Marketing Technology

Perplexity enters ad market with focus on user engagement: Rapid growth and commitment to transparency position it as a strong competitor in search.

A controversial “active listening” targeting method reinforces privacy needs: Cox Media Group’s proposal reignited concerns about the ethical boundaries of ad targeting.

The company’s survey shows nearly 50% of small businesses use AI for marketing, yet 73% lack confidence in their strategies, highlighting an opportunity.

Refusals by the popular apps Procreate and Halide to adopt AI reflect artists’ fears and growing anti-AI sentiment in the creative community. This backlash could shape the future of digital art in marketing and advertising.

2025 Upfronts will see Nielsen and competitors square up: Nielsen is combining big data with panel measurement for all local currencies starting in January.

Walmart's ad business drives 26% revenue growth: Walmart Connect leads with 30% increase, outpacing Amazon's ad unit.

SAG-AFTRA softens on AI: Nearly a year after its historic strike began, the union will allow actors to make AI deals with advertisers.

Big Tech companies are bypassing acquisitions by poaching key employees and licensing technology, leaving startups vulnerable and potentially stifling innovation.

Nearly two-thirds (66%) of US data and ad professionals have adopted data clean rooms as a result of privacy legislation and/or signal loss, according to February 2024 data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and BWG Strategy. Since data is at the core of retail media success, enabling brands to target and measure campaigns more accurately, it’s not surprising that data clean rooms have come into play.

Businesses using genAI see significant ROI, yet 47% of employees report they lack the skills to use AI effectively, highlighting a critical training shortfall.

“Cookies are going to be the exception rather than the rule,” analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf said on a recent edition of our “Behind the Numbers” podcast. “Advertisers and publishers are going to need cookieless strategies going forward.”

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how Google might present its third-party cookie opt-in to Chrome users, what cookie and cookieless traffic will look like in the future, and what the next move for marketers should be. Tune in to the discussion with host Marcus Johnson and analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf.

European etailer Zalando’s Q2 earnings surge: The business broke a streak of flat quarters thanks to faster delivery times, a more relevant product assortment, and a focus on quality.

Google’s latest hiring-licensing deal with Character.AI follows a pattern set by Microsoft and Amazon, blending innovation with strategic regulatory avoidance.

Prime Video’s ad model positions Amazon against Netflix: Targeted ads and competitive pricing drive substantial revenue growth in the streaming market.

Travel startup Mindtrip uses ChatGPT to create bespoke itineraries in seconds: The platform is betting on the rise of digital-first travel discovery—and hospitality brands should take note.

With 300 million users, CapCut’s intuitive features challenge Adobe and Canva, but potential US bans could disrupt its dominance.

Google put a lid on its cookie deprecation plans on Monday, proposing that rather than deprecate third-party cookies, it would prompt Chrome users to “make an informed choice” on how they share their data with advertisers, according to a blog post from Anthony Chavez, vice president of Google’s Privacy Sandbox.

Google’s Q2 profit climbed 29% to $23.6 billion, driven by search and AI cloud services as anticipation for AI products grows.