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.
Gartner Warns CMOs Against Using Agency AI Platforms
Gartner warns that up to half of agency‑built AI platforms could become obsolete within three years as open‑source solutions gain dominance. The firm predicts open‑source AI will support more than 75% of business deployments by 2028, offering greater customization and lower cost. It cautions CMOs against locking into long‑term agency AI contracts, recommending proof‑of‑concept pilots and termination rights. Gartner also notes that CIOs, not CMOs, will steer enterprise AI strategy, leaving agencies to add value through creativity and insight.
At Target, the Only Wrong Move Is Opting Out
Target’s senior product leader Kunal Banerjee says AI is an execution accelerator, not a strategic disruptor, and its impact depends on existing planning discipline. He notes that content‑creation teams have realized strong efficiency and cost gains, while design teams see...
Picnic Launches ‘Quality Video’ to Bring Transparency to Open-Web Video Buying
Picnic has launched Quality Video, an extension of its PIQ platform that evaluates open‑web video inventory based on real‑time behavior rather than static DSP labels. The solution measures signals such as pause on scroll, simultaneous playback, auto‑play and audio settings,...
Nano Interactive Launches NanoQ Agentic Media Planner Built to Transform Programmatic Planning
Nano Interactive unveiled NanoQ, an agentic AI media planner that automates audience creation and activation. Built on the company’s intent data and the continuously refreshed Intent Library, NanoQ translates natural‑language briefs into custom and off‑the‑shelf segments. In internal tests the...
This Overlooked Instagram Feature Might Be the Most Powerful Tool in Your Marketing Stack
Instagram’s Close Friends, originally a privacy tool, is being reframed as a high‑intent marketing channel. By curating a small, exclusive list of creators, editors, and brand advocates, marketers can turn the green‑ring stories into a micro‑CRM. The invitation itself signals...
Wayfair Launches Loyalty Program in Canada
Wayfair has rolled out its Wayfair Rewards loyalty program in Canada, marking the first international expansion after a successful U.S. debut. Canadian members pay $39 per year to receive 5% back in reward dollars, free shipping on all orders, exclusive...
Claude Code Automates Testimonial-to-Email Nurture in Minutes
I am officially addicted to Claude Code for marketing Woke up early again Today's mindblowing workflow? Asked Claude to: >> Pull my 5 latest testimonials from Senja >> Turn them into customer-centred emails >> Compose them directly inside CustomerIO 5 minutes later I have a whole new...
The Marketing Week Podcast: ServiceNow CMO on Challenging the Status Quo in B2B Marketing
ServiceNow’s chief marketing officer Colin Fleming, a former Red Bull racing driver and long‑time Salesforce executive, joins the Marketing Week Podcast to discuss shaking up B2B marketing. He argues that Salesforce’s heavy focus on sales alignment weakened its brand, prompting...
IWD 2026: Marketing in Times of Uncertainty – Why some Agencies Stand Out
Lebanese marketing agencies have turned chronic instability into a competitive advantage by mastering agility, speed, and digital‑first execution. They can redesign campaigns within hours, pivot tone instantly, and deliver high‑quality content across multiple languages. This adaptive approach positions them as...
Turn Competitors' Bad Reviews Into Your Growth Blueprint
Your competitors hide your growth plan in their reviews. Study their 1-star feedback on Google, Amazon, and social media to spot gaps in service, pricing, and delivery. Survey their lost customers and ask why they chose or rejected them. You’ll see clear...
Pan Pacific Hotels Group Rolls Out Unified Weddings Campaign Across Five Hotels in Singapore
Pan Pacific Hotels Group has launched a unified weddings campaign, "A Day. A Promise. A Lifetime," across five Singapore properties, running through 30 April 2026. Couples securing qualifying bookings receive D$1,000 in DISCOVERY Dollars, redeemable for future stays, honeymoons, dining and experiences...
Successful Brands Are Built on One Fundamental Principle: Purpose
Purpose is emerging as the strategic spine of enduring brands, guiding everything from product design to capital allocation. Companies like Ben & Jerry's and Ørsted illustrate how a clear directional purpose combined with a specific, measurable goal fuels growth and resilience....
THE SHOUT GROUP and RHB Celebrate Inclusion Education in 2026 Raya Film
RHB Bank has launched its 2026 Raya film, “Ruang Harapan,” created with long‑time partner THE SHOUT GROUP. The short film dramatizes the true story of Siti Rahayu Baharin and the Buku Jalanan Chow Kit (BJCK) initiative, which grew from a...
McCann Singapore Teams up with Adobe to Scale AI-Driven Creative Production for Brands
McCann Singapore has entered a strategic partnership with Adobe to embed generative AI tools such as Adobe Express, Firefly, and object‑compositing services into brand‑centric creative workflows. The alliance will run live pilots with select regional clients, provide priority technical support,...
Tourism Brands Need To Leverage Influencers To Stay Connected To Travellers
Taboola’s 2026 Travel Marketing Trends report outlines five pivotal shifts shaping tourism advertising. Travelers now prioritize experiential, personalized trips, prompting brands to move beyond generic packages toward curated, interest‑based itineraries. Mobile‑first experiences and seamless digital journeys are becoming the default...
Kinnect Launches #ChangeTheDefaultSettings Film for Aditya Birla Capital
Kinnect India released a digital film titled #ChangeTheDefaultSettings for Aditya Birla Capital on International Women’s Day. The spot spotlights entrenched systemic defaults that often overlook women’s financial journeys, using a visual of outdated code being interrupted and rewritten. It aligns with the...
X Tests New Ad Format that Includes Product Mention Links
X is piloting a new ad format that automatically attaches product‑mention links to user posts, as seen with a Starlink CTA under a tweet. The format blends ads with organic content without compensating users, aiming to avoid skewed incentives. X...
“Participation More Important than Stars” In Law Firm LinkedIn Posting
Law firms that encourage broad LinkedIn participation outperform those relying on a few star accounts, according to TBD Marketing’s first social media barometer. The study measured firm, influencer, social army, and leadership scores, finding that firms like Hogan Lovells and Ashurst...
Wedderspoon Mānuka Honey Harnesses the Power of NZ Sunshine in Brand Refresh via True
Wedderspoon, a legacy New Zealand Mānuka honey brand, partnered with agency True to overhaul its brand architecture, visual identity, and packaging. The refresh introduced the "Mānuka Powered by Sunshine" platform, reframing honey from a medicinal commodity to a bright, daily ritual....
Stop Over‑Segmenting: One Persona Beats Six Empty Versions
If you’ve created 6 different buyer personas - it’s time to be honest with yourself. Are you really going to create 6 different versions of your content? A version for each one? You could. It is possible. But I would...
Pre-Campaign Planning in Barb Ads Hub
Barb has added pre‑campaign planning to Barb Ads Hub, turning it into a single platform for UK advertising buyers and sellers to forecast and evaluate campaigns across linear and VOD services. The new planner, previously called Advanced Campaign Hub, merges...
Heineken Drives Fan Connections at Aussie Grand Prix with Immersive Activation via Momentum
Heineken teamed with creative agency Momentum to stage an immersive fan activation at the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix, debuting its global “Cheers To All Fans” platform in Australia. The experience featured a seven‑metre‑high bar, live DJ, a national...
Stop Overpaying Agencies: Cut 60% TOF Spend
The number of 7 & 8 figure brands that we audit whose agencies are running clicks / leadgen and very very TOF metrics is mind boggling to me. Yes these events “can” have their place as a % of your budget...
Australia Post Connects All 2,655 Postcodes in Nationwide Brand Campaign From Droga5 ANZ
Australia Post has launched its biggest national brand campaign, covering all 2,655 postcodes across the country. Developed with Droga5 ANZ, Accenture Song and a village of partner agencies, the rollout includes hero films, out‑of‑home, digital and social assets that spotlight local people,...
Levi's Sets Sights on Women, High-End Market
Levi Strauss & Co. is accelerating its shift toward women’s apparel and premium denim, aiming to raise the women’s share from 38% to 50% of sales. Direct‑to‑consumer channels now generate 49% of total revenue, reflecting a rapid move away from...
Remote Part-Time Marketing Copywriter Needed for Real Estate Emails
Reventure is hiring a marketing and copywriter to run our email campaigns and blog. The right candidate will have knowledge of marketing, A/B testing, CTR maximization, and conversion strategy. We’re looking for someone who can own the process end to end....
Focus on One Platform Instead of Spreading Thin
That 'Be everywhere' advice doesn't work for everyone. Sometimes, it's best to pick 1 platform or path and stick with it.
Out-of-Home Measurement System Move Is Finally Live
The Outdoor Media Association (OMA) has launched the upgraded Move measurement platform, replacing Move 1.5 as the official out‑of‑home (OOH) standard from March 16. Move aggregates data from over 180,000 sites, modeling a synthetic audience of 2.2 million Australians based on 5,000...
Why Google Hides Your Slow Website From Potential Clients
Google now treats page speed as a core ranking signal, especially for mobile users, and law‑firm sites that load slower than two seconds are often pushed down or off the first page of results. The search engine measures performance through...
Why India's T20 World Cup Victory Shouldn't Taste as Sweet for some Brands
India’s T20 World Cup win was eclipsed by bowler Arshdeep Singh’s unsportsmanlike ball‑throw at New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell, prompting a backlash against the athletes’ conduct. Brands that have signed Singh – Oppo India, Jivo Wellness, BoldFit and Oliver Batteries – now face a credibility...
How Outfit Formulas CEO Alison Lumbatis Turned 500 Followers Into Paying Members
Alison Lumbatis, CEO of Outfit Formulas, turned a fashion blog with roughly 500 followers into a subscription business charging $19 per month. She bypassed traditional affiliate and sponsorship models, instead surveying her audience to discover a demand for curated shopping...
Busy Month for N Brown: Adds Six Brands to Its Platforms with North Face the Key Highlight
N Brown Group announced a busy month of brand expansions, most notably adding The North Face to its Jacamo, JD Williams and SimplyBe platforms. The partnership launches an 85‑piece collection supported by a nationwide out‑of‑home campaign from 8‑31 March, with special projection ads in...
Targeting Everyone Kills Founders; Narrow Focus Drives Demand
Most founders fail because they target everyone. When you narrow your market, you attract buyers who see your value and stop wasting time on bad leads. Focus on one niche, speak to one problem, and align your offer to one clear outcome. Test,...
Sudden CPA Spike Signals Broken Fundamentals, Not Trend Collapse
I was talking to a 7-figure founder recently who was convinced his trend was dying. He has a clothing brand, he rode the wave hard, and did $100K+ months for the first four months. Then in September, his CPA doubled overnight and...
Honoring the Art of the Possible This International Women’s Day
Google released "The Art of Possible," a documentary chronicling Dr. Marian Rogers Croak’s journey from pioneering Voice over IP patents to leading Google’s Human‑Centered AI and Machine Learning efforts. The film leverages Google’s AI tools Veo3 and Nano Banana through...
Meta's New Ads Breakdowns Overstate True Performance
Meta rolled out two new breakdowns in Ads Manager, and I strongly suggest taking them with a grain of salt. More data does not always mean more truth. They give you a cleaner look at new vs. returning customer splits,...
Scale Beyond $1M: Test, Evolve, Listen, Adapt
Worst ways to scale past $1M/month: - Protecting the winning formula instead of evolving it - Launching brand-new creative directions without testing them first - Ignoring what your customers are actually telling you - Refusing to test new offers, promotions, or products - Being so...
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻
The Wilson store at Mall of America uses a deep‑green façade to instantly convey its tennis heritage and upscale, country‑club vibe. The color choice acts as a silent brand ambassador, communicating the company’s legacy before shoppers step inside. This single,...
Organic Social Beats Expensive TV for Modern Brands
If you sell something .. please lean into social media marketing, more posting without paid media support, more content , more platforms (Facebook, YouTube shorts) more creativity, trying new things. This talk was at a Fortune 500 companies marketing off...
Google Penalizes AI‑written Casino Sites with Manual Actions
Remember this story about journalists being replaced by AI writers? Seems that may have caught the attention of Google's webspam team. Looks like two of their sites might have received manual actions this weekend. And that could be for 'Site...
The AI Attribution Blind Spot
Artificial intelligence assistants are emerging as a primary channel for product discovery, compressing the traditional list of search results into a single answer. This upstream shift moves the consumer decision point into a system retailers cannot control or directly measure....
LinkedIn Ghostwriting: Massive Untapped Market for 2026
At 26, I quit my minimum-wage copywriting job. 18 months later? I was generating $180k/month ghostwriting for industry leaders. But if I was starting over in 2026, I'd become a LinkedIn Ghostwriter. Why? Because it has 1.15 billion users. And less than 1% are posting...
Organic Threads Buzz Drives 534 Monthly Visits
A number that keeps me up at night: 534. That's how many people visit BlackTwist from Threads every month. Not from ads. Not from SEO. From Threads itself. People on Threads are talking about us — without us asking. That's the kind of...
What’s Your Community Strategy?
Bars are shifting from pure alcohol sales to becoming community hubs, a change driven by younger patrons who value belonging over drinking. The article cites the "third place" concept, urging establishments to act as informal gathering spots beyond home and...
DTC and Influencers Can Outpace Wholesale Dramatically
MVMT went from $1M to $60M in revenue in just 2 years using DTC and influencer marketing. No retail stores. Got acquired by Movado for $300M. Meanwhile you're still chasing wholesale deals. That's the gap.
Ecom Founders Turn Sundays Into Strategy Sessions
Everyone on Sunday morning: Sleeping in. Ecom founders on Sunday morning: Reviewing last week's ad performance and planning this week's tests. Different mindset. Different momentum.
You're Sitting on a Content Goldmine. Here Are 5 Prompts to Dig It Up.
The recreation market is projected to exceed $1.8 trillion in 2026, but inflation is compressing margins and slowing growth. Many operators suffer from the “curse of knowledge,” leaving valuable expertise untapped while rivals flood channels with generic AI content. The article...
Google’s Liz Reid Says LLMs Unlock Audio And Video Indexing via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Google VP of Search Liz Reid said multimodal LLMs now let Google deeply understand audio and video, moving beyond transcription to grasp style and content. The technology also enables cross‑language translation, helping non‑English users access information. Additionally, Google is testing...
AI Bots Deliver CFO Insights, Save Hours for Doctors
Dr. Selene Castrejon runs a medical practice. She doesn’t have time for AI experiments that don’t work. Every hour matters. Inside the AI Business Lab® Mastermind, she built trained AI bots that now provide CFO-level insights and marketing strategy—saving hundreds of...
Bold Branding Beats Blending In: Liquid Death’s $1.4B Success
Liquid Death built a $1.4B brand selling water. They packaged it in tallboy cans with heavy metal branding. Did $263M in sales by 2023. Meanwhile you're trying to blend in with your category. That's the gap.