74% of US adults support federal rules that would prevent the collection of personal data on children, making it the top-ranked proposed regulation for children's social media use, according to a December report from CivicScience.
Social commerce has moved beyond a trend or an experiment and become a real part of how people are shopping today. “What started as discovery and inspiration has now become shoppable, immediate, and increasingly transactional, often in a single sitting,” said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian on a recent episode of “Behind the Numbers.”
On Jan. 25, Netflix livestreamed climber Alex Honnold scaling Taipei 101, one of the world's tallest buildings, without ropes or safety gear. The event brought in over 6 million viewers, and continued the streaming giant's investment into live, tentpole events that could change how marketers approach streaming campaigns.
Discord is joining YouTube and TikTok in implementing stricter age verification processes, squeezing marketer access to young users.
Internal docs clash with trial defense, raising risks for youth targeting and “time spent” metrics.
From drafts to tunable feeds, platforms are using small updates to boost engagement and meet user expectations.
Instagram is reportedly expanding Meta's ecosystem with Instants, a Snapchat-style app that would add inventory and reach, reinforcing Meta’s ad dominance.
Reddit is entering its yield phase; new leadership hires and AI tools aim to convert strong engagement into scalable, higher-value ad revenues.
More than half (54%) of TikTok users ages 25-44 have gathered more information about a company or product after hearing about it on the platform, according to a December report from Edison Research.
Meta spent heavily on unskippable TV to sell teen safety, treating paid media as reputation risk management.
Over 30% of 2025 NFL views came in the offseason, proving digital sports content lives on far beyond game day.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the three big questions surrounding Meta right now: Is 2026 Meta’s ‘Big Tobacco’ moment? How big of a problem is Meta's AI spending spree? What's the vision for its AI agent? And more. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Senior Analyst Minda Smiley and Principal Analyst Max Willens. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
Fan remixes are turning into an attention engine, and brands that design for reinterpretation stand to win.
Algorithms now shape most ad spend: Decisioning is expanding beyond targeting, increasing scale while adding opacity across planning, execution, and measurement.
YouTube now outpaces Reddit in AI citations as models prioritize transcripts, metadata, and explanatory formats over engagement signals.
"The Super Bowl has grown from a football game into one of the biggest cultural moments for brands," said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian in a recent episode of “Behind the Numbers.” The Super Bowl maintains its advertising relevance in an increasingly fragmented media landscape because it delivers something increasingly rare: A massive, diverse audience engaged in a shared cultural moment.
Search users are up 30% YoY, validating its shift to AI answers and setting the stage for new ad and data revenues.