Bupa UK Picks Ace of Hearts to Work on Creative and Strategy
UK health insurer Bupa has selected the creative agency Ace of Hearts to lead its new advertising and strategic initiatives. The agency was chosen after a competitive pitch process coordinated by Ingenuity+, a specialist agency network. The partnership is expected to revamp Bupa’s brand messaging and digital experience across the UK market. Executives anticipate the collaboration will strengthen Bupa’s position amid intensifying competition in health insurance.
Sabco Launches New Campaign for Its All-New Cleaning Brand Neet via DPR&Co
Sabco has introduced Neet!, a new cleaning brand sold exclusively at Bunnings Warehouse in Australia and New Zealand. The brand, developed with agency DPR&Co, features a youthful "Chuck the Muck" positioning aimed at first‑time, younger cleaning consumers. Its launch includes...
The One Centre Group Creates and Scales the Brands of Tomorrow with ‘Zephyr One’ Launch
The One Centre Group has rebranded its 2019 investment Zephyr Social as Zephyr One, joining its constellation of specialist branding firms. The 12‑person agency now offers commercial strategy, performance media, and creative services through its proprietary System One model. Founders...
‘The Great Exhaustion’: Why the Future of Branding Is Calm
By 2026 consumers are hitting a breaking point dubbed “The Great Exhaustion,” where cost‑of‑living stress, climate concerns and digital overload drive burnout and decision fatigue. This emotional economy favors calm, comfort and belonging over constant novelty, prompting brands to simplify...
Agencies Grapple with Economics of a New Marketing Currency: The AI Token
Marketing agencies are confronting the economics of generative‑AI tokens as they embed large‑language‑model tools into campaigns. Tokens, which meter compute, can add up quickly—Coca‑Cola’s recent ad required millions of them—prompting agencies to devise new pricing structures. Some firms, like Merge...
WTF Is Meta’s Manus Tool?
Meta has embedded an AI agent suite called Manus into its Ads Manager, following a $2 billion acquisition of the Singapore‑based startup Butterfly Effect. The tool promises automated competitor analysis, audience research, campaign measurement and reporting across Facebook and Instagram. Early...
OpenAI’s Ad Push Begins, and The Knot Is Co-Piloting
OpenAI has launched a trial ad platform inside ChatGPT, enlisting The Knot Worldwide as one of its first brand partners. The wedding‑planning service is testing ad performance, brand‑safety protocols, and data insights while also debuting its own app within the...
From Lollipops to Lobsters, Whatnot Pushes Further Into Selling Food via Livestream Shopping
Whatnot, the livestream shopping platform, has expanded its food category from shelf‑stable snacks to fresh seafood and meat, achieving a 30% month‑over‑month growth and a 2.5× rise in transactions between July 2025 and January 2026. Sales of iconic brands like...
Taubmans Backs Everyday Aussie Painters in New ‘Making Painters’ Platform via Sunday Gravy
Australian heritage paint brand Taubmans, together with creative agency Sunday Gravy, has unveiled the “Making Painters” platform, a brand campaign that positions the company as the ally of everyday painters. The initiative embraces the messy realities of home painting—faded colours,...
Shake Shack Names Director of Global Marketing
Shake Shack promoted Alaric Sng to global marketing director, giving him oversight of Mainland China, Southeast Asia and new APAC markets. The role expands his previous responsibilities rather than replacing an existing director. Sng joins from a background in loyalty...
Agent99 and Born to Host Free Senior Marketer Webinar ‘Bravery, Budget & Bullsh*t: What Actually Drives Impact’ at 12pm, March...
Agent99 PR and Born are hosting a free webinar titled “Bravery, Budget & Bullsh*t: What Actually Drives Impact” on March 12 at noon, aimed at senior marketers. The session will dissect where brands overspend and pinpoint tactics that deliver genuine commercial...
Channel 4 Sales’ B Corp Competition Returns
Channel 4 Sales is relaunching its B Corp competition, offering £600,000 of free TV advertising to five certified UK B Corporations. Partnering with B Lab UK, the initiative follows a successful first year that boosted brand perception and sales for winners like Seep and Ticket Tailor....
Millbray Appoints Bullet and Wonderful for Brand Refresh and New Digital Platform
Integrated land‑lease developer Millbray has hired brand studio Bullet and digital product studio Wonderful to revamp its master brand and launch a new digital platform ahead of the Ashcroft over‑50s community debut in Queensland. Bullet delivered the brand strategy, naming,...
RSPCA Approved Evolves Into RSPCA Certified, Powered by Nature and The Thrills
RSPCA Australia has rebranded its farm‑animal welfare program from the 17‑year‑old RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme to the new RSPCA Certified label. The refresh, driven by strategic firm Nature and creative agency The Thrills, introduces a streamlined brand architecture, a distinctive...
Optimum’s Price-Locked Plans
Optimum has introduced a “25 for 5” campaign that locks internet prices for five years, starting at $25 per month for 300 Mbps service. The offer expands to a 500 Mbps plan at $35/month with six months of ad‑supported HBO Max, and a...
Black Rock Coffee Bar Inc (BRCB) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Dutch Bros reported a 28% revenue increase to $1.64 billion for 2025, driven by 154 new store openings that brought the system to 1,136 locations. Adjusted EBITDA rose 31% to $303 million and average unit volume hit a record $2.1 million. The company...
Concerns with Third-Party Partner Could Derail LinkedIn’s Verification Push
LinkedIn is rolling out broader identity verification, adding company confirmation and executive‑level title checks that require a corporate email address. The move aims to curb recruiter scams and misrepresentation on the platform. However, the rollout relies on third‑party verification partner...
Unlock The Zero‑Click Buyer Data Hiding In Your Bot Traffic
Business buyers are increasingly using answer engines and generative AI tools to research solutions before ever clicking a website, creating a surge in zero‑click behavior. Traditional analytics miss these interactions because bot and agent traffic is filtered out as noise....
Google AI Overview Citations From Top-Ranking Pages Drop Sharply via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Ahrefs’ latest analysis of 4 million AI Overview URLs shows a sharp decline in top‑10 ranking pages being cited, dropping from 76% in July 2025 to 38% now. The study attributes the shift to improved citation detection and Google’s expanding query...
Inside a TikTok Outage: A Practical Playbook for PR and Social Teams
In late January TikTok experienced a nationwide outage after a power failure at a U.S. data center disrupted video uploads, comments and personalized feeds. The glitch coincided with a controversial Terms of Service update, amplifying user distrust and prompting many...
Podcast Advertising – The Safest Bet
Tom Webster’s June 2024 article introduces the research report “Podcast Advertising – The Safest Bet,” which compiles recent studies on podcast ad performance. The report challenges common objections from traditional marketers by showing podcasting’s low‑risk, high‑return characteristics. Findings highlight strong brand...
VRC Non-Skip Ads Are Now Generally Available, Allowing Brands to Reach TV Audiences with Google AI.
Google has made its VRC Non‑Skip ad format generally available worldwide through Google Ads and Display & Video 360. The offering targets connected‑TV inventory, delivering 6‑second bumpers, 15‑second standard and 30‑second non‑skippable spots that play in full. Google’s AI dynamically selects...
Telemundo Kicks World Cup Marketing Into High Gear: Sweeping Coverage, New Campaign
Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish‑language home of the 2026 World Cup in the U.S., announced a massive 700‑hour coverage slate that will air live for all 104 matches and run from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily. The network will stream every game...
Google Uses Both schema.org Markup and Og:image Meta Tag for Thumbnails in Google Search and Discover
Google updated its image SEO guidance, confirming that both schema.org markup (such as primaryImageOfPage, mainEntity, and mainEntityOfPage) and the og:image meta tag are consulted when selecting thumbnail images for Google Search and Discover. The new documentation outlines how publishers can...
DFS Partners with ITV to Deliver an Integrated Marketing Campaign with Britain’s Got Talent
DFS has partnered with ITV to embed its brand into the 19th season of Britain’s Got Talent, featuring 10‑second TV commercials and bespoke sofas on set. The campaign includes an Amanda Holden‑branded sofa collection, social media sponsorship, and a competition...
Agencies Should Shift to Solution-Led Pricing Models, Global Agency Body Says
VoxComm, the global agency coalition, is urging firms to abandon legacy fee structures and adopt solution‑led pricing models. The guidance argues that AI‑driven insights enable agencies to tie compensation directly to measurable brand growth outcomes. It outlines a framework for...
On the Move: USAA Hires Curtin of Sam's Club
USAA announced the appointment of Chris Curtin, former CMO of Sam’s Club, as its new chief marketing officer, bringing experience from Bank of America, Visa, HP and Disney. Hemlo Mining named Jason Banducci as vice president of corporate development and investor...
Monday Memo: If It Doesn’t Matter to the Customer, It Doesn’t Matter
Holland Cooke’s memo argues that advertising copy should prioritize the customer’s problem over the company’s credentials. He illustrates the shift with side‑by‑side rewrites for plumbing, dental, auto glass, and veterinary services, turning generic service lists into direct, benefit‑focused calls. The...
India’s Ad Watchdog Deploys Influencers to Combat Greenwashing, Dark Patterns
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has rolled out its first influencer‑led consumer awareness campaign targeting greenwashing and dark‑pattern advertising. Eight prominent Indian creators, including Shraddha Jain and Aisha Ahmed, will disseminate educational content on evaluating sustainability claims and...
Creator-Led Agency The Now Agency Launches, Secures BJ’s Restaurants, MLSE Among Early Clients
The Now Agency, a creator‑led social‑native firm founded by Gabe Feldman and Jonathan Chanti, officially launched in June 2025 under the Reign Maker Group. Within its first year it landed marquee clients including BJ’s Restaurants, Les Mills, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment,...
From Dubai to Miami Beach, Creator Economy Conferences Fill April 2026 Calendar
April 2026 will host a packed lineup of creator‑economy conferences across Dubai, New York, London, Lisbon, Los Angeles and more. Events such as the Dubai Creator Summit, Social Media Week, NAB Show and Canva Create bring together nano‑to‑macro influencers, brands, marketers and...
Inside Mercedes-Benz’s Custom Amazon Prime Video Ads Push Around the NBA
Mercedes‑Benz USA teamed with Amazon Ads to launch a series of custom creative spots that aired during Prime Video’s NBA broadcasts in January and February, featuring Dirk Nowitzki showcasing GLS features. The campaign targets younger, diversified luxury buyers by leveraging live‑sports...
AiMCO Recognizes Top Creators, Brands, And Agencies At Inaugural Sydney Summit And Awards
Australia’s Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO) held its first summit and the 2025 AiMCO Awards in Sydney, celebrating creators, brands, agencies and technology partners. The event highlighted the “Creator Era” theme and featured keynotes from major players such as MECCA, Tourism...
How Small Businesses Can Win in the AI Era
AI has become the first stop in many consumer journeys, with 36% of couples now using AI for wedding planning—a near‑doubling year‑over‑year. The Knot Worldwide responded by launching a ChatGPT‑based app that surfaces vetted vendors directly within the AI chat....
Smartly Announces Amazon DSP Integration to Extend Intelligent Creative and Campaign Management to Connected TV
Smartly announced an integration with Amazon DSP that lets advertisers extend their video campaigns to Amazon’s premium connected‑TV inventory, including Prime Video, Fire TV, and third‑party publishers. The partnership embeds AI‑driven creative optimization and personalization directly into Smartly’s platform, eliminating...
YouTube’s AI Slop Problem And How Marketers Can Compete via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
YouTube’s platform is being flooded by low‑quality, mass‑produced AI videos, dubbed “AI slop,” which now appear in roughly one‑in‑five Shorts recommendations to new users. A Kapwing analysis identified 278 dedicated AI slop channels that together generated 63 billion views, 221 million subscribers...
A Sweet Proposition
Quick‑service restaurants are pivoting toward bright, sugary beverages to win over Gen Z and millennial diners who are less price‑sensitive than older consumers. Brands such as Blank Street Coffee, Starbucks and Dutch Bros have seen cold, flavor‑forward drinks now dominate a large...
![Why SEO Now Depends on Citation-Worthy Content [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Hethr_campbell](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://hixhlmpcokxhartfkpyi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/thumbnails/0e7a6e922f23c0e0633be05c5fd71eaa.webp)
Why SEO Now Depends on Citation-Worthy Content [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Hethr_campbell
Large language models now power AI‑driven search experiences such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews, shifting visibility from traditional blue‑link results to answer snippets that cite trusted sources. Marketers must create citation‑worthy content—research, educational, comparison, and expert contributions—to be...
AI Bots Don’t Need Markdown Pages
Publishers are experimenting with serving Markdown‑only versions of pages to generative AI bots, hoping to reduce crawl load and boost bot traffic. Early tests show modest increases in bot visits but no measurable lift in search visibility. Google and Bing...
Criteo Joins OpenAI Advertising Pilot in ChatGPT
Criteo has become the first advertising‑technology partner in OpenAI’s ChatGPT Free and Go advertising pilot in the United States. The integration lets brands run Criteo‑powered ads directly within the ChatGPT interface, leveraging the platform’s commerce‑focused AI decisioning. Early data shows...
Experiential Marketing Trend of the Week: Red-Carpet Activations
Red‑carpet activations are evolving from simple photo ops into fully immersive, experiential events. Major studios such as Disney, Netflix, Universal Pictures and Prime Video are building themed environments, interactive games, and low‑waste productions that invite talent, media and fans to...
Home Centre Ramadan Campaign Drives 595% Uplift in Engagement
Home Centre’s Ramadan campaign leveraged three gamified hero films to transform passive viewers into active participants, delivering a 595% surge in comment activity compared with the previous year. The social‑first rollout across Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and other channels reached 70% of...
TMW Raids TBWA\Media Arts Lab for New Strategy Chief
TMW, now part of Accenture Song, has appointed Jasmin Kocur as group strategy director to co‑lead its earned‑first team. Kocur arrives from TBWA\Media Arts Lab after a decade at Digitas, bringing deep social, creator and campaign expertise. The move expands...
Jo Malone London Taps Sisters Lizzy and Georgia May Jagger as Global Brand Ambassadors
Jo Malone London, part of the Estée Lauder Companies, has appointed sisters Georgia May Jagger and Lizzy Jagger as global brand ambassadors for its new English Pear fragrance line. The campaign, built around a sisterhood narrative, will showcase the English Pear & Freesia and English Pear & Sweet Pea scents. It...
Sofology Scoops up the Positivity of Being a Bit Fussy
British sofa retailer Sofology is extending its “So fussy” creative platform with a new multi‑channel campaign that celebrates picky consumers as discerning shoppers. The ad, produced by TBWA\\MCR, uses an ice‑cream‑making metaphor to showcase attention to detail and premium quality....
Wickes Retail Media to Connect Brands with Home Improvement Customers
Wickes has launched Wickes Connected Retail Media, a first‑of‑its‑kind retail media network for the UK home‑improvement category, offering both onsite and offsite advertising capabilities from day one. The platform, built with Epsilon’s COREid identity graph, merges digital and in‑store signals...
Tesco Breathes New Life Into ‘Every Little Helps’ Slogan
Tesco has revitalised its iconic "Every Little Helps" slogan by launching a new brand platform centred on the question “Need Anything From Tesco?”. The initiative reframes the long‑standing tagline as a promise to support shoppers and local communities, linking everyday...
“The Darker Side of Water”: Behind the Scenes of Channel 4’s “The Fountain of Filth”
Channel 4 commissioned a provocative bronze sculpture titled “The fountain of filth” to promote its investigative series “Dirty Business.” The piece, built by 4Creative, Glue Society and Biscuit Filmworks, depicts men, boys, paddles and surfboards spewing water from their mouths. Campaign’s...
What Is Query Fan-Out? Understanding the Hidden Queries Driving AI Search
Query fan‑out is the technique AI search engines use to turn a single user prompt into dozens of related sub‑queries, enabling richer, context‑aware answers. Research shows an average of 9‑11 fan‑out queries per prompt, with some cases exceeding 20 searches,...
Love’s Travel Stops Enhances Rewards Loyalty Program
Love’s Travel Stops has revamped its loyalty program, now letting all drivers earn and redeem points on fuel and in‑store purchases across its 608 shops and 62 country stores. The unified Love’s Rewards program is accessed through an updated mobile...
