YouTube settlement sharpens youth safety concerns: As social companies head to court, brands may need a more cautious approach to youth audiences.

New tools turn barista content into scalable advertising.

Attribution can show what happened, but not always what caused it. Incrementality testing is helping marketers distinguish true impact from activity that would have occurred anyway.

On today’s podcast episode, we present our “Unofficial Monthly Retailer Awards” (UMRAs) for June, including awards for “Most Impactful Campaign,” “Best IRL Initiative,” and “Greatest Under-the-Radar Move.” Listen to the discussion featuring guest host Arielle Feger and Analysts Paola Flores-Marquez, Emmy Liederman, and Rachel Wolff.

45% of US digital audio listeners tune in during the afternoon (12pm–5pm), making it the top daypart for digital audio, according to a March survey from Harris Poll and EMARKETER.

OpenAI’s Cannes pitch: New ad updates and improving engagement rates suggest ChatGPT is gaining traction, but marketers still want performance proof.

AI expands the shortlist: AI is steering product discovery by introducing shoppers to unfamiliar brands, yet loyalty still decides most purchase decisions.

The brand could join Reformation in making its public debut as investor appetite returns.

Amazon, Walmart, and Instacart roll out new ads that blend into the shopping experience

Lower delinquencies reflect tighter budgets, and retailers looking to capture discretionary spending feel the pinch

Gen Zers and millennials are moving assets from bank deposits into stocks, ETFs, and crypto on fintech platforms.

Sunscreen myths go viral on TikTok, where Gen Z spends time. Yet they know the least about sun safety, making it critical for brands to highlight the sun protection benefits that resonate with them today.

Resale has moved from niche to mainstream, with over half (59%) of consumers shopping secondhand apparel last year, according to thredUP. But as platforms scale to millions of items, the real challenge shifts from inventory to discovery, helping shoppers navigate an endless aisle of one-of-a-kind pieces without feeling overwhelmed.

Agentic ad buying has made strides through the first half of this year to fulfill its promise of saving marketers time and money when planning campaigns. Though the technology still has plenty to prove, large agencies and publishers are forging shared standards to make those workflows reliable, meeting advertiser demand without sacrificing trust.

Amazon turns Alexa ads into checkout lanes: Alexa+ Agentic Ads lets users buy inside AI conversations, collapsing the journey from promotion to purchase.

Meta’s spotlights AI at Cannes: The company is leveraging its scale to advance automated ads, but marketers still need strong creative and clear guardrails.

AI answers become a brand battleground: Contentful’s AEO tool reveals how AI forms brand perceptions and suggests fixes to improve visibility.

Agentic AI ads arrive: Cannes moves AI agents from demos to deals; buyers orchestrate systems as autonomous media buying nears scale.

Google expands YouTube tools: New creator, trend, and AI insights tie planning, content, and ads into one fuller-funnel workflow.