Throughout 2025, no topics seemed to be connected at the hip quite like data and AI. As AI users and businesses started to plan for moving beyond popular LLMs and into real-world deployments of AI and agents, the importance of accurate, well-governed data as the foundation for AI became clear. In 2026, adding context to …
How do you create brand meaning that’s algorithm-proof? By creating moments so meaningful that when the customer’s need returns, the brand does too, without any algorithmic assistance. I call it appreciated generosity. In a marketing world increasingly optimized by AI, personalization engines and predictive systems, it’s tempting to believe relevance can be engineered entirely through …
Read more “The brand moments algorithms will never understand”
Most marketing ROI reports don’t fail because marketing underperformed. They fail because they answer questions executives aren’t asking. Marketing has no shortage of data. Dashboards overflow with impressions, clicks, engagement rates and conversion metrics. Yet many CMOs, VPs and directors of marketing still face the same uncomfortable question in the boardroom: “How is marketing actually …
Read more “How to demonstrate marketing ROI in a way the C-suite trusts”
Ads are now being tested in ChatGPT in the U.S., appearing for some users across different account types. For the first time, advertising is entering an AI answer environment – and that changes the rules for marketers. We’ve used AI as part of ad creation or planning for years across Google, LinkedIn and paid social. But …
Read more “For ChatGPT ads, behavior matters more than targeting”
For those of us happy to cocoon at home with our remote jobs, especially marketers who built digital-first strategies post-pandemic, the return of in-person meetings and relationships that require social skills is as welcome as unasked-for pineapple on a pizza delivery. However, like it or not, personal relationships are becoming more valuable precisely because information …
Over the last decade, I’ve watched MOps teams add more and more tools to their stack, yet somehow the work never gets easier. The requests still pile up. Priorities still shift daily. Stakeholders still bypass the process. And the team still feels like it’s drowning. Here’s what I’ve learned: the difference between a struggling MOps …
Read more “5 capabilities that separate high-performing MOps teams from the rest”
Three out of four marketers say their current approaches to measurement — including attribution, incrementality and media mix modeling — aren’t delivering the speed, accuracy or trust they need. That’s the top finding from the “State of Data 2026” report by the IAB and BWG Global. Further proof, if any was needed, that marketing leaders …
Read more “75% of marketers say their measurement systems are falling short”
Some brands are seeing direct traffic grow without an obvious cause. A major reason is AI visibility — not because it drives clicks but because it shapes what users remember. When an AI answer mentions a brand, it works more like advertising than search. The user may not visit immediately, but they are far more …
Read more “Why AI visibility can increase direct traffic even when nobody clicks”
Search has expanded. Under pressure, buyers and brands default to the clearest voice they can trust. Buyers didn’t abandon search engines. They added new ones. Today, decisions are shaped across two environments at the same time — search engine optimization (SEO), where buyers research, compare and validate through traditional search results, and generative engine optimization …
Read more “The new buyer decision cycle happens across SEO and GEO”
In MarTech’s “MarTechBot explains it all” feature, we pose a question about marketing to our very own MarTechBot, which is trained on the MarTech website archives and has access to the broader internet. Question: How can marketers use retargeting emails — not just ads — to increase engagement and conversions, particularly for time-sensitive promotions like …
Read more “How to make retargeting emails drive more sales during promotions”