GWR’s Famous Five Jump Aboard for Myths and Legends
Great Western Railway has launched a new multi‑channel campaign that revives its 1920s myth‑based advertising, featuring the “Five and the Dragon Quest” film directed by Oscar‑winner Peter Baynton. The 60‑second spot stars voice talent such as Richard E. Grant and Ambika Mod and highlights leisure destinations across the South West and Wales. Partnering with Adam & Eve/TBWA, Mindshare and VCCP Roar, the rollout spans cinema, TV, VOD, radio, out‑of‑home and social media. The initiative aims to boost leisure travel bookings by positioning the railway as a gateway to legendary regional adventures.
Samsung Ads’ Smart TV Carousel Delivers for Non-Endemic Brands
Samsung Ads introduced an Immersive Carousel ad unit on its European Smart TV home screens, supporting up to five rotating tiles per placement. The format appears on more than 70 million Samsung TVs, auto‑rotating every five seconds and also navigable via...
Bright Mountain and NeuIQ Announce Strategic Partnership to Advance AI-Driven Consumer Decision Intelligence
Bright Mountain’s Big Village unit has entered a strategic partnership with AI services firm NeuIQ to embed continuous, AI‑driven decision intelligence into its marketing platform. The collaboration modernizes data pipelines, adds reusable analytics assets, and delivers real‑time consumer insights to...
GUEST COMMENT Hello, Answer Engines: How Brands Can Stay Seen when Users Don’t Click
In 2025 Google and Bing introduced AI‑powered snippets and chat‑style overviews that answer queries directly, ushering in a zero‑click search era. Brands can no longer rely on traditional click‑through SEO and must instead structure content for featured snippets, FAQ blocks,...
MarTech Interview With Ethan Gustav, Group President, North America @ Infobip
Ethan Gustav, Infobit’s Group President for North America, says AI has moved from a support‑only tool to a core marketing engine, with AI agents expected to handle up to 95% of customer interactions. He highlights the rise of domain‑specific language...
Mktg.Tech Launches Independent Ranking and Evaluation Platform for Marketing Technology
Mktg.Tech has unveiled an independent platform that ranks and evaluates marketing technology tools, agencies, and AI solutions using a documented, data‑driven scoring system. The methodology assesses functionality, integration capability, operational impact, and category‑specific performance, delivering transparent comparative insights rather than...
GoWit Announces Partnership with Publicis Media Middle East to Scale Commerce & Retail Media Across MENA & Türkiye
GoWit, a commerce‑enablement platform, has entered a strategic partnership with Publicis Media Middle East to expand its retail‑media solutions across the MENA region and Turkey. The collaboration will combine GoWit's AI‑driven shopping tools with Publicis' extensive media network, enabling brands...
Why Custom Algorithm Company 59A Cares So Much About Offline Data
Custom algorithm firm 59A, which has been serving UK advertisers for six years, announced its U.S. launch last week, appointing Jon Nash as the first U.S. CEO. The company builds bespoke media‑buying code by blending online signals with a wide...
Samsung Ads Launches Immersive Carousel Home Screen Ad Unit
Samsung Ads has introduced an Immersive Carousel ad unit for Samsung Smart TV home screens across Europe, allowing up to five interactive tiles that rotate automatically or can be navigated with the remote. The format appears on the home screen,...
Menarini Consolidates APAC Media Mandate with Agency Appointment
Menarini Asia‑Pacific has appointed Omnicom Media’s PHD as its regional media agency, expanding the partnership to seven additional markets—India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea—effective January 1 2026. The new remit consolidates media planning and buying across Menarini’s pharmaceutical and consumer‑health...
Best Practices Are Meaningless Without Audience Research
The article argues that generic best practices produce mediocre marketing results unless they are informed by audience research. It explains that understanding the specific audience’s preferences, language, and hang‑out places transforms bland tactics into resonant campaigns. Practical methods such as...
Cheil India Creates “Many Me’s in Me” Campaign for Samsung Galaxy Book5
Cheil India unveiled a brand film for Samsung’s Galaxy Book5 titled “Many Me’s in Me,” portraying a Gen Z protagonist navigating multiple creative identities. The ad positions the laptop’s AI capabilities—AI Select, Photo Remaster, and Copilot—as seamless enablers rather than technical...
FAST Trend Report 2026: What’s Trending?
Free ad‑supported streaming TV (FAST) has become the new normal in 2026, reshaping audience habits, advertising models, and content monetisation. International programming, especially Asian dramas and anime, generated $8 billion in streaming revenue between 2020‑2024, while FAST sports channels grew 105%...
Data: Champions League on Prime Video Attracting New Advertisers
Amazon Ads reports a surge in demand for UEFA Champions League advertising on Prime Video, attracting brands across automotive, financial services, lifestyle and travel. Brand‑lift studies show average lifts of 20% in favourability, 14% in familiarity and 21% in purchase...
Episode 135 - AI SEO with Gauge's Caelean Barnes
Episode 135 features Gauge’s Caelean Barnes discussing how artificial intelligence is reshaping SEO. Barnes explains Gauge’s AI‑driven keyword research, content optimization, and SERP forecasting tools. He shares case studies showing traffic lifts of 30‑50% after implementing AI recommendations. The episode...
X Plans to Combat AI-Generated Content While Promoting Grok
X announced new anti‑AI‑bot measures, including user‑added tags for AI‑generated posts and upgraded detection tools, while simultaneously promoting its Grok chatbot across the platform. Head of product Nikita Bier emphasized the need to protect the “human pulse” of X from synthetic...
Optus Launches ‘Pride Blooms From Yes’ For Mardi Gras 2026 Via Apparent
Optus has unveiled its ‘Pride blooms from Yes’ campaign, marking the telecom’s fifth year supporting the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2026. Developed by creative agency Apparent, the platform features a video series that spotlights personal moments from Optus’s...
Woolworths Senior Media Manager Joins Comcast’s FreeWheel
Comcast’s FreeWheel has hired Woolworths senior media manager Alan Jenner as Director of Platform Partnerships for Australia and New Zealand. Jenner spent nearly five years leading programmatic at Woolworths and previously held senior roles at LiveRamp, Comscore, Optus and Telstra. FreeWheel,...
Google Discover Update: Early Data Shows Fewer Domains In US via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
NewzDash’s early analysis of Google’s February 2026 Discover core update shows a shift toward locally relevant, in‑depth content and a drop in click‑bait style items. In California, local articles in the top 100 rose from 10 to 16, while Yahoo’s presence fell...
The Anatomy of Perfect Content: How Marketers Can Reach Consumers in the AI Era
The Expedia Group Advertising "Science of Wanderlust" study surveyed over 7,000 consumers and used eye‑tracking to pinpoint the creative elements that cut through today’s AI‑saturated content stream. It found video drives purchase intent three times more than static images, while...
Waterloo Sparkling Water Names Dentsu Creative Social AOR as Brand Expands
Waterloo Sparkling Water has appointed Dentsu Creative as its social agency of record, coinciding with the rollout of new flavors Banana Berry Bliss, Melon Medley and a year‑round Lemon Italian Ice. The partnership is timed to the opening of the...
How to Stop Publishing Content Nobody Cares About and Create Content Your Audience Loves
The article advises founders to stop producing irrelevant content and instead focus on audience‑centric, authentic storytelling. It stresses that understanding who you write for, being genuine about successes and failures, and publishing consistently are essential for building trust, especially among...
On the Move: French/West/Vaughan Signs Sykes
French/West/Vaughan announced the hiring of Drew Sykes as Vice President of Social Media and Influencer Marketing, bringing experience from Ignite Social Media and North Carolina State University. Cyber‑security firm Axonius named Meghan Marks as Chief Marketing Officer, leveraging her track...
What UGC Content Moderation Means for Brands and Marketers
User‑generated content (UGC) is reshaping modern marketing by leveraging authentic consumer voices across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and review sites. Brands that showcase real experiences see higher engagement, expanded reach, and improved SEO, as search engines favor fresh, user‑authored material....
The 10 Fastest-Growing UK Instagram Accounts Of January 2026
Manchester United led the UK Instagram surge in January 2026, adding 497,000 followers to reach 66.1 million total. Harry Styles, Owen Cooper, Olivia Dean and other entertainers followed, each gaining between 191,000 and 419,000 new followers. The growth was driven by a...
What Amazon’s Big-Box Move Means for Retail Media and Brands
Amazon is opening its largest ever big‑box store, a move framed as a physical challenge to Walmart and Costco but primarily a data play. The new footprint expands Amazon’s ability to observe shopper behavior, serve retail media ads, and claim...
How to Optimize Your Content for LLMs With Semrush
Semrush’s AI Search Optimizer helps marketers re‑engineer existing pages so large language models can cite them confidently. The tool scans a chosen URL, evaluates structure, clarity, E‑E‑A‑T signals and schema markup, then delivers a prioritized list of rewrite actions. Semrush’s...
Rewarded UA Unlocked
Rewarded user acquisition (RUA) is a mobile marketing strategy that grants players in‑game rewards for completing post‑install tasks such as tutorials or level milestones. By tying incentives to meaningful actions, RUA drives higher engagement, retention, and ultimately better return on...
Podcast Advertising Fell In January From Holiday High
Podcast advertising spend plunged 21% in January, falling to $59.8 million for the top 15 advertisers from a December peak of $75.9 million. The decline follows a holiday‑driven surge and signals a market correction. Despite the overall drop, brands such as T‑Mobile...
'As Long as the Message Gets Out': Ky. FD Lights up TikTok with Fire Safety and a Sense of Humor
The Owensboro Fire Department (OFD) launched a TikTok channel to spread fire‑safety messages and boost recruitment. Within a week the account amassed 1,400 followers, with its debut video garnering over 15,000 views and subsequent clips reaching thousands. The department pairs...
This Election Season, Buyers Can Curate Deals Based On Voter Values
OpenX partnered with data firm Givsly to launch a sell‑side curation platform that lets political advertisers target voters by shared values rather than party affiliation. The solution works across premium CTV and digital publishers, including Newsweek, Plex, Xumo and Scripps....
ByteBrew Launches AI-Powered Cross-Promotion Network to Scale App Portfolios
ByteBrew has introduced ByteBrew Ads, an AI‑powered cross‑promotion ad network that lets developers move high‑value users between apps in their portfolio. The service relies on Ctrl, the company’s proprietary AI engine trained on massive app data, to target users based...
Google: A Spike In Impressions Doesn't Cause Problems For Search
Google Search Console users reporting sudden impression spikes were reassured by John Mueller that higher impression counts do not harm search performance. Mueller clarified that the increase is merely a visibility metric and not a ranking signal. The spikes can...
Why Vimto Has Partnered with Fatafeat for Ramadan
Vimto has introduced its new Vimto Rose flavour in the Middle East by partnering with Warner Bros. Discovery’s Fatafeat channel during Ramadan. The collaboration embeds the drink within the channel’s Kitchen Tales programming, positioning it as a natural ingredient for recipes, mocktails...
Google Search Console Page Indexing Report Missing Data Prior to December 15
Google Search Console's page indexing report is missing data prior to December 15, a reporting bug that affects every user of the tool. The gap eliminates historic indexing metrics, making trend analysis impossible for that period. Google has not issued an...
SEO Fundamental: Google Explains Why It May Not Use A Sitemap via @Sejournal, @Martinibuster
Google’s John Mueller clarified why a technically valid sitemap can still show a fetch error in Search Console. He explained that if Google isn’t convinced the site offers new, important content, it may ignore the sitemap altogether. The Reddit user’s...
What California’s Streaming Loudness Regulation Means For Broadcasters And Ad Tech
California’s SB 576, effective soon, mandates that ads in streaming content be loudness‑matched to the surrounding program, extending the CALM Act principles to digital platforms. The law places compliance responsibility on the entity delivering the ad to California viewers, exposing the...
Shark Beauty and LOOKFANTASTIC Bring Live Social Commerce Experience to AI-Driven Catwalk
THG Studios unveiled its World’s First AI‑Driven Immersive, Shoppable Catwalk, integrating a live TikTok shopping segment hosted by Shark Beauty and LOOKFANTASTIC. The event coincides with Topshop’s high‑street comeback through John Lewis, offering both in‑person and global viewers the ability to...
Nest Hits Road with Coach Trip Star to Drive Awareness
Nest Pensions has launched the "Everyday Investors" social campaign, starring Coach Trip host Brendan Sheerin, to show members that their pension pots fund local projects across Yorkshire. The initiative, created by Atomic Supernova, is built on research revealing only 23%...
Incubeta Hires Ex-Wunderman Chief to ‘Join the Dots’
Incubeta has appointed Adam Woods, former CTO of Wunderman Thompson Data, as its first global chief product officer. Woods will consolidate Incubeta’s fragmented product suite into a unified, AI‑driven platform that delivers integrated media, data and creative intelligence. The hire...
EscalaX Reinforces Its Privacy & Compliance With BidSafe One
EscalaX announced a strategic partnership with privacy‑focused consultancy BidSafe One to strengthen its data‑protection and regulatory compliance posture. The collaboration will help EscalaX optimise consent management and align its operations with GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, IAB TCF and GPP standards. By integrating...
The Death of the Ad, the Birth of the Episode
In 2026 brands are abandoning the traditional 30‑second spot for vertical, episodic micro‑dramas that unfold on smartphones. Campaigns like Prada’s global series, Ajio’s *Suit Yourself*, and Cash App’s financial‑literacy reels treat the product as a background character while foregrounding emotion. The...
Havas Helia Appoints Andy O’Carroll in Major Shake-Up
Havas Helia has appointed Andy O’Carroll as its first chief creative officer, replacing two regional executive creative directors as part of a broader agency overhaul. O’Carroll brings a track record of Cannes Lions Grand Prix and D&AD awards from stints...
"B2B Is Human to Human": Why Anjali Gupta Is Replacing Machine-Talk with Storytelling
Anjali Gupta, founder of The Fractional CMO Company, says B2B marketing is reverting to brand‑centric, human‑to‑human storytelling amid a flood of AI tools. She warns that over‑reliance on superficial metrics like MQLs can distort true intent, while AI is reshaping...
Nissan Highlights Heritage, Connects Locally Ahead of Kuwait National Day
Nissan Kuwait launched the “Japanese but Kuwaiti at heart” campaign, highlighting its Japanese heritage while emphasizing local cultural relevance ahead of the 2026 National Day. The initiative, developed by Horizon FCBKuwait, centers on a hero film distributed across social media,...
As It Ramps up Push to Fund AI Bets, Meta Makes a New Play for Agencies
Meta has launched the Agency Growth Collective, a pilot program for independent agencies in the United States. The initiative replaces the traditional single Meta representative with a shared alias that routes communications to a rotating bench of specialists and offers...
LinkedIn Gets Real About Work, One Awkward Moment at a Time
LinkedIn unveiled a global brand campaign, “The network that works for you,” created with McCann New York. The humor‑driven ads spotlight awkward, everyday work moments while positioning LinkedIn as a partner for career and business growth. The rollout is split...
15 Smarter Interview Questions For Hiring Digital Marketers In 2026 via @Sejournal, @Brookeosmundson
Digital marketing hiring now demands strategic thinking over platform familiarity. The article presents 15 interview questions that probe candidates’ use of AI, data privacy adaptation, budget prioritization, metric storytelling, and cultural fit. It emphasizes evaluating the reasoning behind answers to...
Threads Now Offers Simplified Sharing to Instagram
Meta has added a one‑tap sharing option that lets Threads users push public posts straight to Instagram Stories without leaving the Threads app. The feature automatically formats the Thread into a full‑screen Stories frame, but it does not allow any...
Red Rooster Champions Australia’s Heartland in New Brand Campaign via Leo Australia
Red Rooster, Australia’s first chicken shop, has unveiled a sweeping brand campaign developed with Leo Australia. The rollout features two 30‑second TV commercials, shorter cuts, and a full suite of social, digital, OOH, PR and in‑store assets. Filmed in authentic...