New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is no longer about who sits in the front row—it’s about who shares the clips. N4XT Experiences has tapped Viral Nation as its exclusive social partner across NYFW, LA Fashion Week, and BEAUTYDAYS, enlisting 900 creators to capture and amplify content in real time. Influencer voices now account for nearly a quarter of NYFW’s media impact, showing how creators have become central to fashion’s cultural resonance. Viral Nation will manage NYFW’s entire digital presence, tracking social performance and ensuring fashion weeks function less as insider events and more as global cultural engines.

Meta is building on its WhatsApp messaging ad options, expanding opportunities for brands to show up in WhatsApp statuses after an initial introduction in June. Meta’s expansion of WhatsApp status ads creates a timely chance for brands to connect with consumers when they’re highly engaged, attentive, and seeking actionable solutions.

Penske Media, owner of Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Variety, has filed the first major US publisher lawsuit against Google over its AI Overviews feature. The company alleges Google’s summaries exploit journalism while diverting traffic that previously supported ad and affiliate revenues. Penske says affiliate earnings dropped by a third as AI Overviews appeared on 20% of searches. Google calls the suit “meritless,” but traffic declines reported by others suggest otherwise—placing AI Overviews at the center of a looming legal test for publisher survival.

Meta announced new ad options at its Brand Building Summit, focused on Reels and innovative ad formats for Threads, per a blog post. While Meta’s new ad offerings promise more sophisticated placements, they can’t fully offset uncertainty. Marketers could face a scenario where the platform they’re relying on today could operate under massively different constraints tomorrow.

The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards underscored streaming’s dominance in television, with HBO Max, Apple TV+, and Netflix sweeping major categories. Traditional TV was largely absent from the spotlight, with The Late Show among the few exceptions. The ceremony’s cross-platform broadcast—CBS, Paramount+, Showtime, Hulu—reflected shifting consumption habits, as Emmys remain culturally relevant even as streaming platforms cement their awards clout.

The Trump administration stated Monday that a TikTok sale deal has finally been reached with China after months of uncertainty, allowing TikTok to remain operational in the US. TikTok’s US operations may be safe for now, meaning brands can continue investing in the platform for its massive reach without immediate disruption—but caution is still warranted until details emerge on how its critical algorithm will be handled.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The digital ad market is shifting fast. In court, Google admitted the “open web is already in rapid decline,” contradicting its public claims, as AI Overviews erode publisher traffic. The Trade Desk’s stock plunged 12% after Netflix’s Amazon DSP deal, with Morgan Stanley citing CTV headwinds and higher fees. Meanwhile, Reddit is positioning itself as a publisher ally, rolling out Reddit Pro to help offset traffic losses from search. Together, these moves underscore a fractured open web ecosystem: Google under pressure, The Trade Desk undercut by Amazon, and Reddit stepping up as publishers seek new discovery sources.

Warner Bros. Discovery shares spiked more than 30% after reports that Paramount Skydance is preparing a majority-cash takeover bid backed by Larry and David Ellison. The deal would fold WBD’s studios, HBO, DC, and streaming business into Paramount Skydance’s assets, which already include CBS, Paramount Pictures, and Paramount+. A merger would unite some of the world’s most valuable IP, creating a rival to Disney and Netflix. Investors cheered the news, lifting both companies’ stocks, though regulators are expected to scrutinize the transaction. If approved, the deal could reshape Hollywood’s power structure amid linear TV’s decline and streaming’s consolidation race.

The news: Spotify will bring high-fidelity, “lossless” audio to premium subscribers over the next two months across 50 markets, putting an end to years of speculation that it might gate the feature behind a more expensive subscription tier. Our take: Lossless audio certainly won’t be a detractor for Spotify and could help make it an even stickier service with low churn—something the company already excels at. While it is unlikely to drive subscriptions and doesn’t address the company’s advertising pains, it doesn’t hurt to add features that will keep users from cancelling or drifting to competitors.

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.

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.

Advertisers are missing opportunities to capitalize on strong connected TV (CTV) engagement from diverse audiences, per LG Ad Solutions’ “The Inclusive Screen 2025” series. Targeting ads to diverse audiences stands to benefit brands by tapping into consumers who are likely to take action when they feel represented—but a tailored strategy over a one-size-fits-all approach is critical.

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.

Netflix and Amazon Ads have struck a global partnership to bring Netflix’s ad inventory to Amazon’s demand-side platform (DSP) across 12 markets, including the US, UK, France, Japan, and Brazil. The move expands Netflix’s programmatic footprint as it aims to nearly double US ad revenues this year and approach $3 billion globally by 2027. For Amazon, adding Netflix strengthens its DSP’s position; the deal underscores a shift toward centralized TV planning, where Amazon’s DSP increasingly serves as the central gateway for connected TV advertising.

YouTube’s NFL Brazil broadcast was a massive success, breaking livestream records in the country with over 17.3 million average-minute-audience (AMA) members, including more than one million non-US viewers. YouTube’s record-breaking NFL success proves that, for advertisers, the marketing playbook is moving to platforms where reach, relevance, and results converge.