The news: A majority of US adults are ready for AI to take their bosses’ jobs. 73% said they’re behind AI having a role in hiring, firing, and budgets, per a new ResumeNow survey. 69% are fine with AI monitoring for productivity purposes. Our take: 41% of C-suite professionals are concerned about the ethical use of AI, per Bearing Point. AI can quickly become a yes man, confirming decisions that might not be in a company’s best interest. Balance and oversight are key when adopting AI solutions. Using AI for hiring and budgeting will help streamline those processes, but AI decisions need to be monitored to keep bias and hallucinations in check.
The news: Netflix will open its first Netflix House location at King of Prussia Mall outside Philadelphia on November 12, with a second location at Galleria Dallas beginning business on December 12, per Variety. A third location is set to open next year in Las Vegas. Our take: The large entertainment-and-retail hubs will serve as experiential billboards for Netflix’s IP. By melding marketing with monetization, Netflix House should help the streamer keep its hits relevant and boost awareness of emerging titles, while also converting fandom into foot traffic and sales. If visitors find the spaces engaging, they should draw attention to Netflix IP at a time when streamers face intense competition for viewers, while also generating revenues from fans eager to step inside the worlds they watch on screen. That could create a virtuous loop as deeper engagement often drives greater loyalty to both the titles and to Netflix itself.
TikTok’s 2024 revenues in the UK, Europe, and Latin America surged 38% to $6.3 billion, more than doubling 2022 levels, per filings cited by Forbes. The growth underscores TikTok’s strength outside the US, where a divest-or-ban standoff continues. Yet regulatory scrutiny in Europe looms large, with over $1 billion reserved for fines, ongoing probes across multiple countries, and potential penalties under the EU’s Digital Services Act. TikTok’s UK penetration tops 32%, with ad revenues projected to triple by 2027. Still, layoffs in trust and safety roles and a pivot to AI moderation could test regulators and user trust.
A leaked Adweek-reviewed file details how The Trade Desk partners with 49 retailers worldwide to sell ad placements built on shopper data. The document reveals steep markups and inconsistent rules: Albertsons charges up to 45% of media costs, Best Buy limits custom audiences, Costco sets $100K minimums, and Walmart imposes fees capped at $3.50 CPMs plus measurement charges. Other retailers add restrictions around ad categories or approvals. The leak highlights both the value and complexity of retail media as brands chase audience targeting tied directly to transactions. Transparency remains a challenge, with costs and conditions varying widely by partner.
The news: Keurig Dr Pepper will acquire JDE Peet’s for €15.7 billion ($18.4 billion) to revive its struggling coffee arm before splitting into two public companies. The deal will create a coffee powerhouse by merging KDP with JDE Peet’s global brands that include Peet’s, L’OR, Jacobs, and Douwe Egberts.
The news: Perplexity added a standalone subscription tier for its Comet agentic AI browser that will fund a $42.5 million publisher revenue-sharing program. Comet Plus costs $5 per month and gives users access to “premium content from a group of trusted publishers and journalists.” The browser is included in Perplexity Pro and Max subscriptions. Our take: Brands should actively monitor how their content is used across AI platforms and consider usage-based deals for fair compensation, especially if content is regularly surfaced by AI tools. They should also examine the real revenue potential of partnerships like Comet Plus and scrutinize audience size, payout structures, and long-term sustainability before committing.
The news: Elon Musk tried to enlist Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a $97.4 billion takeover of OpenAI in February, per court filings in OpenAI’s ongoing countersuit against Musk. The failed bid was Musk’s response to OpenAI’s potential shift to a for-profit model, which he claims broke its founding mission. Our take: The initial phase of the AI boom, defined by research breakthroughs and experimentation, is giving way to a more aggressive era of market consolidation, legal entanglements, and power politics. Litigation is emerging as the last resort when innovation stalls or acquisition paths close—an indicator that the AI industry could be entering a defensive phase where court battles stand in for competitive breakthroughs.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss what AI Overviews are doing to search behavior, some potential new business models for the internet, and how much “AI slop” might encourage folks to decrease their time on the web. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, Analyst, Grace Harmon, and the CEO and Founder of CMO Huddles, and host of the Renegade Marketers Unite podcast, Drew Neisser. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
The news: Meta and Midjourney formed a partnership to bring more image-generation tools to Facebook and Instagram. Meta is licensing Midjourney’s “aesthetic technology” for users and brands, Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang posted on Threads. He implied that the agreement may go past licensing and involve collaboration with Meta’s research teams to integrate Midjourney into future models and products. Our take: Brands should experiment with Midjourney to streamline content creation for Meta campaigns. However, they should also monitor outputs carefully for quality and copyright issues, especially considering Midjourney has faced allegations of IP misuse. Fast creation is only an advantage if it doesn’t trigger legal or reputational backlash.
The news: Cohere launched Command A Reasoning, its first enterprise-tuned large language model (LLM). Designed for secure environments, the model handles agentic customer service, research, and automation tasks at scale. Its big-business focus is rooted in its ability to integrate with existing tools, support for on-premises deployment, and strict data controls. Our take: Enterprise AI is shifting from optional to operational. Vendors that deliver reliability, guardrails, and measurable value—like Command A Reasoning and Agentforce—will win long-term adoption over general-purpose models built for show, not scale.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss our ‘very specific, but highly unlikely’ predictions for the future of digital in 2026 and beyond. Why browsers will become the new AI battleground, what does it mean if agentic AI doesn’t take over shopping, and can GenAI actually lead to more of the jobs it can easily destroy? Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Briefings, Jeremy Goldman, Principal Analyst, Sara Marzano, and Vice President of Content, Paul Verna. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
The news: Instagram introduced a linked Reels feature enabling creators to showcase short-form videos in a series for simpler storytelling, per an announcement on its Creators account. The feature follows a trend of creators making Reels series focused on specific storylines and themes, and will allow creators to link both new and previous content, excluding content exclusively shared with subscribers or close friends. Our take: Linked Reels unlocks more opportunities to convey messages with high-production value and an episodic narrative, transforming Reels into a media destination that keeps audiences returning instead of only offering one-off impressions.
The news: Gap’s newest denim campaign is challenging American Eagle’s controversial Sydney Sweeney ad. Helmed by K-pop girl group Katseye and featuring a diverse group of dancers set to the 2003 Kellis hit “Milkshake,” the ad is earning praise for celebrating diversity, individuality, and modern inclusivity. Our take: Advertisers can take several key lessons from the ads about how culturally attuned messaging can either draw praise or spark controversy depending on how it aligns with current social conversations.
Acxiom, IPG Mediabrands, and IRIS.TV have partnered to launch Acxiom Contextual CTV, a privacy-safe targeting tool powered by IRIS_ID. The solution analyzes content context—genre, subject, tone—without using personal identifiers, addressing rising privacy concerns as cookies disappear. Already present in 17–40% of US bidstream inventory, IRIS.TV enables more accurate targeting, while early pilots show higher video completion rates and stronger brand lift. Publishers benefit too, with CPMs rising as much as 25%. With CTV ad sales projected to hit $46.9 billion by 2028, this approach could set a new industry standard for performance, compliance, and contextual relevance.
The situation: A significant share of consumers are putting eating out on the chopping block as tariffs carve into their budgets. 43% could cut back on full-service restaurants, while 42% are rethinking fast-casual, per a CivicScience consumer survey. Chains seen as pricey—or lacking a clear bang-for-the-buck—are especially vulnerable, as shown by sluggish results at “slop bowl” brands like Cava and Sweetgreen. To stay off the block themselves, restaurants from McDonald’s to Applebee’s are leaning hard into value plays. Our take: Consumers haven’t lost their appetite for dining out, but with budgets under pressure, they want to be sure they’re getting their money’s worth. Restaurants that serve up value will thrive; those that don’t could get carved up as tariffs pinch wallets.
The news: Meta will spend more than $10 billion on Google Cloud over six years, making it one of Google’s largest-ever contracts, per CNBC. Despite running its own data centers and using Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, Meta’s growth requires additional cloud capacity. The deal demonstrates how even fierce ad rivals can align when AI demands massive computing scale. Our take: When it comes to AI, the old rules of competition no longer apply. Cloud rivals are forced into uneasy alliances to remain competitive as infrastructure demand explodes. For AWS and Azure, keeping pace with Google Cloud means doubling down on custom silicon, broadening AI partnerships, and proving they can deliver the scale and neutrality that Google is now signaling to the market.
Earlier this month, for the second time in seven years, Claire’s filed for bankruptcy. The retailer will avoid complete collapse by selling most of its North American business to private equity firm Ames Watson, but its ongoing struggles serve as a cautionary tale. Marketing tactics alone cannot keep a brand afloat without a cohesive strategy—one that unites product, customer experience, and cultural relevance.
Blue Yonder has acquired Optoro to expand its footprint in returns management, covering everything from in-store and warehouse processes to recommerce and resale. Returns are projected to hit $685.9 billion in 2024, nearly 13% of US retail sales, with fraud and behaviors like bracketing and wardrobing compounding losses. Optoro brings warehouse-focused workflows, while Blue Yonder has built consumer-facing tools through prior acquisitions like Doddle. Together, they now cover the entire returns cycle. By reframing returns as recoverable assets, Blue Yonder aims to help retailers cut waste, boost profitability, and position itself as a leader in returns technology.
The news: China reiterated that it will not sell TikTok’s algorithm to the US in accordance with Chinese laws as the September 17 sale deadline looms. The announcement comes almost immediately after the White House launched an official TikTok account in a move Chinese officials stated “contradicts the ‘national security threat’ rhetoric.” Our take: With no definitive answer on TikTok’s future in the US, advertisers are in a difficult spot. Divestment risks losing access to audiences motivated to take action—but investing too heavily risks overreliance on a channel that could face major changes.