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.
The Media Planning Survey Nobody Will Read—But You Should, Because It Pays £250
MarketingWeek’s £250 media planning survey for 2026 isn’t just another industry gimmick—if you engage critically, it might actually surface insights you won’t find in agency press releases.
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Apple’s AI Drama and Vine’s Resurrection: What Marketers Need to Stop Ignoring
Apple’s recent AI retreat exposes the myth of its privacy-first stance, while Vine’s comeback challenges marketers to rethink short-form video strategies amid social fatigue.
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Diageo’s CEO Pulls No Punches: ‘Fundamental Questions’ or Just Spin on Competitiveness?
Diageo’s CEO Sir Dave Lewis isn’t hiding the truth: competitiveness and affordability are the overdue focus in a brand strategy long trapped by legacy bloat and premiumization myths.
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Marketing Week’s Webinar Promises Award-Winning Secrets — But Is It Just More Marketing Noise?
Marketing Week’s upcoming webinar offers a peek behind the curtain of award-winning marketing — but beware the usual hype dressed up as insight.
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Ziff Davis Gobbles Up Four Recurrent Ventures Brands, Betting Big on Lifestyle Content While Rivals Retreat
Ziff Davis is doubling down on lifestyle content by acquiring four brands from Recurrent Ventures, bucking the trend of media companies retreating from the open web.
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Old Navy’s Latest Executive Play: Michael Francis to Lead Customer Strategy in a No-BS Turnaround Bid
Old Navy shakes up leadership by appointing Michael Francis as Chief Customer Officer, signaling a no-nonsense approach to its struggling turnaround.
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Criteo’s $1 Billion Quarter Masks Real Trouble Behind YoY Growth
Criteo’s $1 billion Q1 haul looks good until you realize it’s propped up by short-term deals and overshadowed by major client losses. The retargeting giant is struggling to keep pace in a privacy-first world.
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Disney+ AI Hype Meets Reality: Why Josh D’Amaro’s Digital Centerpiece Promises More Than It Delivers
Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro calls Disney+ the company’s digital centerpiece, promising AI-driven upgrades. But beneath the hype lies familiar tech grift and underwhelming execution.
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Ted Turner’s Death Marks the End of an Era in 24-Hour News Hype
Ted Turner, the man who created CNN and pioneered 24-hour news, has died at 87. His legacy is a relentless news cycle that reshaped media — for better and worse.
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Title: Google's AI Revolution: Promise and Peril in a Rapidly Changing World
In a bustling café in downtown San Francisco, a group of tech enthusiasts huddles around a table, animatedly discussing the latest advancements in artificial intelligence. Laptops open and smartphones poised, they share their thoughts on Go
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Why Betting on Positivity in Podcasting Beats the Clickbait Hot Take Trap
In a sea of clickbait outrage, the Good Noticings podcast chooses positivity — proving that thoughtful content can thrive without falling into the hot take trap.
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The CMO Revolt: Why Marketing Chiefs Are Getting Fired and What It Means for Growth
Last month’s mass CMO shakeups reveal a brutal truth: the marketing playbook is broken, and boards demand ruthless growth operators, not brand cheerleaders.
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Victoria Lozano’s Crayola Makeover: Legacy Brand Revival Without the Corporate Snooze
Victoria Lozano’s overhaul of Crayola proves legacy brand revival doesn’t need to be a boring corporate rerun or a desperate viral chase. It’s about real strategy and emotional grit.
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The Week’s Most Shamelessly Luxurious Ads: Marc Jacobs, Ikea, and the Art of Selling You Stuff You Don’t Need
This week’s ad roundup features Marc Jacobs, Ikea, Goop Kitchen, and Bloomberg Media delivering campaigns soaked in glossy clichés and tired narratives. Time to call out the industry’s favorite grifts.
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Possible’s 2026 Playbook: Eden Roc Expansion and Star-Studded Invite-Only Marketing Theater
Possible’s 2026 expansion into Eden Roc and its invite-only programming aim to transform marketing conferences into exclusive star-studded spectacles. But is it all show and no substance?
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AB InBev Clinches Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year—Third Time’s Not a Charm, It’s a Monopoly
AB InBev’s third Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year win isn’t just a trophy—it’s a clear sign that marketing creativity is now a game dominated by cash and scale, not innovation.
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Google’s AI Max One Year Later: Search Costs Skyrocket While Advertisers Get Milked
A year after Google launched AI Max bidding, advertisers face soaring CPCs and shrinking returns as zero-click traffic worsens the squeeze.
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OpenAI Rejects Search Budgets—Because ChatGPT Isn’t a Google Clone, Deal with It
OpenAI’s refusal to adopt traditional search budgets reveals that ChatGPT operates fundamentally differently from Google—exposing the SEO industry’s outdated assumptions.
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