蘑菇AV

The news: Google Pay added Klarna to its in-app BNPL roster of Affirm, Zip, and Afterpay. Our take: Klarna鈥檚 late adoption of a physical card like Affirm鈥檚 Affirm Card in the US set the BNPL provider back in terms of capturing a wider user base and payment volume. Integrations like Google Pay and Apple Pay can help overcome that gap鈥攖hough Affirm also has partnerships with both Google Pay and Apple Pay.

The news: FICO will release credit scores that incorporate buy now, pay later (BNPL) reporting this autumn, per a press release. Our take: Reporting BNPL data to the credit bureaus would be a solid step toward combatting BNPL鈥檚 鈥減hantom debt鈥� criticism.

The news: The 2025 NBA Finals drew just 10.2 million viewers on average, among the weakest results in two decades鈥攜et Game 7 peaked at 19.3 million, the highest since 2019. Traditional ratings miss the full picture, though: social views on NBA Finals content soared 215% year over year to 5 billion. Our take: Gen Z sports fans are watching differently鈥攙ia highlights, short clips, and mobile-first formats on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. TV still matters, but leagues like the NBA must master new distribution models. With streaming growth and a massive $76B media deal in place, the future is already digital.

The trend: At Cannes Lions 2025, Meta, TikTok, Google, and others made clear that AI-powered ad automation is no longer an experiment鈥攊t鈥檚 the plan. The news: Meta and TikTok each emphasized agency relationships, but both platforms expanded generative AI tools that let brands generate and manage campaigns without intermediaries. Amazon, Comcast, and Google are doing the same, pushing toward platform-native, self-serve ad models. Our take: As automation replaces traditional support services, agencies face existential pressure. To stay relevant, holding companies will need to prove they offer value that AI can鈥檛 replace鈥攆ast.

The news: Brands are increasingly engaging with nano-, micro-, and mid-tier influencers鈥攃reators with up to 10,000, 50,000, 500,000 followers, respectively鈥攁nd shifting away from macro- and mega-influencers with larger followings. Nano-influencers maintain the highest engagement rate across influencer categories on Instagram at 6.23%. On Instagram, there鈥檚 a notable trend of engagement rates decreasing as follower count increases. Our take: Partnering with nano-, micro-, and mid-tier influencers enables brands to tap into deeper authenticity and niche audiences, translating to more meaningful engagement and higher ROI than broader, but less personal, macro-influencer campaigns.

The news: Novo Nordisk is terminating its short-lived partnership with Hims & Hers. The drugmaker is accusing Hims of illegally selling knockoff versions of Wegovy, while deceptively marketing its compounded GLP-1 products. Our take: Hims will likely regret its refusal to cooperate with Novo and Eli Lilly, who have taken control of the D2C weight loss drug market.

The news: Microsoft is planning a major round of layoffs next week in its Xbox division as part of broader corporate restructuring, per Bloomberg. This marks Microsoft鈥檚 fourth major job cut in 18 months and follows mounting pressure to raise margins after buying Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. Our take:For advertisers and marketers, this signals that the future of Xbox isn鈥檛 hardware but an ecosystem. Aligning campaigns with emerging touchpoints like cloud gaming, mobile access, and VR could help brands stay in front of where players are headed.

Brands are increasing investments in influencer marketing, and placing a greater emphasis on measuring ROI as a result. Measurement remains a challenge, but there are steps marketers can take to ensure campaigns align with business goals.

At Cannes Lions 2025, commerce media partnerships once again reigned supreme. Once the domain of digital shelf tactics and retail data, commerce media is now reshaping how brands show up across social platforms, connected TV (CTV), and in-store displays. This year鈥檚 festival offered a glimpse into a more integrated, AI-driven future鈥攐ne where conversational ads, programmatic pipes, and real-world touchpoints blur the lines between media and purchase.

This Pride Month, many retailers are retreating from DEI commitments, facing backlash from consumers and political scrutiny. What began as pledges to support marginalized communities is now giving way to silence鈥攍eaving brands caught between public expectation and political pressure.

The news: Under pressure to deliver on AI investments, Big Tech companies like Meta and Apple are seeking to acquire AI startups. Failing that, they鈥檙e looking to hire away founders and key personnel to boost their own capabilities. Our take: The recent complications between OpenAI and Microsoft reveal that partnerships and investments aren鈥檛 always compatible with a startup鈥檚 growth. Expect Meta and Apple to pit money over mission as they hire away founders and key engineers, leaving AI startups high and dry, similar to how Google hired ex-Googlers from AI chatbot startup Character AI. The AI startup talent pool could be shrinking as startups and founders get acqui-hired by Big Tech.

US brands will spend $13.7 billion on influencer marketing by 2027, up from $10.5 billion this year, according to a March 蘑菇AV forecast.

The situation: The escalating US-Iran conflict threatens to unleash fresh headwinds for the retail industry, which is already under pressure from the Trump administration鈥檚 shifting trade policies. Our take: Uncertainty has loomed over the industry all year, making it increasingly difficult for retailers to plan ahead with the Trump administration鈥檚 shifting trade policies. Case in point: The 90-day reciprocal tariff pause is set to expire on July 9, and there鈥檚 little clarity as to whether it will be extended or if the sweeping levies will take effect. The escalating US鈥揑ran conflict only adds to the volatility, compounding the pressure on retailers. Together, these factors make it increasingly likely that the operating environment will remain murky for the remainder of the year.

The trend: Summer retail sales are starting earlier and stretching longer than ever. Our take: Retailers aren鈥檛 just chasing summer sales鈥攖hey鈥檙e building revenue engines that integrate ecommerce, loyalty programs, and retail media into a more durable flywheel. By making sales events exclusive to members or offering perks like early access to deals, they鈥檙e encouraging sign-ups, deepening engagement, and boosting long-term customer value. The longer promotional windows give retailers more time to drive discretionary spending, alleviate fulfillment bottlenecks, and monetize digital traffic through advertising. That鈥檚 especially critical this year, as economic uncertainty prompts more consumers to pull back on nonessential purchases.

The news: The rise of AI-generated music has pushed the music industry to shift from takedowns to traceability. Instead of blocking AI-generated songs like the viral Drake-The Weeknd fake, new systems aim to detect synthetic content at every stage鈥攖raining, production, upload, and distribution. Key takeaway: Advertisers should partner with platforms using AI detection for metadata-tagged AI tracks to ensure brand-safe music placements. Marketers who embrace traceable AI music can stay compliant and transparent while supporting artists鈥� rights and tapping into scalable, brand-safe sound.

The insight: Amazon is trying to make a bigger name for itself in the luxury sphere鈥攁 strategy that could help soften the blow from tariffs. Our take: That designer brands and retailers are eager to partner with Amazon despite its mixed track record in luxury shows the state of the industry, which is under serious pressure as economic uncertainty saps even affluent consumers鈥� desire to shop. Amazon鈥檚 extensive reach鈥攖hree-quarters of US households are Prime users, per our forecast鈥攁nd ability to drive spending even in times of volatility are making it an increasingly valuable partner for any brand looking to drive sales in an unsettled environment.

The news: The European Commission said it would abandon efforts to pass a law against corporate greenwashing, citing a 鈥渟implification agenda鈥� to remove red tape and make the EU more attractive for business. Our take: Many companies will take the easing of environmental oversight in the US and the EU as an excuse to water down their sustainability initiatives. That could lower costs in the short term鈥攂ut at the risk of alienating the large swath of consumers who factor sustainability into their purchase decisions and are quick to identify greenwashing.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss our 鈥榲ery specific, but highly unlikely鈥� predictions for 2025. What would happen to the social media world if OpenAI bought Snap, what if Starbucks launched a Stablecoin, and why some companies might still want to buy linear networks. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice Presidents of Content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna, and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

US retail and ecommerce sales growth will take a hit in 2025 as unpredictable changes in tariff policies ripple through the economy, shaking consumer confidence.

FMNs are a small but burgeoning part of commerce media, offering valuable first-party transaction data. Despite their promise, FMNs face scale limits due to data sensitivity and must find ways to shift audiences toward commerce-focused behaviors.

The news: A new report indicates major banks committed a staggering $869 billion to fossil fuel companies in 2024, an increase of $162 billion over the previous year. Most large US banks have also pulled back from global climate alliances, signaling a broader industry shift away from sustainability commitments. While profitable, these investments risk alienating younger generations like Gen Z, who deeply value environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices and authenticity from financial institutions (FIs), and already demonstrate low trust in banks. This puts FIs at risk of further eroding crucial customer loyalty. Our take: FIs that remain committed to ESG should focus on these actions in their marketing campaigns targeting Gen Zers.

The news: Cybersecurity researchers discovered 16 billion leaked login credential files across 30 previously unreported data sets. It鈥檚 considered the biggest data breach in history, affecting major platforms including Facebook, Google, Apple, GitHub, Telegram, and US government services, per Fortune. Our take: With billions of credentials now on the loose, marketers should treat brand systems as compromised. Auditing accounts, enforcing password resets, and demanding stricter multifactor or QR-code based methods are necessary safeguards. The cost of prevention pales compared to recovering from compromised campaigns, stolen customer data, and ransomware resulting in damaged brand reputation.

Retail media鈥檚 next phase will see billions of daily shopper signals paired with AI to fine-tune campaigns on the fly. Through consolidated buying, data collaboration, and transparent pricing, advertisers will have the ability to turn insights into measurement results.

The news: At Cannes Lions 2025, Netflix announced it has added Yahoo鈥檚 DSP to its growing list of programmatic partners, joining Google, The Trade Desk, and Microsoft. The expansion boosts flexibility for advertisers targeting Netflix鈥檚 94 million monthly ad-tier users across 12 countries, with new capabilities for first-party data and interest-based buying. Our take: With its Ads Suite now live globally, Netflix is done crawling鈥攊t鈥檚 competing directly with YouTube and social platforms for CTV budgets. As its per-user ad revenues rebound and its content ecosystem broadens, Netflix is evolving into a full-funnel marketing platform poised to reshape premium video monetization.