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: Industry KPI data from Pi Datametrics shows an uptick in US search activity for luxury fashion, home furnishings, and smart tech and phones at the end of Q1 2025. The spike suggests some consumers bought goods in anticipation of the Trump administration’s tariff announcements in April. Our take: Retailers need to monitor demand closely, be prepared to adjust their pricing, and ensure they stock products that consumers want or need. With tariffs likely to take effect later this year, accuracy in forecasting demand and merchandising will be critical to manage the volatility that likely lies ahead.
The news: Meta announced numerous updates to its messaging ad options, with a heavy focus on WhatsApp. Meta is expanding Ads Manager to include WhatsApp campaigns, centralizing multi-campaign management across its platforms. The feature allows businesses to upload subscriber lists to use Advantage+ to optimize ad budgets or manually choose messages for additional placements. Our take: The ongoing potential for divestiture could have significant implications for advertisers that rely on Meta’s ecosystem—but the new features will still make WhatsApp a more appealing option for those that haven’t considered it as a key ad channel.
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: Meta’s Threads is adding direct messaging (DM) and a “highlight” feature to show trending topics related to a user’s feed. Our take: DMs will allow consumers to interact directly with brands and could open up a new customer service channel, while brand social media accounts could become part of the narrative as new “highlight” trends arise. Marketers and social media managers should boost brand presence on Threads by engaging with followers and posting on relevant trending topics.
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.
The news: T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T are in various stages of launching satellite messaging services, extending mobile connectivity into remote areas. Key takeaway: Satellite-cellular convergence opens new paths for targeted ads. As T-Mobile, Verizon, Apple, and others build out skyward networks, marketers gain access to previously unreachable users in creative ways. Marketers should prepare for a world without dead zones. With satellite connectivity becoming widespread, it could unlock new inventory, audiences, and high-intent use cases—especially for premium segments.
The news: During a Congressional subcommittee hearing, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. laid out his vision for all Americans to use a wearable with health-tracking capabilities within four years. Our take: Marketers should use Kennedy’s enthusiasm for wearables to their advantage. They should get out in front of the government’s ad campaign by developing their own promotions that inform consumers of wearables’ evolved health-tracking features beyond just counting calories and steps. They could target people who aren’t as familiar or have never used a health wearable due to price concerns or lack of tech-savviness.
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.
81% of Gen Z adults and 78% of millennial adults often wish they could disconnect from digital devices more easily, according to a February 2025 survey from Quad conducted by The Harris Poll.
The news: Snapchat acquired social calendar app Saturn and about 30 of its employees. For now, Saturn will stay an independent entity, but integration is likely down the road, per Engadget. Our take: Acquiring Saturn was a natural progression in Snapchat’s social path. It doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel when it has an app that already has a massive user base of its target audience. Calendar integrations will help brands more easily geotarget ads based on school events.
The news: YouTube Shorts now average 200 billion daily views, a 186% increase from 70 billion in 2024. The platform also sees 1 billion daily TV watch hours, leading Nielsen’s streaming rankings with 12.5% of total TV viewership, surpassing Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video. Our take: As audiences increasingly favor quick, viral videos, marketers have the opportunity to explore partnering with rising creators and scaling campaigns across mobile and CTV to maximize reach and impact.
The news: The AR and VR headset market is rebounding, led by Meta’s success. Global headset shipments grew 18.1% YoY in Q1 2025, per the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Augmented and Virtual Reality Headset Tracker. Meta held a 50.8% market share, up from 36.2% in Q1 2024, cementing its role as an industry leader but indicating the market could be reliant on a single player. Our take: Brands should make content that’s adaptable to both headsets and smart glasses to accommodate changing consumer interests. Investing in glasses-centric content can target consumers, while MR activations could be ideal for enterprise use cases such as training employees.
The news: Oura is partnering with Maven Clinic to integrate smart ring data with providers’ care and treatment plans. Our take: We think it will take a while for providers to incorporate device data into the decisions they make for patients, which are typically based on clinical research studies and medical literature. Oura shouldn’t bet too heavily on securing doctors’ trust, and instead home in on the recent advancements it’s making on using AI to drive a better consumer experience.
The news: WhatsApp will begin showing ads for the first time since Meta’s 2014 acquisition, starting with the Updates tab’s Status feature. Sponsored search placements and optional paid subscriptions will also be added to WhatsApp Channels. Ads won’t appear in encrypted chats or groups, and targeting will rely only on minimal metadata unless users opt in to link accounts. Our take: Meta is threading a careful line—monetizing WhatsApp while keeping privacy promises intact. With over 3 billion global users and deep consumer trust, the platform’s subtle shift into ads and subscriptions could deliver big returns if Meta avoids sparking user backlash over commercialization.
Almost a third (32%) of US and UK game players actively ignore in-game ads, while the same number finds them helpful, according to May data from Attest.
The news: Ad quality has a big impact on whether gamers will stay in the game or walk away from a session. Over half (52%) of gamers in the US, the UK, Germany, and Japan would quit playing if they encountered multiple disruptive ad features, per Deloitte’s Quality Drives Value: A Look into Mobile Gaming Ads survey. Our take: Prioritizing features like rewards and skip options can help players feel in control and properly compensated for their time, helping mobile gamers to stay engaged, click through, and return. Poorly timed or deceptive ads, on the other hand, risk alienating gamers and increasing churn.
The news: Reddit published a report Thursday highlighting its increasing relevance for advertisers as social media users gain trust in the platform for purchase decisions. Reddit routinely delivers promising ad results. Adding Reddit to ad campaigns leads to $6.94 higher incremental ROAS across channels. Our take: Despite lingering brand hesitancy to adopt Reddit as a core advertising channel, the platform is increasingly becoming a reliable source that promises high returns—making it a key part of an effective campaign for advertisers who know how to navigate it.
The news: Gaming is becoming a powerful vehicle for delivering ads to engaged audiences, with gamers spending significant time gaming across platforms, per a study from Activision Blizzard Media. Seventy percent of gamers play or watch video games daily, while 95% play or watch weekly. Seventy-seven percent of weekly gamers play on mobile devices, while 52% play on console and 34% play on PC. Our take: In-game advertising provides reach that few other channels can match, connecting with an engaged, highly attentive, and diverse audience, making it a critical touchpoint—but advertisers must understand what strategies work best.
The news: Snap announced its sixth-generation AR smart glasses at the 2025 Augmented World Expo (AWE). The wearables will be available to the public for the first time since 2016, potentially unlocking a new revenue stream beyond ads. The lightweight consumer smart glasses, called Specs, will launch in 2026 and include an “ultra-powerful wearable computer.” Our take: Snap’s next-gen smart glasses could diversify its revenue streams and show off its AR prowess. But unless the price tag is affordable and competitive, users may continue to just use Snapchat’s AR filters on their phones.