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32% of US connected TV (CTV) users find traditional TV ads useful/helpful for holiday gift info, while 34% say the same about streaming TV ads, according to June 2025 data from LG Ad Solutions.

As consumers trade traditional search engines for social feeds, brands are approaching these platforms as drivers of brand awareness and conversion. TikTok Shop has rapidly become the eighth-largest beauty retailer in the United States, according to a February report from NielsenIQ. 41% of Gen Z turns to social platforms first for finding information, ahead of search engines (32%), AI chatbots (11%), and friends and family (9%), according to a May Sprout Social survey.

The news: The State of Wyoming debuted its Frontier Stable Token (FRNT) across seven blockchains in partnership with LayerZero. Our take: While stablecoins were originally framed as a faster and cheaper alternative to traditional payment methods, the crowding field of available tokens鈥攃oupled with their limited acceptance networks鈥攁ppears to create more transaction disruption than streamlining.

The strategy: Tech platform Bluwhale has released a model for a scoring system that calculates real-time credit signals from both fiat and crypto assets, per Cointelegraph. Why this matters: We called for FIs to consider incorporating crypto assets into lending products in our report 鈥淗ome Lending Trends 2025.鈥� Here鈥檚 why: Cryptocurrency is becoming more mainstream, with big banks increasingly incorporating digital currencies into everyday solutions. Younger consumers are more interested in alternative investments including crypto than their older counterparts. Our take: FIs aren鈥檛 currently offering Bluewhale鈥檚 system, but the model still illustrates how creditworthiness scoring could look in the future. FIs that include financial activity that demonstrates strength but doesn鈥檛 appear on a traditional credit report can assess loan requests more accurately鈥攁nd potentially approve more customers.

The news: Fintech giant Chime beat Wall Street estimates in its first quarterly revenue reporting as a public company, driven by strong demand for its digital banking services, per Reuters. Our first take: Chime's impressive debut as a public company is a powerful statement about the shifting dynamics of consumer banking. For years, traditional banks have dismissed challenger banks as a fringe trend. But Chime's financial performance proves there's a huge, profitable market for digital-first financial services. In addition, Chime鈥檚 focus on short-term liquidity tools and early pay access has positioned it as a valuable financial partner, especially as consumers are faced with pressing economic concerns.

One message ran across digital, traditional, and in-person channels. This builds trust, boosts brand recognition, and extends reach beyond a single ad campaign. They humanized their products. Travelers and FWD used real-life stories to connect emotionally with their audiences. ManyPets and Zurich focused on the emotional benefits of their products, such as happiness from pet ownership.

The news: Cyata launched a platform that detects, authenticates, and governs 鈥渁gentic identities鈥� as adoption of autonomous AI agents is exploding鈥�96% of IT leaders will increase agent use in 2025, Cloudera reports. Digital agents integrating into the workforce pose new risks鈥攐nes traditional identity and access management (IAM) tools are not equipped to handle, per VentureBeat. Our take: Managing mixed human and agentic workers won鈥檛 be optional for long鈥攊t will become a baseline requirement as AI agents move from edge cases to everyday tools. Companies that delay could risk operational blind spots, compliance gaps, and uncontrolled AI autonomy.

OpenAI is preparing to launch GPT-5 in early August. The newest and most powerful model combines traditional GPT capabilities with o3-series reasoning鈥攎arking a major leap in performance and model simplification. The consolidation play with GPT-5 could further cement OpenAI鈥檚 dominance if competitors are slow to respond.

The news: NBCUniversal is exploring a dedicated sports cable network that would feature content鈥攊ncluding NBA games鈥攕hown on its Peacock streaming service, per a Wall Street Journal report. Our take: Launching a dedicated sports cable channel could help NBCU open the door to new ad inventory and bolster its cable revenues as traditional TV faces mounting pressure from the streaming transition. Live sports continues to command strong advertiser demand, even as general linear viewership declines.The channel will enable NBCU to better monetize its existing sports rights by repackaging content for cable audiences who might be losing interest in traditional TV.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss how retail media is impacting traditional search marketing, and how marketers can best leverage themselves on the wave of new retail media network platforms. Then, we break down how AI tools will affect the future of paid search advertising. Join our conversation with guest host and Director of Reports Editing, Rahul Chadha, Principal Analyst, Sarah Marzano, and Senior Analyst, Max Willens. Listen everywhere you find podcasts and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

The news: We鈥檝e recently covered a fintech, a stablecoin issuer, an auto manufacturer, foreign banks, and credit unions that are considering, applying for, or in the process of acquiring US banking licenses. Some have already succeeded, inspiring others to follow suit. And according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, banking charter applications have increased 70% since 2024. Our take: We predict traditional banks will push for regulatory changes that prevent the steady inflow of new banks that haven鈥檛 had to follow the more stringent requirements of the past. Banks鈥� long-standing customer relationships will be a central pillar of their defense strategy. Banks must increasingly leverage their established trust, extensive branch networks, and comprehensive product suites to highlight their stability and one-stop-shop convenience compared to specialized fintechs or more limited new entrants.

The news: The Financial Brand recently featured Citizens Bank鈥檚 comprehensive strategy for improving the customer experience. What stood out to us were Citizen Bank鈥檚 people-first approach, hyper-local strategy, and data-driven decisions. Our take: While no single strategy鈥攂e it a people-first approach, hyperlocal focus, or digital innovation鈥攚ould alone future-proof a bank's business. But Citizens' integrated pursuit of all three forms a truly comprehensive, powerful, and competitive strategy, positioning the bank effectively against traditional rivals and agile fintechs.

The news: Perplexity is in talks with smartphone manufacturers to make its new Comet browser a default app on smartphones to drive adoption and user engagement, per Reuters. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said it aims to reach 鈥渢ens to hundreds of millions鈥� of users in 2026 after a desktop rollout to a 鈥渇ew hundred thousand鈥� testers, a plan that could be aided by expanding Comet access on phones. Our take: While Comet itself is a browser, its integrations with Perplexity鈥檚 AI could streamline access to mobile AI search tools, changing mobile search behavior and forcing marketers to rethink traditional search marketing practices. Getting Comet onto phones could also supercharge Perplexity鈥檚 data on user behavior and boost its ability to improve its AI search tools.

The big idea: Pharma marketers should pivot away from TV advertising even if the government doesn鈥檛 implement a ban on D2C drug ads. Our take: Pharma is a unique industry that still benefits from linear TV. However, more drug brands should consider D2C online platforms that serve as quasi substitutes to TV commercials at a much lower cost, plus channels like influencer partnerships.

The news: CBS is ending 鈥淭he Late Show with Stephen Colbert鈥� next year, an announcement the titular host made during taping for his Thursday show, sparking controversy and speculation. The move came days after Colbert criticized CBS parent company Paramount on air, saying it paid a 鈥渂ig fat bribe鈥� when settling a lawsuit with Trump worth $16 million. Our take: Though politics and Paramount鈥檚 sink-or-swim pending merger may have influenced the swiftness of 鈥淭he Late Show鈥� cancellation, the ultimate cause likely boils down to the traditional TV model floundering.

The news: Though it already offers software-as-a-service in the US, UK digital bank Starling has its sights set on a US expansion, per PYMNTS. Our take: Starling鈥檚 multi-pronged growth strategy is in line with its biggest digital competitors. We鈥檝e recently covered multiple neobanks and fintechs pursuing or considering IPOs in the US, along with fintechs acquiring banks for licenses. But this isn't just about neobanks competing with other neobanks; it represents a direct strategic pivot by digital-native players to leverage their technology to rapidly modernize and capture customers from the traditional banking market. Such moves will inevitably intensify competitive pressure on US mid-tier and community banks, forcing them to seek fintech partnerships to avoid becoming acquisition targets themselves.

The news: Streaming鈥檚 share of television usage skyrocketed to 46% in June, while time spent with streaming increased 5.4% versus May, per Nielsen鈥檚 Total TV/Streaming Snapshot. Streaming was far above cable (23.4%) and broadcast (18.5%), growing nearly 6% YoY compared with June 2024. Our take: Advertisers are navigating a challenging landscape where connecting with broad audiences necessitates investment in a format that has yet to prove its ability to drive action. A diversified approach is key. While attention and dollars are shifting toward CTV, advertisers can鈥檛 discount the effectiveness of traditional formats.

The news: Satellite radio company SiriusXM is launching a lower cost ad-supported option in its effort to compete against streaming music giants like Spotify and Apple Music. The ad-supported plan, known as SiriusXM Play, costs under $7 per month, with an ad load around half of traditional AM/FM radio stations鈥�. Our take: SiriusXM鈥檚 ad-supported pivot marks its most direct challenge to major digital audio streamers like Spotify in an overdue push to modernize. By introducing an ad-supported, low-cost tier, SiriusXM is entering the same conversion funnel that drives Spotify鈥檚 growth鈥攂eginning with scale and monetizing with ads.

The news: Influencer marketing is leading the way in attention metrics, with viewers in India spending 2.2 times longer viewing ads with influencers before skipping, per Kantar research. The average skip time for traditional branded content is 7.9 seconds鈥攂ut for ads with influencer content, that number jumps to 17.8 seconds. Our take: While a necessary part of the media mix, traditional ads are not enough to drive consistent growth鈥攁nd partnering with reliable influencers will prove valuable as social media represents a critical path to purchase. Influencer voices are able to cut through the noise of social media.

It鈥檚 also replacing traditional marketing materials with digital signage to create media opportunities and enhance customer engagement inside branches. Travel companies unlock high-intent audiences in captive environments. Millions of internet users in Latin America visit travel websites each month.

The news: Over 78% of internet users globally use at least one fintech service monthly, with user penetration expected to surpass 80% by the end of the year, per Coinlaw data. Our take: Traditional financial institutions (FIs) must act now to stay competitive against fintechs鈥� continued popularity, particularly with younger generations. We鈥檙e already seeing fintech checking account openings outpacing those at traditional FIs. The threat will rise further as digital-only competitors start looking increasingly like banks in the products and services they offer and licenses they acquire. Customer-centric journeys are the key to traditional FIs staying relevant.

US adults will spend an average of 2 hours and 29 minutes (2:29) per day watching traditional TV in 2025, more than any other media activity, per our May 2025 forecast.

The news: WPP slashed its 2025 outlook in an earnings update, citing declines in client spend and net new business鈥攅xacerbating the agency鈥檚 turbulence over recent months and sending WPP stock to its lowest point since 2009. WPP now expects an annual revenue decline of 3% to 5%, up from its previous forecast of 2%. Our take: WPP鈥檚 woes indicate that the traditional agency model is struggling to adapt to shifting client demands, AI-led marketing, and digital disruption.

The news: Generative AI (genAI) is expected to play a bigger role than ever in ecommerce during Amazon鈥檚 Prime Day event this week. Adobe predicts that genAI-driven traffic will surge 3,200% YoY as more consumers use AI for searching for products, price matching, and purchasing decisions. Our take: While still trailing traditional channels like paid search and email, AI is winning consumer trust and influencing higher-consideration purchases鈥嬧��. Marketers that can tailor shopping content around AI search could help their clients gain visibility. Structure product data, promotions, and sales content for AI interfaces like chatbots, shopping agents, and search for more conversational browsing with a higher conversion rate.