Creative quality is the top reason North American marketers pass on a new agency, cited by 55% of respondents, nearly 7 points ahead of category experience (48%), according to a December survey from RSW/US.

In this podcast episode, we discuss rebrands: how much consumers notice them, how important of an ingredient nostalgia is, and how to successfully execute one. Listen to the discussion with Vice President of Content and guest host, Suzy Davidkhanian, Senior Analyst, Zak Stambor, and Analyst, Rachel Wolff.

Connected TV has become a full-funnel channel, but creative can feel like the biggest hurdle. Repurposing existing assets is often all it takes to get started.

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.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how Americans view GenAI-made media, if the “AI concern gap” between AI experts and the general public will widen, and why some of GenAI’s negativity might not apply to ads. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson and Senior Analyst, Max Willens. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

YouTube’s strength is that it’s many things to many people. But that also makes it harder for marketers to reach audiences on the platform. This report outlines YouTube’s challenges and explains how marketers can make the most of the YouTube opportunity.

“There are lots of shiny new pennies in marketing, so it's very easy to get distracted,” said Nicklaus Hasselberg, VP of growth marketing and ecommerce at Every Man Jack, at The Lead Summit in New York City last week. “It’s about ‘What do we reasonably believe will have the biggest impact on our business?' And let’s do it as well as we can."

This week, in-person events bring consumers closer to brands, agencies face creative challenges, and TikTok’s troubles highlight Pinterest’s potential.

This week, marketers look beyond Google Search to YouTube, ChatGPT, and Amazon, while dealing with an influx of consumer data. Meanwhile, women’s sports are on the rise as advertisers invest more in leagues, teams, and athletes.

While retail media networks (RMNs) sell brand safety and predictability to marketers, influencer marketing boasts direct access to loyal audiences. Pairing these two channels together, experts stress, can drive significant growth for brands. Nine in 10 US marketers plan to promote their creator partnerships via RMNs in 2025, according to an October 2024 LTK survey.

On today’s special edition podcast, we talk about how brands are rising to the challenge of finding the right influencers and creators for campaigns. Listen to the discussion with Senior Analyst, Minda Smiley, as she hosts N’Yaisha Aziz, Global Social Media Lead at Uber, and Rodney Mason, the Head of Marketing and Brand Partnerships at LTK. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

As marketers integrate generative AI (genAI) into their creative workflows, they must ensure the technology enhances, rather than replaces, creativity. Creatives must be active in AI policy development, maintain transparency of AI use, and be thoughtful about the way they use genAI. Brands that balance AI efficiency with human insight will stand out.

2025 will be the year of “true co-branded storytelling” for retail media creative formats, according to Brian Monahan, global client president, head of retail media solutions at Dentsu.

With Super Bowl ads costing around a whopping $7 million for a 30-second spot this year, viewers can expect some memorable commercials while watching the Chiefs and the Eagles face-off.

This year's Sundance Film Festival featured Creator Day, a full day of programming dedicated to the creator economy and innovations in branded content. The unique event, crafted by Sundance's BrandStorytelling and sponsored by YouTube, aimed to highlight the creator industry’s development beyond sales-driven social posts into long-term brand partnerships.

Edelman wants to rely less on top-funnel brands: Layoffs show the company attempting to diversify revenues and meet demand for marketing services.

Coca-Cola’s full throated embrace of generative AI: The company launched a series of holiday ads made with AI that could inspire others to follow suit.