In today’s episode, we talk about how AI has changed finserv’s approach to advertising and which areas of bank marketing will be affected the most. Join the discussion with host and Head of Business Development Rob Rubin, Analysts Lauren Ashcraft and Jacob Bourne.
As Walmart celebrates its 63rd birthday this year, the retail giant continues to differentiate itself through data capabilities, technological innovation, and a willingness to experiment with new strategies.
The news: Fortnite-maker Epic Games settled its antitrust lawsuit against Samsung, ending claims that Samsung and Google blocked rival app stores, per Bloomberg. Epic had accused Samsung’s “Auto Blocker” of preventing third-party app store downloads, alleging collusion with Google. Samsung and Google previously denied wrongdoing, calling Epic’s claims “baseless” and “meritless.” Our take: With Epic’s continued disruption of app store ecosystems, marketers should prepare for a fragmented but freer market—alternative app stores allow more control over promotions, subscriptions, and bundled offerings.
The news: Meta poached Apple’s top AI/ML engineer, Ruoming Pang, with a multimillion-dollar offer—marking another major hire for its fast-growing Superintelligence Labs (MSL), per Bloomberg. Our take: MSL’s AI breakthroughs will likely funnel into Meta’s core products—ads, targeting, automation, and content moderation. AI-powered Meta ads are already delivering almost 22% higher returns than average Meta ads, per The Drum. Advertisers should track how Meta’s talent advantage could enhance ad personalization and ROI. Start stress-testing campaigns with Meta’s AI tools now—before they evolve further—and align campaigns to AI-native ad products.
The news: Bluesky added customizable notifications and activity alerts, helping users avoid notification fatigue and letting marketers reach more engaged audiences. Our take: If Bluesky continues building tools that prioritize user control and low-noise engagement, it could challenge X and Threads, especially among tech-savvy audiences who crave customization. Marketers should tailor content for small, more intentional user circles to increase the likelihood of notification subscriptions. This new feature highlights the importance of brand presence and engagement on Bluesky.
The news: YouTube’s viewing dominance is pushing publishers and media companies to look beyond it as a marketing channel and adopt it as a primary platform for airing TV episodes and original content. National Geographic now airs linear rerun streams on YouTube, and NBCU launched YouTube-centric media brands like Comedy Bites and Family Flicks. Our take: Brands should prioritize YouTube just as they do TV and TikTok, not as a dumping ground for extra assets. Launching campaigns with a YouTube-first media strategy—including original YouTube content and creator-first formats like Shorts—is the new table stakes.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the second biggest digital ad player’s (Meta) vision for the future of ads, if it will lead to money saved or more commercials, and why the 30-second AI-made TV ad for Kalshi matters more than most. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman, and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss what area of people's lives artificial general intelligence (AGI) will change the most, the argument for AI developers asking permission from society to build these models, and when AGI might actually get here. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, and Analysts Jacob Bourne and Grace Harmon. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
The news: Amazon is shutting down its standalone free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platform Freevee in August. All Freevee content—including original series and live TV—will migrate to Prime Video. Advertisers take heed: As streaming giants consolidate, ad buyers might see fewer platforms but more fragmented audiences. This centralization of inventory boosts scale but narrows options for niche targeting. Our take: Amazon and its rivals are bundling content into fewer apps to boost ad revenue and reduce churn. But for advertisers, viewer behavior is splintering as audiences jump between services each month, chasing new shows, deals, and lower costs.
The news: Consumers increasingly trust shopping suggestions from AI, even more than product suggestions from content creators, positioning the technology as a trusted and personalized guide rather than a back-end tool. 27% of US consumers trust AI shopping recommendations, per Walmart’s Retail Rewired Report, compared with 24% who trust suggestions from social media influencers. Our take: AI retail tools are most likely to succeed if they offer both speed and a sense of user control. Retailers should let users set spending caps and offer options to pause or customize recommendations to help AI agents feel more like a trusted assistant than a pushy salesperson.
The news: A Microsoft AI pilot study showed a fourfold improvement in diagnostics compared with a panel of real doctors, but researchers acknowledged the continued need for human expertise. The takeaway: It’s evident AI is not a replacement for doctors, but it is a tool they should start adopting. There’s a window of opportunity for doctors and healthcare systems to grab a first-mover advantage by presenting AI as a co-pilot and a value-add that leads to more accurate diagnoses and more time spent with patients.
The news: Apple is in talks with OpenAI and Anthropic to power a revamped version of Siri, per Bloomberg. This follows internal delays and setbacks in launching the AI-enhanced Siri that was announced at WWDC in June 2024. Advertising repercussions: Advertisers and brands won’t just be contending with Apple’s ad systems and algorithms—they also need to consider third-party vendors’ ecosystems and how those preference ad placements. Our take: Apple settling for outside AI is a turning point for walled gardens. For advertisers, it’s both a risk—due to reduced predictability—and an opportunity to innovate within new conversational interfaces.
The news: Microsoft Advertising now enforces policy compliance at the asset level—ad headlines, descriptions, and images will be reviewed individually. If one element violates policy, the rest of the ad can stay live, as long as the minimum required approved assets remain, per MarTech. Key takeaway: Marketers should embrace modular creative strategies, ensuring each individual asset is in compliance. Build campaigns with redundancy in approved elements to maintain uptime, and monitor flagged assets to quickly respond and ensure ad integrity.
The news: While major companies are picking up generative AI (genAI) for coding, many developers remain skeptical about using it without human oversight. Three-quarters (78%) said AI tools have made them more productive, but a similar share (76%) don’t entirely trust AI-generated code, per Qodo’s The State of AI Code Quality report. Our take: Remaining skepticism from developers—one of the professions closest to AI—shows that companies use genAI as a support tool and co-pilot rather than a replacement for human judgment. Training employees on AI’s weaknesses and requiring review can help reduce errors.
The news: Google is bringing its generative AI (genAI) suite deeper into classrooms, launching Gemini and NotebookLM tools as part of Google Classroom for students under 18. It’s the first time NotebookLM—a research and note-taking AI—will be accessible to minors, per The Verge. Our take: Marketers and edtech players should align with Google’s expanding education stack. Building AI-integrated tools that plug into Google Classroom, optimizing content for Gemini-powered workflows, and creating solutions that run smoothly on Chromebooks can address the needs of a captive audience.
Our take: OpenAI’s first-mover advantage is under threat from all sides—vertically from specialized AI agents, horizontally from rival chatbots, and internally from talent wars and Microsoft. The news: OpenAI’s ChatGPT has rapidly become a mainstream AI tool, with new data showing that 34% of US adults have now used it—almost double the 2023 figures, per Pew Research Center. For CMOs and CTOs, this means betting on ChatGPT’s current dominance while preparing for a fragmented future where no single platform reigns supreme. Finding the right AI solutions for specific use cases is a smarter play than betting the farm on an all-in-one solutions provider.
The news: YouTube launched an AI search function that could streamline the content discovery journey but pose problems for smaller creators and influencers. The feature gives users a carousel of relevant videos in response to their search queries, similar to Google’s AI Overviews. Our take: With YouTube’s vast content library, AI search could help users find relevant content faster, though opacity around how its algorithm surfaces videos means creators may need to experiment with keywords and video titles to see which strategies get their content placed in AI video carousels.
The news: Instagram and TikTok are working on plans to develop connected TV (CTV) apps to mimic the success of YouTube’s big-screen push, per The Information. Our take: Advertisers may be hesitant to spend on placements before user adoption is proven. TikTok and Meta should prepare for initial losses and, to ensure a robust content pipeline for TV, introduce new simple editing tools or financial incentives to help creators optimize vertical posts for the horizontal big screen.
The news: Bumble laid off 30% of its staff and announced it’s returning to a “startup mentality” as dating app engagement declines. The announcement led its stock to rise 25% Wednesday. Bumble and the online dating industry as a whole are at an “inflection point,” CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said in an employee memo. Our take: Unless Bumble successfully reinvests those cost savings into tangible user benefits—like better safety measures and more personalized matchmaking—it could lose relevance in a saturated, burning-out dating market.
The news: News publishers are investing in social media presence that may not be creating meaningful referral traffic. Although publishers are working to meet audiences where they are—on social and video platforms—their content is being watched, not clicked, per Digiday. Our take: Despite social media not converting engagement into referral traffic, news publishers have little option but to remain—leaving social platforms means losing user attention. Publishers may need to boost their efforts in community-driven channels like Substack and podcasts to foster engagement and reader loyalty.