Know What's Happening in Marketing
Know What's Happening in Marketing
PopSockets Turns Phone Backs into $169M Revenue Engine
PopSockets transformed the unused back of smartphones into a monetizable surface, growing from a garage prototype in 2011 to a global brand that generated $169M in revenue by 2017. The productâs simple grip embedded into daily phone use drove constant repeat interactions, wordâofâmouth growth and celebrity visibility.
Burger King released a bold, fully transparent apology ad that directly addressed longâstanding customer complaints about price and quality. The commercial, posted on YouTube, received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with viewers praising the brandâs willingness to admit its flaws. This move reflects a wider shift in advertising, where brands are leveraging honesty and consumerâdriven narratives to rebuild trust. The ad sits alongside other industry trends, such as antiâAI stances and experiential campaigns, highlighting a new era of candid brand communication.
Former NFL star Cam Newton announced a partnership with Revolt/Offscript at the 2026 IAB NewFronts, positioning himself as an athleteâturnedâcreator for brands. Through his Iconic Saga Productions, he will integrate his podcasts and the upcoming "4th&1 College Tailgate Tour"âa showcase...
Not seeing even one site with obvious core update like movement yet, but then again GSC is only reporting up till the 29th, which is two days into the March core update. It's so much easier for me to check now....
JAR Podcast Solutions launched JAR Replay, a product that lets brands retarget recent podcast listeners with premium Visual Audio ads while keeping podcasts adâfree. The service identifies listeners via privacyâsafe signals and serves fullâscreen soundâon ads in brandâsafe mobile apps...
Google clarified that core algorithm updates unfold over several weeks because individual components are released in stages, a practice that aims to maintain stability across its massive infrastructure. Microsoftâs Bing is piloting almost transparent sponsored labels, making paid results harder...
The Federal Trade Commission has warned 97 dealership groups that advertising vehicles not in stock violates the law, with penalties exceeding $50,000 per offense. Dealers must act quickly to pull or update listings, or risk costly fines and restitution.
Backyard Ventures announced a partnership with the sociallyâfocused series Between The Lines to launch a fullâscale podcast and simulcast platform. The video series, created by former NBA champion Danny Green and hosted by Ivana Rojas, already commands over 474,000 followers...
Target announced the removal of its annual LGBTQ+ Pride collection from roughly 2,000 U.S. stores after threats from rightâwing groups. The decision, made amid CEO Brian Cornellâs warnings about shopliftingâdriven store closures, underscores a broader breakdown in the retailerâs strategic...
OpenAI announced the immediate shutdown of Sora, its AI videoâgeneration platform, ending a planned $1âŻbillion partnership with Disney and halting a tool many realâestate firms hoped would power AIâgenerated property tours. The move reflects compute constraints and a strategic pivot...
Miami-based creator marketplace Influur announced a multiâcity, creatorâled initiative to help brands engage audiences around the 2026 FIFA World Cup across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Rather than seeking official tournament sponsorship, Influur will build an independent, creatorâpowered cultural...
"Post at the best time" = optimize your labor for a platform's algorithm. "Use the right hashtags" = help a platform sell your attention more effectively. "Perfect your video length" = conform your creativity to what benefits the machine. You are not creating...
There's a lot of misinformation like this in our industry. They've been rendering JS for more than a decade and had some support with the AJAX crawling scheme before that. There's even a section in their docs talking about how they...
Jamul Casino Resortâs 11âminute documentary âWater Sweet, The Story of Jamulâ captured a Gold Addy and the coveted Best of Show in the AAFâs Corporate Social Responsibility category. The award, presented in Reno, underscores how casino operators are leveraging authentic...
Brands such as ScottsMiracleâGro and Clinique are accelerating the deployment of agentic AI to deliver realâtime, locationâspecific educational content to consumers. At SXSW, ScottsMiracleâGroâs senior vice president John Sass highlighted how the companyâs 158âyear legacy is being amplified through autonomous...
Nebius Group agreed to provide Meta Platforms with up to $27âŻbillion in AI compute over five years, including $12âŻbillion of capacity starting in 2027. The deal expands Metaâs AIâdriven adâtech stack and marks Nebiusâ largest contract to date, underscoring the...
A new Emplifi study of over 10,000 Facebook Reels reveals that musicâfocused clips alone no longer drive optimal performance for musicians. Reels that open with human speech, feature the creatorâs face, use a vertical 9:16 format, incorporate seamless loops, and...
Instagram has withdrawn its PGâ13 branding for teen accounts after the Motion Picture Association warned of trademark infringement and threatened legal action. The socialâmedia platform introduced the rating in 2024 to signal ageâappropriate content, but the MPAâs pushback forced Meta...
U.S. law firms are confronting a seismic shift in client acquisition as AI-driven zeroâclick search answers replace traditional organic clicks. The average firm spends about $150,000 a year on SEO, yet 96% of potential clients now start online and many...
Restaurant public relations is a decisive factor for local and multiâlocation growth, requiring a blend of niche targeting and brandâwide consistency. The sectorâs intense competition forces operators to map local consumer behavior and balance geographic reach with culinary identity. Effective...
Alicia OâBrien of Wilson argues that artificial intelligence can amplify employer branding, but only if companies preserve the human element that makes the brand authentic. She highlights governance as the defining priority for 2026, urging firms to establish clear policies...
Livguard has secured an exclusive power partnership with Punjab Kings for IPL 2026, granting the energyâstorage firm prominent branding on team jerseys and across digital and onâground activations. The deal includes playerâled content, fanâengagement initiatives, and matchâlinked campaigns designed to...
Artificial intelligence isnât reinventing marketing; itâs reshaping how buyers discover information. AIâdriven tools surface intent earlier, make personalization scalable, and tighten attribution, giving marketers sharper proof of impact. At the same time, traditional discovery channelsâsearch, feeds, clicksâare losing relevance as...
Social mediaâs algorithmic focus on activity tempts brands to flood feeds, but relentless posting can blur a brandâs identity. Mazen Abdelkader argues that without a clear narrative, content becomes generic noise, eroding distinctiveness. A shift to purposeâdriven storytelling, rather than...
Googleâs John Mueller clarified that core algorithm updates unfold over several weeks because they consist of multiple components that must be deployed individually. The rollout is a stepâbyâstep process rather than a single switch, which explains the gradual emergence of...
Aadhar Housing Finance has launched the "GharLelo" brand campaign, featuring two short films that dramatize the emotional and practical hurdles of homeownership for Indiaâs economically weaker and lowâincome groups. The ads portray a driverâs struggle and a Bollywoodâstyle comedy to...
Microsoft Bing tests almost transparent sponsored labels in the search results https://t.co/kDJWSBqMsY via @SachuPatel53124 https://t.co/nQlz6uEVJD
Microsoft is piloting a new sponsoredâlabel design on Bing that is almost transparent, rendering the ads difficult to distinguish from organic results. The test, highlighted by analyst Sachin Patel on X, shows labels in a superâgrayed, lowâcontrast style. This follows...
Actress Tamannaah Bhatia has launched Tamannaah Fine Jewellery, positioning it as Indiaâs answer to Cartier. The brand builds on her fatherâs fifteenâyear jewellery business, giving it inâhouse manufacturing and design control. It targets modern, urban consumers who want contemporary pieces...
Kiaâs Middle East and Africa division has joined CocaâColaâs FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour as a title partner and ValueâinâKind mobility supporter. The brand will supply a fleet of 48 Kia vehicles to transport the trophy, VIPs and officials across...
Marketers are urged to study the manosphereâa loosely organized online community targeting young menâto understand how it resonates with their hopes and fears. The article argues that the manosphereâs success stems from authentic, identityâfocused messaging, community building, and dataâdriven targeting....
Lenovo announced a global partnership with football legend David Beckham, launching a marketing campaign in May ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The collaboration will showcase Lenovoâs AIâdriven technology aimed at enhancing fan experiences, optimizing team performance, and unlocking...
Tilda has launched its largest-ever marketing push, the "Live Like You Mean It" campaign, to accelerate growth in the premium rice segment. The multiâchannel effort, rolling out nationwide on 1âŻApril, is projected to reach 65% of UK adults through TV,...
Snapchat is emerging as a viable B2B outreach channel, according to a GWI study of 2,200 professionals aged 18â45. The research shows Snapchat users are 1.5 times more likely to hold executive roles and twice as likely to launch side...
Muck Rackâs Generative Pulse report reveals that earned media accounts for roughly 25% of all citations generated by large language models, while nonâpaid sources represent about 94% of AIâcited links. Pressârelease citations grew fivefold between July and December 2025, rising...
HX Expeditions is celebrating its 130th anniversary with limitedâtime discounts of up to 35% on flagship expedition cruises to Antarctica, Alaska, Greenland and the GalĂĄpagos. The promotion, running through early 2028, aims to make premium polar and wildlife voyages more...
Chipotle Mexican Grill has relaunched its Burrito Vault game, putting more than $2âŻmillion in free food on the line and drawing over 3.5âŻmillion plays last year. The promotion, running MarchâŻ30âAprilâŻ1, offers weekly free burritos for a year and a host...
A new study of 2,000 consumers shows 72% of Gen Z consider customer reviews the most credible brand influence, surpassing influencer content. Independent research and expert opinions each sway 68% of this cohort, while brand advertising and influencer posts rank...
G-Stacker announced a new digital infrastructure platform that automates the creation of interconnected Googleâbased content assets, allowing marketers to generate coordinated SEOâfocused material across Docs, Sheets, Slides, Sites and other Google services. The launch aims to streamline multiâproperty content strategies...
Microsoftâs HR communications team overhauled its employer brand by grounding messages in employee data rather than leadershipâdriven hype. After weeks of focus groups, surveys and external perception analysis, the company adopted a threeâpoint frameworkâwork with great people, do meaningful work,...
In this episode, Pinky Cole, founder and CEO of the $100âŻmillion Slutty Vegan brand, recounts her journey from a twoâbedroom Atlanta apartment to a national vegan empire, detailing how she leveraged bold branding, TVâstyle storytelling, and social media to attract...
The Restaurant Marketing Workshop returns to Boston JuneâŻ2â3, 2026, featuring a keynote by Salad House CMO David âRevââŻCiancio titled âDonât Go Viral Without This System.â Ciancio will reveal the growth frameworks that brands like Daveâs Hot Chicken use to convert...
Volkswagen Group partnered with AWS to build a generativeâAI pipeline that creates photorealistic, brandâcompliant vehicle images for its ten marques. By fineâtuning the Flux.1âDev diffusion model with DreamBooth on proprietary digitalâtwin data and deploying it on Amazon SageMaker, the company...
Radio commands 64% of adâsupported audio time among U.S. registered voters 18+, far outpacing streaming services. Podcasts are the next biggest share at 21%, while adâfree platforms hold the remaining 47% of daily audio. Over half of votersâ audio consumption...
Radio executive Steve Jones argues that stations achieve legendary status by delivering a rockâstar experience, not just a better product. In his book *Brand Like a Rock Star*, he maps musicâindustry branding tacticsâmemorable identity, authentic storytelling, and fanâcentric engagementâto radio,...
Analysis of 67âŻmillion email messages shows UK consumers are becoming more selective, clicking less but converting at higher rates. The shift toward an âintent economyâ is driven by costâofâliving pressures, prompting shoppers to focus on home improvements and financial services...
Mumbai Indians has partnered with Kinnect India to launch the "Fans Nahi Fam" campaign, positioning its supporters as family rather than mere fans. The initiative spans films, key visuals, branding and onâground activations, aiming to embed the team deeper into...
McDonaldâs has launched a new promotion linked to the animated film âKPop Demon Hunters,â embedding collectible photoâcards and QRâenabled access cards in its meals. Customers scan the codes via the McDonaldâs app to unlock exclusive digital content, creating a loop...
Samsung Ads has launched TotalView, a unified measurement solution that aggregates linear and streaming ad reach across Samsungâs 70âŻmillion European Smart TVs. The platform provides deduplicated audience data for preâcampaign planning, inâflight activation, and postâcampaign reporting, eliminating traditional blind spots....
Heathrow has launched a new outâofâhome and digital campaign, created by StâŻLukeâs, that spotlights the emotional rewards of travel rather than just its destinations. The "LHRâŻ>âŻXXX" concept pairs the airportâs threeâletter code with words like WOW, NOM and ZZZ to...
![How To Identify Which LLM Is Actually Working For You [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Hethr_campbell](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://cdn.searchenginejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/callrail-webinar-041426-llm-conversion-rates-768.png)
Search Engine Journal is hosting a live webinar to help marketers pinpoint which large language model (LLM) actually drives conversions in specific industries. Panelists Danielle Wood of CallRail and Natalie Johnson of SweetGlow will share realâworld conversion data for ChatGPT,...
