Even as advertisers shift budgets to creators, consumers are more distrusting of influencer marketing than other advertising, per a National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs report. Authenticity is the differentiating factor that will earn consumer trust even as audiences remain skeptical of influencers.
Junior ad jobs are gradually disappearing as the industry faces upheaval. While overall ad jobs ticked up slightly earlier this year, employment is still trending downward—and younger workers are taking the brunt. Without a pipeline of entry-level talent, agencies risk eroding their long-term relevance.
Google is rolling out new ad tools for AI Overviews targeting retailers in a bid to curb concerns about AI responses’ impact on referral traffic and clickthrough rates (CTRs), per a blog post. Giving retailers more opportunities to show up prominently in AI results could curb worries about AI Overviews cannibalizing CTRs and traffic, but brands still need to adapt to the rise of AI responses to remain competitive.
AI is fundamentally changing how pharma and healthcare marketers can reach consumers. As top companies like Novo Nordisk and Genentech highlighted at CMI Media Groups “Hype to Hope to Health” conference, the focus is shifting from simply getting clicks to driving actual conversions. To succeed, marketers must embrace AI tools for smarter customer targeting and ensure content is original and well-structured. With organic search traffic declining, it's crucial to also invest in new channels like connected TV (CTV), which allows for personalized, data-driven messaging to an aging audience that is rapidly adopting streaming services.
Roku wants to transform TV advertising with generative AI (genAI). Instead of cycling the same few commercials, the company is opening its platform to hundreds of thousands of advertisers—mirroring the endless churn of ads on social feeds. It's betting that genAI can keep its ad ecosystem fresh and accessible. Marketers should experiment with fast, inexpensive video iterations. Focus on quick turnarounds, tight targeting, and scroll-stopping creativity. The objective is to separate winners from background noise.
Cracker Barrel and Jaguar faced fierce backlash over recent rebrands, including criticism from Donald Trump, but their responses diverged sharply. Cracker Barrel scrapped its new logo, ended DEI initiatives, and restored traditional elements after customers accused it of abandoning its heritage. Jaguar, however, doubled down, unveiling a bold redesign and luxury EV despite Trump’s attacks, signaling a pivot toward younger, wealthier buyers. The contrast underscores how brand reinventions can either alienate loyalists or attract new audiences, with success hinging on timing, cultural awareness, and a clear long-term strategy.
Translation tools are collapsing language barriers in video. YouTube rolled out multi-language audio to all creators this week, enabling English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish translations. Meta added auto-dubbing for Instagram and Facebook Reels in August. Language is the next frontier in the fight for attention. For marketers, the risk isn’t bad dubbing—it’s ignoring the opportunity. Brands that limit content to one language risk ceding global watch time and ad revenues to competitors willing to meet audiences in their own tongue.
In today’s digital era, a bank’s internal culture is public-facing. Employee experiences quickly surface through reviews and social media, directly shaping customer trust and brand perception, per The Financial Brand. A stressed, disconnected, or toxic bank culture can undermine any marketing strategy, even if it’s creative and targeted at the right customers. Assessing and addressing culture issues should be a key step of looking holistically at customer acquisition and retention strategies. Anonymous employee polls can help banks identify potential risks to customer relationships.
Consumer prices in August rose at a faster pace than in July, while a weak jobs report showed rising unemployment, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This unsavory combination points to the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates at its September meeting next week. For customers, this is a double-edged sword. On one hand, a rate cut could make borrowing more affordable, potentially lowering the cost of mortgages, auto loans, and credit card debt. This could be a much-needed reprieve for households facing rising prices for everyday goods. On the other hand, savers would lower the interest they earn on savings accounts and certificates of deposit, and banks trying to offer the most competitive rates will be risking higher deposit costs. While lower rates might spur some demand for new loans, the primary impact will be a squeeze on banks’ profitability.
TikTok shared new data to highlight the potential of its search ads for driving action. TikTok showed that activations with dedicated search campaigns led to 2 times higher purchase lift overall, while enterprise advertisers saw 2.2 times higher purchase lift and higher incremental return on ad spend (ROAS). TikTok’s success with search ads is promising, but advertisers ultimately need answers about the platform’s longevity in its core market. Questions about data security, content moderation, and political pressures are still casting a shadow.
Open banking and its uncertain future in the US dominated discussions across FinovateFall’s 2025 agenda. Financial institutions (FIs) that already offer open banking capabilities—and those finding new ways to use open banking—will have a competitive advantage over those waiting for more clarity. It’s important to remember who owns the data in question—the customers. And the ultimate question FIs should be asking themselves is: How can they leverage that data to provide the best experience possible for their customers? While it’s unlikely that next steps will include fee-less transfer of this data, FIs must consider how their next steps into open banking can set them apart from the competition. For now, the most obvious step is letting customers manage which parties can access their data.
Connected TV (CTV) is nearing a third of overall TV ad spending as audiences shift attention to streaming platforms, per Madison and Wall. Linear TV still accounts for around two-thirds of overall US TV ad spending, but CTV increased its share by three percentage points YoY (excluding political ads). The path forward for advertisers depends on balance, not an either-or approach. Audience attention will continue shifting to CTV, making it a critical touchpoint—but with ad reach still low on streaming, linear will remain relevant.
OpenAI struck a landmark $300 billion deal with Oracle to build AI data centers across the US, cementing Oracle as a critical partner in the race to scale artificial intelligence. The agreement, part of Project Stargate, covers more than half of the computing infrastructure OpenAI says it will need over the next five years, per The New York Times. AI’s future rests on who can actually deliver compute at scale. Marketers should diversify cloud and AI partners, experiment early, and prepare to shift strategies quickly as winners and losers emerge in this infrastructure race.
In this podcast episode, we discuss retailers’ priorities this holiday period, how they can stand out from the crowd, and how to balance sharp pricing with creating an emotional connection that lasts beyond the season. Listen to the discussion with Vice President of Content and guest host, Suzy Davidkhanian, Principal Analyst, Sky Canaves, and Senior Analyst, Zak Stambor.
What CMOs say they expect to gain from AI: Efficiency and cost savings top the list of perks the industry hopes to gain from the disruptive tech.
US ad revenues grew 10.3% in Q2, excluding political advertising, continuing a trend of steady gains in 2025 despite tariff headwinds, per Madison & Wall. Digital advertising overall grew 15.8% and represented about a 70% share of ad spending. Ad growth is maintaining momentum, but the slowdown from 2024 indicates that advertisers are already becoming more cautious as tariffs and a recession could lead to a demand shock that affects advertising strategies.
Google and commerce media company Criteo announced an onsite retail media integration on Tuesday, marking the first of its kind for Google and opening opportunities for brands across digital commerce. Criteo and Google’s integration provides clear direction for advertisers struggling to capitalize on retail media’s potential, offering a seamless ecosystem that will connect brands with customers likely to take action.
AI platforms are no longer a side note in discovery—they’re driving measurable web traffic. Previsible’s 2025 AI Traffic Report shows that sessions driven by large language models (LLMs) surged 527% in just five months, per Search Engine Land. AI’s rise is reshaping how users find brands and information as web traffic declines, demanding an immediate strategic response from marketers. Those who adapt now—by tracking AI sessions, restructuring content for conversational interfaces, and optimizing across multiple models—will own the next wave of discovery. Those who don’t risk watching competitors capture visibility while their own content fades from discovery altogether.
“We have a rule at Liquid Death that if you expect us to do it, we should not do it,” said the brand's chief media officer Benoit Vatere at EMARKETER’s Future of Digital Summit yesterday. Vatere outlined the brand’s paid social challenges, why it’s doubling down on connected TV (CTV), and how it plans to build standout creative as it expands into the crowded energy drink space. Here are a few takeaways from the session.