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 MoreEarned media is no longer simply about awareness. It is becoming one of the most important ways organizations establish credibility, influence discovery, and earn consideration before a buyer ever reaches out.
Increasingly, the conversation is shifting toward outcomes, optimization, and business impact. That shift requires a different type of infrastructure—one capable of connecting exposure, creative, and performance in a consistent and transparent manner.
If you spent the past year reading LinkedIn, you might have expected Cannes Lions 2026 to feel like one giant AI conference with a few advertising awards squeezed in between.
The audience never disappeared. What disappeared was the assumption that attention, by itself, would be enough to sustain an industry. The organizations that emerge strongest from the current period will be the ones that recognize that distinction and build accordingly.
The organizations that succeed in this environment will be those willing to rethink some of digital marketing’s oldest assumptions.
The real significance of GTA 6 isn’t that it will be the biggest game launch in history. It’s that it may finally force marketers to confront a question the industry has avoided for years.
