The Latest

• 

  Creator ad spend to reach $37B as marketers turn to AI for scale: IAB

  While nearly three-quarters of advertisers already use or are planning to use AI in the next year to boost efficiency in the creator space, concerns remain.

  Mobile

• 

  Deep Dive

  How Gen Z is reshaping holiday marketing — and what brands can do about it

  The cohort’s reliance on social media and influencers for product discovery remains, while new levels of comfort with retail media and AI take shape.

  Brand Strategy

• 

  How Unilever is pushing sports marketing beyond broadcast convention

  Set to nearly double its spend on U.S. sports marketing, the CPG giant sees the category as emblematic of a shift to “many-to-many” marketing.

  Brand Strategy

• 

  CMOs see support for brand building fade while ROI scrutiny rises: NIQ

  Fewer marketers see CEOs and CFOs backing long-term brand investment while confidence in brand purpose has plunged in a divided climate.

  Brand Strategy

• 

  Value tops shoppers’ wish lists this holiday season in new survey

  Gen Z is the most likely to shop in physical stores this season, at a rate of 91%, according to new data from Mastercard. 

  Data/Analytics

• 

  Johnnie Walker updates ‘Keep Walking’ to focus on individual pursuits

  The long-running brand platform, which in recent years has focused on post-pandemic social connection, is being retooled to emphasize self-expression.

  Brand Strategy

• 

  Deep Dive

  Will Amazon’s AI-powered one-stop shop for advertising change the game?

  At its UnBoxed conference, Amazon showcased new tools it claims provide unprecedented flexibility in buying and intelligence for advertisers.

  Video

• 

  Chobani drives CTV ad outcomes via Albertsons, NBCU data collaboration

  Albertsons Media Collective and NBCUniversal are working to provide closed-loop measurement that bridges connected TV ads and retail performance.

  Brand Strategy

• 

  How Walmart is deploying the Grinch to boost holiday marketing

  The Dr. Seuss icon, played by Walton Goggins, appears in new ads and a Times Square takeover showcasing deals on products like the Switch 2. 

  Brand Strategy

• 

  Gartner: AI agents fail to ease CMO pain amid need for deeper shifts

  Nearly two-thirds of marketers believe AI will dramatically change their role, but many are not making the organizational changes needed to deliver results.

  Brand Strategy

• 

  PubMatic touts AI’s role in stronger-than-expected Q3 earnings

  In general, ad-tech firms delivered revenue gains in Q3 and are benefiting from how AI can support more unified marketing campaigns.

  Video

• 

  Geico puts emotional spin on value for new brand platform

  Created with The Martin Agency, “It Feels Good to Geico” enlists the Gecko and NFL greats A.J. Brown and Emmitt Smith across a series of ads.

  Brand Strategy

• 

  Column

  Campaign Trail: Liquid Death lands a commercial inside ‘The Running Man’

  The beverage brand’s latest movie collaboration moves beyond traditional product placement with an in-film ad starring Colman Domingo’s character.

  Brand Strategy

• 

  E.l.f. bets on power of sound for kinder social media algorithms

  A campaign timed to World Kindness Day includes audiovisual stories designed to interrupt consumers’ feeds and combat doomscrolling.

  Brand Strategy

• 

  Why marketers like Unilever, State Farm are headed to NBCU’s BravoCon

  Bravo’s fan convention for its reality shows led to double-digit lifts in brand recall, purchase intent and emotional engagement for participants in 2023.

  Brand Strategy

• 

  Instacart’s animated holiday ads aim to ease pressure amid seasonal chaos

  Spots that take a page from Rankin/Bass stop-motion classics were created with Starburns Industries, RadicalMedia and internal shop Local Produce.

  Mobile

• 

  Disney, Snapchat blur the lines between AR and IRL for ‘Zootopia 2’

  The multichannel campaign includes activations in popular Los Angeles spots and a Snapchat cameo within the film that reimagines the app as “Snapcat.”

  Mobile

• 

  Pizza Hut dishes out holiday value in multichannel campaign

  The pizza chain supports its value-oriented holiday messaging with comedic ads, in-person events and digital games. 

  Brand Strategy

• 

  How McDonald’s turned K-pop fandom into a mass-market cultural play

  An experiential activation crafted by the IW Group helped the fast food giant benefit from buzz around the return of BTS.

  Brand Strategy

• 

  Marketers must wrestle with vanishing middle class in 2026: WARC

  Rising costs and job insecurity are pushing marketers to focus on “affordability tension” and changing consumer milestones like having kids. 

  Brand Strategy

• 

  Deep Dive

  Inside Amazon DSP’s growing bid to marketers — and threat to competitors

  Execs from Amazon and across the industry weigh in on a key part of the company’s surging ad business.

  Agencies

• 

  Home Depot’s heartfelt holiday ads showcase Christmas tree farmers

  “The Right Tree” tells the story of how the home improvement retailer helps families find their perfect tree and is accompanied by a series of social videos.

  Brand Strategy

• 

  Wendy’s doubles down on marketing effectiveness as part of turnaround

  The QSR’s partnership with consultant Creed UnCo aims to clarify what drives purchasing decisions and refine messaging around value. 

  Brand Strategy

• 

  Stagwell, Palantir ready broader rollout of AI-powered marketing platform

  The goal is to enable large enterprises to sift through tens of millions of records to identify, segment and understand audiences for brand strategies.

  Agencies

• 

  How Corona Cero mixed AI, human insights to find Olympic gold

  Artificial intelligence-powered language analysis and psychological theory helped AB InBev create an Olympic campaign in three weeks.

  Brand Strategy

More stories