Marketing

Marketing

In last year's report, the main disruption was inside marketing: established vendors vs. upstart AI-native tools, or the challenge of managing ever-expanding martech stacks. This year, the main disruption is outside of marketing's control: The consumer use of tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini for research and buying decisions is turning everything upside down. Half of all consumers already use AI-powered search, putting as much as 50% of traditional search traffic at risk. That's an enormous power shift.

American Eagle's marketing campaigns are giving the company a meaningful boost. The retailer has launched a number of campaigns this year that have been at the center of viral moments online. It looks like they're paying off financially. Its stock has been up this year, and its total revenue was $1.4 billion for the third quarter that ended November 1, roughly 6% higher year-over-year.

Executives, "on average, attribute 63% of their company's market value to their overall reputation." We tend to attribute high market valuations to tangible assets, such as technology or sales. The reality is that most of a company's financial power is intangible-it rests on the trust of its stakeholders. This statistic highlights a profound strategic truth: Longevity isn't about surviving but about investing in and mastering reputational capital.

Very few product or service businesses escape the kind of seasonality that forces active engagement with the market through promotions, offers or specials. Right now, we're all bombarded with deals on everything, including digital services and B2B SaaS. After all, nothing captures the holiday spirit quite like an extra terabyte of cloud storage. It's a surge of activity that's hard to ignore - especially for someone who pays close attention to how these offers are put together.

Eulogies have been premature entries,

Just like shelf space is key to being purchased in B2C, B2B growth depends on maintaining a consistent, credible, and contextual presence across both digital and human touchpoints. Drawing on the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute's research and LinkedIn's experience with thousands of global B2B advertisers, the [report details] why physical availability shouldn't be treated as a nice-to-have, tacked on at the end of planning, but instead as a critical component of growth.

"I love to see what people come up with for this time of year," one social media user said in a TikTok video shared on Monday, December 1. "But there was one that stood out that said, 'Action required: Fraud alert.' It was from Béis. According to the TikToker-who has a marketing background-the luggage company used this tactic to lure subscribers into clicking into their email blast, only to find that they had extended their Black Friday sale.

A decade ago, Influencer Marketing was an experimental tactic, with one-off partnerships and short-term gains. Now the channel is driving impact at every stage of the marketing funnel - from awareness to sales. Senior leaders now recognize its lasting impact on the bottom line. The Creator Economy is set to grow from $250 billion in 2023 to $600 billion by 2030, and the average return on investment (ROI) for influencer campaigns is $5.78 for every $1 spent, offering a huge opportunity for brands.

Smith worked alongside star designer Jonathan Anderson, who left Loewe for LVMH stablemate Dior earlier this year, and chief executive Pascale Lepoivre to steer Loewe's image during a period of rapid growth. The luxury brand steadily transitioned from an arty, niche label to one with mass-media currency and cross-generational awareness, complementing efforts like the Loewe Craft Prize with celebrity tie-ups that included Maggie Smith, Jamie Dornan and more. Smith oversaw collaborations with Studio Ghibli and On Running and developed Loewe's viral TikTok strategy.

In a recent interview, Rand Fishkin said the cure for traffic loss driven by search, AI and other zero-click levers is stronger branding: "Brand marketing is where it's at. How do you build a brand that's memorable, emotionally resonant, that triggers something in people? A brand that sits and sticks in someone's mind and becomes associated with the problem you solve - and with your unique solution."

The smartphone changed all this for one simple reason. Everything and everyone became connected. The fundamental importance of this shift cannot be overstated. When everyone is connected - and, by 2020, there will be 4bn people online with 4bn smartphones - new startups are able to utilise this to offer a superior customer service. Suddenly, the consumer can have what they like, when they like it, where they like it.

Performance marketing agency Wpromote has acquired full-service creative shop Giant Spoon to form a new agency, Wpromote x Giant Spoon, per a company announcement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Wpromote CEO Andrea Bendzick will lead the merged agency, which promises to support creative strategy with data-driven results and to streamline processes for clients by integrating media, creative, data and full-funnel strategy all in one place.

Recent research at our direct response marketing agency, conducted in partnership with a research firm, shows that direct mail continues to gain ground. We surveyed 350 B2B and B2C marketing strategy leaders across the United States to gather insights on direct mail usage. As part of this research, we found that 67% of marketers saw improved performance over the past year, with only 3% seeing declines-the best year-over-year outcome of any channel we measured.

Stacy brings deep expertise in brand building and cross-platform storytelling to the team, along with a sharp understanding of how media, marketing, and technology intersect to shape modern brands. Her unique background will accelerate Outfront's leadership in IRL marketing and strengthen how we help brands show up in culture, connect with communities, and create the kinds of real-world moments that matter.

Omnicom on Monday provided a deeper look at how its leadership and agency structure are changing following the close of its $13 billion-plus acquisition of rival Interpublic Group last week, according to a press release. The ad-holding group, now the world's largest, estimates it will eliminate another 4,000 jobs globally to realize its cost synergy targets, CEO John Wren told Adweek.

One of those most beloved and memorable (albeit sometimes annoying) animal mascots is the Aflac duck, whose story stemmed from an unlikely place. "Our advertising agency was in Central Park sitting on a bench. And they heard ducks and they noticed it sounded like Aflac," the insurance giant's CEO Dan Amos told Fortune. "And so the quack, quack, Aflac became the idea. And that's how we got in.

The marketing landscape for 2026 represents a fundamental departure from strategies that dominated previous years. As we enter this new era, successful marketers are abandoning traditional approaches centered on driving traffic to websites or social media platforms. Instead, the emerging paradigm emphasizes building sustainable brand authority and establishing your organization as a trustworthy, cited-everywhere source. This shift demands that marketing teams rethink their entire value proposition and distribution strategy. Customer discovery pathways have fundamentally changed-consumers are no longer simply searching Google for information.

The sports world has come full circle. After years of brands drifting too far from performance and too into 'wellness,' brands are rediscovering the power of professional athletes while also embracing a broader truth: sport is about winning and it's about how it makes us feel. The industry's evolution toward 'sport for all' has surfaced the profound connection between movement, euphoria, and mental wellbeing. Today, the formula is clear: high performance plus euphoria equals true inspiration.

Honestly, I get excited when stores put up their Christmas displays in October. It never feels too early when the winter holiday season is one of your favorite times of the year. I'm a sucker for it all it brings, whether I'm meticulously planning which wrapping paper to use on gifts or sipping peppermint lattes while shopping for decorations. When it comes to the latter, I typically visit craft retailers Hobby Lobby and Michaels.

Social media has become an essential marketing channel for entrepreneurs, yet finding time to maintain an active presence remains a major challenge. For busy business owners, the constant pressure to create engaging content, respond to comments, and stay visible across multiple platforms can feel overwhelming. The reality is that effective social media engagement requires strategy, not just sporadic posting. Many entrepreneurs struggle to balance social media management with their core business responsibilities.

Seneca, the ancient Stoic philosopher, wrote in Letters to Lucilius that it's not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor. The film "Fight Club" delivered the modern remix centuries later when Tyler Durden-played with feral brilliance by Brad Pitt-growled: The things you own end up owning you. One was writing in imperial Rome. The other was railing against the Ikea-ification of the modern soul. Yet both saw the same truth: Desire, when unquestioned, becomes bondage.

As prices rise faster than most paychecks, finding ways to increase your income has become more important than ever - especially if you're looking to boost your bank account. Fortunately, you don't need a long program or expensive training to increase your earning potential. With free tutorials and short online courses, you can learn high-demand skills in a matter of weeks, helping you build a reliable side income.