revenue increase to £16.9 bn and a 59% jump in underlying profit to £914 m, driven by strong private‑health...
Research: 85% of European Viewers Use Streaming Ad Tiers
FreeWheel’s Voice of the Viewer study shows that 85% of European streaming users watch ad‑supported tiers, with 83% satisfied overall. Content choice drives satisfaction, cited by 73% of respondents, while 47% exclusively use ad‑supported plans and 49% deliberately chose them....
How Can Retailers Use Micro-Influencers?
Retailers such as Disney Store, ASOS, Zara and others are shifting to micro‑influencers for campaigns. These creators have modest followings but are deeply embedded in niche communities, delivering higher engagement and authentic storytelling. Agencies like Coolr and Iris note that...
ASA Pulls Plug on British Gas and Hive Green Energy Ads
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned British Gas and Centrica Hive ads that promoted green‑energy savings, finding the claims misleading and insufficiently substantiated. British Gas advertised up to £546 savings from a heat‑pump tariff, yet ASA’s model showed...
IAB Europe Publishes 2026 Readiness Report Highlighting AI, Regulation & Sustainability Challenges in Digital Advertising
IAB Europe released its 2026 State of Readiness – Sustainability in Digital Advertising report, the fourth edition covering both environmental and social dimensions. The study’s double‑materiality analysis finds social issues such as privacy and media plurality outweigh environmental impacts. AI...
Vodafone Egypt Brings Loved Ones Closer Despite Hectic Schedules During Ramadan
Vodafone Egypt launched a culturally focused Ramadan campaign to counteract the growing fragmentation of family time caused by hectic work schedules and digital overload. The 360‑degree rollout combined TV, digital, OOH, radio, influencer collaborations and a new Bluetooth‑based "Nearby" feature...
How Creator Talent Agencies Are Evolving Into Multi-Platform Operators
Creator talent agencies are abandoning the legacy deal‑brokering model in favor of multi‑platform operations that place creators at the core. Companies like Shorthand Studios and Night Media have demonstrated rapid audience growth and secured sizable funding, such as Night Media’s...
X to Take Action Against AI Deepfakes of the Iran War
X announced a revision to its creator revenue‑share program to curb AI‑generated deepfakes about the Iran war. Users posting AI‑created videos of the conflict without a disclosure will be suspended from revenue sharing for 90 days, with permanent bans for...
X Usage Declined in the EU in the Second Half of 2025
X reported a 15% decline in EU active users, dropping from 76 million in the first half of 2025 to 64.8 million in the second half. The dip appears despite Elon Musk’s public assertions of record‑high global engagement. Under the EU Digital...
Meet Yeti Boo, the AI Bigfoot Helping KANE Footwear Rethink Influencer Marketing
Yeti Boo, an AI‑generated Bigfoot persona, exploded on TikTok, reaching over 439,000 followers and catching the eye of brands. KANE Footwear signed the character as an “AI athlete” to promote its Revive AC recovery shoe, pairing the mascot’s off‑beat wilderness...
Meta Tests Shopping AI Chatbot in US
Meta is piloting a shopping research feature inside its Meta AI chatbot for U.S. users. The tool returns a carousel of product images with brand, price, and website details, plus brief recommendation bullet points. The move mirrors similar experiments by...
Koah Bags $20.5M Series A Round
Koah, a native monetization platform for generative AI, announced a $20.5 million Series A round. The round was led by Theory Ventures, with Tomasz Tunguz joining the board. The funding builds on a $5 million seed round raised in September 2025 and signals confidence in...
Audio and Podcasts Best Venues for Consumer Engagement in Sports (Audacy)
Audacy’s new "State of Audio: Sports Fandom" report reveals that the most avid sports fans are younger, more diverse, and increasingly reachable through audio channels. The study shows a 40% lift in purchase and usage among the fandom cohort when...
Influencer Marketing 2025: Balancing AI Efficiency, Budget Pressure, and Human-Centric Creativity
Influencer marketing in 2025 is being reshaped by AI-driven tools that automate influencer discovery, content creation, and performance analytics. Brands confront tighter budgets and heightened demand for measurable ROI, prompting a shift toward performance‑based contracts. Despite technological advances, human‑centric creativity...
GrowthRise Mastermind Recap Mar 3, 2026
The GrowthRise Mastermind call highlighted three core growth levers for B2B firms: optimizing outbound email cadence, leveraging Meta’s ad platform over LinkedIn, and tightening pixel event tracking. Email sequences spaced every three to four days lifted open rates to 21%...