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.
Marriott Global Bonus Points Posting & Bonus Elite Nights In July 2026!
Marriott Bonvoy launched a global promotion running Feb 25‑May 10, 2026, granting 2,500 bonus points for each qualifying stay and a bonus elite night credit for every brand visited. The elite night credits are posted up to six weeks after the promotion ends, meaning most members will see them in early July. The offer applies to dual‑branded properties, allowing travelers to earn points and status benefits across both brands in a single trip. Marriott notes that the elite nights count toward the status year in which they post.
Blend AI and Human Creativity for Optimal Results
You don’t need to go all AI or NO AI with your creatives… leaning too far either way means wasting budget on low-quality output or falling behind brands launching faster. The smarter approach sits in the middle. We use AI as a...
Boost Leads 10x in 4 Weeks with AI
How I'd 10x leads in 4 weeks using AI, if I were starting my business from scratch.
Brand Persona Guide: How To Develop a Brand Persona
Authenticity is increasingly linked to purchase intent, prompting brands to seek consistent, genuine voices. Because a brand isn’t a single individual, creating a brand persona—an internal fictional character—helps translate abstract identity into concrete actions. The guide outlines a seven‑step process...
ChatGPT Evolving Into a Personal Super‑assistant for Life Tasks
"From a reactive chatbot to personal super assistant." Yep, she's talking about Jarvis. :) And ChatGPT might get closer to that by the end of this year -> More from the interview with OpenAI's Fidji Simo What is the future of...
Followers Grow Fast, Revenue Grows Slow—Fix Pipeline First
The hidden cost of building attention that doesn’t convert It’s easier to add 50K followers than to fix inconsistent pipeline. That’s why so many B2B SaaS founders double down on visibility. Growth looks like traction. It feels like momentum. It...
The GTM Skill Stack Leaders Didn’t Need Until Now — And The Certification Built To Close The Gap
The article warns that the emerging GTM singularity is widening capability gaps for B2B leaders, who now need a cross‑functional skill stack to run a connected revenue engine. Traditional functional expertise no longer suffices; leaders must align marketing, sales, product...
What Is Happening With AI With Ann Handley – This Week’s Thinking With Mitch Joel Conversation
In a new episode of Thinking With Mitch Joel, marketing veteran Ann Handley critiques the panic surrounding AI, arguing that hype outpaces proof. She challenges the claim that AI will eliminate half of white‑collar jobs, emphasizing that technological capability doesn’t...
The Third-Largest Coffee Chain in the U.S. Actually Sells Very Little Hot Coffee
Dutch Bros, founded by two Oregon dairy farmers, has become the third‑largest coffee chain in the United States, trailing only Starbucks and Dunkin’. The chain’s 1,140 locations serve roughly 90% of their beverages cold, focusing on highly customizable energy drinks...
Email Cadence: How Often Should You Email Customers?
Marketers are wrestling with the optimal email cadence – the frequency and sequencing of messages that keep customers engaged without causing fatigue. MailerLite’s analysis of over one million 2024 campaigns shows that twice‑weekly sends deliver the highest click‑through rate (5.8%)...
Resilience in Crisis: Publishing Newsletter Amid Chaos
First. Thank you. Every single message yesterday meant so much to me. We are safe, exhausted, and so grateful. We have a shelter in our apartment which makes us luckier than most. And watching videos of people dancing and singing...
Publishers Stagger Writer Signings and Panels at Conventions
If you squint some publishers do a version of this when they send 3-4 of their writers to Comic Con or another major trade event (I've done this with Del Rey) and they're signing at the booth at different times...
Primary Audience Guide: How To Identify Your Primary Audience
Identifying a primary audience is essential for focused marketing and brand advocacy. The article outlines primary, secondary, and gatekeeper audiences, explains market segmentation, and provides a step‑by‑step framework for data‑driven audience profiling. Real‑world examples, such as sustainable sneaker brands and...
Crypto Influencers Must Adopt Honest, Sustainable Business Models
90% of crypto influencers now need to now find a new business model that does not just involve them pretending to like a project that they were paid to promote allowing them to dump their "allocations" on the people that...
Testing Titles Boosts Engagement: Four Tries, Big Lift
Always be testing your titles with X articles because you can see on the left the post totally bombed and when I changed the title, it took off. Took 4 attempts. https://t.co/4okRI65njq
Burger King’s President Answers the Phone | Fast Five Shorts
Burger King President Tom Curtis launched a two‑week initiative where he personally fielded customer calls and texts on a dedicated work number, recording the interactions for a marketing campaign and future service improvements. The move builds on the successful "Whopper...
Purpose Sells: Warby Parker's Give‑back Beats Product‑only Brands
Warby Parker donated over 20 million pairs of glasses through their 'Buy a Pair, Give a Pair' program. A mission baked into every sale. Meanwhile you're just selling a product with no story or purpose behind it. That's the gap.
Efficiency Drives Growth in the Post‑SaaS Era
Efficiency is the New Growth: Navigating the Post-SaaS-pocalypse by @Timothy_Hughes https://t.co/7x2TCrXKsm @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Sales #Marketing #MarketingStrategy #Strategy #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Technology #Tech #TechNews #SaaS #Cloud #CloudComputing
Gap Inc. Debuts Encore To Unify The Four Brands | Fast Five Shorts
Gap Inc. launched Encore, a unified cross‑brand loyalty program for Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta, consolidating nearly 40 million members into a single points bank with three tiers—Core, Premier, and All Access. The program adds perks like extended returns,...
Continuous Testing Breaks Growth Ceilings, Not Past Successes
The thing that got you to $1M won't get you to $10M. What got you to $10M won't get you to $50M. Brands hit a ceiling when they stop testing. They find a winner and protect it instead of building...
Cumulative Ratings Buffer Negatives, Incremental Highlight Them
The same ratings look better or worse, depending on the format they are presented in. Researchers find: “Cumulative formats tend to buffer negative feedback, making poor scores appear less severe. This can help reduce customer churn and maintain trust in...
E-Commerce 2026 Trends: Building Loyalty and Trust with AI-Powered Visual Experiences
Retailers are accelerating AI‑powered visual experiences to boost loyalty. Hyper‑personalisation delivers up to 16% higher commercial impact, while AR/VR try‑on lifts conversion by 94%. Brands will adopt staged, transparent AI content, focusing on complex, interactive experiences. Trust hinges on consent...
Baidu Integrates OpenClaw AI Into Search for 700M
Another example of moving towards Jarvis, this time from Baidu. And we know Google Search and Gemini are converging... so I expect we'll see more of this -> China’s Baidu adds OpenClaw AI into search app for 700 million users "Users...
Redesigning the Internet’s Most-Viewed UI at Scale
Focus on UX? Cool case study here from Cloudflare -> The most-seen UI on the Internet? Redesigning Turnstile and Challenge Pages "Our Turnstile widget and Challenge Pages are served 7.67 billion times every single day. That's not a typo. Billions. This...
Modern Retail Podcast: Marketing Is Experiencing an AI Reckoning
In the latest Modern Retail Podcast, co‑hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels, joined by executive editor Anna Hensel, examine how artificial intelligence is reshaping retail marketing. They note that rising customer‑acquisition costs and a more discerning shopper base are driving...
Marketers Must Govern AI Like Financial Fiduciaries
Marketers aren’t here to play with AI. We’re fiduciaries now. Agentic systems move money, shape messaging, and touch customers. Governance isn’t optional. It’s leadership. Chaos and opportunity are arriving together. Read my new Global AI Leaders article now: 🦀🤖👇 https://t.co/Gck5mTq5hy
AI Creates Month’s Video Ads in Just 30 Minutes
🤯 Generated a month of video ad creatives in 30 mins 🔥 AI wrote scripts from winning formulas 🛠️ Realistic AI avatars 🤵 Perfect voiceovers 📦 Ready to upload and test This is crushing $3k video editors Want the workflow? RT + comment 'AI VIDEO'
Restaurants Bring More to the Table to Regain Diners
India’s leading restaurant operators are pivoting back to dine‑in by launching exclusive dishes, app‑only discounts and weekday coupons, aiming to revive footfall after years of delivery dominance. Chains such as Jubilant FoodWorks, Devyani International, Restaurant Brands Asia and Speciality Restaurants...
10 Best Ways for Indie Artists to Promote Their Music Online
Billboard’s 2026 guide outlines a step‑by‑step playbook for indie musicians to amplify their online presence. It urges artists to concentrate on one or two core social platforms, build a dedicated website for direct fan interaction, and integrate streaming, email newsletters,...
Luxury Markup Is Empty when AI Replaces Art
If the luxury markup is really for marketing, and brands replace artist-created campaigns with AI... what are you paying for? Nothing. https://www.backrow.net/p/what-s-so-insulting-about-gucci-s-ai-slop
What Makes You Notice a Store’s Sign, or Ignore It? The Answer Makes This Franchise $115 Million a Year.
SpeedPro, a franchise specializing in large‑format graphics, now operates over 130 U.S. studios and generates roughly $115 million in annual sales. CEO Paul Brewster attributes the growth to a three‑pillar strategy—expanding the customer base, maintaining strong profit margins, and leveraging technology...
Your Creators Aren’t Lazy — Your Incentives Are Broken
In this episode, Brywin (CMO) and Parker (CEO) dive into the biggest challenge brands face on TikTok Shop: how to properly incentivize creators. They outline a four‑layer incentive framework—GMV leaderboard rewards, volume completion bonuses, fast‑mover contests, and daily raffle draws—to...
Boot Barn Strengthens Its Country Music Ties With New Stagecoach Sponsorship
Boot Barn announced its debut sponsorship of the Stagecoach country‑music festival, serving as the official boot retailer and presenting sponsor of the new Mustang Stage. The partnership includes on‑site activations, custom giveaways, and a pre‑festival in‑store loyalty event at its...
Microsoft Ads Launches Self-Serve Negative Keyword Lists
Microsoft Advertising has introduced self‑serve shared negative keyword lists, allowing advertisers to create, edit, and apply up to 5,000 negative keywords directly in the UI. The lists can be attached at the campaign or account level and support exact and...
Google Publishes New Google Ads Passkey Help Doc
Google has released a new help document that explains how passkeys work within Google Ads, offering a password‑less, phishing‑resistant login method. The guide details when passkeys are mandatory, such as for user‑access changes and account‑linking updates, and outlines device requirements...
Mint Velvet’s Brand Campaign Activations Take over the Capital This London Fashion Week
Mint Velvet is turning London Fashion Week into a city‑wide showcase, deploying brand activations in Underground stations and a wrapped London cab to spotlight its Spring Leather and Suede jacket line. The retailer also hosted an intimate editor dinner with...
Top Influencer Trends Shaping 2026, and How Brands Should Respond
Influencer marketing in 2026 shifts from one‑off campaigns to systematic, repeatable programs. Brands are prioritizing micro‑communities, long‑term creator partnerships, and creator‑led ads that function as performance media. AI integration speeds up content creation while prompting new compliance and authenticity safeguards....
DemandScience Launches Winnable Account System
DemandScience has partnered with HG Insights and GTM Fabric to launch a Winnable Account System that enriches Ideal Customer Profiles with technographic, spend, competitive and buyer‑research intelligence. The collaboration introduces two new products—Propensity‑Based Audience Activation and In‑Market Buyer Activation—that score...
OpenAI: ChatGPT Now Has 900 Million Weekly Active Users
OpenAI announced that ChatGPT reached over 900 million weekly active users, marking its first public disclosure of this scale. The milestone accompanies a $110 billion funding round and reveals more than 50 million paid consumer subscribers and 9 million business users. The growth underscores...
Latinos in Transit Takes First Place in APTA AdWheel Award for Workforce Development Marketing Campaign
Latinos in Transit (LIT) secured first place in the 2026 APTA AdWheel Awards for Best Marketing and Communications Workforce Development Initiative. The winning campaign, titled “Ignite. Empower. Evolve,” rebranded LIT as a national incubator for transit workforce development, targeting emerging...
Know Your 12 Key Ecom Metrics or Fail
Ecom operators are surrounded by data meant to guide them, yet they’re still operating in the dark. Plenty of brands know their ROAS. Far fewer know their: - Break-even ROAS - Blended CAC against contribution margin - CPMs relative to 2026...
DESIGNME Launches Rooting for All Women Campaign
DESIGNME, a Canadian vegan hair‑care brand, launched the “Rooting for All Women” limited‑edition campaign on Feb. 27, 2026. The initiative celebrates women’s personal and professional transformations and donates a portion of sales, up to $10,000, to women‑focused charities, including Montreal’s Chez Doris....
Word of Mouth: Byproduct of Growth, Not a Tactic
Word of mouth is not a tactic, but rather a byproduct of growth. This is an important distinction, because we tend to look at things in marketing through a tactical and operational lens, where we can take steps to predictably...
World of Hyatt® Expands Tennis Partnership With Jessica Pegula and Taste of Tennis at Indian Wells
World of Hyatt announced that tennis star Jessica Pegula will continue as its brand ambassador and that the chain is the official hospitality partner for the Taste of Tennis event at Indian Wells. The activation will take place at Grand...
Campaign Trail: Bosch Builds Cute Robots to Push Windshield Wiper Innovation
Bosch’s Mobility Aftermarket division launched the "Impressive Innovation" campaign featuring cute anthropomorphic robots to spotlight windshield wiper technology. The 30‑second spot, created with Bailey Lauerman, runs through March across streaming, social, audio and search platforms. Production involved a custom rain chamber,...
Founders Overlook Core Messaging, Fuel Misaligned Growth
We surveyed 50 SMB founders on their marketing priorities and pain points. Buried in the data is a pattern nobody's talking about: Founders know their messaging is broken. And they're not fixing it. Direct quotes: "Our messaging is inconsistent and unclear. Docs site doesn't...
AI Platform Cuts $26.5K Monthly Marketing Costs
I replaced $26,500/month in marketing headcount with one AI platform. 37 agents. Zero full-time hires. Most agencies pay $26,500/month for SEO, content, social, competitive intel, and marketing ops. We built the AI CMO Platform. 37 agents that coordinate and execute like a full...
Google Experiments Adding Web Mentions to Retailer Reviews
ICYMI: Google tests web mentions in the reviews section of retailer store pages https://t.co/SuUPYs3fu4 https://t.co/2sQKHp9rT9
ChatGPT's 900M Users vs 50M Paying Subscribers
900M+ weekly active users, but 50M consumer subscribers? For some reason I was expecting more -> OpenAI says ChatGPT has 900M+ weekly active users, 50M+ consumer subscribers, and weekly Codex users have more than tripled since the start of the...
AI Threatens Marketers: Paid Media’s Uncertain Future
The death of marketers, is it over for paid media?, the bear and bull case for AI https://t.co/9NjhfPjOfn