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 all marketing functions, shifting AI from a productivity add‑on to a core strategic engine. The analysis notes early adopters are using generative tools, while the next wave will involve autonomous agents that orchestrate decisions across workflows, guided by a five‑step implementation roadmap.
How Breathe. Doubled Their Monthly Listeners on Spotify
Australian electronic duo Breathe., together with agency Group Speed, overhauled their Spotify presence by reactivating five‑year‑old catalog tracks and launching a data‑driven artist playlist. The playlist paired Breathe. with slightly larger, stylistically similar acts and was promoted through Spotify’s ad suite. Targeted campaigns in markets such as Turkey and Poland, plus coordinated tour dates and high‑quality visual teasers, drove monthly listeners from 500,000 to one million. The multi‑phase effort proved that algorithmic levers can double streaming audiences quickly.
Depth Over Diversification: Inside 9shines’ Focused Category Strategy
9shines Label, founded in 2017, has built a D2C nightwear and comfort‑wear business around a single, well‑defined category. By prioritising breathable fabrics, inclusive sizing up to 7XL and functional details, the brand enjoys a near‑50% repeat purchase rate. Its hybrid...
Quick Cleanup Removes Manual Action, Visibility Restored
Example of a manual action being removed for this publisher. Looks like they cleaned up the problem relatively quickly and had the manual action removed. Now showing back up across Google surfaces. Of course, they probably will not return...
McDonald’s LTOs Deliver Traffic Lift Ahead of the McValue 2.0 Launch – Placer.ai Blog
McDonald’s limited‑time offers (LTOs) – the Shamrock Shake and the pilot Big Arch Burger – generated modest, short‑lived traffic lifts, with visits up 5.5% YoY during the Shake launch week and 2.2% YoY for the Burger week. The gains evaporated quickly,...
Social Media Competitor Analysis: 3 Easy Steps to Improve Your Performance
Social media competitor analysis is essential for shaping a data‑driven digital strategy in 2025. The guide breaks the process into three steps: identifying direct and indirect rivals, analyzing their platforms, content, and engagement, and applying insights to improve your own...
The Clearest Sign Your Content Is Invisible to LLM Bots
In this episode of Voices of Search, host Jordan Cooney talks with Jeff Raine, co‑founder of Everything Machines, about how to ensure website content is readable by large language model (LLM) crawlers. Jeff explains that the clearest sign of invisibility...
Hispanic Consumers and Mobile In-Game Ads: Here’s What the Numbers Say
Portal Latino’s December 2025 survey of 1,691 Hispanic consumers reveals that 81% play mobile games weekly, with 61% gaming at least five days a week. Hispanic gamers show a strong appetite for culturally resonant titles, with 77% preferring games that reflect...
John Deere’s Archives Are Powering Its Modern-Day Marketing
John Deere’s heritage team is turning its extensive archives into a live content engine for marketing and PR. By surfacing vintage assets—like a historic snowmobile—the company generated over half a million Instagram likes and sparked engagement across platforms. The archivist...
Google Ads Creative Tools Expand, Microsoft Simplifies Bidding – PPC Pulse via @Sejournal, @Brookeosmundson
Google Ads has integrated the latest Nano Banana Pro AI generator and expanded its Creative Toolkit, giving advertisers free, in‑platform access to prompt‑based image creation, conversational editing, and a library of Google‑owned assets. The updates let marketers produce photo‑realistic visuals...
The Semantic SEO/GEO Revenue Equation: Best Practices for Building Global Content in the Age of AI Discovery
The article argues that AI‑driven search has shifted global demand generation from simple keyword translation to semantically rich content that machines can understand across languages and markets. It explains that traditional SEO tactics—high‑volume keywords and literal translations—often miss buyer intent,...
This Brand Broke the Biggest Rule of E-Commerce—And Made Customers 3.5x More Valuable
Huckberry’s newsletter, launched 15 years ago, includes external links to curated stories, defying the e‑commerce rule against outbound links. The brand treats customers as community members, offering entertainment, education, and connections beyond its product line. This content‑first approach yields customers...
Mastering Brand Management: Context, Strategies, and Real-World Examples
Brand management has become a core business discipline, turning reputation into measurable assets like brand equity that justify premium pricing and protect market share. Consistent visual identity, tone, and customer experience reinforce trust and align internal teams around a clear...
RAD Intel Raises $60M, Secures Nasdaq Ticker $RADI After 5,000% Valuation Surge
RAD Intel, an AI‑driven marketing platform, closed a $60 million Reg A+ raise, posted more than 5,000% valuation growth in under four years, and secured the Nasdaq ticker $RADI. The funding and listing move underscores the accelerating demand for AI tools that...
Spot Early Growth Pain, Act Before Stalls
The market feels the messiness of brand growth before you even realize what’s happening. Death by a thousand cuts, if you will. 🫢 When this happens, when growth stalls (or things start to feel confusing) as your fractional CMO, this is what...
AI Cheapens Content; Strategy, Not Volume, Drives Success
AI made content cheap. So founders did what made sense: they produced as much as possible. 500 articles. 1,000 articles. Pump the numbers. Numbers went up, then went all the way down. The problem wasn't using AI. The problem was using AI without strategy.
Customers Reject AI Slop: Don’t Let Automated Ads Ruin Your Retail Marketing Strategy
Retail marketers are facing backlash as AI‑generated ad “slop” erodes brand trust. Recent incidents like Blue Apron’s gibberish copy highlight consumer rejection of low‑quality automated content, now dubbed Merriam‑Webster’s 2025 Word of the Year. While platforms such as Meta and...
How to Make Your Business Stand Out in only 30 Minutes
MyBroadband’s "What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou" offers South African executives a 30‑minute video‑podcast interview to share their company story, solutions, and growth insights. The episode is published on MyBroadband’s site and syndicated across YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Spotify, Soundcloud and more....
Shaping Supply: Is Curation the Antidote to Ad Wastage?
Connected TV (CTV) ad spend in the U.S. is set to near $38 bn this year, cementing its role as a core media channel. However, the rapid expansion of premium SVOD, FAST channels, and OEM interfaces has fragmented the supply, making...
BA ‘An Original British Briefing’: The Great Escape
British Airways unveiled “An Original British Briefing,” a surreal safety‑video‑style campaign that reimagines the pre‑flight briefing as a guide out of everyday stress. Directed by Jeff Low, the film places flight attendants in mundane settings—traffic jams, dentist chairs, chaotic homes—to...
CFDs Broker HFM Sponsors Arsenal
Cyprus‑based retail broker HFM has secured a multi‑year Official Global Partnership with Premier League leaders Arsenal. The deal grants HFM match‑day branding at Emirates Stadium and visibility across Arsenal’s digital channels, including the new *The Arsenal* platform. HFM, rebranded from...
AI Builds Complete Sales Funnel in 45 Minutes
🤯 Built a product funnel in under 45 mins 🔥 AI researched the audience 🛠️ Landing page and ad copy done 🤵 Email follow-up sequence set 📦 Entire funnel live This is crushing $10k funnel builders Want the blueprint? RT + comment 'FUNNEL AI'
Influencer Marketing Platform Market to Be Worth $2.03 Billion by 2031
MarketsandMarkets projects the influencer marketing platform market to grow from $1.15 billion in 2026 to $2.03 billion by 2031, reflecting a 12% compound annual growth rate. The expansion is driven by brands’ push for data‑backed, transparent campaigns and the need for faster...
Ads of the Week: 10 Campaigns That Caught Our Eye, From Burger King to Uber
This week’s ad roundup highlights a wave of self‑aware campaigns, from Burger King’s decision to retire its iconic King mascot and crown the consumer, to Uber’s meta “Irish exit” spot featuring reality‑TV star Maura Higgins. Brands such as Ugg, JCPenney,...
Quicken Is Producing 100 Pieces of Content Every Few Weeks Using AI
Quicken, a financial‑planning software firm, discovered its strong SEO presence did not automatically translate into visibility within AI‑driven answer engines. After lagging behind a smaller competitor in generative search, CMO Euan Campbell launched a Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategy. The...
Dentsu X Launches The Creator Catalyst Playbook for Creator Marketing
dentsu X unveiled The Creator Catalyst, a playbook that transforms fragmented creator activity into a systematic growth engine for brands. The framework, built for the Algorithmic Era, combines AI‑driven casting, early‑stage cultural integration, and commerce‑focused measurement to deliver scalable, measurable...
NYF Announces Creative Marketing Strategy & Effectiveness Executive Jury Led by Ellie Bamford
New York Festivals (NYF) has unveiled its 2026 Creative Marketing Strategy & Effectiveness Executive Jury, chaired by Ellie Bamford, Chief Strategy Officer at VML. The global panel of chief strategists from agencies such as Ogilvy, Dentsu, BBDO and others will...
Everyone Hates Ads on Social Media. Or Do They?
Researchers leveraged Meta's 14.5 million‑user no‑ads holdout to test whether Facebook users care about advertising. In a 2022 survey of 53,166 participants from 13 countries, the median amount users would accept to quit the platform was $31.04 for ad‑exposed users and...
The Marketing Strategy Behind a Viral Product
The post breaks down how viral products are engineered, not accidental, by aligning product design, distribution tactics, and retention systems. It highlights that visually distinctive, simple, emotionally resonant products naturally fit social media content. Strategic exposure through creator collaborations and...
Why Comments Are the Real Secret Behind Every Viral Instagram Post
Instagram’s algorithm now prioritizes comment velocity over likes, saves or views when deciding which posts to amplify. Early‑hour comments act as a quality signal, prompting the platform to test the content with larger audiences. Creators can deliberately trigger this loop...
America’s Test Kitchen Puts Direct And Programmatic Access On Its Menu
America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) has launched direct and programmatic buying for its free ad‑supported FAST channels, allowing advertisers to purchase inventory as a standalone product rather than through genre bundles. The move follows a 30% year‑over‑year rise in streaming audiences...
How Is Sukoshi Scaling in a Crowded Beauty Market?
Sukoshi, a Canadian‑born Asian beauty retailer, has expanded from a 355 sq ft Toronto shop in 2018 to a 20‑store chain across the US and Canada. The company differentiates itself by acting as a launch and acceleration platform for emerging Asian brands,...
Bioré Enters South Korea With Global Campaign Featuring Stray Kids
Kao Corporation is launching its Bioré skincare line in South Korea as part of its Global Sharp Top strategy, expanding the brand’s presence beyond the 66 countries where it already operates. The rollout includes a unified global campaign for Bioré UV...
Sunquick and Havas Malaysia Celebrate “Air Tangan Mak” In Ramadan & Raya Campaign
Sunquick has teamed up with Havas Malaysia to launch a Ramadan and Hari Raya campaign built around the Malay concept of “air tangan mak”, the mother’s caring touch. The film showcases Sunquick as both a refreshing drink and an ingredient...
Luxury Briefing: Zara Bets on Galliano to up Its Pricing Power
Zara has launched a two‑year creative partnership with John Galliano to reinterpret its archive, marking a deliberate push upmarket. The collaboration is positioned as a branding exercise as much as a product line, aiming to infuse luxury credibility into the...
9 Types of Google Ads (Pros, Cons, and when to Use Each)
Google Ads now comprises nine distinct ad formats, each designed for specific user intents and placements across Google’s ecosystem. Search ads deliver text‑based results driven by keyword intent, while Display, Shopping, Video, App, Discovery, Local Services, Performance Max, and Smart...
Personalization, Profit & the CFO: Scaling Martech Engines with Eloise Gillespie
In a recent episode of Making Sense of Martech, Optus’s Associate Director of Personalization and Martech, Eloise Gillespie, explains how AI‑driven personalization can scale only when the underlying infrastructure aligns with real‑world business constraints. She details the shift from treating...
QBB Pure Ghee Returns to Its Roots in Hari Raya Campaign
Malaysian dairy giant Lactalis Trading has teamed with advertising agency THE SHOUT GROUP to launch the “QBB – Pilihan Dipercayai Sepanjang Generasi” Hari Raya campaign, spotlighting QBB Pure Ghee’s heritage. The initiative centers on a “Cook with QBB” contest, offering...
Levi’s Bets on ROSÉ to Keep Its Denim Cool and Culturally Fluent
Levi’s has entered a multi‑year global partnership with K‑pop star ROSÉ, integrating her aesthetic into the denim brand’s women’s line. The deal builds on previous collaborations, including campaigns with Alia Bhatt and Beyoncé, and features custom stage outfits displayed at Levi’s...
Naga DDB Tribal Malaysia Brings Care and Craft Back to Raya Gifting with “Sampul Dodol”
Malaysia’s Naga DDB Tribal agency launched “Sampul Dodol,” a handcrafted Raya gift that replaces generic envelopes with traditional dodol confectionery. The initiative frames the labor‑intensive sweet as a metaphor for nurturing client relationships, emphasizing care, attention, and shared effort. By...
Pepsi MAX Launches Pepsi Football Nation Platform
Pepsi MAX announced the launch of Pepsi Football Nation, a global platform that celebrates football culture and fan expression. The initiative highlights a roster of star players—including Vinícius Júnior, Alexia Putellas, David Beckham, Florian Wirtz and Lauren James—while blending digital, social and on‑pack activations. It leverages...
Optimisation Everywhere & No Signs Of Progress: Learn What You Can Do
On 1 April 2026, Quantcast and B&T will host a Breakfast Club event in Sydney to confront the pervasive “optimisation fatigue” marketers face. The panel features Chloe Jones of Princess Cruises, Gemma Poesaste from Telstra’s Roam Agency, Dan Lee of Quantcast, and...
Davidson: It’s Time for Naked 2.0
AI and automation are driving down the cost of media execution, exposing a mismatch in traditional agency billing that bundles strategic thinking with operational work. The article argues for separating these functions: pricing execution on measurable outputs while charging a...
Posca Hydrate Steps up to Support Australian Steelers in ‘Officially Unsponsored’ Campaign
Posca Hydrate, an Australian hydration‑soda startup, has been named Official Drinks Partner of Wheelchair Rugby Australia and the Australian Steelers, joining the ‘Officially Unsponsored’ campaign that strips kits of branding in favor of QR‑coded blank canvases. The partnership includes hand‑delivered...
TikTok Expands #BookTok Bestseller Lists Across Europe and the UK
TikTok is extending its #BookTok bestseller rankings to six additional European markets, including Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. The new lists will combine TikTok’s engagement data with NielsenIQ BookData sales figures to produce monthly trend reports. The...
Amazon Australia Partners with Jordan Mailata to Tackle Packaging Waste in Campaign via Poem
Amazon Australia has named NFL Super Bowl champion Jordan Mailata as its Packaging Reduction Officer in a new sustainability campaign with Poem. The role focuses on minimizing added packaging while protecting items, building on a tripling of orders shipped without...
Pinterest Shares Tips on How to Utilize Its AI-Powered Ad Options
Pinterest has released new guidance for its AI‑driven Performance+ campaigns, which automate creative, targeting and budgeting. Launched in October 2024, the fully automated solution leverages Pinterest’s engagement data to optimize ad delivery. Internal tests show advertisers achieve more than 10%...
AI‑Generated Competitor‑Alternative Pages Drive SEO Traffic
I built a skill for Claude Code that creates competitor comparison and alternative pages that rank in search and convert visitors. You give it a competitor name and it builds the full page — "Best [Competitor] Alternatives" with a feature comparison...
Recursive AI Summaries Spiral Into Meaningless Content
I had Codex build the content accordion from the cautionary tale "don't build the content accordion" inspired by X's new feature which uses AI to summarize X articles written with AI. It takes an X article, summarizes it in a tweet,...
Brisbane Builds on Soaring Demand with Next Iteration of ‘Brisbane Favours the Bold’ Campaign via Bigfish, Content Lion and Dentsu...
Brisbane’s tourism board has launched the third phase of its "Brisbane Favours the Bold" campaign, created with Bigfish Design, Content Lion and dentsu Queensland. From January to September 2025 the city attracted 7.1 million domestic travellers and generated $9.9 billion in visitor...
Vodafone Swaps Product Demo for Moshpit in Samsung Launch
Vodafone unveiled its new experiential platform, “First Night Only,” in partnership with Howatson+Company, turning the Samsung Galaxy S26 launch into an underground live show featuring Genesis Owusu in Sydney. The event highlighted the phone’s 200MP camera with bespoke lighting and...