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.
Google Expands Demand Gen Tools to Drive Faster YouTube Conversions
Google has integrated its Demand Gen offering into the Commerce Media Suite, allowing advertisers to tap retailers’ first‑party catalog and conversion data across YouTube, Discover and Gmail. The rollout also introduces view‑through conversion (VTC) optimization, which shifts bidding focus to conversions that occur after an ad is seen rather than only after a click. These changes aim to accelerate the path from impression to purchase, especially in discovery‑heavy environments. Google signals further Demand Gen enhancements at upcoming events like Google Marketing Live.
5 Lessons From Delivering Bad SEO News to Executives
Organic traffic is falling across most SEO clients, with a 61% CTR drop for queries featuring AI Overviews. The article shares five hard‑earned lessons for SEO consultants on how to deliver bad news to C‑level executives, emphasizing early transparency, thorough...
Bissett Bullet: The Big Three
Martin Bissett’s latest Bissett Bullet advises professional‑services firms to grow by concentrating on three high‑impact credibility exercises. He recommends producing premium intellectual property—such as a video series or guest blog—targeted at a niche trade‑association audience. Publishing this content where ideal...
Beyond Clicks: 3‑layer Framework for AI Search Success
📊 A 3 Layer Framework to Measure AI Presence, Readiness and Business Impact: Redefining Metrics for the AI Search Era - A new guide where I cover: How the old organic search measurement model, built largely around rankings, clicks, and sessions,...
No More Wrestling Ad Campaign Features A Lot More Wrestling
Chupa Chups has rolled out a new easy‑to‑open lollipop wrapper, accompanied by BBH’s “No More Wrestling” out‑of‑home campaign that pairs the packaging upgrade with vibrant Lucha Libre imagery. The campaign showcases authentic Mexican wrestling masks crafted by veteran designer Arturo...
A 3 Layer Framework to Measure AI Presence, Readiness and Business Impact: Redefining Metrics for the AI Search Era
The rise of AI‑driven search engines is reshaping how brands are discovered, with answers often influencing purchase decisions without generating clicks. Traditional SEO metrics—rankings, clicks, sessions—no longer capture the full impact of AI‑generated answers across platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and...
Clinch Brings AI-Driven Creative Personalisation to Pause Ads Through OpenGlass Partnership
Clinch and OpenGlass have certified Clinch’s ad‑serving tags for pause‑ad formats across major CTV publishers such as Paramount, Tubi, and Plex, enabling AI‑driven creative personalization in real time. The integration collapses the historically fragmented, publisher‑by‑publisher workflow into a single tag...
Google Tests “App Labs” Hub for Early Ad Features
Google is piloting an “App Labs” hub inside Google Ads, offering app advertisers a dedicated tab to trial experimental campaign features before they roll out broadly. The beta environment lets marketers run limited‑time tests, submit feedback, and explore tools still...
![[Special Edition] The Missing Link Between Your Content and Your Audience](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TZb2!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc564565-2a0e-45e5-873b-64f687c95be0_358x358.png)
[Special Edition] The Missing Link Between Your Content and Your Audience
The blog introduces Yapper, a platform that tackles LinkedIn’s visibility problem by activating a user’s network within the first hour of posting. It argues that early engagement velocity, not content quality, determines algorithmic boost. Yapper’s “network activation engine” matches posts...
Finding New Relevance for a Legacy Brand: Victoria Lozano’s Crayola Journey
Victoria Lozano, former CMO of Crayola, spoke on the Marketing Vanguard podcast at Brandweek about keeping an iconic brand fresh by marrying nostalgia with current cultural trends. She highlighted that 57 % of Crayola sales now come from adults without children,...
Tee Yih Jia Targets Plant-Based Growth with Asian-Western Fusion
Tee Yih Jia’s plant‑based brand ALTN is pursuing an “East meets West” strategy, launching new frozen meat‑free Asian and Western dishes as the broader plant‑based market slows. Leveraging its distribution network in 80 countries, the company refines recipes to appeal...
Firefly Expands Programmatic Capabilities Through Integration with VIOOH
Firefly, the world’s largest mobile out‑of‑home network, announced an integration with VIOOH, a leading DOOH supply‑side platform. The partnership lets advertisers access Firefly’s 60,000 moving screens through major demand‑side platforms, enabling real‑time, data‑driven buying of mobility‑based inventory. By embedding moving...
You've Changed. Has Your Brand Kept Up?
Founders evolve as they gain experience, but many brands remain frozen in the image created at launch. This misalignment creates a disconnect between the founder’s current vision and the public perception of the company. The post offers a practical framework...
Marketing Must Shift From Off‑Site to On‑Platform Trust
The old internet trained marketers to get people off platforms and onto our sites. The new internet mostly rewards the opposite: say it here, prove it here, build trust here. But a lot of marketing teams are still optimizing for a world...
Stranger & Stranger Does It Again for Martini with a Sleek Redesign of Their Flagship Vermouth Range
London‑based agency Stranger & Stranger has unveiled a fresh redesign for Martini’s flagship vermouth range. The new packaging features lighter glass bottles, bold Mediterranean‑inspired colors, and a sleek typographic treatment that modernizes the brand while honoring its heritage. By injecting...
Amazon Ads & Global Announce Integration Bringing the UK’s Biggest Commercial Audio Brands to Amazon DSP
Amazon Ads and Global have launched a programmatic integration that connects Amazon’s demand‑side platform (DSP) with Global’s DAX exchange, giving advertisers direct access to the UK’s leading commercial audio brands such as Heart, Capital and Smooth. The partnership blends Amazon’s...
Resetting the Modern B2B Growth Agenda
In this episode of the Reinvent B2B Customer Growth Podcast, host Etta Karayani talks with seasoned marketer David Carroll about the seismic shifts reshaping B2B buying—larger buying committees, the rise of generative AI, and a growing "visibility and trust" void....
UnitQ Launches AI Quality Intelligence Platform to Close the Gap Between Customer Experience and Business Outcomes
unitQ unveiled an AI‑driven Quality Intelligence platform that consolidates six specialized products into a single system, turning every customer signal into real‑time business insight. The platform links feedback directly to revenue, retention and risk metrics, replacing fragmented point solutions with...
The Best SEO Reporting Software of 2026: Expert Tested and Reviewed
The 2026 roundup identifies Semrush as the premier SEO reporting platform, boasting a 25 billion‑keyword database and extensive automated reporting features. Ahrefs follows with the industry’s largest backlink index, while SE Ranking adds AI‑driven search‑tracking across generative AI engines. AgencyAnalytics and...
Aerie Ups Commitment to Authenticity with Enhanced Creator Program
Aerie has launched the Realmakers Community, a creator program that invites U.S. influencers with at least 1,500 followers on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Pinterest to earn commissions, receive product seeding, and attend brand‑led events. The initiative, built with the Duel...
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Chipotle’s "Recipe for Growth" Shows Early Gains, Fueled by LTOs and Viral Marketing – Placer.ai Blog
Chipotle’s new “Recipe for Growth” plan is already showing traction, with Q1 2026 foot traffic up 5.8% year‑over‑year and per‑store visit declines nearly eliminated. The February comeback of the Chicken al Pastor limited‑time offer generated a 10.1% surge in visits, while...
Vevo Refines Upfront 2026 Strategy
Vevo has revamped its 2026 Upfront strategy, emphasizing bespoke, high‑impact products such as Artist Franchise and Attention Guaranteed. The Artist Franchise program, which aligns brands with top musicians on premieres and exclusive content, has more than tripled in sales year‑over‑year....
Thrad Launches Managed Service for ChatGPT Ads
Thrad, an advertising infrastructure firm for AI, has launched a managed service that lets brands place ads inside ChatGPT. The platform reaches more than 900 million weekly users, many of whom now turn to the chatbot for product recommendations and brand...
How Marketplace Sellers Are Using AI
A recent Marketplace Pulse 2026 Seller Index shows 83.4% of sellers—representing over $2 billion in annual revenue—have incorporated AI into their operations, averaging 3.2 use cases each. The majority of AI effort focuses on content tasks such as listing optimization (63.5%)...
Where AI Meets the Aisle: How The Vitamin Shoppe Is Reinventing Supplement Retail
The Vitamin Shoppe has opened an innovation store featuring Shoppe Advisor, an AI‑powered discovery tool that merges its extensive digital content with in‑store expertise. The platform delivers real‑time inventory, education, and product suggestions through a conversational interface, while also offering...
The Locked Room
Independent musician Harrison Songolo discovered that his near‑million‑follower TikTok audience was largely invisible to his own content, with only 0.03% of views coming from followers. After a TikTok Creator Rewards update slashed his monthly earnings from $3,000‑$4,000 to $50, he...
BrandStar Digital Joins Semrush Enterprise Partner Program, Bringing Two Decades of Search Authority Into the AI Era
BrandStar Digital, a Deerfield Beach agency, was invited to join Semrush’s Enterprise Partner Program before its public launch. The partnership authorizes BrandStar to sell and scale Semrush’s full suite, including AI Search Optimization (AIO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). Leveraging...
Downloadable Guide: 7 Automated Campaigns Every Hotel Should Already Be Running
Cendyn released a downloadable guide outlining seven automated marketing campaigns hotels should run. The guide targets pre‑stay upsells, win‑back offers, and other touchpoints to boost engagement and revenue. Cendyn, a cloud‑based hospitality tech firm with over 32,000 customers and $20 billion...
If You Can't Beat 'Em: France Télévisions Moves Its News Operation to YouTube
France Télévisions announced a strategic partnership with Google to broadcast its entire news lineup on YouTube, marking a decisive "streaming‑first" shift for the public broadcaster. The move is designed to reclaim advertising revenue that has migrated to digital platforms and...
Your Narrative Window Is Closing — Get Your Business Story Right Before the Market Gets It Wrong
Founders of proptech startups face a brief early window when the market has not yet settled on a definition for their product. Whoever defines the narrative first shapes investor perception, press coverage, and customer expectations for years to come. Mischaracterizing...
How to Build an Enterprise SEO Strategy that Actually Gets Buy-In
Enterprise SEO plans often stall in slide decks because leaders treat SEO like paid search or isolate it in technical silos. The article argues that success hinges on framing SEO as a business narrative tied to company‑wide OKRs, using competitor...
From Viral to Viable: Heather Weiss Besignano on Reframing PR for the Creator Economy
Heather Weiss Besignano founded ICON PR in 2018 to blend traditional Hollywood publicity with the fast‑growing creator economy. By treating digital talent like legacy actors, she offers long‑term brand architecture rather than one‑off viral spikes. ICON now splits its roster...
AI‑Powered Realize+ Automates Ad Strategy on Open Web
Two big news items today. First, we’re bringing the power of Performance Max and Advantage+ to the open web. Meet Realize+. An always-on AI agent that works on behalf of advertisers, continuously evaluating strategy, budget, targeting, and creative across thousands of signals...
Creator Monetization Platform Passes Rebrands as ‘Creator Accelerator’
Passes, the creator monetization platform founded in 2022, announced a rebrand to “Creator Accelerator,” unveiling a new logo and positioning that highlights its expanded toolset—including subscriptions, paid messages, livestreams, merchandise, and one‑on‑one calls. The company retains its 10% platform fee...
Corsa Digital Expands Into CTV, Appoints Carlo Robles to Lead Programmatic Growth
Corsa Digital announced it is extending its programmatic audio marketplace into connected TV, video, and display, creating a unified omnichannel offering. The move is anchored by the hiring of Carlo Robles as Account Director to spearhead CTV and video growth. Corsa...
Unlock AI Marketing: Practical Strategies for Founders
i'm hosting a live event in berlin on april 28th "the future of ai marketing" from 5-9pm at w3.hub here's what we'll be getting into: > how to use AI marketing as a founder to actually capture attention and get customers (without sounding...
BIBA Enters Youth-Focused Ethnic Segment Through BIBA NXT
Indian fashion retailer BIBA launched BIBA NXT, a sub‑brand aimed at Gen Z and young millennials seeking contemporary ethnic wear. The line features modern cuts like halter‑neck kurtas and corset‑style tops, priced between Rs 899 ($9.55) and Rs 1,999 ($21). BIBA NXT...
How a Tiny Change in a Facebook Ad Doubled Donations
A Canadian Bible distribution agency ran a Facebook‑ad A/B test that swapped the call‑to‑action from "Click to Learn More" to "Click to Give Bibles." The change left traffic unchanged but boosted the donation conversion rate by 117.6%, cutting the cost...
Why Overwhelmed Shoppers May Drive a Reset in Natural Food Marketing
Snack brand Go Raw has rolled out its first national advertising effort, “Uncomplicate Snacking,” in March 2026, positioning its sprouted seed products as a straightforward snack option. Consumer research revealed that 70% of shoppers eat the seeds straight from the...
Audit Your SaaS Blog: Fix Orphaned Posts & Cannibalization
Most SaaS blogs have 200+ posts and still can't crack 5K monthly visits. The problem isn't volume. Not even AI. Before you write one more article, run this audit with the help of Claude. Full instructions are below, but this is the gist...
Live AI Workflow Demo: Repurposing Content with Claude
Doing an AI “show and tell” of one of my @claudeai content repurposing workflows on @superpathco at 11 CDT, come hang 👀
Free Tool Turned 8‑figure ARR After Pricing Demand
Ev Kontsevoy gave Teleport away free as a lead magnet for his paid product. Customers kept calling asking to pay for the free tool anyway. After five requests he put a price tag on it. Teleport Enterprise had almost no...
Persistence, Not Messaging, Drives Market Response
Your messaging isn't broken. Your follow-up is. Most people send one email, hear nothing, and assume the market doesn't want it. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. The market rewards persistence.
How to Leverage Your Sponsored Event
Founders regularly ask me: how do we make the most of this event we’re sponsoring? The thread below is your guide.
Google Uses Click Data to Influence SEO Rankings
How Google's systems treat click data, and the straight facts about what it means for SEO and rankings. https://t.co/3hJjjfp9A9 via @martinibuster, @sejournal
NYT Digital Ads Surge 25% After Video Pivot
Yes, and to add a bit more context: The New York Times Company saw its digital advertising revenue stall -- even decline, as it did by nearly 4% in Q4 2023 -- until it strategically embraced video. In Q4 2025, its...
Google Ranking Volatility Meets ChatGPT CPC Enthusiasm
It's New 4/23 - @mordyoberstein wants Google to want his commodity content, @gregfinn might apply as GEO at Google, there is Google ranking volatility and @TheMarketingAnu loves ChatGPT’s CPCs https://t.co/jW7kRtBC70
ChatGPT‑Generated Thumbnails Boost AI Video CTR to 8%
ChatGPT Images do a great job with YT thumbnails. 8% CTR on a business AI topic is solid. Video was on the implications of ChatGPT Workspace Agents on work. Great for cranking out newsjacking content on the fly. https://t.co/1UXV2GI43i https://t.co/U3t7zaFtRD
SEO Alone Isn’t Enough; Dominate AI Answer Space
“SEO is crushing it. We’re #1.” Great. But buyers aren’t starting there. They’re asking ChatGPT, checking Perplexity, reading AI answers first. Above surface: -rankings -traffic -impressions Below: -AI citations -mentions -answers If you’re not there, you’re invisible. https://t.co/GgDfQB0P0T
New GEO Tools Launch Paid Linkbuilding Networks—Potential Pitfalls Ahead
So now multiple new GEO tools are formally, publicly launching paid linkbuilding networks? What can go wrong? 🫠🫠🫠