蘑菇AV

The news: YouTube鈥檚 viewing dominance is pushing publishers and media companies to look beyond it as a marketing channel and adopt it as a primary platform for airing TV episodes and original content. National Geographic now airs linear rerun streams on YouTube, and NBCU launched YouTube-centric media brands like Comedy Bites and Family Flicks. Our take: Brands should prioritize YouTube just as they do TV and TikTok, not as a dumping ground for extra assets. Launching campaigns with a YouTube-first media strategy鈥攊ncluding original YouTube content and creator-first formats like Shorts鈥攊s the new table stakes.

The news: Meta poached Apple鈥檚 top AI/ML engineer, Ruoming Pang, with a multimillion-dollar offer鈥攎arking another major hire for its fast-growing Superintelligence Labs (MSL), per Bloomberg. Our take: MSL鈥檚 AI breakthroughs will likely funnel into Meta鈥檚 core products鈥攁ds, targeting, automation, and content moderation. AI-powered Meta ads are already delivering almost 22% higher returns than average Meta ads, per The Drum. Advertisers should track how Meta鈥檚 talent advantage could enhance ad personalization and ROI. Start stress-testing campaigns with Meta鈥檚 AI tools now鈥攂efore they evolve further鈥攁nd align campaigns to AI-native ad products.

The news: Gen Z鈥檚 share of private label spending will overtake that of baby boomers by 2026, according to a Numerator report. Our take: Gen Z鈥檚 affinity for private labels is part of a broader behavioral shift鈥攐ne that retailers are making the most of. To encourage loyalty among this notoriously fickle cohort, companies will need to stay on top of emerging food trends, foster exclusivity and a sense of urgency with limited-edition releases, and make sure they satisfy Gen Zers鈥� desire for attractive packaging, transparent labeling, and sustainability.

The news: Healthline Media settled with the California Attorney General鈥檚 office over allegations that Healthline.com failed to opt consumers out of having their personal information shared for targeted advertising. Our take: State health data privacy laws are new, meaning we will likely see increased scrutiny and more enforcement action against companies that previously went unchecked. Healthline and other health content companies must verify that their opt-out tools work as intended while being transparent with advertisers about the consumer data they can and cannot share with them.

The news: Bluesky added customizable notifications and activity alerts, helping users avoid notification fatigue and letting marketers reach more engaged audiences. Our take: If Bluesky continues building tools that prioritize user control and low-noise engagement, it could challenge X and Threads, especially among tech-savvy audiences who crave customization. Marketers should tailor content for small, more intentional user circles to increase the likelihood of notification subscriptions. This new feature highlights the importance of brand presence and engagement on Bluesky.

The news: Sports-centric streaming service Fubo has agreed to pay $3.4 million to settle a lawsuit claiming it illegally distributed customers鈥� personal data to advertisers without consent. The lawsuit alleged that Fubo went against the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) in 2023 by collecting personally identifiable information (PII), including data on consumers鈥� viewing history and location, and sharing this information with third party advertisers. Our take: Fubo鈥檚 lawsuit echoes growing concerns over how platforms approach data privacy and questions over the legality of using sensitive information to serve personalized ads鈥攔equiring that advertisers shift their strategies.

The news: The newly passed Trump federal budget slashes healthcare spending by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years. The takeaway: The cascading effect of federal spending cuts to Medicaid and ACA is poised to reshape US healthcare with more uninsured patients, lower payments and higher costs for physicians and healthcare systems, rural hospital closings, and increased costs for insurers. We expect advanced cost-cutting measures and lobbying for concessions as the industry braces for the initial effects next year.

A new Adalytics investigation reveals that YouTube served ads from major brands like Disney, HBO Max, and Hulu alongside thousands of pirated films, live TV broadcasts, and exclusive streaming content鈥攔acking up over 250 million views. The report highlights systemic failures in YouTube鈥檚 content moderation and ad placement transparency, leaving advertisers with little visibility and minimal recourse for refunds. Worse, some studios may have inadvertently paid to retarget users who pirated their own content. As copyright enforcement lags and automation is gamed, brands and rights holders face financial, reputational, and legal risks in one of digital media鈥檚 biggest ecosystems.

The eye-catching headline: 鈥淎mazon Prime Day Spending Down 14% in Early Hours From 2024鈥� blared from one report, citing early data from Momentum Commerce, which manages Amazon sales for brands like Crocs and Beats that total roughly $7 billion in annual volume on the platform. Our take: Prime Day is on track to become the biggest sales event in Amazon鈥檚 history. While early-hour softness and lower per-day comparisons may raise some eyebrows, the full picture tells a different story: Total revenues will shatter records thanks to a powerful mix of deal-hungry shoppers, tariff-driven urgency, and a high-margin advertising engine firing on all cylinders.

The strategy: Starbucks is testing better-for-you products in a bid to win over more health-conscious consumers, per Bloomberg. Our take: Starbucks is making some necessary changes鈥攂ut there鈥檚 still plenty of work to do. Consumers want brands that meet them where they are, and that means prioritizing ingredient transparency and wellness without sacrificing flavor or convenience. For Starbucks, that could mean cutting back on sugar in key drinks, expanding nutritional add-ins, and offering more customizable options. If executed well, this strategy could help Starbucks reassert its leadership in the premium coffee space.

The news: Prime members approved for the Prime Visa credit card will receive a $250 Amazon gift card as a welcome bonus during Amazon鈥檚 Prime Day multi-day promotional sales event. Our take: Amazon is trying to optimize its utility for the everyday consumer to deepen its dominance in the American market.

The news: 82% of travelers are interested in using points from non-travel loyalty programs to book trips, per a report from Expedia鈥攊ncluding 43% who are extremely interested. Our take: Capturing expensive travel purchases is critical to reinforcing issuers鈥� card volume as economic anxieties make consumers spend less.

The news: Mastercard and Fiserv will offer Clover hardware rental fees for just $0.01 per month to the first 1,000 merchants who sign up for the network鈥檚 US Small Business Navigator platform, per a press release.Our take: Mastercard and Clover both want to secure small business market share.

The news: Dr. Kim Boyd, previously the chief medical officer of telehealth weight loss startup Calibrate, joins WeightWatchers as CMO as the company plans to launch perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause treatments and services for women ages 40-60 later this year. Our take: WeightWatchers will compete with several D2C telehealth for the underserved pre- and post-menopausal consumer market. However, we think its brand recognition among women ages 40-60, its long-standing weight loss support expertise and new Novo deal could catapult it ahead.

The news: AI-powered search tools, including large-language models (LLMs) used by Perplexity and other AI companies, increasingly deliver unreliable data. Our take: Audit your AI stack. Don鈥檛 rely on outputs alone鈥攙erify the provenance of AI-generated data and prioritize tools trained on verified, high-integrity sources. Vet vendors based on transparency, update cycles, and data hygiene. If you鈥檙e using AI for decision-making, demand traceable accountability鈥攂ecause 鈥済ood enough鈥� answers can quickly become costly mistakes.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss the second biggest digital ad player鈥檚 (Meta) vision for the future of ads, if it will lead to money saved or more commercials, and why the 30-second AI-made TV ad for Kalshi matters more than most. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman, and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Over a third (34.5%) of US B2B enterprise marketers believe there will be greater pressure to prove every dollar鈥檚 ROI in real-time in the coming year, according to a March 2025 survey from 蘑菇AV and StackAdapt.

A new framework for gaming ads from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) might finally help marketers take full advantage of the highly engaged gamer audience.

The news: TikTok is reportedly exploring a US-only version of the app amid ongoing discussions of a US ban and selloff, per The Information. The new app is said to align with the requirements of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. Our take: A US-specific app would allow TikTok to potentially regain advertiser confidence in a critical market鈥攂ut the new app鈥檚 success depends on how a new algorithm would impact the user experience.

The news: US ad employment continued its downward trend in June, with jobs in advertising, public relations, and related fields decreasing by 700 jobs, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics鈥� monthly employment report. The decrease marks the seventh consecutive month of ad industry job losses, per Ad Age. Our take: Rather than a temporary slump, declining ad employment is marking a structural shift that risks prioritizing cost-cutting and short-term efficiency over human insight and brand-building expertise.

The news: Streaming has officially surpassed pay TV in the US, with 50.4% of households no longer subscribing to cable or satellite, per our forecast. But streaming鈥檚 ad experience still has work to do. Hub Research finds two-thirds of viewers prefer live TV ad breaks over those in on-demand streaming, and Gen Z remains the least likely to adopt ad-supported tiers. Our take: Streaming isn鈥檛 a free pass to interrupt. Gen Z demands relevance, brevity, and control鈥攎eaning streaming platforms must reengineer how, when, and where they serve ads. The format must evolve if AVOD is to survive the next wave of viewer expectations.

The opportunity: Bloomingdale鈥檚 and Nordstrom are gaining ground while some of their luxury rivals stumble. Our take: Execution matters鈥攅specially in a luxury market where consumers are increasingly anxious about the economy. These shoppers have little tolerance for poor experiences, operational missteps, or inventory gaps. Retailers that deliver consistency, trust, and seamless service will be best positioned to retain loyalty and capture share.

The news: AI-assisted content now dominates Google鈥檚 top search results, but pure AI rarely ranks No. 1, according to an Ahrefs analysis of 600,000 pages across 100,000 keywords. It found that most top-ranking content includes some AI input, but only 13.5% was purely human-written. Key takeaway: Google doesn鈥檛 care who wrote the content, only whether it鈥檚 of good quality. Marketers should use AI to move faster but rely on human oversight to ensure clarity, credibility, and connection. Optimizing content for authenticity, brand voice, and user engagement鈥攁s well as generative engine optimization (GEO)鈥攃ould lead to higher rankings.

The situation: A cloud of uncertainty has hung over the US economy since the Trump administration鈥檚 April 9 pause of so-called reciprocal tariffs. That鈥檚 made it difficult for retailers and brands to plan for the short and medium term. The outlook is now poised to grow even murkier. President Donald Trump extended the pause period鈥攐riginally set to expire on Wednesday鈥攗ntil August 1. At the same time, he announced new 25% tariffs on imports from South Korea and Japan, also taking effect August 1, along with steep additional levies on other countries. Our take: With companies planning to pass on about 70% of the cost of levies to consumers via higher prices, it鈥檚 no surprise that we expect tariffs to take a meaningful bite out of retail sales this year鈥攚hether we remain in the moderate scenario or shift into a heavier one. In such a dynamic environment, retailers and brands should rely on scenario modeling that accounts for a range of possible futures. They can hope for the best but plan for the worst to ensure they鈥檙e ready to adapt to whatever twists lie ahead.