Global has today launched a self-service platform, AdPower, allowing businesses to book audio and outdoor media in minutes, with campaigns going live as soon as the next day. The AdPower platform offers the opportunity to plan, create, book, and measure premium media campaigns in one place, making it easier for businesses who may not have engaged with traditional media before.

Nearly two-thirds, or 62.6%, of media spend in 2026 is being directed toward conversion and awareness, a 10% increase from 2024, according to newly released data from Gartner’s CMO Spend Survey. The findings signal the importance of new customer acquisition and growth for marketers. Loyalty and retention now accounts for less than 15% of overall media spend, a 29% decrease over the same period.

Publicis acquired LiveRamp. Ogilvy invested in sports and creator-focused agency Article 41. At first glance, these deals may seem unrelated or even duplicative. But viewed together, they suggest the agency industry is entering a new era of M&A, one that can't be judged by yesterday’s playbook.

Marketers just can’t seem to escape the tyranny of performance marketing metrics. Gartner has just released a survey of more than 400 senior marketing execs and finds that 84% say the companies they work for are trapped in that familiar cycle known as the “brand doom loop.”

Oysterly Media has published research showing that only 26% of Gen Z Australians start product searches on Google. The research, conducted with Oaktree Insights and Consulting, surveyed 1,200 Australians. It found that 74% of young Australians begin product research on social media or AI rather than a traditional search engine. Across the full population, 40% still turn to Google first, highlighting a marked gap between younger users and the wider market.

Made up mostly of Gen Zers with backgrounds outside of traditional advertising, Hex aims to address the industry’s AI skills gap.

Understanding where a brand appears, and why, has become essential as AI and agentic services reshape search. Brand and company citations have become increasingly important in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews.

Every major holding company, every brand with a meaningful media budget, is increasing its streaming allocation. The money is flowing in the right direction. The user experience, on the other hand, is not keeping up. The frequency problem in CTV is neither new nor a secret. The core issue is structural. CTV does not have a universal creative ID standard for programmatically served ads.

It’s disclosure day. And no, we’re not talking about the new Steven Spielberg movie out later this week. We’re talking about the new legislation in New York State, S.8420-A/A.8887-B, that went into effect Tuesday and requires advertisers to disclose the use of “synthetic performers,” aka performers viewers might think are real people, but are actually AI generated.

The company announced on Wednesday that its internal systems will apply labels when it detects that “significant photorealistic AI” has been used. YouTube will also be making its AI labels more prominent, so they’re easier to spot across both long-form videos and YouTube Shorts.