New consumer research reveals a growing divide between AI-powered discovery and purchasing decisions, suggesting that brand recognition may become even more valuable as algorithms reshape how people shop.
Read MoreCreator marketing has become a permanent fixture in brand strategy, but the industry is still treating campaigns as temporary investments. The real value may come from what happens after the campaign ends.
The holiday shopping season is shaping up to be bigger, more competitive and more complicated than ever. Consumers are spending, but they’re also scrutinizing every purchase. Here’s what marketers need to understand before the year’s biggest shopping event.
As AI reshapes how consumers find and evaluate products, marketers are racing to improve visibility in AI-generated recommendations. But the real competitive advantage may have less to do with search optimization and more to do with the people willing to recommend a brand. For years, brands have invested heavily in…
Consumers are discovering apps through personal recommendations, questioning subscription value, and approaching AI-driven discovery with skepticism. For marketers, the next phase of app growth will depend less on acquiring downloads and more on earning a permanent place in people’s lives.
As financial anxiety reshapes holiday shopping behavior, marketers face a fundamental challenge: generating demand is no longer enough when consumers are increasingly uncertain about their ability to spend.
NordVPN’s new partnership with the Los Angeles Lakers is the latest example of a growing relationship between technology brands and professional sports.
As AI agents take control of product discovery, comparison and purchasing, marketers face a fundamental challenge to how brands create value. The real threat isn’t that consumers will stop caring about brands, but that brands may lose the opportunity to influence the decisions consumers increasingly delegate to machines.
Read MoreConsumers haven’t stopped spending, despite years of inflation and economic uncertainty. They’ve simply become far more selective about what deserves their money, leaving brands stuck in the middle with fewer places to hide.
Marketers have spent years stitching together disconnected platforms, reports, and workflows. AI isn’t just making those processes faster. It’s exposing that the entire operating model was overdue for replacement.
As AI search reshapes how people discover products, YouTube has quietly become one of its most trusted sources. Brands still treating the platform as a place to upload commercials are missing the much bigger opportunity.
Media buying is becoming increasingly automated, standardized, and scalable. That means the agencies creating the most value won’t be the ones that place campaigns more efficiently. They’ll be the ones that help clients defend every marketing dollar they spend.
The next competitive advantage in marketing won’t come from creating more content faster. It will come from learning what works before the budget is spent, transforming marketing from a function that reacts to outcomes into one that anticipates them.
The story isn’t that Americans have become frugal. It’s that they’ve become ruthless about deciding what deserves their money, leaving brands caught in the middle with fewer places to hide.
