The news: Due to confusing guidance from the federal government, medical associations and several states are creating their own vaccine recommendations for the public, per a Reuters report. Our take: Next, pharma brands and marketers—particularly vaccine makers—must preserve the integrity of their products by creating ad campaigns that directly address the safety concerns called out by RFK Jr. and his team.
Alphabet posted strong Q2 results, with Search ad revenue up 12% YoY and YouTube ad revenue climbing 13%. But analysts and advertisers are asking tougher questions as the company shifts toward AI-led formats like AI Overviews and Gemini. Google declined to provide clear data on ROI, clickthroughs, or user engagement, fueling concerns about monetization in a no-click world. Licensing costs for LLM training, brand safety, and competition from ChatGPT and Perplexity are all in focus. While YouTube continues to lead in streaming ad growth, the future of Google’s ad engine may hinge on transparency, AI accountability, and performance parity.
The news: NBCUniversal is exploring a dedicated sports cable network that would feature content—including NBA games—shown on its Peacock streaming service, per a Wall Street Journal report. Our take: Launching a dedicated sports cable channel could help NBCU open the door to new ad inventory and bolster its cable revenues as traditional TV faces mounting pressure from the streaming transition. Live sports continues to command strong advertiser demand, even as general linear viewership declines.The channel will enable NBCU to better monetize its existing sports rights by repackaging content for cable audiences who might be losing interest in traditional TV.
The news: The Nintendo Switch 2 shattered hardware sales records despite a $150 price hike over its predecessor and higher game and subscription prices. US sales hit 1.6 million units in June—the best console launch month ever—surpassing the PlayStation 4’s November 2013 record of 1.1 million. Our take: Nintendo’s end-to-end control over hardware, software, services, and first-party games sets it apart in a gaming industry chasing endless content and fragmented subscription models. By owning the full experience, Nintendo delivers consistency others can’t. To ride the wave, brands can partner with Nintendo for themed consoles, accessories or in-game downloads. Or, they could seek out third-party developers for subtle, story driven placements in games.
The news: Xfinity unveiled its StreamStore on Wednesday, raising the stakes in the connected TV (CTV) arms race by aggregating 450 apps and 200,000 titles with integrated billing. The one-stop interface turns Xfinity into a centralized gateway—less a cable provider, more a streaming superstore, per Variety. Our take: CTV consolidation will streamline ad strategies, surfacing opportunities to tap bundles like StreamSaver for targeted sponsorships, co-branded campaigns, and contextual placements. It will also engage viewers across multiple services while reducing subscription fatigue. Advertisers will likely scramble to secure premium placements and test integrated campaigns within StreamStore’s bundled ecosystem before competition intensifies.
LVMH’s sales fell more than expected in Q2 in yet another sign of trouble for the luxury industry. 2025 is shaping up to be another difficult year for the luxury industry—and not only because of tariffs. While the duties are certainly hitting consumer sentiment and buying power, limited innovation and a perceived lack of value are diminishing luxury’s appeal, even among shoppers who can afford it.
The news: Small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners are preparing for a recession—and marketing is first on the chopping block, per a report from Clarify Capital. 28% of SMB owners say cutting marketing or ad spending is the first action they’ll take in the event of a recession—higher than any other category. Our take: Preparing for a recession is a necessity for SMBs that will be hit the hardest, but for those that deem reduced marketing budgets as a core strategy, it’s critical to take an approach that will save costs without sacrificing reach.
The agency and marketing world is undergoing a strategic shift, with M&A activity surging in AI, experiential, and sports sectors. AI is no longer optional—firms like R/GA, Real Chemistry, and The Shipyard are acquiring to integrate automation, content generation, and efficiency into operations. Experiential marketing is also bouncing back, with global spending surpassing $128 billion and deals like BeCore and JetFuel reflecting renewed momentum. Meanwhile, sports marketing is booming, with Publicis and M&C Saatchi expanding to capture rising media rights value and digital viewership. Across sectors, the common thread is impact: marketers want scalable, measurable solutions that deliver real results.
The news: In the wake of Google’s impressive earnings report, YouTube is getting more creative AI tools on YouTube Shorts for both creators and advertisers. YouTube added an image-to-video generative AI (genAI) tool to Shorts, which can turn a photo into a 6-second video, powered by Google’s Veo 2. It also introduced AI-powered tools that resize ads to fit Shorts’ format. Our take: These new tools could help YouTube outpace rivals by combining TikTok-style virality with Google’s deep AI infrastructure. Instead of recycling or repurposing long-form assets, marketers should push more budget to testing Shorts-first content. A/B testing with Shorts’ new AI resizing tool and audience-specific, unique content for mobile and CTV can help determine which content can be converted with AI for both platforms and which needs to be remade and retargeted.
Q2 earnings revealed turbulence across the travel sector as American Airlines and Southwest reported lower net income and reduced their outlooks. With US airlines and hotels likely to face more headwinds amid uncertainty over tariffs and trade policy, companies need to adjust their strategies.
Almost half (49%) of worldwide marketers use AI daily for image and video generation, according to January data from Canva and Morning Consult.
In this podcast episode, we discuss Amazon’s yearly discount sales drive, Prime Day, and how it morphed into a 4-day shopping spree, the number of sales revealed on each day of shopping, how other retailers responded, and what should we expect when the holiday season approaches. Listen to the discussion with Analyst and guest host, Arielle Feger, Senior Analyst Zak Stambor, and Analyst Rachel Wolff.
The news: WPP’s CMO and CEO of its Coca-Cola agency, Laurent Ezekiel, will depart the company to join Publicis, adding to a string of high-profile losses for the struggling holding company. Our take: With Ezekiel’s and Read’s departures, WPP is at an inflection point as it struggles to reinvent itself and keep pace with competitors. The company faces mounting pressure as other holding companies develop stronger digital and data-driven capabilities. WPP’s future depends on how well its new CEO can close gaps in modernization, build its AI investments, and enact significant operational changes.
The news: Capital One’s net revenues increased 25% QoQ to $12.5 billion—one of the many dramatic changes after its merger with Discover.Our take: The scale of Capital One’s merger is eyewatering. As the issuer looking to maximize its yields, it can both offer more attractive credit and debit products within a regulatory environment that is friendly to ambitious growth.
The situation: With President Trump’s so-called “reciprocal” tariff deadline—pushed from July 9 to August 1—fast approaching, the White House has announced the outlines of trade agreements with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Japan. Our take: This new tariff regime is already dragging on growth—and the effects are likely to deepen. Before the Trump administration rolled out its trade agenda, we expected US retail sales this year to rise 2.9% YoY, a slight increase from the 2.8% growth last year. But given the current tariff regime, we now expect sales to increase just 1.5%, which would be a real sales decrease, since that’s below the rate of inflation. We’re not alone. Goldman Sachs sees a clear deceleration ahead, citing tariffs as a likely driver of both rising prices and weakened consumer spending. And while economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal trimmed the odds of a recession to 33%—down from 45% in April—it remains well above the 22% forecast in January. In this new normal, retailers and manufacturers should prepare for sustained margin pressure, increasingly cautious consumers, and slower growth.
The challenge: Hasbro and Mattel may be signaling muted confidence with upgraded full-year outlooks—Hasbro raised its guidance and Mattel reinstated its forecast after a pause in May—but both faced the same headwind: Retailers delayed holiday inventory builds and postponed shelf resets into Q3, which weighed on Q2 results. Our take: Weak Q2 orders could set up a rebound in the back half, but Hasbro and Mattel can’t depend on their legacy brands alone to drive growth. To protect margins in a volatile market—tariffs alone could cost Hasbro up to $180 million this year (although it expects the hit to be closer to $60 million)—both companies need to trim SKUs and focus on proven winners, diversify their sourcing to cut tariff risk, and fine-tune their pricing and promotional levers. Their success will ultimately depend on their ability to adapt to shifting operational pressures.
Tesla is officially in the restaurant business following the much-hyped opening of the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles. The futuristic concept could be the template for additional openings in the US as well as abroad, CEO Elon Musk said—helping the company boost brand awareness, engagement, and sales. The diner’s launch—and the accompanying wave of press and social media posts—could help reset consumers’ perceptions of the Tesla brand at a particularly tumultuous time for the company. But it could also, given the company’s increasingly polarized reputation, become a focal point for protests, which might deter would-be customers from stopping in.
Chipotle lowered its FY sales forecast after same-store sales fell more than expected in Q2, marking the second-straight quarter of declining traffic as wary consumers think twice about dining out. Chipotle’s Q2 struggles clearly show that consumers are becoming much pickier about where they choose to spend their money. The vast array of meal deals available in the QSR marketplace means Chipotle can no longer compete on value alone—making menu innovation and limited-time offerings even more necessary to drive traffic.
The news: Magnite and Dentsu are expanding their partnership in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region to streamline video and connected TV (CTV) capabilities, per a press release. The agreement will use Magnite’s SpringServe video platform across markets like the UK and Spain to support Dentsu’s programmatic CTV offering, Total TV. Our take: Magnite and Dentsu’s partnership marks a critical expansion, giving advertisers a better opportunity to deliver impactful, precise, and measurable video and CTV experiences at scale across key markets.