Uber is expanding premium storytelling through Journey Takeovers, which turn entire rides into narrative canvases—and delivering unusually long, high-quality attention.

Listening patterns from 2025 show how audio fits into everyday moments differently across markets, from commutes to cooking to winding down at night. Spotify’s Wrapped for Advertisers pulls those signals into a clearer picture for 2026 advertising decisions.

The EU’s regulatory environment will hinder investment in AI-generated ads and agentic commerce in 2026. But TikTok Shop’s expansion will be a catalyst for live commerce.

Lloyds Banking Group will acquire Curve, a London-based digital wallet. Acquiring Curve is a valuable first step toward embracing digital wallet payments solutions. However, Lloyds faces a challenge of incentivizing its users to choose Curve over competitors like PayPal and Klarna, which have established rewards systems. Embedding features and perks into Curve could help create a flywheel effect to trap more volume within its ecosystem.

As Primark celebrates its 10-year anniversary in the US, the European retail giant navigates the challenges of building brand awareness in a competitive American market while staying true to its core value proposition that made it a cultural institution in the UK and Ireland.

In this podcast episode, we discuss how Primark’s US and UK customers see the brand differently, what’s kept the retailer relevant as price pressures have intensified competition, and why its famously store-first strategy is working so well. Listen to the discussion with Vice President of Content and guest host, Suzy Davidkhanian, Senior Analyst, Carina Perkins, and Head of US Marketing for Primark, Rene Federico.

TikTok’s 2024 revenues in the UK, Europe, and Latin America surged 38% to $6.3 billion, more than doubling 2022 levels, per filings cited by Forbes. The growth underscores TikTok’s strength outside the US, where a divest-or-ban standoff continues. Yet regulatory scrutiny in Europe looms large, with over $1 billion reserved for fines, ongoing probes across multiple countries, and potential penalties under the EU’s Digital Services Act. TikTok’s UK penetration tops 32%, with ad revenues projected to triple by 2027. Still, layoffs in trust and safety roles and a pivot to AI moderation could test regulators and user trust.

TikTok is laying off hundreds of UK staff as it shifts moderation to AI, with more than 85% of takedowns now automated. The cuts, part of a global restructuring, come as the UK’s Online Safety Act pressures platforms to strengthen oversight. Industry peers are also pivoting—Meta and X have scaled back fact-checking while Reddit, Pinterest, and Snapchat adopt varying models of control. Yet user sentiment runs counter: Most want more human oversight, not less, with strong demand for fact-checkers, privacy, and quality control. The divergence raises brand-safety questions as advertisers weigh cost efficiencies against consumer trust.

The news: The NFL may dominate sports viewership, but brands are also tuning into sports with smaller, but highly engaged, audiences. A Harris Poll report found that 70% of soccer fans are more excited for the World Cup because it will be hosted in North America. Beyond soccer, women’s sports is gaining momentum as a critical ad opportunity. WNBA team deals have increased 52% in two years, per SponsorUnited. Our take: Advertisers looking to reach tuned-in audiences at a lower cost of entry should view sports advertising opportunities like soccer and women’s sports as critical investments, not a last resort.

The trend: Gen Z is turning to social media for job and career guidance in the UK, but typical pharma company content isn’t engaging them. The takeaway: Pharma and biotech companies need to embrace social media as serious recruiting channels to connect with Gen Z, and create unpolished, everyday snapshot-type videos with real employees. Social teams should track video trends on TikTok like “day in the life” or “put a finger down” and enlist employees to replicate them.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a fast-growing and lucrative ecommerce market. To tap into growth in the country, retailers and brands need to understand what motivates consumers.

In our exclusive survey with ESW, data from shoppers in 18 countries reveals new twists in the path to purchase, the rising momentum of marketplaces, and the resilience of age-old fundamentals.

This will leave a gap that its competitors can now fill, but they’ll first need to win over its customers.

A series of major milestones are on tap for total media and digital media ad spending around the world in 2025, although growth will be uneven across countries and regions.

Wayfair pivots from Germany to focus on physical retail: The country’s challenging economic climate is one reason the retailer is reallocating resources to areas with better long-term potential.

Regulation will disrupt some digital players, while retail media and genAI adoption will create opportunities across advertising and commerce.

OTT video is popular whether it’s free or paid. Every global region and country we track is engaged with these platforms, some very deeply. But new viewers will be hard to find.

Social commerce is gaining momentum in the UK—with sales set to double by 2028—as major brands join TikTok and as more people shop on social platforms.

As open banking nears, financial institutions should be thinking about its impact on customers who likely bank elsewhere, too.