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.
Your Buyers Left Social Media. Did Your Marketing?
The third installment of the 2026 Quiet Luxury Report reveals that high‑net‑worth buyers are abandoning mainstream social platforms in favor of deeper channels such as Substack, email newsletters, and long‑form blogs. It argues that marketers must shift from chasing reach to building a "brand ecosystem" where each asset—newsletter, blog, and email list—feeds the next and compounds over time. The post positions this ecosystem as the new luxury marketing infrastructure, promising sustained discovery without the burnout of constant social posting. It concludes with a call to join a waitlist for a blueprint called "Offline is the New Luxury."
NSB Marketing Partners with Zeeto Group in Strategic Martech Alliance
NSB Marketing, Inc. has sealed a strategic investment and operational alliance with Zeeto Group, merging Zeeto's patented first‑party data engine with NSB's real‑time search intent and creative studio. The partnership aims to create an independent martech platform that can scale...
AI Turns Customer Messaging Into Actionable Conversations
Most companies still treat customer messaging like a megaphone. Send update. Push campaign. Wait. But AI is changing the rules fast: The future is not better messaging. It is conversations that actually get things done. That is the big idea I unpacked with @GiorgioPagliara from @Spokiapp, and...
3 PR Trends From the Upcoming World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, set for June 11‑July 19 across U.S., Canada and Mexico, offers brands a massive cultural moment even without official sponsorship. While only 12% of Americans identify as soccer fans, the tournament’s broader appeal draws non‑fans, creating a...
Optimizing Content for GEO Means Fixing What Audiences Can’t See
At the Ragan Social Media Conference, Sparkcade Marketing founder Brent Bowen emphasized that GEO optimization goes beyond readable copy—it requires precise metadata such as descriptions, tags, and file names. He explained that large language models (LLMs) rely on these hidden...
Coors Light Elongates Name to Celebrate World Cup Goals
Coors Light launched “The Coooors Call” campaign timed with the 2026 World Cup, using the iconic elongated “goal” chant popularized by Andrés Cantor. The 30‑second Droga5 spot will air on TV, digital, out‑of‑home and in‑stadium activations, while inviting fans to...
Maltesers Taps ‘Sisterhood Code’ with Love and Scanlon
Mars‑owned Maltesers launched the "Sisterhood Code" campaign, starring Judie Love and Angela Scanlon, to spotlight the silent, supportive gestures women share daily. The brand released research of 2,000 women showing these unspoken moments occur about three times a week and...
Content Marketing Funnel: Stages, Templates & Metrics
Content marketing funnels translate buyer intent into measurable revenue, but only when they align with real search behavior and stage‑specific metrics. In B2B, 67% of buyers now prefer a rep‑free experience, relying on digital content throughout the journey. Marketers can...
Kargo Drives Measurable Store Visits for UCB India with Immersive Festive Campaign
Kargo partnered with United Colours of Benetton (UCB) India to launch an immersive festive‑season campaign using its Runway Expandable ad format. The full‑screen creative embedded a Store Locator, allowing shoppers to find nearby UCB outlets directly from the ad. Leveraging...
Listicles & Structured Sites Replace Reddit for Sustainable SaaS Traffic
A friend's SaaS was making $40K/mo from Reddit. Had a beef with a person on his team. Got downvoted. His top performing ranking comment deleted. 40K vanished with one click. How to scape a nightmare like that? Pair listicles with well-structured websites. (Think...
I Reviewed 7 Best Social Media Management Tools for 2026
Harshita Tewari reviewed seven social‑media management platforms—HubSpot, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Birdeye, Zoho Social, SOCi and Vista Social—testing them against real‑world workflows. The analysis highlights each tool’s strengths in scheduling, collaboration, analytics, integrations and AI features. Market data shows the global...
11 SEO Blog Tips to Rank in Google and Get Cited by AI
The article redefines blog SEO, emphasizing not just Google rankings but also visibility in AI‑generated answers like Chat‑GPT. It outlines four pillars—trustworthiness, machine readability, answer‑first writing, and topical authority—and presents 11 actionable tips ranging from keyword research to schema markup....
Radlers Set to Score with Younger Consumers This Summer
Asahi UK says radlers—low‑alcohol, fruit‑flavoured beers—have significant growth potential, anchored in the booming alcohol‑free and fruit‑flavoured beer trends. The UK alcohol‑free beer market is now worth £519 million (≈$650 million), while the fruit‑flavoured segment sits at £119 million (≈$149 million) after a 74% value...
The Toy Is Back in the Box but Should It Ever Have Left?
WK Kellogg Co announced the return of in‑box toys for the first time in over a decade, tying the promotion to Disney‑Pixar’s *Toy Story 5*. The move is marketed as a “screen‑free” family experience aimed at millennial parents who remember cereal‑box prizes....
Mortgage Lenders Can’t Rely on Trigger Leads Anymore. Here’s What Comes Next
In this episode, Catherine Loveland, SVP and GM of Volley, discusses how recent trigger‑lead legislation—an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that restricts credit bureaus from selling leads unless the lender has an existing relationship—forces mortgage lenders to shift...
Banana Moon Banks on Pop-Ups to Roll Out Its Colourful Swimwear Range
Banana Moon, the Monaco‑based swimwear label, is expanding its colourful range through agile pop‑up stores, leveraging a network of over 2,500 retailers and 40 own points of sale. The brand keeps production in the Mediterranean, prioritising European, especially Italian, materials and...
Mirror, Mirror… Are LLMs the Fairest of Them All?
Shirley Marschall’s column argues that large language models (LLMs) have become the default answer in ad‑tech, eclipsing more specialized machine‑learning tools. She highlights the mirror‑room effect where hype, mega‑deals and endless prompts create a self‑reinforcing narrative. The piece warns that...
CaratLane Rolls Out Mother’s Day Campaign with Yami Gautam Dhar
CaratLane has launched a Mother’s Day campaign featuring Bollywood actress Yami Gautam Dhar, introducing a dual‑gifting concept that encourages customers to buy a diamond for their mother and one for themselves. The brand’s video ads debuted during the Indian Premier League,...
![Why Your Content Isn’t Being Cited in AI Answers (And How to Fix It) [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Lorenbaker](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://cdn.searchenginejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/3-1-437.png)
Why Your Content Isn’t Being Cited in AI Answers (And How to Fix It) [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Lorenbaker
The Search Engine Journal webinar, hosted by iQuanti’s VP of Search & Site Experience Wayne Cichanski, explains why many brands’ content is omitted from AI‑generated answers. AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini select sources based on topical authority, structural clarity,...
John Lewis Bolsters Loyalty Scheme
John Lewis has expanded its loyalty programme with MyJL Beauty, offering a curated edit box worth £240 (≈ $305) to members who spend £200 (≈ $254) on beauty products. The retailer now has 3.8 million active loyalty members, a 4% increase year‑over‑year, and is backing...
Farah Khan Fronts Klook India’s Summer Campaign
Klook India has launched a summer campaign starring Bollywood director Farah Khan and chef Dilip, juxtaposing familiar and first‑time travel experiences in Singapore. The digital‑first rollout begins with an Instagram trailer, followed by three short‑form episodes and a longer brand...
Palit Consolidates Galax Brand Operations and Closes Hong Kong Office
Palit has fully integrated the Galax graphics‑card brand into its internal operations, limiting Galax to the Chinese market as of April 1 2026. The Hong Kong office that once managed Galax’s global distribution is being shut down, ending the brand’s presence in most...
Capture and Convert FIFA World Cup Demand and Win More Direct Revenue
In a Hotel Moment podcast released on April 29, 2026, Adam Mogelonsky of Hotel Mogel explains how hotels can turn the surge of FIFA World Cup travelers into lasting direct revenue. He emphasizes smarter pricing, robust data strategies, and guest‑engagement tactics that...
BackLite Media Reveals Study on Emotional Impact of Premium Out-of-Home
BackLite Media, in partnership with Publicis Media Luxe and Nielsen, released a study measuring emotional impact and brand‑lift of premium out‑of‑home (OOH) advertising on its Dubai Gateway digital landmark. The research, focused on a luxury jewellery campaign, found 80% recall...
Thai Influencer Sells Premium Durians for Dirt Cheap to Avoid Rotting Amid Surplus
Thai influencer Pimrypie used a four‑hour live stream to sell premium Monthong durians at as low as $3 per fruit, far below the usual $21‑$24 price, in an effort to prevent a looming surplus. The broadcast attracted 700,000 peak viewers...
SaaStr 852: The Agents #003, Our Agent Now Runs Campaigns on Weekends, Plus Why We Pay More for Salesforce Than...
In this episode of The Agents, hosts Emilio LaRoute and the AI VP of Marketing, nicknamed 10K, showcase how their AI agent autonomously generated and prepared three marketing campaigns over a weekend, including audience segmentation and copywriting, though it still...
Supergoop Partners With Target and the PGA as It Chases Mass Appeal
Supergoop has named January Digital as its agency of record for media planning and buying, covering brand, performance and retail spend. The decision follows the hiring of former Peloton CMO Lauren Weinberg, who met January Digital founder Vic Drabicky early...
Dhar Mann Bets on Speed Dating to Fix Creator-Brand Matchmaking
Dhar Mann Studios launched a creator‑brand speed‑dating event in Los Angeles, pairing more than 50 influencers with marketers during its Creator Economy Summit. The participating creators collectively command over 650 million followers, spanning emerging talent and established names like Jordan Matter and Jena Frumes. The...
![Pipedrive Vs. HubSpot: Which CRM Is Right for You? [2026]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://images.ctfassets.net/lzny33ho1g45/5yt8Jt8BZOUbdnkwzhITuI/cbdbff00a9718ad9374098fc6093177a/pipedrive-vs-hubspot-hero.jpg)
Pipedrive Vs. HubSpot: Which CRM Is Right for You? [2026]
HubSpot and Pipedrive remain the leading CRM choices for 2026, but their value propositions have diverged. HubSpot now offers a full‑stack business platform with over 2,000 native integrations and a sophisticated AI suite that spans sales, marketing, service and commerce....
Forecasting Turns Unpredictable Dips Into Stable Growth
Some “bad months” are not market problems. (Home Decor eCommerce) $4M/month… great months followed by sudden dips. Demand was there. Predictability wasn’t. We built forecasting systems → revenue stabilized at $4.8M.
Stop Scaling Mediocre Ads: How AI Can Actually Elevate Performance Marketing
Performance marketers are flooding platforms with AI‑generated ad variants, hoping volume will boost clicks, but this often results in bland, culturally tone‑deaf creative. The article argues that AI should not replace human insight but instead amplify nuance, helping brands detect...
Stop Scaling Mediocre Ads: How AI Can Actually Elevate Performance Marketing
Erin Emmerson argues that performance‑marketing teams are flooding the market with high‑volume, low‑creativity ads, and that AI should be used to amplify cultural nuance rather than simply churn more variants. She warns that relying on AI‑driven click metrics can erode...
Inside Thayers’ TikToker-Led Product Development Strategy, with Nina Pool and Shelby Ann Bell
Thayers turned TikTok stars Nina Pool and Shelby Ann Bell into product consultants for a new Hydrating Milky Mist priced at $14.99. The concept originated from Pool’s June 5, 2025 TikTok, prompting Bell’s DIY spray test and a flood of community requests. Within 24 hours...
WPP CFO Says The Trade Desk Operates in a Smaller Slice of the Ad Market
WPP’s chief financial officer, Joanne Wilson, told analysts that The Trade Desk operates in a relatively small, long‑tail portion of the advertising market, the open internet. WPP’s 2023 spend with The Trade Desk was about $1.1 billion, compared with $1.4 billion on...
‘That Is an Objective’: Omnicom Tests AI Agents to Cut Out the Ad Tech Middlemen
Omnicom Group has begun using autonomous AI agents to purchase media inventory directly from publishers, bypassing traditional demand‑side and supply‑side platforms. The company reported live client buys through its agent‑to‑agent framework during its Q1 2026 earnings call, citing the Ad...
How Urban Outfitters Co-Creates Campaigns with Gen Z
Urban Outfitters is reshaping its marketing by co‑creating campaigns directly with Gen Z creators, challenging the myth that the cohort lacks attention span. Head of brand marketing Cyntia Leo says the retailer taps real‑time social listening and user‑generated content to craft...
The 20+ Best Digital Marketing Tools in 2026
Zapier’s 2026 roundup lists more than 20 top digital‑marketing tools across website building, SEO, graphics, social media, email, SMS, chat, automation and AI content creation. Each entry includes standout features, pricing tiers and a direct link, highlighting free plans and...
AI Maintains Brand Consistency While Customizing Flavor Moods
Few ads I made with GPT Images 2.0 for a made-up chocolate brand called Velvet Bite. Same brand, three different flavors. I wanted to see if it could keep the packaging consistent while changing the mood around each flavor. Pretty wild how close...
Tony’s Chocolonely: Turning Ethical Chocolate Into a Global Hit
Tony’s Chocolonely reported revenue of roughly $262 million in 2025, marking a 20% year‑over‑year increase. The Dutch brand is now competing with confectionery giants such as Mars, Mondelēz and Ferrero in the US, UK and other key markets. Its growth is...
The Case for Building Bespoke Creative Tools to Boost Workflows
Marketing teams are under unprecedented pressure to produce more content while proving ROI, navigating fragmented data and brand risk. Although 65% of organizations now use generative AI, most rely on off‑the‑shelf tools that address isolated tasks. The article argues that...
Japan's Shizuoka Launches Unified Tea Brand, Logo to up Global Recognition
Shizuoka Prefecture unveiled a unified tea brand called “Japan Tea Shizuoka,” featuring a new logo that showcases Mt. Fuji over tea fields. The brand consolidates regional labels such as Kakegawa and Kawane and will market only first‑flush tea harvested, processed...
Patchi Expands Into Lifestyle as Global Rebrand Debuts in Malaysia
Patchi, the Lebanese luxury chocolatier, unveiled a global rebrand in Malaysia to mark its 50th anniversary. The new visual language swaps the traditional black‑and‑gold palette for softer mint green, cream and orange tones, while interior layouts become more open and...
Outsider Insights | You Can't Measure AI ROI If You Can't Measure Marketing ROI
A recent webinar highlighted dramatic AI‑driven results—a FinTech firm lifted weekly leads to 3,274 and another client hit its annual sales target in 90 days. Both successes hinged on having a clear pre‑AI measurement baseline, allowing teams to attribute gains...
XTM International Names Niki Sotiropoulou CMO to Drive AI‑Powered Growth
XTM International announced the appointment of Niki Sotiropoulou as chief marketing officer, joining CEO Lorcan Malone in a leadership push to scale its AI‑driven localisation platform. The hire underscores the firm’s strategy to blend data‑rich marketing with product innovation for...
Clean Your Data Before Scaling Meta Ads
Most people think increasing budget will fix their Meta ads. Wrong. Your tracking is messy. Your data is misleading. Or you’re optimizing too early with no real signal. More spend just scales confusion. Fix your data, then scale with confidence.
Great Content Deserves Far More Reach than It Gets
The day https://t.co/M8688t4CuW clicked for me was when I heard a frustrated marketer staring at content that deserved ten times the reach it got...
Alto Rolls Out AI Tools for Agents
Alto, a SaaS platform serving roughly a third of UK estate agencies, has launched five AI-driven tools under the Alto Intelligence brand. Three capabilities—Alto Prospecting, Alto Lead Flow and Alto Smart Listings—are available immediately, with Alto IQ and AutoCert slated...
SEO's Art, Not Just Science, Drives Lasting Impact
Random thought. SEO has always been part science and part art. The science can pretty much be automated, but the art or "taste" has staying power. Creativity matters. Authenticity matters. Knowing how to market matters. Connecting with people matters.
AI Agents Prioritize Data-Driven Metrics over Brand Legacy
If an AI Agent doesn’t care about legacy brands or emotional storytelling, what specific parameters does it evaluate when shortlisting vendors https://t.co/2orrMXZyt9 @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence #Marketing #MarketingSuccess #MarketingStrategy #Branding
Retail Giants Pour Billions Into AI Yet Admit Unprepared for Next‑Gen Tech
A Pattern survey of 1,000 senior e‑commerce executives across the US, UK, Germany and the UAE finds retailers are splashing cash on AI while more than a quarter flag ethical, legacy and cultural obstacles. The mismatch threatens to stall the...