Behr Paint’s New Marketing Campaign Speaks to DIYers’ FOMU — Fear of Messing Up
Behr launched its "Let’s Be Honest" campaign on March 23 to tackle DIYers' fear of messing up, a sentiment revealed by a survey showing 70% avoid projects over paint‑choice anxiety. The initiative features a toll‑free Behr Hotline where callers leave voicemails that five selected influencers answer on Instagram and TikTok. Complementary TV, CTV, and Home Depot retail activations reinforce the brand’s positioning as a trusted DIY coach, while digital tools like the Color Visualizer and AI‑powered ChatHUE simplify color decisions.
The Real Power Couple: AI and the Human Marketer
The CMO Council and WongDoody’s new report surveyed nearly 400 senior marketers and identified a stark split between firms that integrate AI with human expertise and those that do not. Organizations that treat AI‑human collaboration as a "power couple" report...
Education Platform Pearson Uses AI To Rewrite Its Past
Pearson has launched its first global brand campaign in five years, using AI to generate younger versions of real learners and dramatize pivotal life moments. The emotionally driven videos showcase the company’s breadth—from K‑12 to cybersecurity training—and aim to reposition...
Launch Events: Three Lessons From Neutrogena’s ‘Adulthood USA’ Activation
Neutrogena launched its Evenly Clear adult‑acne line with the Adulthood USA activation on Feb. 12 in Los Angeles. The experiential event turned a studio into a turquoise‑hued neighborhood, featuring laundromat, grocery, bathroom and car‑wash vignettes that linked everyday chores to product...
Targeting Insomniacs, Sleep App ‘Rest’ Hijacks TikTok Shop Broadcasts in the Early Hours
Rest, a subscription sleep‑coach app that uses AI and cognitive‑behavioral therapy, launched its "Late Night Mistakes" awareness campaign on March 9 by hijacking TikTok Shop live broadcasts during the 2‑3 a.m. window. The brand partnered with roughly two dozen creators who received...
Consumers Are Divided Over This Dr Pepper-Inspired Sausage – And That’s the Point
Johnsonville introduced a Dr Pepper‑inspired sausage, available fresh and smoked, on March 1. The product was deliberately crafted to be divisive, sparking “low‑stakes disagreement” on social media and encouraging conversation around the brand. Partnering with Dr Pepper, the company seeks to...
Munchkin Markets New Baby Formula To ‘Leakiest’ Customer Acquisition Bucket
Munchkin launched its first infant formula, sold exclusively at Target and on its own website, produced in a new Canadian plant with 80 million‑pound annual capacity. General Manager Kristin Pagano frames the launch as a supply‑risk hedge in a market dominated...
America’s Test Kitchen Puts Direct And Programmatic Access On Its Menu
America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) has begun selling its FAST channel ad inventory as a standalone product, offering both direct insertion orders and programmatic guaranteed deals through Magnite and PubMatic. The shift follows a 30% year‑over‑year rise in streaming audiences and...
Nikon’s Experiential Pop-Up at SXSW Targets Experienced Photographers and Creators
Nikon is running a week‑long experiential pop‑up beside SXSW in Austin from March 12‑19, offering free photo walks, studio sessions, light programming and panels. The brand targets about 2,000 experienced photographers and creators, hoping 60% will post on social media....
MyFitnessPal Wants To Start The Health And Wellness Subsector Of Retail Media
Former user Amit Patel, now CRO, is steering MyFitnessPal into retail media. The health‑tracking app will shift from a single third‑party display ad to a direct‑sales suite that includes video, interstitials, home‑screen takeovers, newsletter sponsorships and branded recipe units. It...
New Sunbit CMO Shachar Scott Talks Fintech, Brand Trust and Marketing Leadership
Buy‑Now‑Pay‑Later platform Sunbit has hired Shachar Scott as its first chief marketing officer, bringing experience from Snap, Bumble and Meta Reality Labs. Scott sees the role as a "zero‑to‑one" opportunity to build product, brand and communications from the ground up...
AMC Networks’ CMO on Marketing ‘The Audacity’ at SXSW
AMC Networks is debuting its Silicon Valley drama "The Audacity" with a world premiere at SXSW, followed by an April 12 launch on AMC and AMC+. CMO Kim Granito frames the festival as a strategic touchpoint to reach tech‑savvy early...
How Boll & Branch Spotted Scammers Attempting Generative AI Fraud
Boll & Branch, a $300 million luxury bedding retailer, narrowly avoided a return‑fraud scheme when a scammer used generative AI to submit a fabricated photo of a ripped sheet. The AI‑generated image contained a visible watermark, which the seven‑person CX team flagged...
Are CAPIs The Next Phase Of Performance TV?
Streaming giants are bringing conversion APIs (CAPIs) to connected TV as advertisers demand measurable performance. Netflix unveiled its CAPI alongside new targeting options, while Roku, Comcast and LinkedIn already provide similar APIs for CTV measurement. CAPIs promise to close the...
March Madness Is Making DOOH a More Responsive Channel
March Madness concentrates fan attention across screens, venues and streets, creating a prime moment for advertisers. Digital out‑of‑home (DOOH) is shifting from pre‑planned, static placements to real‑time, programmatic delivery powered by AI and contextual triggers. Brands can now sync creative...
How Realtor.com Is Using AI Creative To Expand Its Ad Footprint
Realtor.com has partnered with AI‑driven ad startup BrandComms.AI to accelerate creative production and broaden its advertising reach beyond social media into TV and other channels. Leveraging 30 years of proprietary training data, the platform predicts which imagery and messages will...
How Molson Coors Keeps Creative Effectiveness On Tap
Molson Coors’ North America CMO Sofia Colucci emphasized that creative must directly boost sales and brand health, not just generate buzz. To align creative output with revenue goals, the company introduced the MUSCLE framework—Magnetic, Unexpected, Crafted brilliantly, Long‑term platform, Essence of...
Behind NYT’s First Foray Into In-Game Advertising
New York Times has introduced Crossplay, its first two‑player word game that embeds ads directly within gameplay. The ad‑supported format targets non‑subscribing users, with six‑second mandatory video ads after each turn. JPMorgan Chase partnered for the launch, aiming at financially active, digitally savvy...
As AI Agents Transform Digital Advertising, Where’s the Privacy Architecture?
AI agents are automating every stage of digital advertising, from creative generation to media buying, promising massive efficiency gains. However, discussions have largely ignored privacy, leaving consumer data vulnerable as bots make autonomous decisions. The article highlights unanswered questions around...
Inside Life360’s Plan To Build An Ad Platform On Top Of Nativo
Life360 has accelerated its entry into advertising by acquiring Fantix’s AI‑driven ad unit and the native‑ad platform Nativo for $120 million. Nativo generated $63 million in revenue in 2023, and its white‑label ad server now powers Life360’s family‑focused ad stack. The combined...
Men’s Wearhouse Grows Its Audience Through A Campaign Run Solely On Digital Audio
Men’s Wearhouse partnered with Ovation Group and The Trade Desk’s Kokai platform to run an audio‑only campaign from March to June 2025 across Spotify, iHeart, Acast and Pandora. The effort, aimed at younger, digitally‑first men, leveraged Ovation’s EMRge marketing intelligence...
Meet Yeti Boo, the AI Bigfoot Helping KANE Footwear Rethink Influencer Marketing
Yeti Boo, an AI‑generated Bigfoot persona, exploded on TikTok, reaching over 439,000 followers and catching the eye of brands. KANE Footwear signed the character as an “AI athlete” to promote its Revive AC recovery shoe, pairing the mascot’s off‑beat wilderness...
Dstillery Has A New Agentic AI Interface For Refining Audiences Faster
Dstillery unveiled DS-1, an agentic AI interface that lets advertisers create and refine custom audience segments in minutes instead of days. Built on the Model Context Protocol, DS-1 integrates with Slack, Microsoft Teams, browsers and pushes audiences directly to The...
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...
From Cart to Couch: How Retail Data Is Powering the Next Era of Premium Video
Retail data is now the backbone of outcome‑based CTV audiences, allowing brands to target known, competitive or lapsed shoppers on premium video platforms. Kroger Precision Marketing reports that campaigns built on its grocery‑derived audiences generate a median 5% lift in...
Great Clips Taps Into Quarterback Kirk Cousins’ Love for Value Haircuts in New Campaign
Great Clips leveraged NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins as a brand spokesperson in a January 2026 promotion tied to the College Football Playoffs, offering a $9.99 haircut coupon. The 24‑day campaign generated an 11.6% sales lift and a 7.4% rise in...
From Avoiding Bad Ads To Demanding ROI
Integral Ad Science (IAS) is shifting from merely blocking bad ads to proving that media quality drives measurable ROI for brands. CEO Lisa Utzschneider says advertisers now demand evidence that premium placements improve efficiency, prompting IAS to deploy AI models...
Fresh Step’s Valentine’s Day Campaign Bolsters Its Brand Refresh – and Cat Adoptions
Fresh Step partnered with Bumble and Best Friends Animal Society for a Valentine’s Day "Date Cats, Not Humans" campaign, encouraging single users to swipe for adoptable cats. The initiative covered adoption fees and offered free litter throughout February, resulting in...
Why Custom Algorithm Company 59A Cares So Much About Offline Data
Custom algorithm firm 59A, which has been serving UK advertisers for six years, announced its U.S. launch last week, appointing Jon Nash as the first U.S. CEO. The company builds bespoke media‑buying code by blending online signals with a wide...
Experiential Marketing Trend of the Week: Tarot Card Readings
A Pew Research survey shows 30% of U.S. adults consult astrology, tarot or fortune tellers at least yearly, fueling a surge in experiential marketing that leverages cartomancy for personalization. Brands such as Netflix, Pandora and Hendrick’s Gin have turned tarot...
