Marketing tech

Marketing tech

Salesforce is moving beyond simple generative tools with a major upgrade to Slack's signature assistant - now a true AI-powered work agent that could change how marketers and cross-functional teams get work done. The rebuilt Slackbot, now generally available to Business+ and Enterprise+ customers, taps into your actual Slack conversational data to answer questions, organize tasks, draft content and automate workflows - all with natural language prompts right in the flow of work. The company promises it will soon even be able to schedule meetings.

In this article, you'll discover how to navigate the new Andromeda algorithm and use a specific creative strategy to lower your costs. In late 2024, Meta introduced a completely new algorithm dubbed Andromeda, effectively replacing the old targeting systems advertisers relied on for years. Previously, advertisers controlled the experience by manually selecting audiences based on interests or behaviors. Andromeda flips this dynamic; now, Meta controls the targeting, using your ad creative to determine who should see your content.

New artificial intelligence tools are poised to reshape the retail industry, but brands and retailers are still trying to identify the right playbook for incorporating this emerging technology into their business. Surveys conducted in the months leading up to Black Friday showed that anywhere from 33% to 83% of respondents used AI to do their holiday shopping in 2025. In turn, 97% of retailers plan to maintain or increase their AI investments next year, according to a survey from Ameprity.

The market pressure was intense, and clients kept asking us to integrate with the platforms they were buying. It was tempting to follow the trend. But after digging into the use cases, the economics and the liabilities associated with storing person-level data, the answer was no. It was not the popular recommendation, but it freed our team to invest in the infrastructure that would actually matter for privacy and efficiency.

Going into the Consumer Electronics Showcase, there are a few things you expect to see every year when you enter the main convention center show floor - like dancing robots, for example. (Bonus points if they don't fall down .) At C-Space, which is the convention's digital advertising hub, the innovation might be a little less eye-grabbing (and, hopefully, less laugh-inducing.) But for marketers, there's still a lot to take in. Heck, some of it might even be useful!

More and more small and medium-sized businesses are turning to TikTok to drive real business results, from discovery through to leads, bookings, and sales. Sitting under the Marketing Technology badge, the Channel Sales Partner Program recognizes partners that meet TikTok's technical, operational, and go-to-market standards while driving SMB adoption and investment through their platforms at scale.

A marketing technology firm that seeks to influence C-suite executives, policymakers, and other important people is getting a major infusion of cash from one of the world's biggest investors. Applecart received a $100 million investment from the private equity giant Blackstone last year, two people familiar with the situation first told Semafor, in a fundraising round that would value the New York-based data company at around $500 million.

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.

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.

OpenAI's executives are already debating whether to make the pilgrimage to Cannes Lions this year - a fitting metaphor for the company's broader ambitions. The festival is where the ad industry goes to celebrate its ability to turn creativity into influence. And OpenAI, for all its Silicon Valley roots, is increasingly angling for a seat at that table. That deliberation captures the tension of a relationship still being negotiated: tech's rising power testing how far it can step into marketing's most symbolic space.