How Alexa Became a Shopping Agent for the Entire Retail Economy
With Alexa+ Agentic Ads extending to Ticketmaster, Papa John’s, and beyond, Amazon has crossed a threshold that turns a voice assistant into a full-scale commerce platform for the entire retail economy.
The Car Industry Spent a Decade Talking About Technology — Now It Needs to Talk About People
Auto marketing spent years explaining what cars can do, but the brands pulling ahead are focused on what cars mean, and the human moments they make possible.
The Best World Cup Ads Nobody Saw Coming Were the Local Ones
The best World Cup ad of 2026 featured Susan Boyle, reaches 5 million people, and cannot be bought outside Scotland. The lesson is enormous.
Amazon Just Hit $70 Billion in Advertising, and It Is Only Getting Started
Amazon’s advertising revenue crossed $70 billion in Q1 2026. The architecture being built to sustain it is the more striking number.
The Hardest Thing in Brand Management Is Changing What Doesn’t Need to Change
Modernizing a trusted brand is one of the most delicate operations in marketing, and the brands doing it well share a discipline in knowing precisely what not to touch.
Adobe Is Making Its Biggest Bet Yet on Creators, and Cannes Is Where It’s Planting the Flag
Adobe is arriving at Cannes Lions 2026 with a clear strategic argument: the creator economy and the enterprise software market are converging, and Adobe intends to own the intersection.
Why Two Identical Companies Can Sell for Wildly Different Prices
In adtech M&A, the financial fundamentals determine the floor. The narrative determines the ceiling. And the gap between those two numbers is where the real competition lives.
The Global Crackdown on Teen Social Media Is a Marketing Problem Brands Aren’t Ready For
Australia banned under-16s from social media in December 2025 and the UK, Spain, and France are following.
Uber Just Turned Its $2 Billion Ad Business Into Something Much Bigger
By extending its first-party data signals to Meta and Google Shopping, Uber Advertising has crossed a threshold that separates retail media networks from genuine advertising platforms.
AI Is Simultaneously the Biggest Deal Driver and Deal Killer in Adtech
The $22 billion Fox-Roku acquisition, Publicis’ LiveRamp purchase, and a wave of smaller consolidations signal that M&A is accelerating, but AI uncertainty is simultaneously freezing a significant portion of the market.
FIFA Tried to Make Levi’s Disappear at the World Cup, but Made It More Famous Instead
When FIFA’s clean stadium policy forced Levi’s to cover its logo at its own stadium, the white tarp that went up became the most recognized piece of branding at the entire tournament.
The Creator Economy Grew Up, and Most Brands Are Still Treating It Like It Didn’t
The creator economy is no longer a supplementary channel bolted onto a media plan. For a growing number of brands, it is the actual media plan.