
PopSockets turned phone backs into a $169M revenue engine
PopSockets transformed the unused back of smartphones into a monetizable surface, evolving from a garage prototype in 2011 to a global brand that posted $169 million in revenue by 2017. The simple grip design generated constant repeat interactions and word‑of‑mouth growth, driving its rapid expansion.

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 Meta, delivering seven keynotes and six interactive panels. Attendees experienced a deliberately curated agenda, immersive Dolby Vision/Atmos installations, and hands‑on demos of Meta’s smart‑glasses. The summit emphasized intentional branding, flexible scheduling, and partner co‑creation to turn a sports spectacle into a high‑impact business forum.
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 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...
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...

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,...

Anthropic updated its crawler documentation, detailing three distinct user agents—ClaudeBot, Claude‑User, and Claude‑SearchBot—and their respective functions. ClaudeBot gathers public web content for training Anthropic’s generative AI models, Claude‑User retrieves pages in response to user queries, and Claude‑SearchBot indexes sites to...
Yep seen this as a very popular AEO tactic for the last year. I think it falls into the grey area - one of those approaches that probably would have been fine on a small scale, but will likely lead to...
The guide outlines a data‑driven holiday email marketing strategy as online sales surge to $296.7 billion, emphasizing early planning, personalization, and creative content. It highlights the channel’s strong ROI—$10 to $36 for every dollar spent—and warns of inbox fatigue as two‑thirds...

A new report from global B2B agency Tmp, based on surveys of 1,000 marketers and tech buyers in the UK and US, reveals that more than half of marketers describe their environment as chaotic, with 34% experiencing burnout and fatigue...
In this episode, Pep Hufen, CEO of Smart Marketer Agency, breaks down AppLovin’s Axon Ads platform, a mobile gaming network now open to eCommerce that boasts over a billion daily users, primarily women in their 30s‑40s. He explains how Axon’s...
Extreme Reach (XR) operates as a full‑stack ad‑operations hub, handling everything from payroll and asset management to multi‑platform delivery. The company recently announced a digital integration with Nielsen One, allowing advertisers to attach audience measurement data directly to each ad....
Nielsen announced the addition of more than 200 advanced audience segments to its Nielsen ONE cross‑platform dashboard, drawing on Scarborough’s extensive U.S. consumer surveys. The new segments span demographics, purchase behavior and lifestyle categories, and are intended to improve TV...

EE announced it is ending its 14‑year partnership with actor Kevin Bacon, who has been the brand’s voiceover since 2012. The telecom giant will replace Bacon with popular radio and TV presenter Nick Grimshaw, who will begin recording new ads...

Entrinsik announced a spring 2026 roadshow, speaking and exhibiting at Accelerate, Ellucian Live, and MultiValue World. Scott Allen will lead a session on data‑driven agency growth at Accelerate, while the company will demo Informer AI Assistants for campus‑wide personalization at...

Google’s Ads Decoded episode 3 reveals how the company redesigns Search ad experiences to benefit both users and advertisers. The discussion, led by Ginny Marvin, Ads UI Product Manager Abby Butler, and Search Ads UX Lead Adam Bullock, details the...

Jameson Irish Whiskey marked St. Patrick’s Day with a series of high‑visibility activations across the UK, featuring a branded food‑truck, pop‑up bars, and a multi‑media partnership with the English Football League (EFL). The campaign leveraged live match broadcasts, digital content,...
Paid media is a turbocharger. Which is great… unless you’re turbocharging confusion or trying to manufacture trust. If your paid strategy is: - “we have leftover budget” or - “the quarter is ending and the pipeline is soft” …that’s not...
Philadelphia Cream Cheese unveiled its biggest ever marketing push, the “Really Philly Good” platform, developed by Johannes Leonardo. The campaign introduces a cowboy‑esque brand character, Phillyboy, featured in 19 short spots across linear TV, streaming, YouTube, social and audio. Targeting...

Social media has moved from a peripheral branding tool to the core of product discovery, trust building, and direct sales. Brands like American Eagle demonstrated the impact, gaining 790,000 new customers in six weeks and boosting denim sales 34%. The...

Google has revamped the Google Business Profile verification flow, requiring merchants to choose from five specific business type options. Selecting the wrong category can disqualify a listing—especially the “online only” choice—or flag it for compliance review, raising suspension risk. The...
So Profound was valued at $1B… while Similarweb is valued at just ~$158M ($229.58M market cap minus $72M in cash). Make it make sense. One is essentially a commodity product, competing with a horde of startups offering very similar tools: AirOps, Peec...
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
Elizabeth Arden has introduced its first perfume in eight years, unveiling Eternal Aura with actress Leighton Meester as the campaign face. The floral‑amber fragrance, co‑created by perfumers Natasha Côté‑Mouzannar and Anne Flipo, launches at $69 alongside a $47 body balm. The global rollout...
The edge in Meta ads is no longer in targeting. It’s in the quality and diversity of the creative system you feed GEM. If you manage Meta ads or creative testing, this breakdown is worth your time. Full post: https://t.co/7wm7lxNad2

In Google's earnings call they said building UCP was a focus for 2025. Imagine what Universal Commerce Protocol means for glasses. Perhaps: "Gemini...look at that cool shirt. Find me one, but blue and buy it for me..." No more website visits...

MKTG Sports + Entertainment, part of dentsu, has been appointed the agency of record for Agassi Sports Entertainment, overseeing brand positioning, product launches, earned media and executive visibility for the racquet‑sports innovation firm. The partnership coincides with ASE’s rollout of...

The Google Business Profiles verification flow can have a big impact on your business's visibility https://t.co/E9hhX7waHp @ClaudiaTomina explains https://t.co/HIfXAXVHx6

StackAdapt’s CTO Yang Han says artificial intelligence has graduated from a feature to the connective intelligence layer that links creative, data and optimization in programmatic advertising. Marketers investing meaningfully in AI are already seeing a 20‑point performance gap, with dynamic...
Lots of new viral threads on here discussing how Google cracks down on sites that scale content with automated tools / otherwise violate their policies. Welcome to the SEO industry 😆 I made this video in 2024 which might be...

Agencies are confronting a new client demand: visibility in AI‑driven answers like ChatGPT. Using Semrush’s Position Tracking, AI Visibility Toolkit and My Reports, firms such as Earned Media Australia, Sure Oak, Activate Digital and Coalition Technologies are quantifying AI overview...
Donni Davy, the lead makeup artist for HBO's Euphoria, is expanding her maximalist brand Half Magic into the UK through a Sephora boutique launch. The line, co‑founded with A24 after the show's looks went viral, will ride the momentum of season...
Screenverse executives David Weinfeld and Montana Accavallo discussed premium buyer expectations on the CX Innovators podcast, highlighting how data‑driven demands are reshaping digital‑out‑of‑home (DOOH) buying. They explained that integration of supply‑side and demand‑side platforms is crucial for securing repeat, high‑value...

Adform announced it is the first demand‑side platform to join the Institute of Shared Business Advertising (ISBA) Partner Programme, positioning itself as a champion of digital sovereignty for UK brands. The partnership aims to give advertisers greater visibility, accountability and...
Finnair has launched a new boarding music suite called “Matkantekijä,” composed by fourth‑generation Finnish musician Lauri Porra, to deepen its Finnish‑centric brand identity. The soundscape, featuring traditional instruments like the jouhikko and kantele, will play on aircraft, in lounges, and...
Marks & Spencer (M&S) has signed a multi‑year agreement to become the Official Travel Kit Partner for the Atlassian Williams Formula 1 Team, outfitting drivers, engineers and staff with performance‑focused travel apparel. The partnership will see M&S supply wrinkle‑resistant, moisture‑wicking, four‑way...

Analytic Partners released a preview of its 2026 State of Commercial Decisioning Survey, based on 455 senior executives at $1 billion‑plus advertisers. The study finds commercial analytics, especially marketing mix modeling, now serves as the primary source of truth for budget,...
Authentic Brands Group and IAC have signed an agreement to expand Dockers apparel across Central America, the Andean region, Ecuador, and select Caribbean markets. IAC will manage manufacturing and distribution for men’s and women’s lifestyle apparel and accessories. The partnership...

Audacy’s research proposes expanding the core advertising demographic from Adults 25‑54 to 25‑64, adding 33 million listeners and boosting total radio listening by 48 %. The broader slice captures a financially powerful 55‑64 cohort that now accounts for nearly 20 % of U.S. spending....
Recruiters are increasingly treating hiring as a performance‑marketing channel, where visual appeal and brand perception dictate candidate interest. Traditional text‑only job ads are losing to platform‑driven, image‑rich campaigns, creating a visibility gap for top talent. Chatly’s AI image generator and...

Limelight Inc. released a case study showing its Adaptive Rules Centre (ARC) boosted a leading APAC ad exchange’s revenue by 289% and lift fill rates tenfold. The exchange replaced manual reporting with two account‑wide automation rules that dynamically adjusted QPS...

TapClicks launched SmartStory, an AI‑driven platform that converts live marketing data into polished PowerPoint and PDF decks within minutes. Built on TapClicks' enterprise‑grade data management layer, the solution pulls from thousands of MarTech and AdTech connectors to create unified, insight‑rich...

The UK government is extending the Media Act 2024 to bring major video‑on‑demand services under Ofcom’s oversight, designating platforms with over 500,000 users as Tier 1 providers. New rules will enforce a broadcasting‑style code, introduce a complaints channel, and impose accessibility quotas...
Retail media measurement is often portrayed as broken, yet the same sampling‑based, attention‑agnostic methods underpin TV, radio and outdoor metrics. Industry bodies such as IAB Europe and the MRC have already issued standardized frameworks that enable closed‑loop attribution and incrementality...
Beehiiv CEO Tyler Denk argues the platform diverges from Substack by giving publishers full ownership of their audience and charging flat monthly fees instead of a revenue share. Beehiiv bundles newsletters, website hosting, ad networks, growth tools and soon podcasts...

Capcom is promoting the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem (Feb. 27 2026) with a tongue‑in‑cheek partnership with Nissin Foods. The campaign pretends Umbrella Corporation is suing Nissin over its Cup Noodles, framing the stunt as an IP infringement claim. A commercial featuring the...
Claire Medcalf’s guide outlines 19 actionable email‑copy tips that blend strategy, engagement, and accessibility. Marketers are urged to define a single call‑to‑action, personalize content with data, and maintain a consistent brand voice throughout. The article emphasizes compelling subject lines, microcopy,...
IHG has launched its second Buy Points 100% Bonus Sale for 2026, running through March 17, 2026. Members can earn a full 100% bonus on purchases of 30,000 points or more, with tiered bonuses starting at 80% for 5,000 points....

American Eagle launched the AE Creator Community, a gamified affiliate program that recruited 911 micro‑influencers within weeks. The platform rewards creators with commissions and points redeemable for gifts, encouraging ongoing content creation through monthly challenges. By owning the community, AE...
At ETRetail GIRS 2026, designer Manish Malhotra outlined his 20‑year evolution from Bollywood costume artist to global luxury label. He highlighted the discipline learned on film sets, the pivotal Delhi flagship opening, and the need for a distinct, cinema‑inspired brand...

Australia’s AFL has unveiled a new brand campaign, "If you feel it, you’re in," developed with agency TBWA to kick off the 2026 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. The campaign centers on the iconic “specky”—high‑flying marks—and uses fans’ emotional reactions to...