How to build customer trust through data transparency
Practical discussions about marketing technology sometimes boil down to this: “How can we collect this data on our customers without them knowing about it?” That...
AI-powered martech news and releases: October 17
Isolation and loneliness are significant problems in society, and people are increasingly turning to AI as a solution. A Harvard Graduate School of Education study...
IAB Tech Lab releases protocol for private sharing of conversion data
Meet ADMaP. That’s the Attribution Data Matching Protocol just released by IAB Tech Lab for public comment. The protocol is aimed at enabling advertisers and...
One-third of SMBs are looking to new martech to target customers
Small and midsize businesses are considering or adopting marketing technology to better engage with new and existing customers. Over a third — 35% — of...
Declining customer feedback and loyalty, growing AI skepticism
Brands today are challenged by heightened consumer expectations and declining consumer feedback. In other words, negative experiences sharply impact customer loyalty, but — despite the...
How to move beyond performative segmentation and embrace authenticity
As an educator, marketing practitioner and leader of the Marketing Accountability Council, I’m noticing significant gaps in how I used to approach and teach market...
Improving marketing operations performance: Best of the MarTechBot
Best of the MarTechBot showcases the MarTechBot’s responses to prompts submitted by readers. See more about how marketers are using MarTechBot here. The language model is based on content...
Prime Big Deal Days kicks off holidays with slow start
Holiday promotions got off to a slow start this week as consumers in Florida braced for the second of two big storms in as many...
What are marketers’ investment priorities as 2024 winds down?
Many marketing organizations spent the last couple of years watching their budgets carefully as interest rates rose and VC money dried up. As a result,...
How to unlock the power of personalization through edge computing
CMOs are working hard to bring the value of personalization to their customers and businesses, especially to build stronger customer relationships. But now, edge computing...
Does your marketing team have a martech problem or a data problem?
Since you work in marketing, you’re well aware of the bad rap marketing technology gets from time to time. Many of the features in martech...
Zeta Global to acquire LiveIntent
Zeta Global has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire makreting platform LiveIntent. The cost will be $250 million in cash and stock. Zeta Global...
What the LinkedIn debate over a HockeyStack report says about B2B marketing
Here’s a question to consider: Does it take more than 250 touchpoints to close a B2B SaaS deal in today’s world? That’s a lot of...
Oracle aims to automate the complete customer service lifecycle
Oracle this week unveiled new AI-powered capabilities for Oracle Fusion Cloud Service and Oracle Fusion Cloud Field Service. The ambitious aim is to automate the...
AI-powered martech news and releases: September 19
It’s one thing to ramp up content production, but is the added productivity pumping out waste? This week, digital content experience company Siteimprove acquired MarketMuse,...
Zendesk saturates CX with AI and voice
Zendesk, the customer service and experience platform, announced initiatives that will infuse AI capabilities including agents and copilots across its platform, as well as a...
Google blasts DOJ’s ‘radical’ proposed breakup plan
Google today pushed back on “radical and sweeping proposals” from the U.S. Department of Justice in its ongoing antitrust lawsuit over Google’s illegal search monopoly....
AI and marketing: What the stats show
There is a lot of talk about AI’s impact on digital marketing, but you need data to know if that talk is accurate. While there...
Meta announces genAI video tools for advertisers
Today, Meta announced new generative AI video creation tools for advertisers on Facebook and Instagram. The tools are rolling out in Advantage+ creative and will...
Google rolls out new AI-organized search results, AI Overview links
Google is rolling out AI-organized search results, and the new links and citations format in the Google AI Overviews. AI-organized search results. The new AI-organized search...
Weighing the pros and cons of out-of-the-box martech
Buy or build stack components? That’s an issue martech practitioners confront all the time. Like it or not, no one will ever get everything they...
7 ways to boost customers’ emotional connection and loyalty with your brand
Loyalty. What’s emotion got to do with it? That emotional connection to a brand is extremely important to customer loyalty. It’s often been thought to...
Lyft Media expands measurement and targeting capabilities
This week, rideshare company Lyft added significant measurement and targeting abilities to its ad platform, Lyft Media. Partnerships with key adtech companies allow Lyft Media...
Google’s cookie pivot leaves 88% of industry in uncertainty: IAB
Google’s pivot on deprecating third-party cookies has caused uncertainty in the digital advertising industry. Originally set for 2022, the plan faced multiple delays since its...
WordPress moves to ban WP Engine from accessing its resources
Update: WP Engine sues WordPress and 8.4% of Auttomatic’s staff quit in apparent protest — see below. WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg is mad. “WP Engine...
Zeta Global unveils connected mobile experience and AI agents
Zeta Global launched a new AI-powered intelligent mobile solution, as well as an expanded roster of AI agents, at last week’s Zeta Live event in...
Bluecore moves into experimentation
Bluecore, the retail and D2C omnichannel personalization platform, is adding experimentation to its suite of products. Bluecore’s new Experimentation Hub will enable the testing of...
AI-powered martech news and releases: October 3
The C-suite continues to see marketing and sales as the areas where AI is providing the best ROI, according to a new Marketbridge survey. Fifty-two...
What Oracle’s exit from advertising means for the adtech space
As September drew to a close, so did Oracle Advertising. The withdrawal from the ad business had been abruptly announced during an earnings call in...
2024 online holiday spending set for record year with $240 billion in sales
U.S. online holiday shoppers are expected to spend $240.8 billion in November and December this year, according to a forecast by Adobe. This represents a...
Salesforce goes down, while speculation and conspiracy theories go up
Salesforce suffered an outage across a number of instances Tuesday, making some features of its platform unavailable to users, while others reported they could not...
7 weak spots in Google’s defense against DOJ antitrust claims
On Friday, Google concluded its defense in the Department of Justice’s lawsuit over its advertising technology. Even though Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Milgrom provided supporting...
Why public relations is thriving in today’s global marketing mix
This article was co-authored with Ronen Shnidman, Head of Content at okoora. With digital marketing and social media taking center stage, it’s easy to assume...
How to balance ROAS, brand safety and suitability in social media advertising
As marketers face growing pressure to get the most value from their ad budgets, return on ad spend (ROAS) has become a go-to performance metric....
U.S. FTC ban on fake, AI-generated reviews takes effect Oct. 13
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ban on fake and AI-generated customer reviews takes effect on Oct. 13, 2024. The final rule, which was announced...
New brands burst into celebrity influencer space
Almost a third of brands signing deals with influencers over the last 12 months had no such deals in 2023 or 2022 according to tracking...
Ali Schwanke: Spotlight on the expert
Our “Spotlight on the expert” series digs deeper into the stories of our expert contributors. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Ali...
As Canva targets enterprises, it risks losing SMBs due to higher prices
Digital design and collaboration platform Canva hopes a recent price hike won’t hurt it with SMBs as it challenges Adobe in the enterprise market. “While...
TikTok Search Ads Campaign launches in US
TikTok is taking a direct shot at Google with the launch of TikTok Search Ads Campaign in the U.S. Advertisers can now target users on...
QR code alternative introduces shoppable video ad tool
This week, technology company IRCODE introduced an image-scanning platform aiming to replace QR codes in video ads. The company uses a patented technology called Exact...
The best deployment model for martech genAI
Many companies are struggling to prepare their organizations for generative AI. As they navigate this process, they typically choose from one of three models: the...
Role of a marketing technology manager: Best of the MarTechBot
Best of the MarTechBot showcases the MarTechBot’s responses to prompts submitted by readers. See more about how marketers are using MarTechBot here. The language model is based on content...
AI-powered martech news and releases: September 19
This is the second year that Salesforce’s Dreamforce and HubSpot’s Inbound conferences happened in the same week. That is, unless you ask Google’s Gemini, which...
How to build interactive applications with generative AI
One of the most powerful things about generative AI is how quickly you can turn ideas into reality. After watching a video from my friend...
Fueling better marketing plans with Shell by Uptempo
Planning season is one of the busiest times of the year for marketers—and at Shell Mobility, it’s no different. Their team is in full planning...
How to make the jump from product-market fit to platform-market fit
Jason, director of product marketing at a global cybersecurity company, celebrates a big win. His product ranks as the third-fastest growing in the company. But...
How marketers can go beyond random acts of AI and why they should
I’ve just returned from MAICON 2024, one of the best, if not the best, conferences focused on AI and marketing. MAICON didn’t disappoint: I’m full...
What to do when your vendor has a data breach
One of your vendors will suffer a data breach. It is a when, not an if. They may have already, but not yet know it....
Where AI falls short in high-stakes B2B industries
Somebody in B2B needs to hear this today: AI isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. A new core skill every marketer needs to develop moving forward is...
Retail media networks evolve with new in-store measurement standards and omnichannel strategies
Left to right: David Cohen, CEO IAB, Kaisy O’Reilly, SVP, CMO, Stuart Weitzman and Jacquelyn Baker, Global CEO Omnicom Commerce Group discuss RMNs at IAB’s...
How CX transforms marketing from cost center to revenue engine
As CMOs, we’re constantly trying to balance driving growth with the fact that marketing is often seen as a cost center. But what if we...
CTV viewership rebounds to near pandemic-era levels
This year, viewers are watching more CTV in longer sessions. Viewership now approaches pandemic-era levels after pulling back in recent years, according to a new...
Google adtech antitrust trial: Everything you need to know
Google is on trial for allegedly abusing its dominance of the $200 billion digital advertising industry. The U.S. Department of Justice claimed that through acquisitions...
Data Cloud represents the ‘biggest upgrade’ in Salesforce history
“Data Cloud is the heartbeat of the Salesforce platform,” said Rahul Auradkar, using Salesforce’s new mantra. “Data Cloud is the core of how Agentforce works,”...
How to align your martech COE with organizational and go-to-market goals
Establishing a martech center of excellence (COE) is essential for navigating modern marketing challenges. Think of it as the core of your marketing strategy, where...
Using mobile measurement partners to drive bookings: Best of the MarTechBot
Best of the MarTechBot showcases the MarTechBot’s responses to prompts submitted by readers. See more about how marketers are using MarTechBot here. The language model is based on content...
The fading third place: A reflection on Starbucks and society
The aroma of freshly ground coffee beans filled the air as I stepped into the Seattle Starbucks in the late 1990s. A college student on...
What technology would you bet on in the martech race?
There are over 14,000 martech tools, according to ChiefMartec and MartechTribe. It’s an overwhelming number that no one can keep up with. To make things...
AI-powered martech news and releases: September 12
Some interesting AI data points in the news: AI marketing assistant is the fastest-growing job in marketing with 21% projected job growth, according to a...
6 tips for creating a winning email marketing calendar
Your calendar is not just a pretty collection of dates and ideas; it’s the blueprint for a successful email marketing program. A strategically built calendar...
Salesforce launches new, ‘more trustworthy’ generation of AI bots
Yesterday, Salesforce launched Agentforce — generative AI bots the company says can be trusted to take action on their own. Agentforce is “the third wave...
2024 elections playbook works for brands too
The 2024 U.S. presidential campaign crossed another milestone this week with the first televised debate between the two candidates. The week before, Vice President Kamala...
Use DAM and AI to keep up with content demands by Edna Chavira
Are you overwhelmed by the constant demand for new content? AI and Digital Asset Management (DAM) can be your secret weapons for keeping up with...
How brands are taking the AI plunge and testing customer experiences
Brands are integrating AI into their marketing functions, and some are ready to test these tools in customer experience. Currently, analytics and market research are...
Meta to restrict data in Business Tools, impacting ad targeting
Meta is implementing new data restrictions in its Business Tools, which could affect how businesses target ads and measure performance. Why we care. This move reflects...
Nearly half of US consumers feel ignored by marketers
Do your customers feel like you’re giving them enough attention? Forty-four percent of Americans say they feel ignored by the media and most advertisers. And...
Google vs. DOJ: Why Google’s ‘hundreds of competitors’ claim doesn’t add up
With Google’s antitrust jury trial underway, Google claimed the U.S. Department of Justice has a “narrow view” of the ad tech market and that advertisers and publishers...
EU hits Google with $2.6 billion fine in antitrust case
As the second day of the Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google got underway, the EU upheld a $2.6 billion antitrust fine against the company....
Measuring customer acquisition cost: Best of the MarTechBot
Best of the MarTechBot showcases the MarTechBot’s responses to prompts submitted by readers. See more about how marketers are using MarTechBot here. The language model is based on content...
Optimistic marketers increase expected ad spend
Buyers increased their 2024 ad spend projections to +11.8%, up from +9.5% projected at the end of last year, according to a new IAB report....
Braze unveils new freemium offerings
Customer engagement platform Braze launched two new free offerings, Braze for Startups and Braze Free Trial. These are both limited time offerings allowing start-ups or...
Free trial vs. demo: What’s more effective in B2B SaaS ads?
The customer journey for B2B software is long and complex for everything but the most basic, inexpensive products. Regardless of the complexity of the product...
The AI-powered marketer’s roadmap to the future of content
We’ve come to the end of my series, “Decoding generative AI: A marketer’s guide to text-based and visual AI content.” Because this series focused on...
AI and security are the focus of latest Salesforce acquisitions
Salesforce announced Thursday it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Own Company for $1.9 billion in cash. Own, which provides data protection and data management...
HubSpot’s August 2024 updates: Enhanced automation, big reporting updates and more
HubSpot’s August 2024 updates focus on helping your teams work more efficiently, connect with customers in a more personalized wa, and make better decisions backed...
US vs. Google, round 2: Government targets digital ad business
On Monday, Google and the Justice Department will begin their second antitrust trial of the year. The tech giant lost the last case, which was...
AI-powered martech news and releases: September 5
It’s been a bad week for Microsoft’s AI products. On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that many games don’t work on the company’s new...
Now playing: ‘The Email Test That Goes Wrong’
Email and testing go together like peanut butter and chocolate. What is your email audience anyway but a microcosm of your customer base? Email tests...
Google Ads unveils advanced performance planner for YouTube campaigns
Google Ads launched advanced “Performance Planner” plans, now including tailored strategies for YouTube campaigns, focusing on demand gen for both Action and Awareness goals. Why we care. The new...
Ecommerce sees positive spending trends
Despite inflation, a volatile stock market, fragile supply chains and general economic uncertainty, ecommerce overall sees a bright future — although of course not all...
Apple, Netflix, Google, Ford, and Nike are attending MarTech for free. Are you?
No company can exist without marketing. And no modern marketer can operate without technology. That’s why thousands of marketers from some of the world’s most...
Playable ads and longer campaigns gain traction in mobile gaming
Mobile gaming ads are becoming more playable, and mobile campaigns longer and possibly more sophisticated. These are the key takeaways from a recent mobile gaming...
3 tips to maximize your ROI at events
Conference season is in full swing. If you’re spending that much cash, be sure you’re getting results, whether it’s acquiring new leads, closing deals or...
Yelp brings antitrust lawsuit against Google
A new chapter in Google’s antitrust troubles opened yesterday with Yelp filing a lawsuit alleging that Google’s monopoly in search allows it to illegally dominate...
Salesforce sees a shorter, more competitive holiday season in 2024
Salesforce expects the 2024 holiday season to be shorter and more competitive with brands facing the challenge of attracting consumers with less purchasing power. Based...
It’s time to re-think our rejection of third-party cookies
Ever since Google threatened to eliminate third-party cookies, there’s been a steady drumbeat that websites should switch to first-party data, which, many say, is better...
How brands are using AI in Meta’s Advantage+ campaigns
Fashion and beauty brands are often early tech adopters. Many are digital-native, forging tailored D2C digital strategies. And there are so many competitive brands that...
U.S. state data privacy laws: What you need to know
(Story updated with information on the Montana privacy law which goes into effect on Oct. 1 and adds detail to Maryland’s law, which will be...
Data analysis and market research top list of AI use cases
Marketers are tapping into AI’s analytics and research capabilities in higher numbers than for genAI content production, according to a new survey of over 1,200...
AI-powered martech news and releases: August 29
The U.K.’s government is giving teachers AI chatbots to help them “mark and plan lessons.” The AI will be trained on government documents including curriculum...
How to optimize your app as part of a cross-device approach
The number of smartphone users globally is forecast to hit 7.7 billion by 2027, with each device providing another potential touchpoint for businesses to engage...
New Adobe Workfront Planning ties campaign development to execution
Adobe announced the general availability of Adobe Workfront Planning, a solution that delivers a flexible, unified view of campaign planning and activity leading to fast...
Hightouch launches AI Decisioning
Composable CDP Hightouch has announced a new enterprise AI product, AI Decisioning, as a native Snowflake app. AI Decisioning leverages Snowflake Cortex AI, a suite...
Google adds generative AI insights, shopping ad campaign goals
Google today introduced four updates to help retailers ahead of the holiday shopping season. Key updates: Shopping trends insights. You can now access real-time shopping trends...
Essential stack for a B2B startup: Best of the MarTechBot
Best of the MarTechBot showcases the MarTechBot’s responses to prompts submitted by readers. See more about how marketers are using MarTechBot here. The language model is based on content...
White House to tackle bad CX practices
The Biden/Harris administration is focusing attention on bad corporate customer experience practices like customer service “doom loops” and problems with customer service chatbots. That might...
4 ways to achieve early wins with AI in marketing
Marketers are starting to think big about AI in marketing. Different organizations will take various routes to achieve their goals. Some will hire expensive consultants...
HubSpot experts share tips for successful CRM implementations
A new customer relationship management (CRM) platform is a big change for any organization, as well as for the people tasked with using the new...
AI-powered martech news and releases: August 22
Can your AI smell better? That’s the goal of Osmo, a startup using artificial intelligence technology to help computers “generate smells like we generate images...
European regulators have a seat at the table
It’s high time big tech resigned itself to the new reality. When it’s making decisions about its own operations and strategy, European regulators have a...
Why the FTC’s stand on hashing is a wake-up call for digital advertisers
On July 24, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a statement that hit home for many in the digital advertising and marketing industry....
How employee experience drives customer satisfaction
The connection between employee experience (EX) and customer experience (CX) is well-documented, with both anecdotal evidence and statistical data supporting the correlation. Research indicates that...
Mastering email campaign execution by Edna Chavira
Are you tired of your email campaigns falling short? It’s time to level up your game! Join us for our upcoming webinar, Mastering Email Campaign...
iOS 18: Brace yourself for the new Apple Mail inbox
It’s iOS update season again, and email marketers need to get ready. The good news is that while iOS 18 is expected to be released...
Intense election ad buying could upend brands’ holiday marketing plans
While marketers get ready to ramp up holiday campaigns this fall, many U.S. consumers will have politics on their minds. That’s because those living in...
Marketo update improves audience insight for webinars
Adobe Marketo’s latest updates unveil powerful new features within Adobe’s Connect Engagement Dashboard, Room Management and enhanced webinar customization options, transforming the way webinars are...
How to choose a data enrichment solution
The focus of most B2B companies is developing products and services customers need. Selling them requires detailed customer information. It falls on marketing to get...
Improve your website’s accessibility in just three months by Edna Chavira
Ensuring your website and digital content are accessible is an often-overlooked brand strategy. However, a perfect web-accessibility implementation doesn’t need to be perfect from the...
Google AI Overviews have negligible impact on traffic, say publishers
Two large publishers, Dotdash Meredith and Ziff Davis, say Google AI Overviews haven’t significantly impacted their traffic. Here’s what the IAC (owner of Dotash) wrote its...
How marketing workflows will change with AI
In my last article, we talked about how marketing systems will change with the acceleration of AI, affecting roles, processes and workflows. In this article,...
IAB Tech Lab expands Multi-State Privacy Agreement
The IAB Tech Lab announced a change in terminology and an expansion of its U.S. privacy compliance agreement. What had previously been the U.S. National...
4 tips for increasing conversions along the buyer’s journey
Times are changing, and marketers are facing new challenges. With the pressure to deliver results and prove the effectiveness of their efforts — often with...
Could your marketing automation be doing more? by Edna Chavira
Many businesses found early success with marketing automation platforms. But as marketing needs evolve, a question arises: Is it time for a change? Join us...
For consumers, AI is the new IoT
Marketers’ primary job is to know what the customer wants. It’s simple, but not easy. When Jim Stengel was CMO of Procter & Gamble, he...
The marketer’s guide to conquering data quality issues
Picture this: You’ve just launched a major marketing campaign. The strategy is solid, the creativity is on point. But as the results roll in, something’s...
AI-powered martech news and releases: August 15
Tech companies are spending a lot of money on ads about AI, despite tons of research showing consumers’ dislike for it. As observed here last...
What the composability revolution means for the martech stack
This is the third article in a three-part series. The first, on composable CDPs, is here; the second, on composable customer engagement platforms, is here....
Email marketers sharpen deliverability tactics at MailCon
Left to right: Lilit Davtyan, CEO, Phonexa and Kristen Haines, CEO, MailCon kick off MailCon New York 2024. Image: MailCon. A year of changes requires...
How to gear up email for a strong finish to 2024
I’m still buzzing from a call a few days ago with a marketer working for a well-known Western university. These calls are always energizing because...
IAB releases updated IAB Diligence Platform
Today, IAB launched the updated IAB Diligence Platform, a third-party privacy compliance solution available for digital advertisers, agencies, adtech companies and publishers. The platform initially...
Marketers must adapt to a changing world
Fact. Inflation fundamentally reshaped the relationship between companies and consumers. Companies, faced with rising costs, responded with price hikes, product shrinkage and similar tactics, eroding...
22 must-have reports for measuring CRM health
Even the best CRM is nearly useless without clean data. Worse still, bad data creates huge costs for companies, like wasted labor, lost revenue, and...
CDP and customer experience: Best of the MarTechBot
Best of the MarTechBot showcases the MarTechBot’s responses to prompts submitted by readers. See more about how marketers are using MarTechBot here. The language model is based on content...
Why first-party data still reigns even with Google keeping third-party cookies
Data is not a new topic, but it is being revitalized since Google’s announcement that cookie deprecation is no longer in the pipeline. You might...
AI-powered martech news and releases: August 8
Does your consumer product have AI? Do yourself a favor and don’t tell anyone. A study of 1,000 people found products described as having AI...
Urban digital transformation: Insights for marketers from global smart cities
As the CEO of a marketing and PR agency, I’ve observed a fascinating trend in recent years: Major cities around the world are undergoing digital...
Transform content creation with AI and automation by Edna Chavira
Are you tired of content creation bottlenecks and struggling to keep up with audience demands? It’s time to revolutionize your approach. Join Deloitte Digital and...
How Centerfield is sifting insights from millions of phone calls
“Echo AI came onto our radar screen because we were looking for AI-driven consumer insight platforms that can help marketing, sales and customer service teams...
Google rolls out new features for Local Service Ads
Google unveiled new features for Local Services Ads (LSA) this week. One automatically selects profile photos to display in advertisements, while the others give advertisers...
Retail media networks and advertisers going from guesswork to growth
Retail media networks (RMNs) are a fast-growing space in advertising — up 16.3% last year. Retailers are adding channels and providing better measurement and execution...
How to leverage the 80/20 rule for martech efficiency and ROI
CMOs and their marketing organizations face a Sisyphean task in managing their ever-expanding martech stack. As these ecosystems grow bloated and more complex, challenges related...
Google phasing out Smart Campaigns in favor of Performance Max
Google is discontinuing its Smart Campaigns offering and integrating its features into Performance Max campaigns. Why we care. This shift impacts advertisers using Google’s simplified campaign...
What the composability revolution means for CDPs
The growing use of cloud data warehouses will challenge how we think about martech stacks. It might even lead to an unbundling of applications from...
What the Google antitrust ruling could mean for advertisers
Google’s loss in its federal antitrust case may mean huge changes for the company, web users and digital advertisers. It could result in a big...
Why Google lost: The DoJ’s case in 11 slides
Yesterday’s ruling by a federal U.S. judge that Google illegally held a monopoly in search and text advertising is a staggering defeat for one of...
Future-proof your content strategy by Edna Chavira
The digital world moves fast. What drives results today may not be effective tomorrow. To stay ahead, businesses must ensure their content is dynamic, engaging,...
How AI-generated images could redefine product placement
I recently experimented with Midjourney to generate an image of two hikers. One was wearing pilot-frame sunglasses, which I liked. A day or two later,...
Experian rolls out retail media network solution
This week, Experian announced a solution for retail media networks (RMNs) to improve the ability to identify customers within its network, help advertisers reach these...
Retailers struggle to identify site visitors
Even established online retailers face significant competition from large discount marketplaces like Temu, Rakuten and, of course, Amazon. That makes it even more disturbing that...
Customer journey maps: What you need to know
How well does your organization know how customers engage with your brand? Many of us think we know how it works, or more accurately, how...
Nature’s inspiration for transforming your marketing plan
Nature is a genius at adaptation. For over 3 billion years, organisms acclimated to the earth’s evolving environment with elegant strategies. The annual marketing plan’s...
Amazon digital ad revenue up 20% in 2nd quarter
Adding ads to Prime Video helped Amazon bring in $12.77 billion in digital advertising revenue for the second quarter of 2024 — up 20% year-over-year....
How additional information changes customer value assessments
How much is a random person worth to your business? The answer changes dramatically as you gather more information. Let’s explore how customer value assessments...
AI-powered martech news and releases: August 1
Charles II of Spain What do artificial intelligence and the Holy Roman Empire have in common? Inbreeding by both produced something called the Habsburg Jaw....
Meta ad revenue up 22% in second quarter
Facebook and Instagram parent Meta ad revenue was up 22% last quarter. The company’s overall revenue increased by the same percentage to $39.07 billion, its...
Second quarter saw slowing ad spend on most platforms
Most U.S. digital ad platforms saw slowing ad spending last quarter, according to a new report from digital marketing agency Tinuiti. Amazon Sponsored Products, Facebook,...
Subscriber acquisition best practices following Gmail’s spam update
Gmail’s new spam guidelines have put email and CRM marketers in a bit of a pickle. Responsible list management to stay under spam thresholds means...
SurveyMonkey launches a CX suite
SurveyMonkey, known for online surveys and feedback management, now offers a packaged suite of customer experience tools. Improved experiences will continue to be based on...
The quickstart guide to marketing automation by Edna Chavira
Is your marketing team overwhelmed and underperforming? It’s time to harness the power of automation. This free guide from Act-On provides a step-by-step blueprint to...
OpenAI starts testing SearchGPT prototype
OpenAI announced SearchGPT, its long-anticipated search product. SearchGPT is a “temporary prototype” and limited to just 10,000 users and publishers at launch. OpenAI plans to...
AI-powered martech news and releases: July 25
Welcome to The Olympics, now with AI! Earlier this year, the International Olympic Committee (which definitely no longer has any problems with corruption) released the...
Mixed reactions from ad ecosystem to Google keeping cookies
After years of back and forth between Google and regulatory bodies, the news finally came that Google is scrapping plans to kill third-party cookies in Chrome....
The impact of martech on company value
“Are we getting value from our martech?” This million-dollar question plagues marketers, martech managers and C-suite executives alike. As the marketing technology landscape expands, martech...
67% of marketers say lack of training is primary barrier to AI adoption
While 99% of marketers say they’re personally using AI, 67% say a lack of training remains a barrier to its adoption at work — three...
How to transform your website into a continuous marketing powerhouse
A company’s website is more than just an online storefront in today’s digital age. C-level executives must understand its potential as a dynamic, always-on marketing...
Acquisitions signal agencies are betting on influencer marketing
A pair of influencer marketing platforms were acquired by agencies this week, in a sign the advertising industry sees a future in influencer-led strategies that’s...
Phygital agency NEWU is here to surprise you
The long line of young women curled around the corner from the iconic Casa Magazines store on 8th Avenue in New York City and stretched...
Why buyer groups matter in B2B demand gen and how to target them
In B2B demand generation, buyer groups have become more important than individual buyers. Traditionally, marketers focused on the buyer journey as if a single person...
Data strategies for unlocking customer lifetime value by Edna Chavira
Imagine a world where your marketing efforts go beyond short-term gains. A world where you can predict customer behavior, personalize experiences, and foster long-lasting loyalty....
Channel99 introduces digital channel scoring for B2B
Channel99 today launched a new solution for scoring the performance of digital campaigns by channel providing insights into performance and opportunities for optimization. This is...
Email deliverability: What you need to know
Deliverability may not be the most interesting part of email marketing, but it is the most important. It doesn’t matter how good your creatives or...
3 ways to avoid stock content misuse in your DAM
As marketers who rely on creative collaborators to produce amazing adverts, timely text and vibrant visuals, we all use stock content. A good stock photo...
Segmentation for email campaigns: Best of the MarTechBot
Best of the MarTechBot showcases the MarTechBot’s responses to prompts submitted by readers. See more about how marketers are using MarTechBot here. The language model is based on content...
Netflix leans into ad-supported tier as subscriber growth surges
Netflix is phasing out its cheapest ad-free plan in Canada and the U.K., with plans to do the same in the U.S. and France. Netflix...
AI-powered martech news and releases: July 18
Predicting the future is a rube’s game and AI is no exception. Nonetheless, the fine folks at Ericsson put out a list of 10 things...
The top ecommerce trends from record-breaking Amazon Prime Day 2024
Helped by some deep discounts, Amazon Prime Day, an annual two-day ecommerce event that ran July 16 and 17, generated a record $14.2 billion in...
Where are martech vendors finding their revenue? Let’s take a look
Business is a little sluggish for a number of martech vendors. They will tell you so themselves (just keep reading). Put the blame on interest...
Why traditional marketing systems can’t keep up with AI and what to do about it
Over the course of 150 years, manufacturing evolved from relying on skilled artisans and craftsmen to automated, computer-driven, flexible manufacturing systems. Marketing will do the...
How Salesforce Data Cloud supports CX for Principal Financial
Salesforce’s Marc Benioff believes that 2025 will be the year of Data Cloud. In one sense, this might be seen as celebrating the end (or...
Planting seeds and building trust in a world of overnight wins
There’s a comforting truth to the adage, “Good things come to those who wait.” But waiting often feels synonymous with missing out. Passive waiting offers...
Unlocking the full potential of GenAI in marketing by Edna Chavira
Experts predict a revolution in marketing productivity thanks to GenAI. But how do you unlock its true potential? This webinar dives deep into how GenAI,...
How AI is shaping the future of ecommerce advertising by Adobe x Meta
No matter what products or services your ecommerce business focuses on, elevating the customer experience is the key to unlocking better sales and conversions. In...
SCOTUS ruling makes it easier to challenge federal ad regulations
U.S. Supreme Court rulings don’t often impact marketing, but a decision handed down last month likely will. Lober v. Raimondo sharply curtails the power of...
Why digital out-of-home advertising is summer 2024’s marketing powerhouse
Summer is a time to get out of the house and maybe on the road. It’s filled with activities like long-distance vacations, trips to the...
Comic Con trivia, cat personalities and beyond: Empowering customer engagement
New York Comic Con 2023: 200,000 attendees. Pax West 2023, an event for gamers: 120,000 attendees. These are huge events with deeply engaged audiences, right?...
How to clarify marketing metrics to impress the C-suite
CMOs have the shortest tenures of C-suite executives. One main reason for this is the difficulty CMOs have in proving the financial value of marketing...
Measuring new customer acquisition and loyalty: Best of the MarTechBot
Best of the MarTechBot showcases the MarTechBot’s responses to prompts submitted by readers. See more about how marketers are using MarTechBot here. The language model is based on content...
A roadmap to martech stack maturity
Maturing a martech stack is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of marketing technology management. While marketers frequently focus on executing immediate projects, their technology...
LinkedIn’s AI ad tool to launch globally this fall
LinkedIn is preparing to roll out Accelerate, its AI-driven campaign tool, to all advertisers globally by early fall. It was originally made available in October...
Salesforce’s Summer 2024 release features time-saving enhancements
Salesforce’s Summer 2024 releases will help teams work smarter, with new product innovations built on data, AI, CRM and trust. This edition’s enhancements save time...
Why brand trust is declining and how marketers can earn it back
Brand trust is on the decline. The combination of rapidly emerging technologies, an abundance of misinformation and unethical data use is putting consumers on edge....
Black women founders have to keep pushing
Entrepreneur and author Octavia Goderema When it comes to securing funding for a tech startup, we all know the depressing statistics. Men do better than...
Target audiences precisely to maximize reach and reduce spend by Edna Chavira
Imagine a world where your marketing message finds its perfect match. No wasted effort, no aimless casting of a net. Your ideal audience, captivated. This...
3 strategies to navigate change as digital privacy evolves
The only constant in marketing is change. With new trends, technologies and techniques emerging almost daily, the importance of swiftly adapting only increases. Specifically, two...
AI-powered martech releases and news: July 11
You might want to hold off on using AI for customer service: 64% of customers don’t want companies to replace people with bots, according to...
BlueConic acquires experience-creation company Jebbit
Today, CDP BlueConic announced it acquired Jebbit, a software company that helps build interactive experiences that marketers can use to capture a type of first-party...
Alphabet’s acquisition of HubSpot isn’t happening
Sources told Bloomberg that Alphabet’s potential deal to acquire HubSpot is shelved. “Parties didn’t get to due-diligence stage in deal talks,” said the report. Early...
Essential KPIs to measure generative AI’s success in marketing
No marketing technology series would be complete without discussing the ever-important measurement of success or KPIs. I have been writing about KPIs and ROI my...
Why first-party data alone won’t solve marketers’ challenges
First-party data has become the go-to solution for many marketers grappling with increasing privacy regulations, continued loss of data signals and the impending deprecation of...
A people-friendly approach to adopting AI in marketing
What leads to the successful adoption of AI in marketing? Many organizations will sweat over deciding which large language model to use and which AI-enabled...
Limited HubSpot breach reminds us there’s risk in SaaS apps and data storage
HubSpot says fewer than 50 customer accounts were victims of a breach in late June, all impacted customers were notified and all has been quiet...
4 inbox-altering changes to watch for
Email marketers are losing ground in the battle for the inbox, thanks to technology changes that give mailbox providers more control over everything from message...
How to implement dynamic pricing without alienating customers
Dynamic pricing, once a standard practice in ancient marketplaces, is making a comeback in today’s digital age. This pricing strategy, which involves adjusting prices based...
Steve Ganem, Product Director of Google Analytics, on what’s ahead for GA4
As we bid Google Universal Analytics (UA) its final adieu, we caught up with Product Director of Google Analytics, Steve Ganem, about its successor — Google...
HubSpot’s June 2024 updates: New automation options, big sales improvements and more
HubSpot introduced a wave of new updates in June. We’ve explored them all to separate the nice-to-haves from the game changers. June’s biggest updates include...
How martech vendors can navigate the slow death of net-new deals
Based on my conversations across the marketing technology landscape, we’re at saturation. Net new deals are dwindling, with the market resembling a stagnating pond instead...
Does your organization need a DAM? Audit first, with these easy steps.
Customers’ expectations are rising and marketers are working to meet those expectations with personalized content at a growing number of touchpoints — from social to...
4 ways to increase email engagement with your current ESP
I’m pretty frequently asked some version of this question: “How can we get more out of {ESP name}?” Before I launch into my answers, I’ll...
61% of marketers still relying on third-party data
Some 61% of digital marketers are still using third-party data, according to Salesforce’s latest State of Marketing Report. It also found problems with data activation,...
Spotlight on the expert: Michelle Tackabery
Our “Spotlight on the expert” series digs deeper into the stories of our expert contributors. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Michelle...
