E.l.f. SKIN is blending product marketing and comedy with “Sunhinged,” a comedy special that doubles as a PSA for sun protection.
68% of US LGBTQ+ adults say all or most companies participate in Pride Month to boost business, while just 16% believe it’s driven by genuine support, per a January survey from Pew Research Center.
Cannes Lions, an annual opportunity for advertisers to score accolades for their creativity, is refining its agenda to acknowledge how that work drives business.
The news: Google blamed a faulty, untested policy update—not overloaded infrastructure—for triggering a Google Cloud outage that took down Gmail, Cloudflare, Shopify, and many others. It admitted to skipping standard risk safeguards, per CNBC. Our take: The next outage is a matter of when, not if—and the time to prepare is now. CMOs should pressure vendors for transparency, diversify martech stacks to reduce dependency, and ensure business continuity plans cover cloud failures and system disruptions.
Programmatic ad buying is undergoing a sea change: Microsoft’s DSP closure signals a smaller role for Big Tech in managing third-party ad inventory—so who will take its place?
Community threads—not search bars—are where product discovery now begins, challenging marketers to join the conversation. CVS Media Exchange and Reddit are bridging data and dialogue to turn real-time discussions into measurable sales wins.
H-E-B is expanding its retail media footprint with the launch of a new self-service advertising platform, developed in partnership with Epsilon.
A new poll finds consumers in the US and UK are almost evenly split—Gen Z is upbeat, Gen X is gloomy—amid a cost-of-living crunch and rapid tech gains. The results remind brand marketers that price, value, and purpose now collide at every purchase decision.
The news: Adobe aims to help brands and publishers improve content placement in AI browsers, search tools, and chatbots with its new suite of AI tools—LLM Optimizer. What it does: LLM Optimizer tracks which content and offerings—such as website details, products, or articles—are being shown in AI interfaces and where they’re appearing. Our take: Adobe’s new tools, especially outcome metrics and actionable recommendations, can help marketers and brands craft tailored SEO for each platform—browsers, AI Overviews, and chatbots—and surface data-driven solutions to help improve their AI search presence.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss whether advertisers can still create powerful brand narratives in such a fragmented media universe, the best piece of advice for advertisers trying to negotiate a minefield of tariff-related changes, and how AI will impact advertising and marketing over the next 12 months. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice President and Principal Analyst Jasmine Enberg, and Principal Analyst Sarah Marzano. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
As Google's search changes continue and consumers increasingly turn to alternative platforms, the SEO playbook defined by link building and keyword optimization is losing relevance.
The news: Novo Nordisk is partnering with AI drug discovery company Deep Apple Therapeutics to discover and develop new cardiometabolic drugs, including for obesity. The takeaway: Novo is not the biggest loser in the GLP-1 weight loss category, but it’s trailing Lilly in drug effectiveness, market value, and more importantly public perception. It’s critical for Novo to come up with new and better weight loss drugs—hence the deal with Deep Apple—but also polish its brand with consumers. A new CEO and new marketing direction could garner Novo some much-needed cachet.
Almost a third (32%) of US and UK game players actively ignore in-game ads, while the same number finds them helpful, according to May data from Attest.
20% of users who downloaded mobile apps with onboarding campaigns in Q2 2024 returned to the app the next day, compared to just 16% across all apps, according to data from Airship.
Screen-fatigued shoppers are rediscovering the thrill of real-world discovery by flipping through catalogs, queuing for pop-ups, and going on retail tourism. Josh Golden, CMO at Quad, shares how Gen Z and millennials are craving these encounters, “return on touch” as a measurable metric, and how blending physical and digital elements can lift loyalty and sales.
Over 80% of Gen Z want to unplug, according to new research from Quad and The Harris Poll, sparking demand for tactile brand moments like print catalogs, unboxing rituals, and pop-ups that feel more authentic than scrolling. Marketers who fuse these “return of touch” experiences with digital convenience can build deeper loyalty and lift sales.
The news: Starbucks is rolling out “Green Dot Assist,” a generative AI (genAI) assistant built with Microsoft Azure and OpenAI, to 35 locations this month. The tool, which is accessed through iPads, aims to streamline operations, reduce service times, and improve accuracy for baristas while reducing reliance on manuals or intranet searches. Our take: Competitors and the industry will be keeping an eye on how Starbucks integrates AI assistants at scale. This is a potential blueprint for using AI not just for automation, but to enhance human touchpoints while increasing efficiency—provided all the moving parts work together.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how to get folks to buy something they can’t go and see in a store, how D2Cs should be thinking about generative AI, and how one DTC is negotiating the tariff minefield. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Principal Analyst Sky Canaves and CEO and president of Eyebuydirect Sunny Jiang.
As advertisers navigate Google’s recent search changes that favor its emerging AI models, retail media strategies could offer them heightened visibility and control.
The trend: AI is no longer just a buzzword on the Croisette—it’s the centerpiece of Cannes Lions 2025, with executives demanding more than excitement. Amy Fenton of MarketCast and Grant Gudgel of Verve say this year’s focus is on how AI works in real life, not just on paper. Our take: Cannes 2025 is where AI must prove its value. From content creation to performance optimization, marketers are moving past experimentation and demanding results. Accountability, transparency, and real creative impact will be the true benchmarks. AI isn’t just in the spotlight—it’s being asked to deliver at scale, with substance.