Today's Marketing Pulse
McKinsey predicts agentic AI will power two‑thirds of marketing activities
McKinsey’s new report forecasts that agentic AI could drive up to two‑thirds of marketing activities, shifting AI from a productivity add‑on to a core campaign engine. Early adopters are already using generative tools, while the next wave will involve autonomous agents that coordinate decisions across workflows. The firm outlines a five‑step roadmap for implementation.
Why TikTok Shop’s Real ROI Was Never Meant to Stay on TikTok
TikTok Shop is being re‑positioned from a narrow sales channel to a powerful demand‑generation engine, a shift highlighted by Greek sun‑care brand Carroten’s rapid U.S. expansion. Leveraging over 13,000 creators, the brand generated 152 million views, sparking a cascade that lifted Amazon search rankings, cut cost‑per‑click and secured premium shelf space at Target. Carroten’s revenue jumped more than 224% year‑over‑year, with Amazon now delivering roughly 60% of total sales. The case shows that TikTok‑driven virality fuels growth across the entire retail ecosystem, not just on‑platform transactions.
Blank Street: Hollow Branding Mirrors Modern Consumer Culture
Blank Street is the coffee shop you'd make if you asked ChatGPT to create a brand for you. The Helvetica font, matte green color, and even the word 'Blank' are designed to appeal to everybody, everywhere and as hollow as...
AI Articles Prematurely Report March 2026 Core Update
AI-generated articles already being published (and one even quotes me with a quote I never said) about the March 2026 Core Update 🫠🫠 lol, the update was announced Friday and has barely kicked in yet, let alone completed. There is no...
SoFire’s Hot Campaigns: Alix Earle’s Skincare Launch Proves Why Authenticity Always Wins
Alix Earle, a 14‑million‑follower influencer, has launched the skincare line Reale Actives in partnership with dermatologist Dr. Kiran Mian. A cryptic teaser campaign sparked strong pre‑launch engagement, turning curiosity into a ready‑made audience. Earle’s content has long documented her cystic acne journey and Accutane...
Authentic Brand Storytelling in the Age of AI
Really looking forward to hosting this. MarTech gave me the opportunity to choose a panel of people who would be great for this conversation, and they answered the call. Join Melanie D. , Jordache Johnson , Dale Bertrand , and...
Marketers Shift Ad Budgets to AI-Driven Experimentation
AI is reshaping how companies approach experimental ad budgets. As platforms roll out new AI-driven ad products and traditional channels become saturated, marketers are rethinking where and how they test. Budgets are being adjusted toward areas like generative search, ChatGPT-style ads...
Monday Memo: “Tell Me What Happened”
Personal injury attorneys face a paradox: injuries happen constantly, yet the market is flooded with lawyers, creating an oversupply that outstrips demand. Most firms rely on interchangeable billboards and TV spots promising six‑figure settlements, resulting in a noisy, undifferentiated advertising...
Scale DTC Faster by Optimizing Creative, Tests, and ROAS
Things that scale DTC brands faster than budget: 1. Faster creative cycles. 2. Cleaner offer tests. 3. Fewer hooks tested cleanly beats more hooks tested dirty. 4. Ad says one thing. Page says another - that's your conversion problem. 5....
Sett Raises $30m to Scale AI-Driven Marketing Automation Platform
Sett, a 2023 startup, raised $30 million in a Series B round to expand its AI‑driven marketing automation platform. The platform automatically generates playable and video ads while optimizing campaign performance across the user‑acquisition funnel for game publishers. The funding, led by...
Jack in the Box Names CMO to Strengthen Product Innovation, Loyalty
Jack in the Box appointed Katelyn Zborowski, former Yum Brands executive, as chief marketing officer to boost product innovation and loyalty. Zborowski previously created over 40 limited‑time offerings at Taco Bell and led brand strategy for Pizza Hut. The chain...
Mars Gum Brands Mix Memes, ‘Borrowed Nostalgia’ in Global Campaign
Mars Snacking’s OEFY gum portfolio launched the global “Total Overthink of The Head” campaign, remixing Bonnie Tyler’s 1983 hit and weaving in viral memes to speak to Gen Z’s overthinking moments. The initiative, developed with BBDO Chicago and Omnicom, forms...
Marketing Skills v1.5.0 Launches AI-Powered Research Suite
Marketing Skills v1.5.0 is out. What shipped: /customer-research — full-stack customer research. Analyze transcripts, surveys, and reviews. Scrape Reddit, G2, Indie Hackers, HN, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Extract JTBD with confidence scoring. Generate structured personas. Nitrosend — AI-native email, fully MCP-controlled. Build sequences, campaigns,...
RudderStack Now Supports the Singular SDID for Mobile Attribution
RudderStack announced native support for Singular’s new universal device identifier, SDID, in its server‑side pipeline. The update automatically detects the `singularDeviceId` in event payloads and routes them to Singular’s V2 endpoint without any SDK modifications or configuration changes. By forwarding...
Customer Passion Fuels Sustainable Growth, Not Just Speed
Passion for your customer drives growth. Nike sells to you, not athletes, Starbucks sells community, Southwest sells trust and fun. Growth means selling more to more people, faster. You grow organic by hiring and building, or inorganic by acquiring and expanding fast. Pete’s started...
OpenAI’s ChatGPT Ads Trial Surpasses $100m in Six Weeks
OpenAI has opened a pilot that lets advertisers place ads directly inside ChatGPT conversations. Within six weeks the program generated over $100 million in ad spend, showing strong advertiser appetite. The format offers brand‑safe, native placements and reports higher engagement than...
Automations Outperform Campaigns, Driving Majority of Revenue
Your automations are making $5.96 per email… …Your campaigns are making $0.67… …But you're still spending most of your time on campaigns. @omnisend dug into 717 agencies to find out why, and the difference was brutal. The top 10% built automations first, and campaigns...
Afterverse Found TikTok’s True ROI Was 2x Higher. Singular’s MTA Showed What Last-Touch Missed.
Afterverse, the Brazilian studio behind PK XD, added Singular’s multi‑touch attribution (MTA) to its TikTok user‑acquisition campaigns in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. MTA revealed TikTok’s return on investment was twice the level reported by last‑click models, with a 70% assisted‑install rate,...
AI-Driven Social Media Boosts Client Growth, Says Analyst
Drivia uses AI and Social Media to help clients drive growth: Industry Analyst Jeff Kagan https://t.co/d70NM9aS8R via @ein_news @drivia #drivia @jeffkagan #jeffkagan #industryanalyst #ictindustryanalyst #ai #aianalyst #aiindustryanalyst #analyst #analystrelations #wirelessanalyst #telecomanalyst #tech #technology #techanalyst #techindustryanalyst #technologyanalyst #pr #publicrelations #pressrelease #marketing...
Epic Games, EGA Get Peely From Fortnite to Play up Lantern Fest During Ramadan
Epic Games partnered with Esports and Gaming Agency MENA to launch Lantern Fest in Fortnite during Ramadan, featuring the iconic character Peely in Saudi‑themed scenes. The hero video went viral, resonating with regional gamers and spilling over to global audiences....
75 Words Max: Boost Email CTR by 37%
75. 75 words or fewer. Because if it looks too long, people won’t read it. Brain scientists call this the duration heuristic. People prefer things that are easy to skim and scan. So it’s no wonder that Jay Schwedelson and...
Sprouts’ CEO Says the Chain Needs to Be a Better ‘Value’ for Shoppers
Sprouts Farmers Market missed its 2025 sales targets as price‑sensitive shoppers slowed comparable‑store growth and transaction volume. The chain is now emphasizing "value" through clearer product pricing, health‑trend relevance, and convenient ready‑to‑eat options. A newly launched loyalty program will gather...
How ‘Vaseline Ghabga’ Turned Ramadan Gatherings Into Entertainment on MBC Shahid
Vaseline, through Unilever Arabia, launched “Vaseline Ghabga,” a four‑episode branded series on MBC Shahid that captures the traditional Gulf Ramadan gathering known as a ghabga. Produced by Team Reactivate Middle East with media agency PHD and influencer agency Mumkin, the...
Glystn Just Landed Stagwell, Influential, Weber Shandwick – CEO Ethan Fassett Says the Agency Intelligence Race Is On
Glystn, the San‑Francisco AI social‑intelligence platform, has inked enterprise partnerships with three of the five largest public agency holding companies—Stagwell Marketing Cloud, Influential and Weber Shandwick. The integrations embed Glystn’s app and its Model Context Protocol directly into agency workflows, turning...
AI Publisher Response Live: Automation Vs. AI
AI Publisher Response Live, a bi‑weekly virtual forum hosted by Rob Beeler, is gearing up for its May 6 AI Publisher Response conference. The series invites publishers, partners, and stakeholders to dissect current AI trends, especially the tension between automation and...
TikTok Spotlights Savannah Space Founder Cherie Kihato in African All-Stars Series
TikTok featured Cherie Kihato, founder of Kenya’s Savannah Space, in its African All-Stars Series. Kihato detailed a disciplined content schedule, allocating an hour each morning to create TikTok videos while running her furniture and home‑decor brand. She measures success through...
SEO Tactics for GenAI Visibility
Generative AI search agents like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini now rely on traditional SEO to surface content, making low‑ranked pages invisible to AI‑driven queries. Keyword research must shift toward longer, intent‑rich phrases that mirror conversational prompts, while optimized, problem‑solving content...
AI Shifts SaaS Pricing: Value Over Discount
With AI disrupting SaaS buying, it's never been more important for marketing leaders to understand the 4Ps - particularly price. The big narrative on LinkedIn is all about marketers using AI to better execute, but when it comes to actually...
EXCLUSIVE: Leaked Pitchdeck Reveals Amazon’s Pitch to Get Advertisers on Rufus
Amazon is preparing to roll out Sponsored Ads on its AI‑driven shopping assistant Rufus, moving the feature from open beta to a general‑availability launch. The leaked pitch deck reveals that advertisers will be charged on a cost‑per‑click (CPC) basis and...
Japan Positions Itself as Asia’s Leading Slow‑Travel Destination
Japan is being promoted as a premier slow‑travel destination across Asia, joining India, Vietnam and Indonesia in attracting visitors who prefer immersive, wellness‑oriented trips. The push highlights rail routes, rural towns and onsen inns that encourage longer, more reflective stays.
Magnolia Home Unveils 12‑Shade Spring Color Palette for Interior Design
Magnolia Home, the design brand founded by Joanna and Chip Gaines, posted a 12‑shade spring color palette on Instagram, blending neutrals with earthy tones. The guide offers practical ideas for homeowners and signals upcoming trends in the home‑decor market.
How Mondelēz Is Adding More ‘Razzle-Dazzle’ to Easter and Beyond
Mondelēz International reports that its seasonal candy segment, which accounts for 20% of its overall confectionery portfolio, drove all category growth in 2025. The company has turned brands like Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish and Oreo into holiday staples by introducing new shapes,...
New SERP Layouts Reshape Paid and Organic Visibility
The SERP layouts are changing a TON. Aleyda did a tremendous job aggregating some trends & showing how layouts are impacting visibility in all facets from paid, to organic, to AIOs and who are the winners & losers in each....
LinkedIn Page Reach Falls to 3.5% – Use Best Practices
Organic reach for LinkedIn Pages is currently estimated to be 3.5%, down from 5% in 2021. To ensure your nonprofit is reaching your followers, utilize these 10 best practices: https://www.nptechforgood.com/101-best-practices/10-linkedin-best-practices-for-nonprofits/ ✅
Marks & Spencer To Try Again In U.S. With Nordstrom Womenswear Tie-Up
Marks & Spencer is re‑entering the United States by launching a 60‑piece womenswear capsule in 30 Nordstrom stores and online. The collection, featuring the brand’s Per Una line, represents an asset‑light partnership rather than standalone stores, a stark contrast to...
Taco Bell Lets Fans Vote on Its First Global Taco Offering
Taco Bell is launching its first Global Taco Vote, letting U.S. Rewards members choose between a Thai‑inspired Kickin' Chicken Taco and an Indian Butter Chicken Taco for a limited‑time rollout later this year. Voting runs daily from March 26 through April 1...
Digital Writing: The Undervalued Skill Behind 343K Followers
I've grown my online audience to over 343,000 followers. And it's because of ONE undervalued skill: Digital Writing. But school doesn't teach you how to write & build a massive audience on this platform. So, if you want to grow your own audience, staple...
Stop Over‑Contacting Stalled Accounts: Pause, Then Re‑Engage
For 25 years I believed that persistence wins in B2B sales and marketing. Stay present. Follow up. Don't let a stalled account go cold. Then I read the new research from Labs by Demandbase — built on 24 billion buyer interactions, 429,000...
Reporting Uncertainty Without Losing Credibility via @Sejournal, @Bngsrc
Attribution and analytics reporting are riddled with uncertainty due to tracking gaps, modeling approximations, data pipeline delays, and unpredictable human behavior. The article argues that hiding this uncertainty erodes trust and leads to poor decisions, while transparent communication of ranges,...
AI Spam Overwhelms Email, Threatening Its Equalizing Power
Count me among those who believe email is fast becoming untenable thanks to AI-generated slop. Triaging is like fighting a hydra: block one spammer, two more appear. It's sad, because email has always been a great equalizer. A strong cold email...
Ahrefs Launches Bot Analytics to Visualize Website Bot Traffic
Have y'all checked out Bot Analytics in Ahrefs yet? We released a new tool that shows how bots crawl your website. Bot Analytics collects data server-side via Cloudflare integration, but we will add more integrations based on demand. https://t.co/1f3FHtOzSx
LiftWell Health Announces Brand Consolidation, Board & Presidential Appointment, In-Network Expansion, and Strategic Advisory Board
LiftWell Health merged Lift Wellness Group and LiftWell under a single brand, unveiling a new website to present a unified clinical vision across Connecticut and the broader Northeast. The organization appointed Awstin Gregg, MBA, LCSW‑S, LCDC, as President and Board...
Mastering Demos Fueled Gong’s $200M ARR Rise
Gong grew from $200k ARR to $200M ARR and $7.2B valuation in a 5 year span. Buyers told us our demos were 2nd to none. 9 lessons I learned about SaaS demos I'll never forget:
Musk Bought Twitter to Power His Brand's Distribution
Elon Musk didn’t buy Twitter just for Twitter. He bought it to build a global distribution machine for his brand. That’s how you raise capital. That’s how you acquire customers. If you understand that, you understand modern business. https://t.co/AnPhoEm8yP
How AEO vs GEO Reshapes AI-Driven Brand Discovery in 2026
Recent studies reveal AI‑generated search overviews are eroding traditional click‑through rates, with organic CTR dropping 61% and paid CTR 68% when answers appear in AI summaries. The distinction between Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) – targeting featured snippets – and Generative...
Social Media: Easy Entry, Complex Success for Advisors
Social media is the 4th most-used marketing tactic amongst advisors; given its low barrier of entry and initial distribution costs (and a feeling of, "I've used social media– how hard can it be?"). However, the challenge of 'successful' social media...
Serviceplan Group UK Hires Social Team From Atomic London
Serviceplan Group UK has hired a four‑person social team from rival agency Atomic London, adding senior talent to its UK operations. The appointments come as the agency cites growing client demand for social media and creator‑driven campaigns. The move expands...
Teen SEO Battles Google to Save Family Rental
Teen SEO wants to save his family's Spain vacation rental business and @johnmu from Google chimes in https://t.co/IqOT1YsucQ https://t.co/gvvClayuNp
Google Chimes In On Teen SEO Wants To Save Family Spain Vacation Rental
Google’s John Mueller weighed in on Reddit after a teenager tried to rescue his family’s Spain vacation‑rental business through DIY SEO. Mueller warned that SEO isn’t a magic fix and that the vacation‑rental market is dominated by large aggregators. He...
Google Trials White Background for AI Overview Citations
Google testing using a white background (instead of blue) for AI Overview citations in Google Search https://t.co/JToJQxH25F via @SachuPatel53124 @glenngabe @SERPalerts written by @MordyOberstein https://t.co/OuUx1bFif3
Cadbury Transforms Press Ads Into Packaging to Help Disguise Easter Eggs
Cadbury, in partnership with agency VCCP, has turned its traditional press advertisements into the actual packaging for its Easter Creme Eggs. The innovative design disguises the chocolate treats within printed ad panels, turning each wrapper into a mini‑advertising space. This...