In today’s podcast episode, we discuss why YouTube is the “new king of all media,” the strategies most likely to help competitors catch up, and what—if anything—might trip YouTube up. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Principal Forecasting Writer Ethan Cramer-Flood and Analyst Marisa Jones. Listen everywhere, or watch on YouTube or Spotify.
40% of US ad buyers say understanding agentic ad buying and campaign execution is one of their top concerns for 2026, according to a January survey from the IAB.
AI is speeding up B2B buying without making decisions easier. Buyers move through early research faster and with less vendor contact. Marketers need clear, specific, consistent information across touchpoints—or risk losing ground in evaluation.
While digital in-store retail media remains a small fraction of total retail media spend, the real challenge is integrating digital formats into physical stores thoughtfully to create a cohesive customer experience rather than a fragmented one.
New shoppable placements, unified logins, and strong results tie streaming ads to measurable sales impact.
Bicultural Latinos drive faster spending gains and reward culturally fluent brands with loyalty and action.
Higher fuel, freight, and inflation threaten margins as shoppers grow more price conscious.
A new 8% package fee risks compounding volume declines as Amazon reevaluates its shipping mix.
As consumer spending flattens, issuers and networks are competing for SMB and corporate spending for growth.
Offering in-app subscription cancellations can prevent younger consumers leaving issuers for fintechs.
The platform’s ability to turn inspiration into sales is driving outsize growth and pushing rivals to invest in social commerce.
As retail media networks use different attribution models, it’s becoming harder for advertisers to compare performance across platforms. Incrementality offers a clearer view of which investments are truly driving growth.
Meta Pay has an opportunity to seize mobile wallet share as social commerce surges among younger consumers.
Full-line closures signal off-price focus as department stores’ luster fades.
Digital formats and trusted clinical settings are turning it into a performance channel driving treatment discussions and uptake.
With Meta and Google found liable for addictive designs, healthcare marketers and doctors must prepare for concerned parents seeking guidance on preventing social media addiction in their children.
Merck’s nearly $7 billion acquisition bolsters its cancer portfolio as blockbuster Keytruda nears patent cliff.
When choosing where to buy prescription drugs, brand loyalty takes a back seat to price and access where they already shop.
51% of UK/US content and creative professionals say they're using AI to accelerate creation, tagging, or organization, it's the top method for improving content production, ahead of cross-team collaboration (41%) and performance measurement (38%), according to a November 2025 survey from Canto and Ascend2.