What we are thinking about.
Notes from running 8 publications and building tools for them. Restaurant SEO, local marketing, the boring parts that move the needle.
Possible Miami Reveals AI’s Double-Edged Sword: Promise Crushed by Hype and Half-Baked Execution
The Possible Miami conference exposed the stark divide between AI’s promise and the grift surrounding its marketing adoption, warning brands to stop chasing hype and start demanding real results.
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Omnicom’s Agency Graveyard Grows: 180 and adam&eveDDB NY Cannibalized Into Lola USA
Omnicom shutters 180 and adam&eveDDB NY, merging them into the new Lola USA brand — another grim reminder that agency consolidation is peak corporate theater, not innovation.
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Why Retail Media Budgets Are Getting Hijacked by Smart Shelves and No One’s Talking About It
Retail media budgets are quietly shifting from digital ads to smart shelf technology, turning aisles into data gold mines that directly influence buying decisions.
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The CW’s Streaming Hustle: ESPN and Roku Deals Reveal a Network Desperate to Escape Linear Mediocrity
The CW’s new streaming deals with ESPN and Roku are less innovation and more a last-ditch effort to escape linear TV irrelevance. This scramble highlights a deeper problem: content that just isn’t compelling enough to thrive in streaming’s brutal ecosystem.
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The Pop Star Collab Grift: What Maybelline, Nespresso, and Joaquina Got Right That Your Agency Didn't
Celebrity-brand partnerships often fall flat because agencies treat them as quick fixes. Maybelline, Nespresso, and Joaquina show what real collaboration looks like.
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iProspect North America CEO Liz Rutgersson Exits After Under Three Years—Dentsu’s Perpetual Executive Carousel Spins On
Liz Rutgersson, CEO of iProspect North America and longtime Dentsu executive, is stepping down after less than three years, spotlighting the agency world’s chronic leadership instability.
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Publishers Are Fumbling Deepfake Verification While AI Fakery Runs Wild
Deepfakes have shattered the trust publishers once took for granted, exposing lazy fact-checking and hollow AI defenses as the industry’s fatal weaknesses.
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WPP CFO Calls Out The Trade Desk’s Overstated Market Role Amid Holdco Skepticism
WPP’s CFO shatters the myth of The Trade Desk’s market dominance, signaling a shift as holdcos demand real proof of value from ad tech vendors instead of blind trust.
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CTV’s Pod Bidding Revolution: How Ad Tech Giants Are Weaponizing Live Sports Ads for 2026
Ad tech heavyweights like Comcast’s FreeWheel and The Trade Desk are pushing pod bidding to overhaul CTV’s programmatic auctions, gearing up for a flood of live sports ad inventory in 2026.
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Why Everyone’s Chasing Ad Measurement Tech—and Still Missing the Point
The ad industry’s M&A frenzy is chasing tech that promises to measure the unmeasurable: intuition. Spoiler alert—this isn’t the magic bullet everyone hopes for.
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Brands Throw Cash at Podcasts for World Cup Hype — Because Traditional Ads Are Dead
Brands are shifting audio ad dollars to podcasts and streaming ahead of the World Cup, recognizing that traditional sports radio is a fading relic. Engagement metrics prove podcasts deliver where generic ads fail.
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Marketers Ignoring CTOs in 2024: The Tech Blind Spot That Will Cost You
Only 4.6% of marketers prioritize their relationship with CTOs, a catastrophic oversight as AI and tech become marketing essentials. The disconnect is killing innovation.
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Krispy Kreme’s UK Brand Revival: Why Building Resilience Beats Marketing Gimmicks Amid Ad Restrictions
Krispy Kreme’s first UK brand campaign is a strategic move to build brand resilience amid stringent new advertising rules restricting sugary product depictions.
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Silicon Valley’s Power Struggle and Peloton’s Latest Misstep: The Week the Tech Titans Got Real
This week in tech exposes Silicon Valley’s messy power struggles and Peloton’s faltering strategy, revealing the harsh realities behind the hype.
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The Attention Economy’s Dirty Secret: Why 'Attention Formats' Are Killing Real Engagement
Marketing’s obsession with flashy attention-grabbing formats is backfiring, irritating audiences and delivering hollow metrics that mask real disengagement.
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Starbucks’ Loyalty Overhaul and ‘Energised Marketing’ Are Not Your Average Growth Hacks
Starbucks credits its revenue growth to a smart overhaul of its loyalty program and culturally attuned marketing — proof that real customer insight beats lazy agency hype.
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Stagwell’s Agent Cloud: Another Overhyped Marketing Toolkit Pretending to Solve SMB AI Woes
Stagwell’s new “Agent Cloud” toolkit for SMBs is just another overhyped SaaS play promising AI magic but delivering generic, fragmented solutions. SMBs deserve better.
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Paris Hilton and McCormick’s Millennial Seasoning Push: More Marketing Noise Than Flavor Innovation
Paris Hilton and McCormick’s new seasoning line is less about flavor and more about influencer marketing dressed up as innovation. Here’s why it’s just another product drop chasing millennials.
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