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.
Hot Take: YouTube Shouldn’t Rely On Creators To Convince Brands It’s TV
YouTube is positioning its platform as a television equivalent to capture premium ad budgets, emphasizing the growing share of viewing on living‑room screens. At its NewFronts event, the company let creators pitch the TV narrative, citing data such as 62% of viewers watching on TV devices and 19‑minute session lengths. Influencers also introduced ad‑tech jargon like “dynamic ad segments,” blurring the line between authentic creator content and traditional media sales pitches. The approach will be tested during the upcoming summer upfront negotiations.
TikTok Upgrades Ads to Bridge Content and Commerce
TikTok is rolling out upgraded high‑impact ad formats—including Logo Takeover, TopView and Prime Time—to turn the platform into a seamless "content + transaction" experience. These formats give brands immediate, full‑screen exposure when users launch the app and allow multiple impressions within short...
PR Consultancy Impact Metrics Launches in the GCC
Karim Geadah has launched Impact Metrics, a PR consultancy in the GCC that embeds key performance indicators into every communications strategy. The firm promises measurable business impact by aligning storytelling with metrics such as visibility quality, audience relevance, and engagement...
DoubleVerify Creates AI SlopStopper for Social to Tackle Low-Quality AI Content
DoubleVerify has launched AI SlopStopper, a new tool within its DV AI Verification suite designed to identify and block low‑quality AI‑generated content on social and video platforms. The solution blends proprietary AI detection with human oversight, feeding results into the...
Amazon Closes a Long-Standing SEO Loophole in A+ Content
Amazon has eliminated the seller‑controlled alt‑text field in A+ Content and Brand Story, replacing it with AI‑generated image descriptions. The change applies to new and existing assets across marketplaces, starting in Europe and expanding globally. Sellers can no longer edit...
How DTC Brands Use Retention to Outgrow Competitors
Direct‑to‑consumer (DTC) brands are shifting focus from costly acquisition to retention as the primary growth engine. By turning first‑time buyers into repeat customers, they lower customer‑acquisition costs, boost lifetime value, and improve profit margins. Retention is driven by holistic experiences—product...
Disney's Infinity Could End IMAX Showdown, Aid Smaller Chains
I’m not yet a fan of Disney’s Infinity standard. But the knee jerk response to it is short sighted. This is not just about opening weekend. They had to fight last year for any IMAX screens for Zootopia 2 vs...
AI Self‑checks Iterate Outputs for Higher Quality Thumbnails and Titles
When I build skills now I always ask AI to spin up a separate eval agent to do yes/no checks to grade the first agent's output. And if the output isn't "yes" across the board it asks the first agent to...
Glossy Pop Newsletter: Why ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Is the Collaborator Fashion and Beauty Brands Have Been Waiting For
The upcoming release of “The Devil Wears Prada 2” is sparking a wave of fashion and beauty brand collaborations, echoing the merch‑driven success of the 2023 “Barbie” film. Tweezerman has unveiled a DWP2‑themed tweezers collection, while Lancôme secured the official skin‑care...
Timing, Not Content, Drives Distribution Success
Most people think distribution is a content problem. Wrong channel. Bad hook. Weak copy. It's not. Distribution is a timing problem. Ran the same cold email sequence to the same list twice. Two weeks apart. Zero changes. First send — silence. Second send — three calls...
AI Brand Crisis: Choose a Stance or Lose
Pick a Side or Get Left Behind: The Looming AI Brand Crisis by @Timothy_Hughes https://t.co/Ab8RLnV6pu @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Sales #Leadership #Marketing #MarketingStrategy #MarketingSuccess #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #ContentMarketing #MarketingTips #MarketingEthics
Media Quality and Measurement: The Gap Between Seeing, and Knowing | Behind the Numbers (Video)
In a recent eMarketer podcast, host Marcus Johnson and guests Arielle Feger and David Simon dissect the shortcomings of current media measurement, especially the over‑reliance on simple reach numbers. They argue that traditional metrics fail to capture the true quality...
Dad Hat Brand ’47 Goes Global with a New Marketing Campaign, ‘Worn Worldwide’
Boston‑based dad‑hat maker ’47 has launched a global “Worn Worldwide” campaign to showcase its flagship Clean Up cap across five countries. The brand produced short vignettes filmed in Scotland, Mexico, France, Italy and the United States, distributing them on TikTok,...
An Easier Way To Think About Brand Growth
The article argues that traditional brand‑building tactics—mass reach and repetitive media—no longer provide clear growth paths in today’s fragmented digital landscape. It introduces the "Brand Adoption Journey" framework, which starts by identifying the finite conditions a consumer needs to adopt...
Canva's Future: Orchestral Harmony, Wedding Creativity, Lagos Vision
Canva Create 2026: What an Orchestra, a Wedding, and a Lagos Wish Taught Me About Where This Platform Is Going https://t.co/GCMOcWexad
Conde Nast Shrinks: Publisher Is Closing 'Self' And Several 'Glamour' Editions
Condé Nast announced a portfolio overhaul, shutting down the *Self* magazine and ending the *Wired* Italy edition while winding down *Glamour* operations in Germany, Spain and Mexico. Health and wellness stories from *Self* will be folded into *Allure* and *Glamour*, and...
Viant to Acquire TVision for $40 Million, Expanding TV Measurement
Viant, the public ad‑tech firm, agreed to buy TVision for $40 million—$22.5 million in cash and $17.5 million in stock. The deal gives Viant access to TVision’s 5,000‑household panel that tracks linear TV, open CTV and walled‑garden viewership. Executives say the purchase will...
Mediavine and Index Exchange Link 18,000 Publishers' Data to Index Marketplaces
Mediavine announced an expanded partnership with Index Exchange, enabling audience segments from its network of more than 18,000 independent publishers to be accessed through Index Marketplaces. The deal makes Index Exchange the first SSP to offer Mediavine’s curated data via...
Dalet Appoints Brian Doheny as President and CRO to Drive Global Expansion
Dalet announced the appointment of Brian Doheny as President and Chief Revenue Officer, tasking him with scaling the company's media‑technology platform globally. Doheny, a 30‑year SaaS veteran, will oversee sales, marketing, professional services and customer success as Dalet rolls out...
Inside the Creator-Led Media Economy: Coachella
Influencer marketing now commands 20‑30% of media budgets, with Australian creator spend hitting $830 M AUD (≈$550 M USD) in 2025 and projected to reach $1 B AUD by 2030. The Coachella festival has become a high‑velocity content factory, where brands like Revolve, Hailey Bieber’s Rhode, and...
Brett Goldstein Teams with Jennifer Lopez in Netflix’s ‘Office Romance’
Brett Goldstein, the Emmy‑winning star of ‘Ted Lasso’, will co‑star with Jennifer Lopez in Netflix’s forthcoming comedy ‘Office Romance’. The pairing fuels speculation about a budding friendship and signals a growing trend of talent agencies engineering cross‑media collaborations for new...
Quilton Wraps up Its New Plastic-Free 3-Ply Rolls in New Animated Campaign via 10 Feet Tall
Quilton has introduced a plastic‑free, paper‑wrapped 3‑ply toilet‑paper roll and unveiled an animated campaign created by 10 Feet Tall. The hero film features whimsical Cupids on a cloud‑based production line, set to a heavy rock soundtrack, to portray each roll as a...
Agentic Advertising Needs Interoperability, Standardisation, and Adoption to Thrive
The IAB Tech Lab has introduced the Agentic Advertising Management Protocols (AAMP), a standards‑driven suite designed to make advertising agents interoperable, transparent, and production‑ready. AAMP adds new protocols—Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Agent‑to‑Agent (A2A)—and an open Agent Registry that mirrors...
Old Navy Teams with Christopher John Rogers for 46‑Piece Collection
Old Navy launched a 46‑item collaboration with celebrated designer Christopher John Rogers, releasing the line on April 15 at prices from $55 to $70. The partnership seeks to blend Rogers’ maximalist aesthetic with the retailer’s democratic pricing, expanding the brand’s...
Amazon Pauses Controversial Ad Payment Change After Seller Backlash
Amazon announced it will pause the rollout of a new advertising payment option that would force sellers to use account balances or Pay‑by‑Invoice, deferring the change to Aug. 1, 2026 after coordinated pushback. The move underscores growing tension between the marketplace’s ad...
VTEX Unveils AI‑Native Commerce Suite, Redefining Digital Retail
VTEX announced an AI‑native commerce suite at its VTEX Day event, positioning the platform to automate operations, personalize customer experiences and expand ad monetization. The launch, part of VTEX Vision 2026, targets the 2,200 B2C and B2B brands already using...
From Audit to Execution: Your First 7 Days of a Clean Social Strategy
The article presents a step‑by‑step, seven‑day social‑media strategy reset that begins with a 60‑90‑minute audit and ends with a week‑two content plan. It stresses platform‑specific audits, profile optimization, a single‑session content batch, and early engagement before scaling volume. The workflow...
KFC India Names Suhayl Limbada as New CMO to Accelerate Localized Growth
KFC India has appointed Suhayl Limbada as its chief marketing officer, succeeding Aparna Bhawal. The former Thailand CMO brings experience across Africa and Asia and will steer the brand’s push for localized campaigns in a market of more than 1.4 billion...
HubSpot Introduces AI‑Powered Answer Engine Optimization Features
.@HubSpot adds Answer Engine Optimization, contextual updates to platform https://t.co/c0cINkMnAW HubSpot launched features for AI visibility, progressing deals and a bevy of AI agents. https://t.co/z3W1Hu7Up7
Your Email List Outlasts Fickle Platform Algorithms
Every platform changes its algorithm. Every app can disappear overnight. Why your email list is still one of the most valuable things you own as an artist: https://t.co/xPTc9zM3q8
Yahoo DSP Taps Guardian in Push for Cleaner Programmatic Supply
Yahoo DSP has partnered with The Guardian to create a direct‑to‑publisher pathway that lets advertisers buy the newspaper’s premium digital inventory through Yahoo Backstage. The integration simplifies campaign discovery, activation and optimisation, reducing the complexity of programmatic buying. The Guardian...
The Relief of a Violet Door: How Himalaya BabyCare Is Making Public Spaces Friendlier for New Moms
Himalaya BabyCare has launched over 700 "Happy Feeding Rooms" across India’s airports, railway stations, hospitals and malls, offering clean, ventilated spaces equipped with seating, diaper‑changing stations and sinks. Each room serves roughly 30 mothers daily, totaling about 7.7 million users annually....
Nexxen Launches Enhancements to ‘nexAI DSP Assistant’ to Amplify ‘Full-Funnel’ Campaign Outcomes
Advertising technology firm Nexxen unveiled major upgrades to its AI‑driven demand‑side platform, the nexAI DSP Assistant. The enhancements expand the assistant’s role to pre‑campaign quality assurance, real‑time mid‑flight optimization, and post‑campaign analytics, while a new user interface simplifies workflow and...
How to Build a Signature Content Series that Grows Your Audience
The article provides a step‑by‑step guide to creating a signature content series that accelerates audience growth, highlighting a five‑step framework that starts with planning six episodes before launch. It distinguishes episodic, serialized, and hybrid formats, stressing the importance of a...
Coachella 2026 Wasn’t Just a Music Festival; It Was a Brand Universe
Coachella 2026 transcended a music event, becoming a sprawling brand universe where beauty, spirits, AI and hospitality brands built immersive experiences. Hailey Bieber’s Rhode launch, Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila outpost, and Red Bull’s 20,000‑sq‑ft Mirage turned product drops into cultural...
Dance Music Magazine Mixmag Appoints Culture-First Agency Noisy to Drive ANZ Growth
Mixmag ANZ, the world’s largest dance‑music magazine, has signed a partnership with culture‑first agency noisy to accelerate its growth across Australia and New Zealand. The deal covers content creation, brand campaigns and real‑world activations, linking Mixmag’s local audience to noisy’s nightlife...
Messy Authenticity Beats Polished Brand Storytelling
Brand content does not have to be perfect stories. Share opinions. Share the real experiences. Share the messy ones. That's what earns attention because everyone else is polishing.
BCM Group Launches Search Works, to Unify Owned, Earned and Paid in an AI Era
Queensland‑based BCM Group has launched Search Works, a data‑driven brand visibility platform that replaces traditional SEO with an adaptive SEO/GEO model tailored for AI‑powered search. The service, led by Managing Director Lukas Temple, already secured new clients Youi Insurance and...
Britannia Tiger Krunch Launches Interactive Anti-Bullying Campaign ‘Tiger Hero Hunt’
Britannia Tiger Krunch has launched "Tiger Hero Hunt," an interactive anti‑bullying campaign that uses a QR code on its snack pack to guide children through a WhatsApp‑based storytelling experience. Participants navigate bullying scenarios, choose responses, and unlock a personalized Tiger...
Pinterest's Plea: 'Put Down Your Phones'
Pinterest is rolling out a "How did they do it" ad campaign that tells users to put down their phones and live offline, debuting on May 1 across TV, cinema, out‑of‑home and digital channels. The company frames its platform as engineered...
AI Does McKinsey‑grade Research, Drives Millions per Lead
You can run McKinsey-level research for almost nothing to generate millions in revenue. Here's what our Single Brain actually generates for every single lead that books a discovery call - before anyone touches it: 1. Full company dossier: revenue, headcount, tech stack,...
Lead Marketer Demonstrates Claude Code Setup and Workflows
Proud moment 🥲 Our lead marketer, completely unprompted, shared a video about how she set up Claude Code from scratch and showed a few workflows for client work. https://t.co/C0KlrVuHpA
The Content Cultures That Last Have One Thing in Common
Content programs often lose momentum after about 18 months, with only 22% of B2B marketers rating their efforts as highly successful. Research from the Content Marketing Institute shows that 62% of the winners have a documented content strategy aligned to...
Coachella Isn't a Music Festival Anymore. It's a Brand Trade Show.
Coachella has transformed from a pure music festival into a brand‑driven trade show where activations generate massive earned‑media value. Brands now attend primarily for content opportunities and influencer exposure, using the event as a cultural moment rather than a traditional...
Facebook Wants to Scan Users’ Camera Rolls for Content
Meta has begun testing an opt‑in camera‑roll suggestion feature for Facebook users in the United Kingdom. The tool scans a device’s photo library, identifies standout moments and proposes ready‑made collages, videos or story drafts that can be posted to Feed,...
Instagram Expands Your Algorithm Tool to Explore
Instagram is extending its "Your Algorithm" content‑recommendation tool from Reels to the Explore feed, allowing users to fine‑tune the topics they see across both surfaces. The feature, first tested on Reels in October, now appears for English‑language users in Explore,...
Avoid Creepy Personalization: Keep Healthcare Ads Trustworthy
“Creepy personalization” breaks trust. Rob Janes explains how healthcare ads can stay relevant without crossing the line. ▶️ Watch the interview: https://t.co/eKmsXk6CsW @ad_butler #BrandTrust #hcmktg
Why It's Best For Marketers To Reach Gen Z On The Go
Lyft’s new Gen Z Insights Report, based on 94 million rides, shows the cohort accounts for 24% of riders but 28% of trips, heavily skewed toward nightlife and weekend travel. Nearly half of rides to fast‑food brands like Taco Bell and...
Les Mills Teams with HYROX to Launch Global Fitness Racing Programs
Les Mills has been named the Official Group Training Program Partner for HYROX, unveiling two new group classes—CEREMONY HYROX and CEREMONY HYROX MAX—across its 30,000‑plus gym network. The Cologne‑based partnership aims to fuse science‑backed workouts with the sport’s fast‑growing race...
How to Use AI Brand Monitoring for Always-On Brand Health
AI‑driven brand monitoring is shifting from a niche advantage to a baseline requirement as the internet’s content volume explodes. Large‑language models synthesize mentions across social, news, forums and emerging AI chatbots, turning raw volume into thematic insights and nuanced sentiment....