As prices climb, shoppers aren't just spending less-they're spending differently. Nearly half are buying smaller quantities or trading down to lower-cost options, such as canned fruit instead of fresh, according to Capgemini's report, "What matters to today's consumers 2026." It's not about cutting things out entirely-it's about making budgets stretch. Low- and middle-income households are especially deal-focused right now: more coupons, more frequent but smaller trips, and fewer meals out.
For the past several months, many of the most pressing questions I have been hearing from clients have come from GEO: What is it, should I be worried about it, how can I make sure my law firm is actually visible in all these AI answers? Here's what your law firm needs to know to stay relevant as the search landscape evolves.
After AppLovin Corp.'s ( NASDAQ: APP) share price tumbled more than 35% early last year due to a pending class action lawsuit and to short seller reports, the software company's better-than-expected quarterly reports helped the stock recover. Shares hit a new high of $745.61 a piece in September and took another run at that high in late December. AppLovin stock easily outperformed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq last year.
But walking the floors this year, one thing is unmistakable: The industry is no longer dazzled by what's possible. It's demanding proof of what works. As technology accelerates, consumer expectations fragment, and financial scrutiny intensifies, 2026 is shaping up to be a reckoning year for brands. According to Havas' Meaningful Brands research, 78% of brands could disappear tomorrow and consumers wouldn't care. Loyalty has become conditional. Attention is scarce. And relevance must be earned daily.
Google has undergone a wholesale rebrand of its adtech wares by unifying its DoubleClick products and Google Analytics 360 Suite under the Google Marketing Platform, along with the debut of a new Google Ads offering in a bid to simplify online advertising for buyers and sellers alike. The new Google Marketing Platform also sees the debut of "Display & Video 360" which unifies features from DoubleClick Bid Manager, Campaign Manager, Studio and Audience Center features to better enable "end-to-end execution".
If you work in martech, marketing operations or related roles, you've surely heard colleagues and leadership complaining about data quality and their lack of trust in data. We often place the blame for data quality on the system, because we're not willing to fully say the quiet part out loud: The No. 1 factor in data quality is the people, the processes and the level of rigor in those processes.
From afar, it looks like Google had a rough year. It was found guilty of operating an illegal search monopoly and a publisher ad tech monopoly, not to mention getting hit with a raft of civil antitrust suits brought by ad tech But zoom in a bit and it becomes clear that the past year went about as well as Google could have hoped for.
For many B2B businesses, outbound sales has traditionally been driven by persistence rather than precision. Build lists, send emails, follow up relentlessly, and hope enough conversations convert into opportunities. For a long time, that approach worked. Today, it is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. Inbox competition is more intense than ever, decision-makers are harder to reach, and buyers are far more selective about where they spend their time.
Google seems to be testing showing call assets on Vehicle Ads within Google Search. So on the Vehicle Ads there is a way to call the dealer or seller, like you see on some other ads. I scoured the web looking to see if this is new and I couldn't find any mention of this before, nor any screenshots of this.
2025 was a rough year for investors in The Trade Desk . The technology platform for advertisers looking to escape the walled gardens fell 67.7%, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Slowing revenue growth amid a changing landscape in digital advertising on television, along with the adoption of artificial intelligence ( AI), has led investors to bail on the stock.
I founded my startup, Forage, around 18 months ago. Besides myself, I have one full-time employee who has been with the company for eight months. My business is in the marketing technology space, and I needed someone with a deep connection to modern culture and social media. So, I hired a 24-year-old growth and brand specialist from my neighborhood. She's a college graduate with less than two years of experience, whom I started mentoring.
AgenticOS provides a system-level layer that allows agents to plan, transact, and optimise programmatic advertising with speed, consistency, and control. PubMatic is launching AgenticOS in close partnership with a group of forward-leaning advertisers, agencies, and publishers actively engaged in testing, shaping, and deploying agent-led workflows, providing real-world validation and innovation for the next phase of AI-native advertising. Advertising is compounding across new devices and formats, hundreds of thousands of new entrant advertisers, and billions of global users, placing increasing pressure on legacy programmatic systems.
In an effort to tackle rising rates of childhood obesity, the UK has introduced restrictions on the advertising of junk food. Adverts for products high in fat, salt and sugar are now prohibited from appearing on television before 9pm and are banned outright across online platforms, under measures designed to reduce children's exposure to unhealthy food marketing. Although the rules formally begin now, much of the advertising industry has already adjusted, having voluntarily complied since October.
As Carty expands across the programmatic marketplace, integrating GeoEdge's ad quality and malvertising protection technology ensures that all ads delivered through the platform remain safe, compliant, and free from malicious or deceptive creatives. The partnership secures shopper experiences across Carty's global footprint, supporting safe paths to purchase, smooth journeys, and increased trust that transforms shoppers into loyal customers.
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