The holiday season is a high-traffic time for quick-service restaurants (QSRs). For QSR marketers, adjusting ad strategies to focus closely on optimization and real-time measurement is crucial in order to capitalize on the lucrative, but brief holiday period.

The vast majority (96%) of Pinterest searches are unbranded, said Brittan Bushman, Pinterst’s director of strategy, during a session at Advertising Week New York 2023. This means that consumers turn to Pinterest to learn what kinds of products are out there, unlike traditional search engines like Google, where they go to refine their search for something they already know exists.

Investments in generative AI have had favorable results, with two-thirds of marketers reporting a positive ROI—43% said they received a twofold ROI and 22% received threefold ROI, per a May 2023 survey by Botco.ai. Here’s a breakdown of how generative AI can help brands and retailers connect with customers throughout their buying journeys.

On today's episode, we discuss why some folks think digital ads are getting worse, whether things are looking up for Uber, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance challenging Meta on VR, why Warner Bros. Discovery will continue Discovery+, the Grammys rebounding from the pandemic's effect on viewership, the surprising most littered plastic item in the US, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our vice president of Briefings Stephanie Taglianetti and analysts Suzy Davidkhanian and Max Willens.

We expect 2023 to usher in changes in ad spending, audience, and commerce that will create a new crop of digital leaders.

Google has added new features for merchants just in time for the holiday season.

Consumers are growing frustrated with ineffective digital ads: A new survey shows that the ad industry’s lack of a proper targeting solution is alienating consumers.

On today's episode, we discuss the next normal for retailers, digital ads in refrigerated aisles, what the point of the Oscars is, the potential NFL+ streaming service, regulators coming for the app stores, what makes American cars unique, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Blake Droesch and Dave Frankland and director of reports editing Rahul Chadha.

In part two, our analysts Paul Verna and Andrew Lipsman discuss how well-positioned Silicon Valley giants Meta and Google and their Seattle counterparts Amazon and Microsoft are for top-gaining segments of digital advertising—gaming, digital audio, and in-store digital media. They also explore other companies positioning themselves for the post-cookie era of digital ads, and ultimately answer the question: Is Seattle—not Silicon Valley—the future of digital advertising?

On this special edition of the show, we're taking a look back at some of the most notable conversations we've had this year. In this episode, we discuss what the media world will look like by 2030 concerning digital ads, shopping, banks, pay TV, digital video, and esports.

On today's episode, we discuss whether Facebook has reached a turning point, how people now feel about digital ads, if the world is ready for eSports endorsers or finance influencers (aka finfluencers), the pandemic pet boom, what we keep learning about customers' needs, how to make sure you treat in-office and remote workers fairly, a town with free alcohol, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer analysts Nina Goetzen and Blake Droesch, and senior analyst at Insider Intelligence Jasmine Enberg.

Digital political ad spending broke records in the 2020 election cycle. Grace Briscoe, senior vice president of candidates and causes at programmatic media firm Centro, joins eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Nicole Perrin to discuss what, when, and where political advertisers bought digital ads last year, how much attention they paid to connected TV (CTV), and why they love digital video ads so much.

eMarketer principal analyst Nicole Perrin and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Eric Haggstrom discuss Google's Q4 performance and what's driving it forward. They then talk about YouTube's shift to connected TVs, whether Americans are becoming less tolerant of digital ads, and what to make of the UK watchdog's investigation into Google replacing cookies.

eMarketer principal analyst Nicole Perrin and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Eric Haggstrom discuss the current pressures that digital advertising faces and how it will affect the major players. They then talk about what comes after coronavirus ads, "buy one, gift one" marketing and how much customer data is worth.

More people than ever in the US are spending time with digital audio, leading to growing advertising opportunities. To properly communicate with audiences, advertisers should make sure the right creatives are used with the right audio formats. Otherwise, they run the risk of annoying or alienating their audiences.

This year, US advertisers will spend two-thirds of their digital budgets on mobile placements. Mobile ad spending has taken the majority of digital spending every year since 2015, and both search and display spending skew heavily mobile. But, even though it falls under the display umbrella, video is the only digital ad format where more ad dollars are still spent outside mobile channels.

This year will be the first time that digital ad spending will account for more than 50% of the total US ad market. The majority of digital ad investments will still go to Google and Facebook, but Amazon is gaining ground.

For KFC, acknowledging the distracting nature of digital ads and making the experience more enjoyable is key. "That may manifest itself in an 8-hour interactive live stream of a room full of kittens playing with a Colonel-shaped cat climber," said Steve Kelly, director of media and digital at the fast-food chain.