In today’s podcast episode, we discuss what summer travel will look like for Americans this year, where people go online to book their vacations, and how AI is helping travelers plan and manage their trips. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Vice President of Research Jennifer Pearson and Principal Analyst Zak Stambor. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube or Spotify. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice President of Content Suzy Davidkhanian, Analyst Paola Flores-Marquez, and Senior Analyst Gadjo Sevilla. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube or Spotify.

YouTube/YouTube Music is the most-used digital audio platform, reaching 51% of US digital audio listeners and standing alone as the only option to clear the halfway mark, according to a March 2026 Harris Poll and EMARKETER survey.

Updates to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) are forcing marketers to rethink how they’re reaching children online, making transparency increasingly important as regulators, advertisers, and platforms face greater scrutiny over how kids' data is collected and used. The updates went into effect on April 22 and expand the definition of personal information to include biometrics, requires greater transparency around data collection and gives parents multiple opportunities to consent or decline data sharing, rather than presenting them with a one-time approval.

Key stat: News and media topped all verticals with a $7.93 video ad CPM in Q4 2025, the priciest audience to reach via video, according to an April report from BIScience.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how ThredUp markets to both of its customer groups—the buyer and the seller—how it balances brand storytelling with performance marketing, and where AI is actually making the biggest difference for its customers right now. Tune in to hear a discussion featuring Vice President of Content and host Suzy Davidkhanian, Principal Analyst Sky Canaves, and Kristen Brophy, Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing at ThredUp.

After more than 80 years in business, Turtle Wax faced a familiar challenge: staying relevant with a new generation of consumers. "We'd lost a little bit of touch with the younger consumer," said Steve Millard, global marketing and ecommerce director at Turtle Wax. For many younger consumers, the brand was associated with products their parents or grandparents used.

Reddit’s consideration play: As buyers seek trusted peer input, exclusive data shows that Reddit offers brands a chance to influence decisions before purchase.

Live sports keep delivering: But record audiences and billions of ad impressions are making premium rights harder to secure—and costlier.

Consumers continued spending in May despite higher prices and fuel costs.

Pinterest broadens AI across its platform: New ad tech and Ask Pinterest app could improve marketer results, engagement, and shopping discovery.

A second failed store partnership puts pressure on diversification efforts.

Episodic content tests whether branded storytelling can capture shoppers’ attention in stores and drive incremental sales.

Issuers need to refine their intro cards or lose these consumers to fintechs.

It made common banking features feel unique through marketing, exposing banks’ messaging problem.

They must clearly distinguish their products from gray-market manufacturers caught in the FDA’s crosshairs.

AI search ads are racing ahead: Spending is set to exceed $101 billion by 2030, even as marketers grapple with sparse performance data.

AI becomes marketing shorthand: Brands spent $1.3 billion on AI-related messaging, turning AI into a cross-industry marketing effort.

Adobe chases visibility: As AI-driven shopping accelerates, Adobe Brand Visibility helps brands improve discoverability before competitors claim the shortlist.