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.
AMA with Krista Doyle on Reddit Best Practices
In a recent AMA, Reddit community strategist Krista Doyle shared actionable best‑practice guidelines for hosting successful Ask Me Anything sessions. She emphasized the importance of pre‑planning topics, crafting concise prompts, and leveraging Reddit’s moderation tools to maintain focus. Doyle also highlighted data‑driven post‑mortems to refine future AMAs and boost audience trust. The discussion included real‑world examples from brands that turned AMAs into lead‑generation engines.
Snapchat Launches Inaugural Snappys Awards for Creators
Snapchat announced The Snappys Awards Show, its first-ever awards show dedicated to celebrating the creators shaping culture on Snapchat.🏆 Hosted by Matt Friend, the event will take place on March 31 at Snapchat’s Santa Monica headquarters and will bring together creators,...
Gushwork Bets on AI Search for Customer Leads — and Early Results Are Emerging
Gushwork, an India‑founded startup, closed a $9 million seed round that values it at $33 million post‑money. The company’s AI‑driven platform creates search‑optimized content, builds backlinks, and tracks leads to help businesses appear in AI‑powered search results such as ChatGPT and Gemini....
Ecommerce: Your Ads Are Boring And Facebook Is Punishing You
In this episode of the Hammersley Brothers e‑commerce podcast, Mark and Ian dissect why many e‑commerce ads fail to scale, focusing on the concept that "your ads are boring." They explain that both Meta (Facebook) and Google act as "gorilla"...
#TheMarketer: What SA CMOs Would Advise Their Peers
South African CMOs shared hard‑won advice, urging peers to pursue bold, visionary moves that redefine brands rather than chase incremental tweaks. They stress protecting a brand’s emotional truth, granting marketers freedom to experiment, and blending creativity with data‑driven insight. Consistency,...
Explora Journeys Turns the Ocean Into a Five-Star Hotel
Explora Journeys launched a global “hotel without an address” campaign, positioning its cruise ships as five‑star floating hotels. Developed by McCann Paris and directed by Jonas Lindstroem, the film showcases on‑board rituals reimagined as hotel experiences. The brand highlights its...
TikTok Releases Its 2026 Discover List
TikTok unveiled its 2026 Discover List, highlighting 50 creators across five categories—Educators, Foodies, Icons, Innovators, and Originators. Selections were based on video volume, account growth, engagement, and social impact. The program adds extra training and direct TikTok support for the...
How to Roll Out a Successful Rebrand on Social Media
The article outlines a step‑by‑step framework for launching a social‑media rebrand, emphasizing internal alignment before any public post. It advises a comprehensive audit of existing profiles, followed by a structured content arc—teaser, reveal, and reinforcement—tailored to each platform. The guide...
Major Brands Launch ChatGPT Ads, Activity Rises
Update on ChatGPT Ads: Adthena is seeing an uptick in activity. Their CMO posted more examples this afternoon on LinkedIn of ads they are seeing and pinged me there. Advertisers spotted so far: 🔹 Best Buy 🔹 AT&T 🔹 Pottery Barn...
Involved Media Celebrates Five Years of Growth
Involved Media marked its five‑year anniversary under the current brand, celebrating a milestone of over $100 million in billings. The Melbourne gathering attracted more than 50 media partners and highlighted recent wins such as CareSuper, Fever‑Tree, R U OK? and Animals Australia. Managing...
Greg Segal Joins TEG in Senior Sponsorship Role
Ticketek Entertainment Group (TEG) has appointed Greg Segal as Managing Director of Sponsorship & Premium Experiences. Segal arrives with over 30 years in brand partnerships, most recently leading a 50‑person team at Live Nation Entertainment ANZ. He will build TEG’s...
S07.EP03 - B2B Branding: The Unsexy Truth with Martin Zarian
In this episode, hosts Jacob Cass and Matt Davies interview Martin Zarian, founder of the full‑stack agency Factory 39, about the challenges of branding in the B2B space. Martin explains that a brand is the sum of experiences and emotions...
Gen Z Preference For TikTok Over Google Drops 50%, Data Shows via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Adobe Express’s February 2026 survey of 807 U.S. consumers shows TikTok usage as a search tool rose to 49%, yet Gen Z’s preference for TikTok over Google fell from 8% in 2024 to just 4% today. Across all ages, 14% of...
6 Best Influencer Marketing Tools Built for Real Results in 2026
Influencer marketing has become a core growth channel in 2026, with budgets expanding and board‑level scrutiny demanding measurable ROI. The article outlines the three critical stages—discovery, campaign management, and performance measurement—and why integrated tools are essential to avoid manual inefficiencies....
From Cart to Couch: How Retail Data Is Powering the Next Era of Premium Video
Retail data is now the backbone of outcome‑based CTV audiences, allowing brands to target known, competitive or lapsed shoppers on premium video platforms. Kroger Precision Marketing reports that campaigns built on its grocery‑derived audiences generate a median 5% lift in...
Google to Display Rival Vertical Searches in Europe
Will soon be rolled out across Europe -> Google plans to test search changes in Europe, displaying results from competing vertical search services next to its own, seeking to avoid EU fines "The previously unreported changes to its search...
Forget the Full Season: Why Gen Z Is Ghosting Traditional Sports Sponsorships for ‘Vibe-Check’ Marketing
Gen Z’s relationship with sport is shifting from season‑long sponsorships to moment‑driven, digital‑first engagement. A Pureprofile study of 1,004 Australian 18‑29‑year‑olds shows 83% interact with sport, yet only 42% attend live events, preferring high‑impact tentpole moments. Merchandise consumption focuses on...
Why Every Restaurant Needs a Google Review Response Strategy
The Brand To Table podcast explains why restaurants must actively respond to Google reviews. Host Henry Kaminski Jr. outlines how thoughtful replies signal care, improve online reputation, and boost local search visibility. He introduces the AAR Method—Appreciate, Address, Redirect—to turn...
Bridge Marketing & Sales: Align Mindsets for Growth
The misalignment between marketing and sales often stems from the different mindsets that each team brings to the table. Although both teams share the same overarching goal of driving business success, their approaches to engaging prospects can differ significantly. If...
Aptar Beauty Introduces Premium Dispensing Solutions to Address Brand Differentiation Needs
Aptar Beauty unveiled a suite of premium dispensing and decoration solutions aimed at mass‑market personal‑care brands seeking shelf differentiation. The offering includes in‑mold coloring, metal‑like masterbatches, laser engraving and other high‑impact finishes that can be applied to both plastic and...
Master One Skill Deeply, Don't Skim Through Ads
I have hour-long Facebook ads tutorials online for free. They have 90% of the information you need to start running ads tomorrow. And yet less than 1% of people finish them. I’ll see new founders commit to learning Facebook ads, then 2...
Outrage Alone Won’t Mobilize; Give Audiences a Cause
“you can’t rely just on fueling outrage to activate your audience...they need something specific to get behind.” one of my favorite quotes from my interview with @perfectunion’s director of audience engagement.
How Cognitive Insight Fuels Smarter eCommerce Growth
The article argues that Shopify founders’ cognitive self‑awareness, not just AI tools, is the key growth lever in today’s data‑rich eCommerce environment. It outlines five cognitive traits—analytical reasoning, pattern recognition, rapid problem‑solving, logical decision‑making, and adaptability—that consistently separate high‑growth operators...
AEO Claims May Just Reflect Strong SEO Practices
Reading a few AI search case studies right now, and struggling with correlation vs. causation... Everything they list as an "AEO tactic" is actually something that's also just good for SEO. Fresh content Using Schema Front-loading important content Using ordered lists Adding FAQs to solution pages Is...
Verify Emails Instantly to Protect Sender Reputation
Sending cold emails to addresses that don't exist kills your deliverability. Seen people tank their sender reputation overnight because 15-20% of their list was dead addresses. Built a free tool that verifies any email in seconds. Checks the format, domain, and...
A More Intelligent Android on Samsung Galaxy S26
Google is embedding its Gemini AI into Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S26 series, debuting new features that automate everyday tasks, enhance visual search, and protect against phone scams. A beta version lets users delegate rides, meals and grocery orders by long‑pressing...
Measure Marketing by Deal Impact, Not Dashboard Vanity
How honest are we about how we measure our marketing? We say we want clear and guiding KPIs. But then teams build KPIs that protect the report, not the business. It’s s easy to measure what makes us look productive....
Let Gemini Handle Your Multi-Step Daily Tasks on Android.
Google is previewing Gemini’s new beta feature that lets Android users delegate multi-step daily tasks to the AI. The functionality, rolling out on Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S26 devices, will initially support food, grocery and rideshare apps in the United...
Reddit's Coupon Surge Still Lacks Valid, Fresh Codes
Another area where Reddit is surging: COUPONS -> Reddit: A Major Surge in Coupon Search Visibility in 2025 From the post: For the 59 query brands covered by both Reddit and CouponBirds: *Reddit provides valid coupon codes for 25% (15 brands). *CouponBirds provides valid...
From Creator to Editor: New
You're job is no longer to create, it's to edit. And I am releasing a tool for Cannonball GTM subscribers to help you do just that...
Why AI May Cause a Lot of Ad Tech Companies to Duck and Cover
At the 12th Kochava Summit, the company unveiled its AI‑driven Atlas Performance platform, aiming to merge measurement with media buying. CEO Charles Manning predicts AI agents will replace much of the ad‑tech middleware, triggering consolidation and a shift toward IO‑level...
OpenAI COO Says Ads Will Be ‘an Iterative Process’
OpenAI has begun serving advertisements to users on its free and Go ChatGPT tiers, initially rolling them out to U.S. customers. COO Brad Lightcap described the rollout as an iterative process that must prioritize user privacy and trust. The company...
Great Clips Taps Into Quarterback Kirk Cousins’ Love for Value Haircuts in New Campaign
Great Clips leveraged NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins as a brand spokesperson in a January 2026 promotion tied to the College Football Playoffs, offering a $9.99 haircut coupon. The 24‑day campaign generated an 11.6% sales lift and a 7.4% rise in...
What Each Generation Really Wants From B-to-B Events—And What the Data Says
New research reveals that B‑to‑B event attendees across four generations share a strong appetite for micro‑communities, authenticity, and local culture, while still demanding distinct experiences. AI‑powered networking is favored by 66% of respondents, and 84% say they want to bring...
New Ways to Create and Refine Content in Flow
Google Flow has rolled out a major upgrade that folds its image‑generation experiments Whisk and ImageFX directly into the platform, while embedding the Nano Banana model for instant high‑fidelity image‑to‑video conversion. The redesign adds a flexible asset grid with Collections, drag‑and‑drop...
The Baltimore Beat Experiments with Pay-What-You-Can Ads
Baltimore Beat, a nonprofit news outlet, is introducing pay‑what‑you‑can advertising options. The tiered pricing lets mom‑and‑pop shops pay $50, brick‑and‑mortar stores $150, and larger investors $300 per ad. The paper, which distributes 20,000 free print copies twice a month and...
Latest 50+ Must-Know Lead Generation Statistics in 2026
The article aggregates over 50 up‑to‑date lead‑generation statistics for 2026, highlighting that 91% of marketers list lead generation as their top priority and 93% credit personalization with improved leads and purchases. It details benchmark metrics such as an average of...
Meta's AI Will Automate Entire Ad Campaigns
If your value lives in media buying mechanics, Meta is already building your replacement. Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed that Meta is testing a system where a brand will enter a product URL and a budget, and the platform will build an...
Rebuild From Zero: 30‑Minute AI Playbook Generates Leads
If I lost my 10,000,000 social media followers tomorrow, and had to rebuild from 0, here's my exact playbook. 30 minutes a night with AI. 90 days to real business leads. Most people would panic. Start posting random content and hope something sticks. I'd...
Brave Bison Appoints Ed Knights as Head of Growth
Brave Bison, the UK‑based influencer‑marketing and digital‑media platform, has named Ed Knights as its new Head of Growth. Knights joins from senior roles at Born Social and M&C Saatchi Performance, where he led performance‑driven campaigns for major brands. The appointment...
Beyond Crawl‑Walk‑Run: A More Realistic Implementation Framework
Having sat through thousands of crawl-walk-run presentations in my life, I thought it might be helpful to expand the model a bit to cover more, um, realistic implementation paths. https://t.co/fGXlclB0Qi
Scale Hreflang Mapping with Embeddings via Screaming Frog
🌍 How to use embeddings to map hreflang tags at scale - A clever use of @screamingfrog's Open AI API integration to implement hreflang by @pelogia - Check it out: https://t.co/mFnuuMojaD https://t.co/h9OLRjWQIR
Steal-Worthy C-Suite Event Ideas From the Super Bowl LX Innovation Summit
During Super Bowl LX, the Bay Area Host Committee and the NFL launched the inaugural Innovation Summit at SFMOMA, drawing over 500 C‑suite executives and VIPs. The eight‑hour, white‑glove event featured YouTube as presenting partner alongside speakers from FanDuel and...
Build Community First, Then Product, for Billion-Dollar Success
Glossier spent 4 years building a community on a beauty blog before launching a single product. They co-created with their audience. Hit a billion-dollar valuation. Meanwhile you're building products nobody asked for. That's the gap.
Enterprise AI Demands Complex, Strategic Content
Moving Beyond "Simple" Content: The Reality of Enterprise AI by @Timothy_Hughes https://t.co/hIAlV4hbey @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Sales #SalesTips #SalesLeader #Marketing #Leadership #ArtificialInteligence #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Technology #Tech #TechNews
Olympic Snowboarder Maddie Mastro Generated The Biggest Engagement Surge On Team USA’s Instagram – All On Organic Content
U.S. halfpipe snowboarder Maddie Mastro, reigning World Cup champion, generated the largest organic engagement surge among Team USA accounts during the lead‑up to the Milan‑Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. In the 30 days surrounding the Games her Instagram engagement rose nearly...
Fresh Thyme Let Its Store Brand Go ‘Stale.’ Now It’s Working to Revive It.
Fresh Thyme Market announced a 2026 overhaul of its private‑label line, adding roughly 200 new items and modernizing packaging to align with its refreshed logo. The retailer aims to lift private‑label penetration by 6% by year‑end, emphasizing protein, fiber, organic...
AiMCO Wants to End the ‘Wild West’ Era of Influencer Marketing in Australia With Its 2026 Summit
The Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO) will host its 2026 Summit on Feb 26 in Sydney, aiming to shift the perception of influencer marketing from a “Wild West” to a disciplined, brand‑ready channel. The not‑for‑profit body, which introduced Australia’s first influencer...
Valerie Bertinelli Launches Subscription Direct-to-Fan Platform ‘Valerie’s Place,’ Including New Episodes of ‘Home Cooking’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Former Food Network star Valerie Bertinelli has launched a subscription‑based direct‑to‑fan platform called Valerie’s Place, priced at $2 per month. The service, built on Visible Things’ technology, offers new episodes of her show Home Cooking, original programming, podcasts, live streams,...
Align Marketing & Sales in Three Simple Steps
RT @VisionEdgeMktg 🔗 Marketing and sales misaligned? That's leaving money on the table. Three proven steps to fix it now. https://t.co/pWTXFdm97t #MarketingAlignment #SalesStrategy #RevenueFocus