Dick's Sporting Goods is using interactive sports experiences in its stores to build better opportunities for advertisers on its retail media network. “We’re seeing what we’re doing [with] in-store advertising as an extension of what we’re doing with our retail environment holistically,” said Dick's Sporting Goods vice president of retail media David Young, at a recent retail media session hosted by DPAA.
Marketing professionals see AI leading to several shifts in consumer behavior that will greatly impact the fundamentals of digital advertising in the next 2 to 3 years, per a Funnel and Ravn Research study of in-house marketers and agency professionals. As AI reshapes digital and search advertising, the brands that thrive will be those who seize the opportunities presented by AI-driven changes.
Samsung is showcasing its Z TriFold foldable just as chatter intensifies around Apple’s first foldable, expected in 2026, per The Verge. The TriFold unfolds into a 10-inch display—essentially a tablet that folds down into a phone—clearly aimed at productivity, multitasking, and Samsung’s vision of pocketable computing. Brands should prepare for content to stretch across larger, flexible canvases. Build adaptable layouts, vertical-first creative, and productivity-friendly experiences that respond to multi-window use. Those who design for these hybrid screens will gain an early advantage in a premium, high-engagement segment.
Out-of-home (OOH) ad revenues reached an all-time Q3 high, according to the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA). OOH ad revenues grew 4.5% YoY in Q3, reaching $2.13 billion—the 18th consecutive quarter of growth reported by OAAA. Sustaining investment in OOH will remain critical because the format offers reach unmatched by other channels by leveraging high-traffic locations and providing unavoidable exposure.
Costco has filed suit against the Trump administration to secure the right to a full refund of the IEEPA tariffs it paid this year, tying its claim to a pending Supreme Court ruling on whether Trump had authority to impose the duties. The company also seeks to pause tariff collection as the case unfolds, citing a December 15 liquidation deadline that could make the payments unrecoverable. With businesses stuck in prolonged uncertainty and others filing similar protective suits, Costco is taking a pragmatic, defensive step to shield itself from a costly legal limbo.
This year’s standout merch campaigns show why branded products are having a moment, not as giveaways, but as attention engines. From pop culture sparks to sustainability and event-driven personalization, the examples demonstrate what makes merch work when digital noise is at its loudest.
A leaked memo from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed his “code red” orders to staff to prioritize ChatGPT improvements in the face of mounting competition. OpenAI is fast-tracking GPT-5.1 upgrades at the cost of new initiatives, including an advertising platform, its AI wearable, and an AI shopping agent. Its rush to refocus on model quality could improve user interactions and boost engagement while building loyalty. Brands should follow developments from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and others to track consumer preferences on AI use to optimize content for specific markets.
A group of Swedish publishers is suing Meta over scam ads on Facebook. The publishing group, Utgivarna, accused Meta of fraud, complicity in fraud, and preparation for fraud due to Facebook ads that impersonate Swedish journalists and media brands. In addition, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are investigating Meta’s role in financial scams. We’re likely to see more lawsuits from other publishers who are seeking to protect their brand, name, and ability to earn trust from new consumers.
Most age groups show negative sentiment as the dominant response to personalized ads, with negativity ranging from 36% to 58%, according to an August 2025 survey from Verve and Censuswide.
Creator partnerships are increasingly a necessity for driving strong marketing results, according to a TikTok report on influencer-led campaigns. Even as influencer marketing proves its value, consumers are becoming more inundated with influencer ads. This makes it paramount that advertisers tailor their strategies for the best results as the influencer marketing space becomes highly saturated.
Generative AI tools increasingly rely on community-driven platforms—Reddit, YouTube, Wikipedia, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and more—as primary sources that feed directly into consumer-facing answers. Because AI does not distinguish between search content, social chatter, reviews, creator posts, or earned media, brand visibility now depends on cross-team coordination rather than siloed optimization. Upstream conversations matter: if forums, reviews, or public commentary lack clarity or depth, AI responses will mirror those gaps. And because users often begin with general queries—not shopping-specific ones—early influence happens long before product discovery. To stay visible, brands must unify search, social, PR, and content workflows.
Alphabet shares hit an all-time high last week—up about 70% this year and nearing a $4 trillion valuation—after investor enthusiasm surged around its new Gemini 3 model, per CNBC. Google’s parallel push on AI models and custom hardware may pay off faster than expected. Its scale and consumer reach give Google a rare advantage anchored on rapid deployment, lower inference costs, and a massive user base already positioned to adopt whatever Google ships next through services they use every day.
The fastest-growing B2B organizations share one defining trait—their marketing, sales, and customer success teams operate as one coordinated system, not three departments, per a new study from Trilliad. The payoff is hard to ignore. Companies with high coordination are twice as likely to anticipate revenue growth above 10%. Integrated teams outperform. Integrated tech multiplies team impact. Integrated data turns AI from a pilot project into a growth engine. The path forward is clear—connection is the strongest competitive advantage a B2B organization can build.
In a special Thanksgiving-themed episode of “Behind the Numbers,” we ranked the retail and brand initiatives we’re thankful for this season, from viral merchandise to purpose-driven campaigns. "We're looking at those strategies, launches, and collabs that we're genuinely grateful for, the moves that made us smile, surprised us, or gave us hope for where retail is headed," said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian.
From Q1 to Q2 2025, search share of voice (SOV) declined steeply for some banking sites. For example, Wells Fargo fell from 3.83% to 1.21% and NerdWallet from 3.66% to 1.68%. At the same time, StudentAid.gov entered the top five and ConsumerFinance.gov entered the top 10. Since FIs can’t control events that drive people’s need for information, they should be prepared to offer education and advice tailored to their customers’ needs and anticipate other resources to which they should direct customers. If an FI is only a place to buy and administer financial products and services, it can’t be positioned as a trusted advisor.
Omnicom officially owns IPG after completing its long-discussed acquisition last week—and the new company is already implementing a massive wave of changes. Advertisers should prepare for an agency landscape where AI-driven capabilities become the norm and where consolidated services become a competitive differentiator.
An OpenAI leak indicates that ads are coming to ChatGPT in the near future, according to computer engineer Tibor Blaho. Advertisers should anticipate a future where ads become a core part of the ChatGPT experience and act quickly to test and learn before competitors, but should remain agile in their strategies and remain informed about developments in consumer behavior.
US startups are rapidly adopting Chinese open-weight AI models to cut costs, ship features faster, and keep data on-device—putting pressure on closed, pay-per-user systems from OpenAI and Google, per NBC News. Free, customizable models lower the barrier for early-stage builders, letting brands and teams experiment with AI tools at a fraction of traditional subscription costs. The next wave of AI-development will come from teams mixing closed systems with fast, inexpensive open models—many of them from China. This hybrid approach lets marketers test ideas quickly, tailor models to their data, and drive down cost per interaction.
Accenture announced it will roll out ChatGPT Enterprise to tens of thousands of employees for internal workflows and client-facing products, per Reuters. The move follows Deloitte adopting a similar expansion—deploying Anthropic’s Claude to more than 470,000 employees across 150 countries. With big consultancies adopting the same AI agent playbook, the risk of AI-driven sameness grows. Companies seeking stricter compliance and tighter risk management might benefit from Accenture’s and Deloitte’s agentic offerings, even as a starting point toward longer-term, more independent agentic adoption.
The share of time spent with streaming continues to eat away at time spent with linear, per Samba’s Q4 2025 State of Streaming report. 60.7% of time spent with TV in August was with streaming platforms. Omnichannel strategies that incorporate both traditional and digital media will offer the best results in a highly fragmented market.