The news: Governments across the UK, EU, and Australia are mandating age verification online and reshaping how platforms handle user identity and access to content. Reddit now requires UK users to prove they’re 18 via selfie or photo ID to access adult or harmful content, in compliance with the Online Safety Act. Our take: Age assurance is becoming the new standard. Advertisers need to move now by adjusting targeting strategies, creative assets, and compliance practices to stay effective in an increasingly verified and government regulated web.
66% of U.S. adults have reduced nonessential shopping to manage expenses, according to March 2025 data from CivicScience.
The situation: Strong performances in ecommerce and pharmacy helped Albertsons beat top- and bottom-line expectations despite continued pressure across the grocery industry. Albertsons is also winning over more shoppers by making its loyalty program more rewarding and easier to use. Membership rose 14% in the quarter thanks to more deals, simpler ways to earn points, and bigger cash-back perks. Our take: Consumers remain laser-focused on value, especially at the grocery store. While food inflation has eased since the sharp spikes of 2021 to 2023, the impact of those increases—plus the threat of new tariff-driven price hikes—has shoppers watching their grocery bills closely. Albertsons’ 14% growth in loyalty membership last quarter signals just how eager consumers are for savings. With more people eating at home to stretch their dollars, Albertsons’ value-focused approach helped it outperform expectations and could drive strength in coming quarters.
The news: UnitedHealth Group has been engaging in a series of legal tactics to silence some of the company’s loudest critics, according to a recent NYT report. Our take: UnitedHealth is more focused on defending its business than acknowledging people’s concerns and offering solutions. This won’t do anything to help its brand reputation—but that probably isn’t a major concern for UnitedHealth right now. Similar to drugmakers, health insurers recognize that healthcare is not like a typical D2C industry, in which consumer experience is the most important measure of success.
The news: Rush University System for Health in Chicago is launching a subscription health model for patients seeking virtual urgent care. Our take: Legacy health systems are playing catch-up to D2C healthcare companies, and likely can’t offer a better customer experience. Telehealth is now a commodity, and success in the subscription healthcare space could come down to factors such as easy access to in-demand drug categories (e.g., GLP-1s, sexual health meds) and spending on digital channels such as social media to create brand awareness and more effectively reach younger customers.
The news: Weight loss drug prescribing for children and teens increased significantly after the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended the medications’ use, per a new Harvard study. Our take: Word-of-mouth recommendations and testimonials on social media are driving weight loss drugs’ popularity with young people. GLP-1 marketers have an opportunity to provide medically responsible, but social friendly and engaging content by partnering with influencers, creating behind-the-science video content, and developing edutainment FAQs for interested young consumers.
The news: Prescription drugmakers spent $2.97 billion on national TV advertising in the frist half of 2025, an increase of 12.2% YoY, per iSpot.tv. The takeaway: Prescription drugmakers went against the current trend—most other industries decreased linear TV spending in the first half of the year, per iSpot. But traditional TV viewing audiences are a prime audience for drugmakers. We forecast 52.8% of TV viewers will be age 65 and older this year, the only age demographic to increase. It makes sense for pharma marketers to focus spending on key audiences, driving awareness and encouraging them to ask their doctors for their brands.
The news: Comscore, iSpot, and VideoAmp passed the Joint Industry Committee’s (JIC) midterm audit to maintain certification for the 2025-2026 broadcast season. Our take: The JIC’s certification and sports-heavy audit process could help iSpot, Comscore, and VideoAmp gain ground on Nielsen.
“The lines between social media and CTV are blurring, with more people watching social videos and creator content on TV sets,” said our analyst Jasmine Enberg. “Marketers must break down the silos between media and creative and think more holistically about their video strategies.”
The news: Google is experimenting with AI summaries in Discover—the news feed within its iOS and Android search apps—adding yet another threat to referral traffic for web publishers. Instead of displaying a headline and link to a news story, Discover shows an AI summary with an icon featuring the logo of any cited source. Our take: If users increasingly rely on AI summaries—and if Discover becomes a zero-click search hub—publishers risk further declines in web traffic, imperiling not just ad revenues but the viability of good journalism.
The news: ByteDance is working on lightweight mixed-reality goggles that could directly challenge Meta’s products, per The Information. Our take: If ByteDance can leverage its content ecosystem, creator network, and powerful algorithm, it could carve out a foothold with younger, social media–savvy users. Brands could sponsor AR lenses and place products within digital overlays to turn everyday activities into shoppable moments.
Nextdoor is undergoing a major reinvention, focusing on hyperlocal value with three core features: real-time safety alerts, AI-generated neighborhood recommendations, and curated news from over 3,500 local publishers. The redesigned platform aims to capitalize on shifting work-from-home behavior, verified neighbor identities, and underused local advertising budgets. With 100 million registered users across 11 countries, Nextdoor is uniquely positioned to offer geotargeted content and build ad inventory through increased daily engagement. CEO Nirav Tolia’s bet? Depth over scale. If executed well, the new Nextdoor could become an essential tool for local businesses, publishers, and residents alike—while opening fresh monetization streams.
The news: Streaming’s share of television usage skyrocketed to 46% in June, while time spent with streaming increased 5.4% versus May, per Nielsen’s 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’t discount the effectiveness of traditional formats.
The Trade Desk will join the S&P 500 on July 18, a milestone that highlights the company’s growing importance in the ad tech space. TTD has recently introduced tools like Deal Desk and AI-powered video placements via Kokai and Rembrand, all while vocally criticizing Amazon’s bundling practices. Despite a 30% YTD decline in stock price, the company’s Q1 revenue rose 25%, and retention remained above 95%. With Ventura OS on the horizon and renewed leadership in place, TTD is positioning itself as a transparent, open-web alternative to Big Tech’s walled gardens—just as it prepares to enter a new phase of institutional visibility.
Generative AI is playing a growing role in video advertising, with 22% of all video ad creative enhanced by genAI in 2024—a figure set to reach 39% by 2026, per IAB. Smaller advertisers are leading the way, using genAI to scale affordable, personalized content. Major platforms like Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and Amazon are fueling adoption with built-in tools that boost ROAS and compress production timelines. While creative speed and flexibility are increasing, many marketers still face hurdles around measurement and platform-level data transparency. As capabilities improve, genAI is transforming video from a production bottleneck into a performance engine.
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.
While a plurality of consumers in the western hemisphere start their product searches on search engines, social media platforms are significant search launching pads for consumers in Argentina (17.8%), Brazil (16.8%), and Mexico (18.0%), according to November 2024 data from ESW and EMARKETER.
Retail media is not just for retailers anymore. US commerce media ad spending is projected to hit $118.4 billion by 2029, growing at a 15.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), per a May EMARKETER forecast.
The situation: Despite persistent US-China trade tensions, the Chinese economy is proving more resilient than many expected. Our take: China is navigating a high-stakes global environment more deftly than expected—a promising sign for Chinese retailers. Stronger-than-anticipated export growth, solid GDP performance, and growing trade diversification point to a more stable macroeconomic backdrop. That creates an opportunity for Chinese retailers and manufacturers to tap into rising domestic demand while expanding into alternative export markets. If this momentum holds—a big if—they could potentially outpace the 2.0% YoY retail sales growth that we currently forecast.
The news: AI agent adoption in business is happening at an accelerated rate with companies like Intuit, Capital One, and Highmark Health revealing how agents are solving problems and disrupting enterprise workflows, per Venturebeat. Our take: Enterprise AI agents have moved from labs to the front lines. For marketing leaders, that means a clear opportunity to start applying agents to accelerate creative work and squeeze inefficiencies out of existing workflows. As AI agent use becomes mainstream, ensuring an oversight on safety and reliability will become necessary requirements in protecting brand reputation.