New research confirms AI disclosure labels have no negative impact on creative performance

As AI-generated advertising becomes standard practice, a new regulatory reality is taking shape alongside it. New York’s AI Transparency in Advertising law took effect in June 2026. The EU AI Act introduces binding disclosure obligations in August. Marketers who are already utilizing AI for content have begun thinking about whether they should be disclosing when and how they’re using AI, and whether doing…

Read More

The marketing philosophy behind McDonald’s new strategic plan has a B2B lesson inside it

McDonald’s just unveiled a new strategic plan called McDonald’s NEXT, built around four pillars: menu innovation, restaurant reimagination, hospitality, and marketing that makes customers feel part of the brand rather than just targeted by it.   While most of the plan covers operational fundamentals, the marketing philosophy behind it is worth pulling out separately because McDonald’s has…

Read More

New Gartner data show that marketers are spending more on acquisition and less on loyalty than ever before

Marketing budgets are increasingly tilting toward customer acquisition and away from retention and AI optimization is accelerating the trend. New data from Gartner’s annual CMO Spend Survey show that nearly two-thirds of media spend in 2026 is being directed toward conversion and awareness, a 10% jump from 2024. Meanwhile, loyalty and retention now accounts for less than 15% of overall media spend, a…

Read More

Cold email still works in 2026 and the B2B community broke down exactly why

Every few weeks, someone declares cold email officially dead. Every few weeks, a founder somewhere books a meeting through cold email and wonders what everyone is talking about. The disconnect has become one of B2B marketing’s most persistent debates and a recent Reddit thread in the B2B marketing community tried to get to the bottom of it.  The way the original poster framed…

Read More

The Ordinary priced a banana at $385 to prove a point about marketing language.

A banana priced at $385. A roll of toilet paper for $136. The Ordinary’s latest campaign is equal parts absurd and brilliant, and the lesson for B2B marketers is uncomfortably direct.  The Ordinary launched one of the most talked-about brand activations of the year. The skincare company known for radical pricing transparency created a pop-up grocery store across six global cities where…

Read More

The $2.2 billion acquisition that could change how AI agents are built for marketers

Publicis Groupe has announced it will acquire LiveRamp, one of the most widely connected data collaboration platforms in advertising, in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.2 billion. The deal is expected to close by end of year, pending regulatory approval and LiveRamp shareholder sign-off. LiveRamp CEO Scott Howe will continue to lead the business, reporting directly to Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun.  On…

Read More

What B2B marketers need to know about OpenAI’s new ChatGPT ads manager

ChatGPT advertising just got a lot more accessible. OpenAI has launched a beta self-serve Ads Manager with CPC bidding and conversion tracking, moving the platform from experimental pilot to something that looks and feels like a real media buy.  The move gives advertisers the ability to create and manage campaigns directly through OpenAI’s own platform. The beta rollout includes CPC bidding, conversion…

Read More