Google’s Pentagon pact: The deal grants the Department of Defense broad AI access, reviving ethics rifts and putting brand trust on the line. Read online
Security and privacy concerns top the list of infrastructure barriers to agentic commerce adoption at 42.5%, edging out data quality/readiness (40.2%), according to a December 2025 survey from Logicbroker.
Margin warnings mount as shoppers divert dollars to energy and essentials.
Historic sales decline underscores fragile sentiment and mounting cost pressures.
Rapid growth and rising brand trust pressure rivals to engage or cede share.
This spring, Pacers Sports & Entertainment launched Fieldhouse Media Network: It's the first media network of its kind to be managed by a professional sports team with the goal of connecting advertisers with its fanbase. Fieldhouse Media Network partnered with Deloitte and Yieldmo to make it possible for brands to reach Pacers and Fever fans beyond when they visit Indiana’s Gainbridge Fieldhouse to see a game.
This FAQ explores the evolving brand safety landscape, risks in creator partnerships and synthetic content, and the tools marketers need to protect their brands in 2026.
AI agents aim to fix personalization at scale: Turning siloed data into action requires autonomous execution—tempered by brand and strategy control.
Agentic AI hits geopolitical blockade: China halts Meta’s $2 billion Manus buy, which could prevent marketers from accessing low-cost agentic tools.
Retail media meets YouTube ads: Google pipes retailer purchase data into Demand Gen, closing the loop from view to sale. Read online
Alphabet turns rivals into cloud customers: Anthropic runs on Google hardware, reinforcing the infrastructure behind Search and ad dollars.
More than half of retailers worldwide (53%) say consumers are increasingly price-sensitive, making it the top external challenge they face in-store, according to December 2025 data from Retail Systems Research.
David’s Bridal shoppers can now make purchases within ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, another signal that retail at large is headed on an AI-enabled path.
The Container Store + Bed Bath & Beyond mashup strategy may muddy positioning, not fix it.
Anticipating life events drives strong, trusting customer relationships.
The bank aims to keep the same services and appeal to the same clients—without its better-known brand name.
Meta rolls out AI business assistant to all advertisers: Its automation push could give advertisers better results, but threatens the traditional agency model.
Ad repetition drives viewers away: Chasing impressions without variation irritates audiences, turning visibility into ad overload.
Nearly 4 in 5 marketers worldwide (78%) say they need more personalized content than they're able to produce, making content capacity the top personalization challenge, according to a November 2025 survey from Salesforce.