Coca-Cola and Hershey’s are redefining what innovation looks like for century-old brands. Both companies are building repeatable systems for creativity rather than chasing trends. Coca-Cola created a proprietary AI-driven design system that converts brand rules into machine-readable code, allowing global teams to scale creative consistency instantly. Hershey’s built feedback loops that turn employee empathy and standardized KPIs into actionable insights. Together, they illustrate how legacy CPGs can combine data discipline with creative freedom—using structure to accelerate, not stifle, imagination. Innovation, they argue, isn’t chaos; it’s a system you can build.
OpenAI will reportedly expand its portfolio to include genAI music tools, per The Information. The company is said to be collecting data, such as annotated music scores, from Juilliard School students to develop and refine upcoming music-generation tools. CMOs should assess their tech infrastructure to ensure that teams have the skills and systems to integrate new AI tools smoothly. Maintain agency relationships amid AI-generated audio experimentation to keep human creativity in the loop and retain oversight as AI adoption heats up.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how WNBA viewership did the year after the ‘Caitlin Clark Effect’ hit the league, what social media will do to full-game viewership growth, and what advertisers should be paying attention to most amidst this surge in women’s sports. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, and Analysts Marisa Jones and Paola Flores-Marquez. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
Holding company WPP launched WPP Open Pro on Thursday, a self-serve AI tool piloted by Google and other clients that creates ad campaigns from start to finish in a push to attract small businesses. WPP’s newest move means marketers can continue to expect greater automation, cost savings, and a shift in agency relationships.
For its latest campaign, BMW is using celebrity storytelling and music to raise awareness for its certified pre-owned program, which the automaker says remains underrecognized among potential buyers.
YouTube TV could lose access to Disney networks October 30, including ESPN, Disney Channel, and ABC, as Google and Disney enter a deal-renewal standoff. YouTube TV will become an increasingly risky investment for advertisers if a deal is not reached by the deadline, especially as advertisers turn to sports as a key channel to reach vast audiences but struggle with sports rights fragmentation.
Spectrum Reach and Waymark are scaling their AI-powered creative partnership, which has already supported over 15,000 ad campaigns for small and midsize businesses. The collaboration blends Spectrum Reach’s data-driven media targeting with Waymark’s AI video creation tools, enabling broadcast-quality commercials in minutes. The expansion comes as 55% of US small businesses now use AI, up from 39% last year. Together, Spectrum Reach and Waymark are redefining local advertising, proving AI can make creative faster, smarter, and fairer.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss what OpenAI as the next big operating system maker looks like, how they might make money from this, which integrated apps will become most popular inside ChatGPT, and how this potential super app could impact consumer AI devices. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, Analyst, Grace Harmon, and Principal Analyst, Yory Wurmser. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
While holiday gift-givers do more of their shopping online every year, many shoppers will make purchases in physical stores this holiday season. The segment could make or break retailers facing economic challenges from tariffs and supply chains.
Unilever said its core business grew in Q3 as sales in North America rose for the fifth straight quarter, fueled by demand for new deodorants and beauty products. Unilever’s focus as it restructures reflects a wider industry trend: Companies are expanding their beauty, well-being, and personal care product offerings to meet demand for clean, natural, and sustainable goods and position themselves as lifestyle brands. Earlier this week, Lysol maker Reckitt Benckiser reported rising Q3 sales as consumers bought its self-care and germ-protection products. Unilever will need to keep leaning into premium products and digital engagement to keep up with consumer changes in everyday wellness.
Taboola and Paramount Advertising announced a partnership Wednesday, launching a “Performance Multiplier” tool that enables small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) to extend connected TV (CTV) ad opportunities to the open web. Small-budget brands can now use CTV the way big advertisers do, reaching new audiences through streaming ads that spark awareness at the top of the funnel and drive measurable bottom-funnel results online.
Spanish-language media company TelevisaUnivision reported a rocky Q3, with notable downturns in net income, ad revenues, and overall revenues. TelevisaUnivsion and ViX still offer a compelling value proposition for brands seeking smaller, but influential Spanish-language audiences.
In this podcast episode, we discuss how do you decide when to lead with data versus when to trust your team’s creative instinct, how your brand can stand out on social media, how shopper expectations changed, and more. Listen to the discussion with Vice President of Content and guest host, Suzy Davidkhanian, Principal Analyst, Sky Canaves, Chief Content Officer at The Lead, Sonal Gandhi, and SVP of Marketing at Lulu’s, Patrick Buchanan.
Keeping shoppers engaged takes more than clever campaigns; it requires constant reinvention. In a recent Path to Purchase Institute webinar, experts from Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream and Spark Foundry discussed how staying fresh, setting clear objectives, and moving quickly can help brands build lasting connections in a fickle marketplace.
The Omnicom-IPG merger is expected to close in November, according to Omnicom CEO John Wren in the company’s Q3 earnings release, which showed organic revenue growth of 2.6% YoY. The merger seems to have crossed its last hurdle—and the new Omnicom-IPG entity stands to benefit marketers in many ways, though brands must keep some considerations in mind.
Artificial intelligence is transforming how brands navigate media buying, with digital ad buyers using AI for processes like ad personalization, audience insights, and creative ideation. In a conversation with EMARKETER, Mike Hauptman, CEO of cross-DSP manager AdLib, discussed how AI is altering the media buying landscape. Marketers are operating in a landscape where AI is a necessity—but as challenges are expected to persist for years to come, those who thrive will be the ones who find a happy medium.
36% of marketers say user-generated content (UGC) is extremely important to their social media strategy, compared with 2% who say the same for AI-generated content, according to an August 2025 survey from PhotoShelter.
Search advertising is entering a new era where Amazon and other retail media players are reshaping how discovery and intent are monetized. Brands must revisit their “search mix.” Google may remain indispensable, but allocating more spend to retail media will future-proof campaigns against cookie loss and capitalize on where shopping intent now begins.
The New York Times is adding a Watch tab to its app Wednesday in an effort to boost engagement and usher in more advertising business. The tab will feature a mix of short-form, swipeable, vertical video content, per Adweek. In early 2026, the publisher plans to open video ad placements within the tab to brands through a beta program, per Axios. As publishers introduce vertical video ad inventory, marketers should rethink their media mix to include premium placements that mirror the engagement of social video—while considering how those ads may appear alongside hard news or opinion content.