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.
PathSignal Releases Free Journey Health Score Assessment for Customer Experience Teams
PathSignal has launched a free Journey Health Assessment that delivers a composite CX score in under five minutes. The tool replaces single‑point metrics like NPS with a multi‑dimensional health score covering data visibility, friction, feedback integration, proactive intervention, and measurement consistency. Users answer a short questionnaire and receive instant recommendations on where to improve the customer journey. PathSignal’s broader platform also supports AI‑driven visual maps and data uploads for deeper analysis.
The Funnel Is Dead: Now What?
Brandweek’s 2026 panel, moderated by ADWEEK’s Alison Weissbrot, declared the classic marketing funnel obsolete, urging brands to adopt a flywheel mindset. Leaders from SmartCommerce, Liquid Death, LYS Beauty, Kellanova, Sephora, and Argonaut shared tactics for omnichannel commerce, retail‑media data leverage,...
Adobe Ramps up Firefly AI Campaign to Win Creators, Eyes Premium Tier
Adobe unveiled a new Firefly AI campaign starring YouTubers Kinigra Deon and Airrack, showcasing the tool’s audio, video and mood‑board capabilities. The push promotes a free tier, a $10‑per‑month plan with 2,000 credits and a $200‑per‑month premium tier offering 50,000...
McDonald's Rolls Out New McCafé Drinks Lineup to Take on Starbucks
McDonald's will introduce six new McCafé drinks on April 28, including fruit‑based refreshers and crafted sodas, in a bid to capture market share from Starbucks. The launch leverages lessons from the short‑lived CosMc’s concept and targets the higher‑margin beverage segment.
Mastercard Is Building for a World Where AI Makes the Decisions
Mastercard processes roughly 150 billion transactions each year, giving it a unique, anonymized view of real consumer spending. In a CES 2026 interview, EVP Rustom Dastoor argues that most brands use AI to reinforce existing tactics instead of unlocking new possibilities, coining...
Allbirds Rebrands as NewBird AI, Stock Surges Over 350% After AI Pivot
Allbirds, acquired by American Exchange Group for $39 million, has rebranded as NewBird AI and announced an AI‑focused business model. The strategic shift has lifted the company’s stock by more than 350% since the announcement, while the brand moves to an...
Pinterest Teams with tvScientific to Tap High‑intent CTV Audiences
Pinterest has joined forces with tvScientific to deliver high‑intent, purchase‑ready audiences to connected‑TV (CTV) devices. The partnership extends Pinterest's ad inventory beyond its traditional web and mobile properties, giving advertisers a new channel to reach shoppers as they stream video....
Cars.com Deploys AI‑Generated VIN‑Specific Video Ads, Boosting Sales by 47%
Cars.com rolled out its AI‑powered VIN‑specific video advertising platform in March, delivering nearly 10,000 unique video assets to shoppers. Early data show a 35% rise in dealer website visits, a 45% jump in foot traffic and a 47% lift in...
Why the Best Creator Marketing AI Is Built on the Best Data
CreatorIQ argues that AI’s value in creator marketing hinges on the quality of its underlying data. Its proprietary Creator Graph ingests 250 million social posts each day and draws on more than a decade of aggregated creator, content, and performance signals....
Marin French Cheese's Petite Line Offers Something for Every Daypart
Marin French Cheese has expanded its Petite line with two new breakfast‑time flavors—Petite Breakfast Chive and Petite Breakfast Everything—while continuing to offer year‑round staples like Jalapeño, Truffle, and Garlic & Pepper. The company also rolled out Prospector Black Truffle Triple...
AI Turns Your Selfie Into Instant Full‑Outfit Try‑On
From Selfie to Storefront: AI That Puts the Outfit on You First Abhay Singhal, Co-Founder & CEO of @InMobi, joins David Berkowitz and @JeremyBloomHere from @marketecturetv at Eden Roc during Possible to share how Glance AI is redefining the...
Free AI for Writers Summit Featuring Top Industry Experts
I remember this from last year and it was outstanding. It's the "AI for Writers Summit" from Marketing AI Institute Some of the best minds in the business of AI and content are presenting... • Liza Adams • Christopher Penn...
Impact.com and Rakuten Join Forces to Build a Unified Performance Marketing Ecosystem
Impact.com and Rakuten have announced a strategic alliance that will merge Impact's affiliate‑marketing technology with Rakuten Advertising’s global network and Rakuten Rewards’ consumer data. The partnership will make Impact.com the core platform for Rakuten’s performance‑marketing services, creating a single ecosystem...
‘Everybody Gets It’: Inside the Brand Partnerships Powering ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’
The sequel to *The Devil Wears Prada* is set to open May 1 with a projected $66 million box‑office debut, prompting a wave of brand partnerships. More than 15 major advertisers—including Smartwater, TRESemmé, Zillow, Samsung and Walmart—have signed co‑marketing deals that blend...
U.S. Bank Marketing Chief: Brand Refresh Conveys ‘We’ve Arrived’
U.S. Bank, a $700 billion‑asset lender, has completed the first phase of a comprehensive brand refresh that began in late 2023. The overhaul, driven by an internal creative team, introduces jewel‑tone palettes, updated photography, and a new shield motif across advertising,...
Adobe Acquires Semrush to Boost AI-Driven Brand Visibility
Changes might be coming. The acquisition is complete -> Adobe Completes Semrush Acquisition, Strengthening CX Enterprise with Enhanced Brand Visibility Capabilities "By combining with Adobe’s Customer Experience Orchestration business and the new Adobe CX Enterprise, we (Semrush) are better positioned...
Poke The Bear Promotes Mellow Mushroom's 'Sandwich'
Poke The Bear has rolled out “The Sandwich Reimagined,” a multi‑channel campaign promoting Mellow Mushroom’s new sandwich line, debuting at 10 locations on April 28 with a nationwide rollout slated for later 2026. The integrated effort spans digital, social, print,...
AI Coworker Automates Dull Marketing Tasks, Restores Creativity
Everyone who got into marketing got into it for the interesting part, right? The strategy. The ideas. The campaign that wins a creative award or is taught as a case study. Then you spend enough time in the industry to actually...
How a Curious Robot Helped Launch Quechua’s New Hiking Shoe
Quechua introduced its premium MH900 hiking shoe through a cinematic campaign centered on a rogue robot, QUECH‑01, that tests the shoe in rugged Alpine terrain. The narrative highlights the brand’s engineering heritage by contrasting data‑driven robot measurements with human sensory...
SEO Isn’t Just About Being Seen — It’s About Being Believed and Chosen
Wil Reynolds, founder of Seer Interactive, warned that SEO’s traditional focus on visibility is insufficient in an AI‑driven search era. He argued that marketers must move from being seen to being believed and ultimately chosen, emphasizing that high rankings alone...
Med Ad Views Episode 07: Med Ad News 2026 Marketer on the Rise Recipient Dipa Sapre
Dipa Sapre, director of obesity HCP strategy at Novo Nordisk, was honored with the 2026 Marketer on the Rise Manny Award. In a Med Ad Views podcast, she discussed her career path across major pharma firms, the award‑winning obesity launch, and...
Liverpool FC and SAS Will Deliver More Personalized, Real-Time Digital Fan Experiences with AI
Liverpool Football Club has entered a multiyear partnership with analytics firm SAS to embed AI-driven marketing across its digital properties. Using SAS Customer Intelligence 360 and the Viya analytics platform, the club will unify web, mobile and social data to...
CPG Gears up for Cinco De Mayo on Taco Tuesday
Mexican food CPG brands are gearing up for Cinco de Mayo, which lands on Taco Tuesday this year, creating a unique promotional opportunity. General Mills’ Old El Paso teamed with Tabasco to launch a limited‑edition Taco Totality Gear Box, while Somos Foods...
☕🤖Tutorial: Turn Claude Design Into Your In-House Brand Designer
The post walks readers through converting Anthropic's Claude Design into a private, on‑brand design engine. It outlines a three‑step workflow—custom style‑guide ingestion, prompt engineering, and iterative fine‑tuning—plus a downloadable prompt library. By embedding brand assets and tone, the AI produces...
Barry Diller Just Put Neil Vogel in Charge of His Media Empire. Here's Vogel's Strategy for Running People Inc.
Barry Diller renamed his IAC holding company People Inc. and installed Neil Vogel as chief executive of the entire media portfolio. Vogel, who previously relied on Google for about 70% of traffic, has seen that share fall to roughly 25%...
From Series A to B: How Dreamdata Scaled Predictable Growth and Raised $55M
In this episode of Predictable B2B Growth, host Javier Lozano talks with Nick Turner, CEO of DreamData, about how the company scaled from Series A to a $55 million Series B round. Turner explains that investors were convinced by solid go‑to‑market metrics—steady...
Why More Content Is No Longer a Reliable Way to Grow SEO
The long‑standing SEO playbook of publishing massive amounts of content is losing its effectiveness as search ecosystems evolve. Saturated keyword spaces, AI‑generated overviews, and crawl‑budget constraints now limit the visibility of new pages, often diluting authority and cannibalizing traffic. The...
Free Webinar on How To Use AI To Sell More Tickets
Bauer Entertainment Marketing is hosting a free webinar titled “AI Built For The Business Of Selling Tickets” on April 29 at 10:30 AM PT/1:30 PM ET. The session will demonstrate how artificial intelligence can be applied to live‑event marketing tasks such as localizing...
Traditional Listening Misses Video; Syncly Reads Every Frame
There's a big problem with most social listening... They don't reallyyy read video. Sure, they'll index AROUND the video, grabbing captions, hashtags, @ mentions, but they often can't notice what's INSIDE the video—like when a creator holds up your product or...
TALKERS News Notes
Nielsen Audio and Triton Digital announced a partnership that embeds Triton’s Podcast Metrics Demos+ into Nielsen Media Impact, giving advertisers a unified tool for planning podcasts alongside TV and digital. Seaboard Networks will distribute the one‑hour wrestling‑themed show “Wrestling with...
Ahrefs Boosts API Limits Up to Tenfold—Free
Big news: Ahrefs just massively increased API limits (at no extra cost). 🥳 As Ahrefs grows in this AI era, we're opening up more data to power your marketing. Increased API limits have been one of the top requests over the past...
JWX and StackAdapt Partner To Give Advertisers Access to Consumer and Content Signals for Ad Targeting
JWX announced a partnership with StackAdapt, integrating its code‑on‑page video inventory and more than 21 billion monthly consumer and content signals into the AI‑driven advertising platform. The collaboration gives advertisers direct access to premium video supply and deep contextual data, turning...
How We Build with AI
HubSpot has rolled out a three‑phase AI transformation that now sees every engineer using generative‑AI tools. Starting with code‑completion copilots in 2023, the company moved to autonomous coding agents in 2024 and, by mid‑2025, unified them on a shared AI...
How We Grow with Agent-First GTM
HubSpot’s three‑year AI overhaul introduced an Agent‑first go‑to‑market (GTM) model that reshapes how it attracts, engages, and delights customers. The Demand Agent alone added 345,000 new accounts to its addressable market, while AI‑driven answer‑engine leads surged 1,850% and now fuel...
15 Proven App Ad Formats Driving 8‑Figure Growth
These app ad formats are crushing for my clients. Some of these helped my clients scale to 8-figure in revenue. These are the 15 proven formats that you need to run to scale your ad account. Want a copy? Like + Comment "app"...
CRM Agent Uncovers Six‑Figure Pipeline on First Run
We built a CRM agent that found six figures of forgotten pipeline on its first run. We have six more running cold email, lead scoring, content, and more. All seven below.
DOJO AI Secures $6 Million Seed Round to Deploy Agentic Marketing Platform
DOJO AI closed a $6 million seed round at a $30 million valuation, led by Armilar with Heartfelt VC participation. The funding will accelerate the rollout of its agentic marketing platform that automates data‑driven decisions, aiming to cut customer‑acquisition costs by 40%...
Stop Scrolling: Use Real Client Scenarios for Hooks
The only way to stop them from scrolling… Make them feel seen: Here’s your AI prompt: "Give me 50 specific, nuanced, observable situations where [your ideal client] experiences [their biggest problem]." Then use those to write your hooks.
Only Index Splits Google Brand vs Non‑Brand, Meta ACQ/RTN
Q1 spend by channel/tactic across CTC. As far as I know it’s the only index that breaks out brand/non brand for Google and ACQ/RTN for Meta. https://t.co/HXhhNbT9XI
Pizza Hut Unveils Next‑Gen Hut Rewards to Stem Declining Sales
Pizza Hut announced a revamped Hut Rewards loyalty program across U.S. locations, adding challenges, bonus points and exclusive merchandise. The move comes as same‑store visits fell 0.4% and sales slipped 1% year‑over‑year, prompting the chain to chase higher engagement in...
Attribution Gaps Keep Influencer Campaigns From Proving ROI
One of the major hurdles for both influencers (pre-established celebs) and social media creators from a brand deal perspective is accurate attribution. Outside of affiliate links, it's very difficult to translate social campaign impact into dollars.
Publishers Must Build Own Ecosystems, Not Depend on Search
Fascinating note in this from Barry Diller to shareholders, esp for publishers: "We recognized the coming reality of zero search traffic years ago, successfully transitioning out of depending upon search engines for our traffic to create our own ecosystem." https://t.co/cpgaIf2ar7
Integral Ad Science Unveils IAS Total TV Suite, Bringing Linear‑TV Transparency to CTV
Integral Ad Science rolled out IAS Total TV, a new measurement suite that delivers show‑level transparency for connected‑TV ads on Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount and Prime Video. The platform combines content insights, media‑quality verification and supply‑path data, aiming to curb $1 billion...
Authentic Testimonials: Show Real Users, Problems, Change
If your testimonials still look like 2019 YouTube ads, you're behind. This is the new bar. Forget the polished cut. Give me the user, the problem, what changed. That’s it. That’s the post.
AI Boosts SEO Salaries, Yet Titles Remain Unlabeled
The SEO job market quietly repriced around AI, but 4 out of 5 of the new higher-paying roles don't say AI in the title. https://t.co/ebo4ClmGNp via @Kevin_Indig, @sejournal
LinkedIn Ready for AI Citations, Video Booms in B2B SaaS
I'll say it again: @LinkedIn is ripe for improving AI citation rate for B2B SaaS + video is TAKING OFF there. https://t.co/E7xNdgqwyj
VPs Confirm B2B Creators Drive LinkedIn Growth
A peek inside the @exitfivemedia community, where again, I'm seeing VPs of marketing/growth saying B2B creators are what's moving the needle on LinkedIn (I told you so) https://t.co/AiODaALX9m
TMUS Leverages Starlink as 5G Backup, Hinting MVNO
$TMUS is packaging Starlink as backup for businesses using 5G Internet, branding it #SuperBroadband. Good sign for the TMUS-SpaceX relationship. MVNO next?
Simple Content, No JS, Authority Domains Boost AI
3 Things That Will Help You Rank in AI: 1. Simple, concise content 2. No JS rendering websites 3. Domains with Authority Mini-thread https://t.co/J3qls4WfMk
LinkedIn Newsletters Now Outpacing External Platforms
I have a sneaking suspicion that LinkedIn is becoming a more valuable place to host a newsletter than an external platform, and they're leaning into that. Still keeping my external list, but the organic growth on the version I put on...