TikTok Tests Hotel Metasearch Cards That Redirect Users to Expedia, Booking.com
TikTok is beta‑testing hotel metasearch cards that appear in users' For You feeds and link directly to major online travel agencies such as Expedia, Booking.com and Trip.com. The cards display a property photo, name and real‑time rate options, with a “View” button that redirects to the OTA and an “Explore More” link that keeps users inside TikTok. The feature is distinct from TikTok’s existing Travel Ads and leverages OTA metadata, TripAdvisor reviews and creator‑generated content. TikTok also ties the rollout to its TikTok Go creator‑monetization program, allowing influencers to earn commissions on bookings.
IAS LAUNCHES IAS TOTAL TV SOLUTIONS GIVING MARKETERS ‘LINEAR-LIKE’ TRANSPARENCY FOR CONNECTED TV
Integral Ad Science (IAS) unveiled IAS Total TV, a suite that brings linear‑TV‑style transparency to the fragmented Connected TV (CTV) ecosystem. The platform delivers real‑time, show‑level insights across major streaming services such as Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount and Prime Video, while...
Whitworths Launches the UK’s Biggest Nutrition Campaign
Whitworths is rolling out the United Kingdom’s biggest nutrition campaign in May, backed by a multi‑million‑pound (≈ $2.5 million) investment. The initiative combines a nationwide video‑on‑demand push, PR, outdoor, social media and in‑store sampling from May through September to promote nuts,...
Kriti Sanon Turns ‘SPF Police’ in Hyphen’s New Ad
Hyphen launched a new campaign featuring actress‑entrepreneur Kriti Sanon as the whimsical “SPF Police,” reinforcing sunscreen as a daily habit. The short film shows Sanon stopping a gym‑goer from leaving without sunscreen, while Blinkit appears to deliver the product instantly...
TikTok Campaign Shows How Brands Turn Reach Into Real Traffic
A TikTok campaign for pet‑care franchise Camp Bow Wow, run with Scorpion, proved that native, lo‑fi creative paired with interest‑based targeting can drive measurable traffic at scale. The effort generated 23,000 landing‑page views at $2.01 each, over 50,000 clicks at...
Even PayPal Ads Has Its Own ID Now
PayPal announced the PayPal Ads ID, an omnichannel identifier built on its and Venmo’s credit‑card‑linked customer base. Unlike cookie‑based graphs, the ID is free for any data or ad‑tech vendor that maintains a commercial relationship with PayPal Ads and can...
Albertsons Media Collective Brings Retail Signals to YouTube with Google’s Commerce Media Suite.
Google’s Commerce Media Suite now integrates Albertsons Media Collective’s first‑party shopper data into YouTube and Display & Video 360. The partnership lets brands reach high‑intent Albertsons customers across YouTube and premium publisher inventory while receiving SKU‑level sales attribution. Early adopters such as Keurig Dr Pepper...
Celsius Unites Sports, Music and Culture Ahead of Soccer-Centric Summer
Celsius launched a new ad campaign featuring soccer stars, DJ Diplo and creator Marlon Garcia, promoting its limited‑time Electric Vibe flavor with the tagline “Live. Fit. Goal.” The 30‑second spot, “The Surge,” will run across TV, digital and out‑of‑home channels...
Netflix’s Running Point Scores Several Integrated Brand Partnerships in Season 2
Netflix’s comedy series Running Point has secured multiple integrated brand partnerships for its Season 2 launch. The basketball‑focused show weaves sponsors such as State Farm, DoorDash, Lexus, Ally Bank, Sephora and Google Search into its storyline and visual design. Netflix VP...
Samsung Launches UK Pub TV Upgrade Campaign
Samsung Electronics has launched the UK “Raise the Bar” campaign, enlisting former England footballer Joe Cole to help pubs upgrade their television technology ahead of the summer football season. The initiative lets customers nominate local venues, with ten pubs slated to...
From Ambient to Plant-Based: Where Danone Is Taking Protein Next
Danone is broadening its protein portfolio beyond refrigerated dairy by launching Oikos ambient protein shakes, introducing Silk high‑protein plant‑based milk, and acquiring meal‑replacement brand Huel. The Oikos shake entered the $7 bn+ ambient market and helped the brand exceed €1 bn (≈$1.1 bn)...
ÖBB Launches the “United by Music, Moved by ÖBB” Campaign
ÖBB has launched the “United by Music, Moved by ÖBB” campaign, aligning itself with the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna. The rail operator introduced a “Loyalty Points Bet,” rewarding members with bonus points equal to Austria’s final score. A...
One Year Ago, Unilever CEO Swore to Hire ‘20x More Influencers.’ Did It Deliver on That Promise?
A year after CEO Fernando Fernandez pledged to hire 20 times more influencers, Unilever has expanded its creator network from roughly 10,000 to 300,000, exceeding the target by a factor of 30. The company now works with 17,000 influencers in India...
Vichy Laboratories Scores PSG Footballer Vitinha as Global Brand Ambassador
Vichy Laboratoires, the L’Oréal‑owned dermocosmetics brand, has appointed Paris Saint‑Germain midfielder Vitinha as its Global Brand Ambassador. The partnership aims to reinforce Vichy’s push into the integrated health space, linking athletic performance, recovery, and skin care. Vitinha will headline campaigns...
The Pros and Cons of Adding AI to First-Party Experiences
Major retailers such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, Ulta Beauty and The Home Depot are rolling out conversational AI features in their apps and in‑store services. Forrester research shows 85% of consumers find AI answers helpful, yet only 71% trust them,...
Inside the Kotex Brand Overhaul
Kotex, a century‑old feminine‑care brand owned by Kimberly‑Clark, is undertaking a full brand overhaul to regain relevance. The revamp centers on a new "You Asked. We Heard." campaign, a "Own your flow" tagline, and redesigned pads that directly address consumer...
Customers Want Personalized Marketing. Why Can’t Most Brands Deliver? By Adobe
Adobe’s 2025‑2026 AI and Digital Trends reports reveal a gap: while 71% of consumers expect personalized, seamless experiences, fewer than half of brands consistently deliver. The root cause is fragmented customer data that hinders real‑time insight sharing across channels. Adobe...
Jack Daniel’s Appoints 22feet as Its Creative Agency of Record for India
Jack Daniel’s has appointed 22feet, an Omnicom India agency, as its creative agency of record for the Indian market. The integrated mandate spans brand strategy, digital, social, packaging, experiential and retail communications for the entire Jack Daniel’s portfolio, including its...
Cult Beauty Pulls Adverts From GB News Following Social Media Pressure
Cult Beauty, the THG‑owned online beauty retailer, has removed its advertising from the UK news channel GB News after a social‑media backlash driven by activist group Stop Funding Hate. The campaign urged the retailer to stop funding a channel described as...
AI Can Now Prove Itself: Steerco Launches MCP, Brings Traceable Client Comms Inside ChatGPT, Claude, & Gemini (Free)
Steerco announced general availability of its Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, letting users access traceable AI client communications directly from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and other compatible tools. The free tier enables any user to generate a traceable deck with source‑linked...
Brands Can Now Deploy Their Own Agents Inside Publisher Chatbots
Dappier unveiled Sponsored Conversations, a new ad format that inserts brand‑specific AI agents into publisher chatbots. The agents engage users in real time, pulling from the site’s own content and, for brands like Miku, driving qualified leads with roughly 50 %...
‘Bake It Till You Make It’: Inside Quicken’s Kid-Run Small-Business Campaign
Quicken partnered with agency Camp + King to launch a quirky small‑business campaign that casts children as frazzled founders, promoting its all‑in‑one finance app. The ads, such as a “cookie empire” and a “kid‑run car rental,” use humor to humanize...
OOH Offers Big Return on Investment for Luxury Brands
Out‑of‑home (OOH) advertising delivers a striking 12.8× return on investment for luxury brands—roughly $16 in revenue for every $1 spent—according to Independent Marketing Sciences. Across 24 media channels, luxury’s overall average ROI is 4.7×, making OOH the top‑performing channel. The...
8 Best E-Commerce Analytics Software I Recommend for 2026
Hasitha Varre’s G2 guide identifies the eight top e‑commerce analytics platforms for 2026, including Stackline, Glassbox, Luigi’s Box, Edrone, Fullstory, Decodo, Lucky Orange and Hotjar. The selections are based on G2’s Winter 2026 Grid Report, user reviews, and criteria such as KPI coverage, integration...
SaaS AI Search Optimization: The 8-Step Playbook
Buyers now start SaaS research in AI search, asking multi‑part questions about pricing, integrations, and compliance. If a SaaS brand is missing or mis‑represented in AI answers, it loses early visibility. The guide offers an eight‑step playbook—auditing AI citations, structuring...
Cumulus’ Bob Walker Releases AI Media Planning Guide for Radio
Cumulus Media Operations President Bob Walker released an AI media‑planning guide aimed at local advertisers and radio sales teams. The playbook outlines five best‑practice prompts for large language models such as ChatGPT, emphasizing precise questioning, source verification, and platform awareness....
Stellantis Finally Addresses Its Multi-Brand Problem
Stellantis announced it will trim its portfolio to four core brands, acknowledging that 14 marques dilute focus and profitability. In 2025, six brands produced over 92% of the company’s 5.5 million vehicles, many of which are essentially rebadged models sharing platforms...
Moncler, Actor Jamie Dornan Stretch Puffer Into Summer
Moncler has launched a summer‑focused campaign featuring actor Jamie Dornan wearing its signature puffer jackets in warm‑weather settings. The partnership showcases the brand’s push to position its traditionally winter‑centric outerwear as year‑round luxury apparel. The campaign debuted across digital, print...
Possible 2026 Opening Remarks: Marketing’s Age of Opinion Is Ending
At the 2026 Possible opening remarks, industry leaders warned that marketing’s “age of opinion” must end in favor of a scientific, data‑driven profession. Citing decades‑old research, the speaker highlighted that a 10% ad‑spend lift yields only a 0.5% sales increase,...
The End Of SEO? How AI Is Reshaping Brand Discovery On The Web
AI-powered generative search engines are displacing traditional SEO, ushering in a new discipline dubbed Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) or Answer Engine Optimisation. Brands now compete to be recalled by large language models rather than ranked on keyword lists, as AI...
BBH Wins Global Brief to Raise Profile of Hitachi Brand
Hitachi has tapped global agency BBH to spearhead a new worldwide brand campaign titled “Inspire the next,” set to launch later this year. The initiative aims to elevate awareness of Hitachi’s three core business pillars—Digital Systems & Services, Green Energy...
Brand USA Brings Travel Advisor Ambassador Scheme to South-East Asia
Brand USA is extending its Global Ambassador Program to Southeast Asia, launching cohorts in Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines. The initiative aims to appoint 250 travel‑trade ambassadors worldwide by July 4 2026, aligning with the United States’ 250th anniversary. Advisors in...
The Chinese Sports Brand Taking on Nike and Adidas
Chinese sportswear giant Anta, founded in 1991 by Ding Shizhong, has transformed from a low‑cost shoe maker into a global brand challenger to Nike and Adidas. The company now operates more than 12,000 stores in China and 460 outlets worldwide,...
Guide to eBay Video Ads Promoted Listings
eBay has launched video ads for Promoted Listings using its priority strategy, currently in beta. Sellers can attach a 5‑60 second video that autoplays in eligible placements, with no change to cost‑per‑click pricing. The new format adds video‑specific metrics such...
Invisible Marketing: Keeping Your Brand Relevant When Screens Disappear
Brands are confronting a rapid shift from visual web experiences to screenless, voice‑first interactions. Ambient Computing Marketing leverages voice assistants, smart home devices, and predictive algorithms to keep products top‑of‑mind without a traditional UI. Marketers must restructure data for headless...
Data Se Darshan Tak!
Vinay Kanchan argues that modern marketers have become fixated on collecting every possible data point, flooding presentations with charts that often lack real insight. He urges a return to first‑principles thinking, insisting that true value comes from deeply understanding a...
How to Create Content AI Can’t Replicate
Kate Rourke warns that marketers risk disappearing into a sea of AI‑generated sameness unless they prioritize authentic, human‑centric briefs. She notes that most briefs now explicitly request real people and raw, unfiltered moments, because audiences crave unpredictable emotion. By anchoring...
Tesla Offers Free Supercharging for a Year on Its Electric Sedan
Tesla announced a new promotion that grants up to one year of free Supercharging to buyers of the Model 3 Premium or Performance in the United States. The offer follows recent incentives such as a $2,000 (≈$1,300 USD) trade‑in bonus and extended...
Street Releases “Game-Changer” AI Tool for Estate Agents
Proptech firm Street has launched Cortex, an AI‑driven customer interface that drafts personalized emails for every client in an agent’s database and replies automatically. The tool also extracts key information to update records and can schedule property viewings without human...
Vaseline Wants to Protect Your Nipples
Vaseline stepped into the 2026 TCS London Marathon as the "Official nipple protector," turning its long‑standing "safe from the chafe" claim into a high‑visibility activation. The brand set up "Nip stops" along the 26.2‑mile course and distributed petroleum jelly to...
BoF Professional Masterclass | How to Build a Forever Beauty Brand
The Business of Fashion’s Professional Masterclass on May 6 will dissect how to build a forever beauty brand, focusing on customer clarity and product differentiation. The session features Daniela Morosini and a panel of experts who share tactics for scaling beyond...
Case Study | How to Build a Forever Beauty Brand
The case study examines why many hot‑trend beauty labels fade quickly and outlines a framework for building a "forever" brand. It stresses that longevity requires differentiation, consistent visual storytelling, and superior product performance rather than chasing fleeting trends. Insights from...
News UK Turns The Times’ First-Party Data Into Synthetic Audiences for Advertisers
News UK has launched "Times ExplorAItion," a synthetic‑audience tool that converts The Times' first‑party subscriber data into AI‑generated audience models for advertisers. Powered by Electric Twin, the platform creates privacy‑safe, persona‑level segments that can be surveyed and tested in seconds,...
Media Buying Briefing: Agencies Turn Creators Into Test Labs for Campaigns and Product Innovation
Agencies such as Horizon Media are turning creators into live test labs, using them to pressure‑test and even shape campaign concepts and product features. SharkNinja’s partnership with Blue Hour Studios exemplifies this approach, where creator feedback informs launch strategy and...
Marketers Join OpenAI’s Ad Pilot, Nudged by FOMO
OpenAI launched a paid‑ads pilot inside ChatGPT in early February, attracting brands such as Williams‑Sonoma, Target, The Knot Worldwide, DSW and BEHR. Within six weeks the program generated an estimated $100 million annualized revenue, while ad prices fell from $60 to...
Consumer Brands Take the Leap Into Influencer Marketing
Consumer brands are moving influencer marketing from a side project to a core media channel. Vaseline’s "Vaseline Verified" effort teamed with 450 creators, racking up hundreds of millions of views and a sales lift, while the Dettol #HandWashChallenge in India...
CMOs Tread Line Between Maths and Magic
The chief marketing officer role is undergoing a structural breaking point, shifting from a pure creative steward to a hybrid leader who must master both data‑driven AI systems and brand storytelling. Executives at agencies such as RAPP, WPP and Omnicom...
Brands Look Beyond Search Engines as Customer Habits Shift
Consumers are moving from traditional search engines to AI chatbots and large‑language‑model (LLM) tools that deliver direct answers, recommendations and even purchases. Brands now face a dual challenge: influencing the data that trains these models and optimizing content for generative‑engine...
Marketers Tackle Risks and Opportunities on Social Media
Social media remains essential for advertisers, but recent moderation rollbacks at Meta and X have heightened brand‑safety risks. Marketers are feeling pressure from geopolitical instability and inflation to prove return on ad spend, prompting a shift toward tighter campaign execution....
How Do Digital Marketing Agencies Help Home Maintenance Businesses Generate Leads and Increase Bookings?
Home maintenance firms—plumbers, electricians, handymen—are missing leads because they lack a robust online presence. Digital marketing agencies fill that gap by deploying local SEO, Google Business Profile optimization, paid search, and social media tactics that drive measurable enquiries and bookings....