Unusual Olympics put digital, mobile marketing tactics to the test

Dwindling viewer interest and the absence of live spectators this year mean brands must get more innovative to stand out.

By Asa Hiken • July 27, 2021

Tinuiti beefs up CTV, OTT offering with Bliss Point Media buy

With its second acquisition this year, the performance marketing agency adds a company that uses machine learning to measure and optimize performance for brands including Instacart and Square.

By Chris Kelly • July 26, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

AI and Marketing Data

Top stories that underscore the key role of artificial intelligence, generative and otherwise, for many CMOs looking to better manage troves of data. 

By Marketing Dive staff

Publicis, Omnicom, IPG post strong gains as agencies reap rewards of pandemic rebound

Replenished war chests could lead to more dealmaking in the second half as the category continues its shift to digital- and data-oriented services.

By Peter Adams • July 26, 2021

McDonald's creates team to elevate diner experiences

The effort will combine data analytics, digital customer engagement, global marketing and restaurant development and solutions to improve engagement both on-premise and digitally.

By Emma Liem Beckett • July 26, 2021

Cheetos deploys finger-scanning tech to unlock Bad Bunny, Adidas collaboration

An e-commerce experience asked fans to post photos of their fingers covered in Cheeto dust, or "Cheetle," to access a limited leisurewear collection.

By Peter Adams • July 26, 2021

TikTok cuts out the middleman with Spark Ads sponsorship tool

Spark Ads could let brands sidestep the agencies working with creators when sponsoring user-generated content.

By Natalie Black (Koltun) • July 22, 2021

NBCUniversal is first major media brand to adopt identity solution developed by 4A's, ANA

More than 3,000 advertisers and 700 agencies in the U.S., including Lowe's, the Ad Council, Havas and Saatchi & Saatchi, are already using Ad-ID.

By Peter Adams • July 22, 2021

NFTs remain technology in search of clear brand strategy. Can agencies bridge the gap?

Bespoke new services from shops like Vaynermedia represent big rolls of the dice on a space that's already seeing some of its initial media fervor cool.

By Peter Adams • July 19, 2021

Mediaocean to buy ad server Flashtalking in boost to its omnichannel push

A year after its 4C Insights buy, the advertising software firm looks to provide marketers with a neutral alternative to Big Tech ad platforms.

By Chris Kelly • July 19, 2021

Publicis goes all in on retail media with CitrusAd buy

The SaaS platform, whose clients include Macy's and Lowe's, will integrate with Epsilon as Publicis pushes harder on services centered around first-party data.

By Peter Adams • July 19, 2021

Google begins supporting email authentication protocol to guard against phishing

The Brand Indicators for Message Identification framework verifies identity by presenting a company's logo alongside its official emails in Gmail inboxes.

By Asa Hiken • July 15, 2021

Data privacy evolved at a dizzying pace in H1, with more still to come

Google delayed the death of third-party cookies, but brands, agencies and other partners can't be complacent in finding long-term alternatives and working toward a privacy-friendly future.

By Chris Kelly • July 13, 2021

Marketing in a recovery: H1 2021 by the numbers

With data, privacy and shifting consumer preferences top of mind during the first six months of the year, U.S. digital ad spending is on pace to grow at its fastest rate since 2018.

By Natalie Black (Koltun) • July 13, 2021

Dentsu buys LiveArea in $250M bet on Merkle's commerce expansion

The deal aligns with the agency group's larger ambition to generate 50% of revenue from customer transformation and technology services.

By Peter Adams • July 12, 2021

Why a creative veteran is bullish on next-generation customer experiences

Following a decade at award-winning shop R/GA, David DeCheser recently became Valtech's first senior vice president, executive creative director for North America.

By Chris Kelly • July 12, 2021

50% of agencies outsource data amid persistent uniqueness, validity concerns

Nearly two-thirds of agencies said leveraging data is a critical business imperative, per a survey commissioned by Stirista.

By Chris Kelly • July 12, 2021

Brookfield Properties opens AR ad inventory across 100-plus shopping malls

The deal with Aria will implement AR advertising experiences across the mall operator's roughly 150 million square feet of untapped virtual air space.

By Asa Hiken • July 9, 2021

Dunkin' drives audio ad results by matching background music to listeners' tastes

The tool developed by AI Music and now exclusively available on AdsWizz's platforms helps brands reduce production times and intrusiveness.

By Peter Adams • July 8, 2021

Stella Artois auctions Marcus Samuelsson's signature fried chicken recipe as NFT

Proceeds from the sale of the digital asset, which is being handled by Christie's, will benefit restaurant relief efforts.

By Peter Adams • July 6, 2021

What Apple's iOS 15 means for marketers

Apple's upcoming privacy changes, including Hide My Email and Private Relay, will make opt-ins more valuable and may complicate already strained efforts to reach target users on iPhones.

By Robert Williams • July 1, 2021

Audi Denmark claims 70% conversion rate for cookieless test leveraging 'exclusion lists'

Working with Omnicom-owned agency PHD Media Denmark, the automaker tapped ad-tech firm Semasio for a solution that leverages a mix of audience and contextual targeting.

By Peter Adams • June 30, 2021

Sprite turns scannable bottles into tickets for virtual hip-hop concerts

The Coca-Cola brand's summer concert series builds on its 35-year connection to hip-hop culture while evolving to meet consumers' changing needs.

By Chris Kelly • June 28, 2021

Amazon acquires podcast distributor, monetization platform Art19 in chase for audio ad dollars

After buying the network Wondery last year, Amazon Music is trying to round out its podcast advertising tools in a manner akin to rival Spotify.

By Peter Adams • June 25, 2021

What's next for the ad industry as Google gives third-party cookies a stay of execution

Google kicked the can down the road with its latest privacy decision, but brands, agencies and the ad tech industry can't rest on their laurels.

By Chris Kelly • June 25, 2021

Google delays third-party cookie phaseout to 2023

Amid renewed antitrust interest around the world, the tech giant updated and clarified the timeline for a major change to how the ad industry tracks and targets consumers.

By Chris Kelly • June 24, 2021