The news: Advertisers are sharpening their focus on in-game advertising as brands seek more meaningful and effective ways of reaching attentive audiences likely to drive purchase decisions. In-game advertising represents a key opportunity to reach highly engaged audiences belonging to key demographics. Our take: Only 20.3% of US gamers say they generally dislike ads in games—proving that ads aren’t the problem, but rather how brands are approaching their in-game strategy. Advertisers must prioritize relevance and context. Ads that align with the game’s environment and audience interests will feel more natural and less intrusive, boosting acceptance and engagement.
41% of CMOs in North America and Europe say they leveraged data, analytics, and measurement to optimize marketing performance—the most common tactic followed by AI, according to March 2025 data from Gartner.
The news: The P&C insurance industry posted a 96.6 combined ratio in 2024—its best in 10+ years—despite natural disaster losses. Major reserve boosts, surging premium growth, and smart underwriting (especially in personal auto and homeowners) drove this performance. GenAI adoption further enhanced claims processing and fraud detection. Strategic exits from high-risk areas also curbed losses. Our take: P&C insurers must double down on AI, automation, and risk analytics to sustain profitability amid growing climate volatility and economic headwinds. Innovation in underwriting and pricing, paired with disciplined risk management, will be key to staying resilient in an increasingly unpredictable risk environment.
The news: A recent study found 89% of consumers prefer affordable life insurance with shorter guarantees (to age 90) over “guaranteed-for-life” policies—once visuals and real-world comparisons clarified premium trade-offs. Flexibility and control in coverage and payments also ranked high. Insurers must stop defaulting to lifetime guarantees. Our take: Life insurers should reframe product education using visuals, dollar examples, and jargon-free language to communicate the cost-benefit of “lighter” options. Designing flexible, customizable life insurance policies will attract cost-conscious buyers and boost retention in a market shifting toward personalization and transparency.
The news: Despite lower COVID-19 mortality rates, it remains the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. Lingering health impacts—like long COVID, delayed diagnoses, and worsening chronic conditions—continue to threaten life insurers’ claims experience and profitability. Pre-pandemic underwriting likely underestimated these risks. Our take: Life insurers must recalibrate actuarial and pricing models to account for persistent COVID-19 health risks. Incorporating new medical and mortality data into term life and other products will ensure premiums align with post-pandemic realities, protect margins, and improve risk modeling accuracy in an evolving health landscape.
The news: The banking sector is evolving towards embedded finance and enhanced data-sharing, allowing customers to access financial products and services from any provider, on any platform. This unbundling trend, driven by fintechs, could marginalize traditional banks. The article draws a parallel to the music industry's digital disruption, where unbundling (like iTunes) and streaming (like Spotify) fundamentally reshaped its value chain. This transformation, catalyzed by companies like Napster, created diverse new models. The opportunity: Similar to how streaming music providers anticipate continued growth, banking customers increasingly seek unbundled services, with fintechs outpacing traditional financial institutions in new checking account openings as consumers hold multiple accounts for specific needs.
LGBTQ+ consumers are a rapidly growing, influential segment, with expectations for brand authenticity, year-round inclusion, and genuine support. We explore their values and media behaviors as well as strategies for marketers to meaningfully engage.
The news: A proposed merger between Bank of New York Mellon and Northern Trust could create a "monster deal," significantly consolidating the custodial banking space. This large-scale move would pressure smaller competitors, potentially creating a powerhouse in institutional investing and setting new digital efficiency standards. The recent Capital One-Discover acquisition suggests a regulatory environment emboldening such rapid growth. Our take: While large mergers are gaining traction, they're not guaranteed solutions for competitiveness. Banks considering similar strategies must plan meticulously and engage stakeholders. Without careful execution, such integrations can lead to dissatisfied customers and attrition, despite the perceived benefits of scale and market dominance in a hyper-competitive environment.
The news: Higgsfield’s Soul is the latest AI-powered image- and video-generation service that’s fine-tuned for “fashion-grade realism,” making the output resemble professional photos and videos without the plasticky, overprocessed feel of typical AI visuals. Our take: For less than $10 a month, freelancers and marketing teams can now fast-track campaign proposals and client pitches with high-quality visuals. As AI tools become more accessible, the advantage goes to creatives who learn to shape them strategically—those are the ones who’ll win the big contracts. Marketers should treat tools like Soul it as an accelerant, not a replacement. Use it to prototype fast, align on visual direction, and cut production waste.
The trend: Value-seeking behavior is on the rise, though not without some volatility, per Deloitte. Our take: Consumers’ growing focus on value doesn’t necessarily mean they want the cheapest option. In fact, up to 40% of how consumers evaluate value comes from nonprice factors, per a separate Deloitte study. That’s a critical distinction for brands. While it can be tempting to lean into discounts, a narrow focus on price cuts can hurt long-term brand equity. Brands that offer added value—through better quality, service, loyalty programs, or other innovations—are seeing stronger purchase intent and increasing consumer share.
The news: Influencer marketing spending is increasing steadily in the US and worldwide, representing a key area of growth as audiences turn to the creators they trust for purchase decisions. In a conversation with EMARKTER, Arthur Leopold, head of the creator content ad platform Agentio, discussed why audiences are turning to influencers, how technology is changing the game, and where influencer marketing is heading. Our take: Influencer marketing continues to be a core focus for advertisers in a consumer landscape dominated by social media—but as more brands invest in influencers, advertisers need to keep key considerations in mind.
The news: Connected TV (CTV) commands higher attention metrics (AU) than online video (OLV) and display advertising thanks in part to its wide variety of interactive ad formats, per industry KPI data provided by Adelaide. Our take: CTV's growing attention metrics reflects its shift toward becoming a performance marketing channel
On today's podcast episode, we discuss our unofficial list of the most unexpected retailer campaigns this year. This month, our analysts Arielle Feger, Becky Schilling, and Sara Lebow (aka The Committee) put together a very unofficial themed list of the top eight retailers based on the most surprising marketing campaigns we've seen in the last six months. In this month's episode, Committee members Analysts Arielle Feger and Sara Lebow will defend their list against Senior Analyst Zak Stambor and Analyst Rachel Wolff, who will dispute the power rankings by attempting to move retailers up, down, on, or off the list.
The rest of the year is top-of-mind for leaders in marketing and retail, which they expect to be challenging but riddled with opportunities to stand out from competition.
The news: AI-fueled résumés have pushed LinkedIn job applications up 45% YoY, overwhelming recruiters and upending hiring norms. Recruiters now face an avalanche of lookalike résumés and fake identities—some even auto-submitted by AI bots. Many are turning to AI-powered hiring platforms to fight fire with fire, per The New York Times. Our take:By relying on AI tools to chase efficiency, both sides could drive up skepticism and erode the core goal: finding the right person for the right role. Businesses with open roles should prioritize clarity, human relevance, and judicious restraint in their own use of AI.
The news: A federal judge gave Anthropic the green light this week to train its AI on millions of pirated books—declaring it “fair use”—even as the company used methods that resembled digital looting, per CNET. Our take: 24% of marketers say copyright concerns will be a big challenge for generative AI (genAI) in the next two years, per Econsultancy. To protect themselves, agencies need to pressure-test genAI vendors and ask tough questions about how models were trained—before the lawsuits land on their desks.
Google AI Overviews could face aggressive regulatory measures in UK: A CMA investigation adds to a slew of regulatory challenges that are chipping away at Google’s dominance in search and advertising.
The trend: A perfect macroeconomic storm is causing younger consumers to cut back on spending. Our take: These pressures aren’t going away anytime soon. The Trump administration’s tariffs are leading retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, and Macy’s to raise prices—putting even more strain on young shoppers already feeling stretched. At the same time, job anxieties are growing. The white collar workforce is shrinking, and more companies are citing AI as a reason for layoffs. Put it all together, and it’s likely that younger consumers will remain cautious with their spending for some time, especially on nonessentials. Retailers that want to win over this group will need to focus on offering value such as high-quality, private label products.
The scene: When Cooper Flagg—the odds-on favorite to be the NBA Rookie of the Year next season—steps onto the court for the first time, he’ll be wearing New Balance basketball shoes. Our take: New Balance’s push to sign Flagg, along with its other star-powered ambassadors, underscores its clear ambition to break into the top tier of global sportswear brands. While Nike and Adidas still lead by a wide margin, New Balance has its sights set on Puma, which reported $9.5 billion in sales last year—well ahead of New Balance’s $7.8 billion. To close the gap, New Balance needs to turn its growing visibility into demand, which is far from a sure thing. From there, it must maintain that momentum with consistent sales across both its performance and lifestyle lines. If Flagg lives up to the hype and the brand finds ways to ride that momentum, New Balance could take a meaningful step up the sneaker hier
The news: Women’s sports is continuing to grow in relevance, reaching new milestones in 2024, per research from the charity Women’s Sport Trust. Leagues like the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) grew significantly across social media in the 2024 season, reaching a single-season record of nearly 2 billion video views across WNBA social media platforms—more than quadruple the previous season. Our take: As more brands invest in women’s sports and viewership spikes, advertisers must recognize women’s sports not as a niche category only relevant for select moments, but as a critical part of a comprehensive sports marketing campaign.