蘑菇AV

Once a staid B2B platform, LinkedIn is increasingly becoming a destination for creators, short-form video, and personal branding. This has made the platform more mainstream, and has opened additional opportunities for advertisers, particularly on the B2C side. We expect LinkedIn to surpass $5 billion in US ad revenues next year. Reddit is capturing more interest.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss why investors wanted to bring in an outsider to right the ship, what鈥檚 most to blame for Target鈥檚 recent struggles, and what should be top of the new CEO鈥檚 to-do list. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and guest host, Marcus Johnson, and Senior Analysts, Blake Droesch and Arielle Feger.

The news: Lowe鈥檚 is acquiring Foundation Building Materials (FBM) for approximately $8.8 billion. The North American distributor of interior building products generated roughly $6.5 billion in revenues in 2024 on a pro forma basis and operates more than 370 locations across the US and Canada, serving 40,000 Pro customers. Its business spans both new construction and repair/remodel applications. Our take: Lowe鈥檚 is playing the long game. By doubling down on Pro customers, the retailer is building a buffer against consumer caution and the frozen housing market. FBM鈥檚 scale positions Lowe鈥檚 to capture long-term share as construction rebounds, and the raised sales guidance signals confidence that its Pro-focused playbook is already delivering results. That stands in contrast to Home Depot, which recently fell short of both revenue and earnings expectations for the first time in a decade. While Home Depot has leaned into its Pro business as well, tariffs, elevated housing costs, and labor pressures are weighing on its results. Lowe鈥檚 acquisitions and investments could give it an edge in weathering near-term headwinds and winning share from contractors and builders who will be critical growth drivers over the next decade.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss how to best decide who to partner with, the right conditions for a successful store-in-a-store relationship, how to approach long-term partnerships versus one-off collaborations. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and guest host, Marcus Johnson, Vice President of Content, Suzy Davidkhanian, and the Founder and CEO of Mack Weldon, Brian Berger. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

The news: AI is growing in importance for small and medium-sized businesses, saving SMB marketers time and money, often with benefits outweighing risks like public backlash. AI helps US SMB marketers save about 13 hours per person per week and cut operating costs by about $4,700 per month on each team, per ActiveCampaign. Separately, Thryv found that 90% of US small businesses save 11 or more hours per week with AI. Our take: As AI saves companies time and money, it's crucial to have plans in place for how to use them. Marketers should use that time to test new creative strategies, reach out to new customers, and act on campaign analytics gathered by AI. AI-driven cost savings can be reinvested in higher-quality marketing content and expansion of product catalogs.

The insights: YouTube isn鈥檛 Google Search, and brands need to recognize it as a unique platform. Its algorithm prioritizes clicks, watch time, and retention over keywords. Brands and content marketers that rely on blog-style SEO risk getting buried as YouTube and Netflix battle for attention. Our take: Treating YouTube as a strategic content hub, not a recycling center, gives marketers and brands a competitive edge in reach, trust, and conversion potential. By mastering engagement levers鈥攃ompelling thumbnails, sharp hooks, and strong retention鈥攂rands can turn viewers into loyal subscribers and warm leads.

This is the first installment of our biannual 鈥淯K Ad Spending Benchmarks鈥� series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

The news: Meta purchased a $3.51 billion stake in eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica, signaling its long-term commitment to AI-powered smart glasses. It now holds about a 3% share but is considering a larger investment that would increase its share to 5%, per Bloomberg. EssilorLuxottica鈥檚 stock rose about 6% Wednesday after the announcement. Our take: Marketers should view smart glasses as more than a casual consumer device. Start developing internal tools such as training and simulation applications and user-facing offerings like personalized experiences and voice-activated product walkthroughs.

The news: Big Tech is cracking down on high-volume email. Gmail just empowered users to unsubscribe in bulk, Google and Yahoo began enforcing strict sender rules for anyone dispatching over 5,000 emails a day in February 2024, and Microsoft followed suit in April, per MarTech. These new standards aim to reduce spam and improve user experience by requiring senders to meet three key criteria: proper authentication, low spam complaint rates, and one-click unsubscribe options. Non-compliance risks message rejection. Our take: The crackdown on bulk email is permanent. Marketers must audit email practices now to avoid disruptions. Compliance ensures deliverability and maintains audience trust, making authentication, monitoring spam rates, and streamlining unsubscribes a priority.

B2B and B2C marketers agree on the top three factors. The No. 1 factor that impacts marketing and planning spending is the economic climate for B2B marketers and corporate financial performance for B2C marketers, according to a Q1 2024 survey from the CMO Council. These influences on success are not within the control of a CMO. Consumers tend to focus on the short term.