By Headlines Team When it comes to influencer marketing, two platforms consistently lead the pack: Instagram and YouTube. Both are home to massive audiences, creative content, and highly engaged communities—but they’re not interchangeable.

Each one offers a different kind of influence. So how do you decide which platform works harder for your brand?

It starts with understanding what each one does best—and how those strengths align with your goals. Let’s break it down.

Understanding the power of influencer-driven marketing

Influencer marketing is meeting audiences where trust already lives.

Today’s consumers scroll past ads without a second thought. But when someone they follow—and trust—talks about a product, they stop and listen. That’s the power influencers hold. And when brands align with the right creators, that influence turns into measurable impact.

But not all influence looks the same. Some creators thrive in short-form bursts. Others shine when they’re given time and space to unpack a story. Some speak to fashion-forward teens. Others command the attention of busy parents or niche hobbyists. The platform they use shapes not just the message, but how that message is received.

That’s why choosing the right platform matters just as much as choosing the right influencer. Whether you’re launching a new product, building long-term loyalty, or trying to spark viral awareness, the medium you choose shapes the outcome.

Before you start scrolling through creator profiles, pause and think: how does your audience want to be spoken to? That’s the real starting point.

When Instagram influencers work best for your brand

Instagram is built on beauty, balance, and visual storytelling. Influencers on the platform don’t just post—they design. Every photo, filter, and grid layout is curated to catch attention mid-scroll and create a consistent brand presence.

For businesses with products that shine in images—think fashion, beauty, food, travel—Instagram is a natural fit. It’s where aesthetics meet aspiration.

Reels, Stories, and the age of micro-content

Instagram’s real power lies in its micro-content features. Reels and Stories have changed the way users consume information—quick, casual, and addictive.

Influencers use these formats to offer behind-the-scenes moments, product demos, daily habits, and quick tips. It’s authentic, fast-paced, and perfect for sparking interest without demanding a lot of time from the viewer.

Instant impact and daily touchpoints

Unlike platforms that rely on longer content cycles, Instagram moves quickly. Influencers can post multiple times a day without overwhelming their followers.

That means more frequent exposure to your brand—through posts, tags, mentions, and story features. It creates an ongoing presence without the fatigue.

Built-in appeal for Gen Z and millennials

Younger audiences—especially Gen Z and millennials—live on Instagram. They follow influencers not just for inspiration but for guidance on what to try, buy, and believe in.

If your brand is targeting digital natives or visually-driven communities, this is where conversations happen in real time. These users value quick content, relatability, and stylish authenticity.

Shopping tools that turn attention into sales

Instagram has become a built-in storefront. With product tags, in-app checkout, and clickable links in Stories, influencers can drive their audience from interest to purchase in seconds.

This makes it easier for brands to track …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer

By Julia Tabisz Interested in sharing your perspectives on the media and marketing industries? Join the Digiday research panel.

There are a lot of questions in this year’s upfront market negotiations: Will ad prices come down after last year? How will TV networks and streaming platforms price sports inventory? How will Amazon and Netflix play into the allocation of upfront dollars?This is a member-exclusive article from Digiday. Continue reading it on digiday.com and subscribe to continue reading content like this. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Jessica Davies AI may be fueling a fresh chapter in ad tech fraud — and not in ways the industry is ready for.

Generative AI content farms are stealing publishers’ ads.txt files to hijack ad revenue, according to DoubleVerify, which has been tracking the activity since January.

The tech company has been investigating what it has dubbed “AI slop sites and networks” – one in particular called “Synthetic Echo” – which uses generative AI to mass-produce content and spoof ads.txt files to siphon revenue from legitimate publishers. Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Marigold Publishers have long chased growth through social platforms and short-term traffic spikes. These tactics often prioritize volume over value, inflating reach without building meaningful relationships or translating into lasting engagement or revenue.

Without meaningful data or audience insights, personalization efforts fall flat, revenue is unpredictable, subscription offers miss their mark and ad performance suffers. Instead, savvy publishers are leveraging a valuable asset: their own audience data. With the right tools, audience data is the foundation for long-term revenue, activated by personalization and automation through owned channels.

“Given the ongoing challenges in the media and publishing space, such as subscription fatigue, news avoidance and declining trust, it’s increasingly clear that cultivating long-term loyalty is the right path forward,” said Georgia Gkolfinopoulou, senior marketing strategist at Marigold. “With younger audiences favoring new formats like podcasts and short-form videos, it’s vital that publishers adopt informed, channel-specific strategies. Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Dun & Bradstreet Nate Carter, vp, global sales, agency and identity, Dun & Bradstreet

Marketers today are operating in the aftermath of a fundamental shift. The signals that once powered precise targeting are disappearing. Regulatory crackdowns, shifts in consumer behavior and changes among major ad platforms have all converged to create a fragmented, foggy view of the customer journey.

Even Google’s announcement that it will not introduce a separate consent prompt for third-party cookies in Chrome changes very little. The reliability of third-party cookies for cross-channel consumer understanding has always been limited. These days, given the deprecation of cookies in other browsers and the rise of so many inherently cookieless environments, the collective signal thrown off by third-party cookies has never been weaker. Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Headlines Team There’s a moment in Shweta Harve’s “What the Troll?” music video—just a flicker—when the camera holds on her face, half-lit, half-shadowed, as she sings, “I won’t feed you, nor react.” Her voice is steady. Her eyes? Unflinching. It’s not a performance…it’s a declaration.

With her latest single, Harve isn’t just releasing a song. She’s launching a counteroffensive against one of the most insidious forces of the modern age: cyberbullying. “What the Troll?” is a razor-edged pop anthem that pulls no punches, blending bold lyrical clapbacks with sleek production and an emotionally charged visual story. It’s Harve’s sharpest, and most socially resonant, work to date.

Born from her own experiences navigating the minefield of toxic online culture, Harve’s track is an indictment of the faceless hate that flourishes behind usernames and avatars. “There’s something about the anonymity that makes people crueler,” she says. “I wanted to address that head-on, but also with empathy. Because hurt people hurt people. But that doesn’t mean we let them win.”

The track is anchored by a pulsing, electro-pop groove crafted by Italian composer Dario Cei. Cei’s production is clean and controlled, giving Harve’s vocal performance space to shine—and sting. Lines like “Hey cold lousy troll, how hideous is your goal?” and “You live in virtual swamps” mix cutting sarcasm with poetic precision. It’s a song that dances on the edge of rage, but never loses its composure.

“I didn’t want to scream,” Harve says. “I wanted to stand my ground without being pulled into the mud.”

Her restraint is part of the song’s power. Rather than reacting to hate with more hate, Harve’s message is rooted in resilience, dignity, and the decision not to give trolls what they want—attention. It’s a theme reinforced in the song’s addictive chorus, a mantra that feels designed for TikTok virality: “I won’t feed you, nor react.”

But “What the Troll?” isn’t just a song; it’s a multi-dimensional statement, fully realized in its stunning music video. Directed in collaboration with Mumbai’s Feel Crew, the all-male lyrical dance troupe known for their socially conscious storytelling, the video turns Harve’s words into movement. The dancers embody emotional pain, resistance, and rebirth, using their bodies to show the invisible scars left by online abuse.

“The first time I saw their choreography, I cried,” Harve says. “They understood the message better than I could’ve ever explained it. They brought it to life.”

The collaboration with Feel Crew is a natural extension of Harve’s mission to merge music with meaning. The troupe, known for addressing themes like women’s safety, mental health, and social justice, brought an emotional gravity to the project that amplifies the song’s message.

Behind the scenes, Harve brought together a global team to execute her vision. Dario Cei’s cinematic instincts shaped the sonic texture, while Ukrainian mixing/mastering engineer Serhii Cohen ensured the track hits with precision. The result is a polished, powerful package that feels tailor-made for the moment.

Harve, who has built a reputation for writing music that tackles mental health, mindfulness, and self-empowerment, sees “What the Troll?” as a continuation …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer

By Lee Odden According to research from EMARKETER, over two thirds of Americans will listen to digital audio at least once a month in 2025. And when it comes to business podcasting, a LinkedIn/Ipsos study reports that 36% of B2B marketers worldwide plan to incorporate podcasts into their marketing strategies. 60% plan to increase their usage of podcasts.
Podcasts are increasingly important for reaching engaging B2B audiences. 83% of senior business executives saying they listened to a podcast in the past week according to research from Signal Hill Insights.
What’s great about podcasting for B2B marketing is that it can deliver a 1-1 brand to customer engagement experience. As I’ve said for years, it’s no longer enough to inform B2B buyers, it’s important to make them feel. Podcasting can be a platform for audience engagement that delivers both: useful, practical information as well as creative storytelling.
A great example of that is the Tech Unknown Podcast we produced for SAP. To create a platform that served multiple internal stakeholders as well as distinct external audiences, an industry influencer served as host of this podcast that featured internal subject matter experts paired with clients to discuss key challenges, solutions and trends – all against a creative auditory backdrop that simulated different locations and environments.
But this post isn’t meant to be about the value of podcasting for marketing purposes per se, it’s actually a list of great podcasts ABOUT marketing.
As part of the effort to launch our new Beyond B2B marketing podcast, I’ve spent quite a bit of time researching other B2B marketing podcasts, listening to them and developing preferences for what works (and doesn’t).
You can get a comprehensive list of top B2B marketing and marketing podcasts in general from many sources. There are hundreds of them on Apple Podcasts and Spotify alone. But this list isn’t based on popularity, it’s based on discovering and listening to a collection of B2B marketing and marketing podcasts that stand out for topic, style and experience.
From scrappy startup tactics to C-suite strategy, this curated list of B2B and marketing podcasts align on one common conversation: what it takes to win in modern B2B marketing. Take a listen:

Podcast: B2B Marketing from Exit Five
Hosts: Dave Gerhardt, Founder at Exit Five, other Exit Five staff
Summary: This is a go-to podcast listen for me and it’s focused on practical B2B marketing strategies and tactics, featuring Dave Gerhardt’s no-nonsense approach to marketing. The show combines solo episodes, interviews of marketing leaders, along with replays of live events and interviews Dave has done elsewhere – all providing actionable insights for B2B marketers. I connected with Dave back when he worked in PR at Constant Contact over 10 years ago and started listening to his podcast regularly in the past year.
Topics: Brand building, demand generation, content marketing, career development for marketers, marketing leadership, go-to-market strategies, copywriting, and marketing team management.
Frequency: Weekly
Listen on Apple Podcasts

Podcast: Uncensored CMO
Host: Jon Evans, CMO at System1
Summary: The Uncensored CMO was created to explore the good, the bad and quite frankly downright ugly truth …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

By Seb Joseph After more than two decades in the holdco machine, Marcy Samet knew that striking out on her own likely meant a one-way ticket. For years, the industry ran on a reliable cycle: execs left bloated networks, built indie shops then cashed out by selling right back into the machine. But that cycle’s losing steam. The exits keep coming but the re-entries aren’t always part of the plan anymore.

“There are more options open now for people like me,” said Samet, who left her role as a growth specialist at IPG last summer.

By “people like me”, she means the wave of senior execs leaving the holdcos in droves. Some jumped, others were pushed — many under compromised agreements that allow a push to look like a jump. Whatever the backstory, the draw of starting something new has never felt strong. Not because returning is too cutthroat or bruising, but because — for the first time in a long time — it feels like building something that can stand on its own is actually possible.Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Digital Editor In the high-stakes world of entrepreneurship, time is the one asset you can’t replenish. Managing meetings, making strategic decisions, leading teams, and staying ahead of the competition demands a productivity system that’s intentional, refined, and sustainable. Few exemplify this better than Ralph Caruso, an accomplished entrepreneur whose approach to productivity has become as admired as his business ventures.

Ralph Caruso’s name is often associated with innovation, strategic foresight, and leadership—but behind those accolades lies a disciplined framework for getting things done. His productivity is not accidental. It’s the product of years of conscious refinement, and it serves as a model for entrepreneurs looking to maximize their output without sacrificing their well-being.

In this article, we break down the core principles and daily habits Ralph Caruso uses to operate at peak performance—and how you can apply them to your entrepreneurial journey.

1. Time Blocking with Military Precision

One of the most striking aspects of Ralph Caruso’s routine is how tightly he structures his time. Every hour of his day is accounted for—yet it never feels rigid or forced. Time blocking, a technique in which specific hours are reserved for specific tasks, forms the backbone of his calendar.

Caruso divides his day into focused blocks:

Strategic Thinking (early morning): A sacred window with no meetings, allowing him to think, journal, and review long-term goals.

Execution Time (mid-morning to early afternoon): This is where he handles high-priority tasks, decision-making, and project leadership.

Team Time (afternoon): Meetings, one-on-ones, and collaborative discussions.

Reflection and Reset (evening): A wind-down ritual that includes reviewing the day’s wins and prepping for tomorrow.

According to Ralph, “It’s not about doing more—it’s about doing what matters most, with total focus.”

2. Eliminating Decision Fatigue

Entrepreneurs face an avalanche of decisions daily, and Caruso is acutely aware of how that can drain cognitive energy. To combat decision fatigue, he automates or delegates low-impact decisions wherever possible.

Wardrobe simplicity: Ralph keeps his wardrobe minimalist and consistent to avoid unnecessary choices in the morning.

Pre-set meals and routines: Breakfasts and lunches are often pre-planned to maintain mental energy for high-stakes decisions.

Delegation rules: If a task can be done 80% as well by someone else, it’s delegated.

This principle frees up bandwidth for big-picture thinking, allowing Ralph Caruso to stay sharp when it counts.

3. Tech-Supported Efficiency

While Ralph doesn’t chase trends, he’s a strong believer in using the right tools to amplify productivity. His digital toolkit includes:

Notion for organizing ideas, goals, and project timelines

Slack and Asana for team communication and task tracking

Calendly to streamline scheduling and minimize email back-and-forth

Evernote for capturing ideas on the fly, synced across devices

Caruso also emphasizes that tools are only effective when used consistently. “The best productivity app is the one you use every day,” he says.

4. Prioritizing Health as a Business Asset

Many entrepreneurs burn out trying to do more with less. Ralph Caruso flips that mindset by treating health as a productivity tool.

Daily workouts are non-negotiable—typically done early to sharpen mental clarity.

Sleep is fiercely protected; he maintains a strict bedtime and morning routine.

Nutrition is intentional, with a diet designed to maintain …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer

By Digiday Editors Parallel to the glitz and glamour of the upfront conversations this week, ad tech execs have also been congregating en masse in New York City, with DMS by LUMA a highlight of the past five days for such types.

The May 13 event was capped off with The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green discussing the evolving digital advertising landscape on stage. The discussion included Google’s prolonged deliberations on whether it should deprecate cookies, The Trade Desk’s recent financial performance, and its TV-play Ventura.

‘Big Google’ wants to maintain cookies

Green was vocal in his doubts that Google would follow through on its initial intention to deprecate third-party cookies in Chrome, a position that made him a voice in the wilderness in 2020. Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Piano This State of the Industry Report, produced in partnership with Piano, explores how publishers engage with social media, specifically paid social media, what strategies they use, the challenges they encounter and how they plan to overcome them.

As social platforms become more fragmented and organic reach continues to decline, publishers and media companies are leaning more heavily on paid social to meet specific business objectives. But without clear, effective strategies in place, paid campaigns risk falling short — leading to missed goals, budget overruns and underwhelming performance. Determining the most efficient and impactful ways to deploy paid social is ever-critical.

To successfully manage paid social campaigns that deliver impact while separating publishers and media companies from competitors and providing value to consumers, teams need a strategic approach that combines leveraging data, testing and thoughtful campaign design.Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Headlines Team It happens quietly.

You forget a detail mid-sentence and instinctively reach for your phone. A familiar route looks unfamiliar without GPS. You once knew a poem by heart—now it lives in a tab you can’t remember closing.

No alarms go off. No harm seems done.

But over time, something shifts. The mind, once trained to hold, reflect, and carry weight, now waits for a prompt.

This isn’t forgetfulness. This is digital amnesia—and we’ve welcomed it without protest.

Living without mental weight

Technology was meant to assist, not displace. Yet daily tasks that once exercised memory have become fully automated. Calendar alerts tell us where to be. Apps finish our thoughts. Autocomplete writes our messages before we even know what we want to say.

It feels efficient. And in many ways, it is. But when remembering becomes unnecessary, attention fades. Recollection becomes rare. And thought loses its texture.

The tools haven’t failed us. We’ve simply stopped showing up alongside them.

We don’t rely on landmarks because we have turn-by-turn directions. We don’t ask for birthdays because social platforms announce them. We don’t recount stories because our feeds replay them. Each convenience, while helpful, chips away at the need to recall, retell, or revisit.

Over time, this isn’t just a habit change. It becomes a shift in mental identity.

Sam Sammane: Memory isn’t just a function

For Sam Sammane, founder of TheoSym, this shift raises deeper concerns than most technologists are willing to name. With a background in nanotechnology and decades working at the intersection of AI and ethics, he approaches memory not as a utility but as a foundational trait of being human.

Information can be stored anywhere. Meaning cannot.

Sammane often points out that remembering something by choice—without relying on an external system—is an act of presence. It’s a way of telling yourself: this matters enough to keep. That act, in his view, is vanishing.

And as it fades, so does the discipline that once helped us reflect, synthesize, and understand.

Memory, Sammane argues, is not just a database. It’s a filter for values. What we choose to remember—consciously—says more about who we are than what we forget.

What we no longer carry

The cost of digital amnesia isn’t limited to names and numbers. Over time, we stop holding on to the ideas, images, and experiences that don’t demand immediate use. That’s where culture thins out.

The stories passed between generations. The details of family histories. The lines of a prayer, a song, a letter—these used to live in people. Now they float in servers, searchable but untethered.

Even in educational systems, rote memorization has been cast aside in favor of quick access. But what happens when we don’t own the knowledge we depend on? When nothing is carried internally, even our intuition weakens.

Sammane warns that memory is more than a tool for recall. It’s a vessel for identity. Forgetting how to remember can quietly erode who we think we are—until we become spectators in our own mental lives.

We haven’t just outsourced memory. We’ve let go of the responsibility to decide what should stay with us.

When ease …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer

By Ronan Shields Microsoft Advertising is closing its demand-side platform, with the online giant informing clients the ad tech unit no longer aligns with its AI priorities according to separate Digiday sources.

Rumors of such a closure have been circulating for some time, with Microsoft Advertising contacting media buyers earlier Wednesday (May 14), informing them of the planned sunsetting of the DSP, according to two sources familiar with the developments.

One source, who asked not to be named in order to maintain relationships, said the closure of the Xandr DSP would involve multiple layoffs, with those impacted being informed on the day of the announcement. When asked to comment, Microsoft spokespeople pointed to a company blog post. They did not immediately respond when asked for clarity on the extent of the layoffs.Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By News Worth Reading In a scroll-heavy world where attention is currency, it’s not the sleek, polished products that often go viral — it’s the oddball, colorful, or weirdly specific ones. Quirky, aesthetic items are dominating TikTok feeds, popping up in Instagram Stories, and getting shared in group chats not just because they’re useful, but because they’re delightfully different.

And it’s working. According to a 2023 HubSpot consumer trends report, 73% of Gen Z shoppers say they’re more likely to buy a product if it’s “aesthetic or unique” — even if they don’t need it immediately. That impulse-driven, visual-first shopping behavior is driving serious traction for brands that understand the moment.

Here’s a closer look at why quirky, aesthetic products are winning on social — and how businesses can tap into the trend.

Visuals Are Everything on Social

The algorithm rewards engagement — and engagement starts with a scroll-stopper. Bright colors, unexpected shapes, and nostalgic references perform well not because they’re new, but because they feel new in a crowded feed.

What gets attention:

Unusual shapes – Think cloud lamps, blob mirrors, or donut-shaped vases

Color-coded setups – Entire posts themed in pink, green, or “Y2K chrome”

Unexpected product combos – A cute teapot that doubles as a planter

Playful packaging – Stickers, pouches, or messages inside the box

Functional decor – Items that do something and look good doing it

For example, cool bongs — shaped like pineapples, aliens, or glittery mushrooms — are having a moment. They combine functionality with novelty, making them ideal for unboxing videos, aesthetic shelfies, and personal brand expression.

It’s About Self-Expression, Not Just Utility

Today’s consumers — especially younger ones — buy products that say something about who they are, not just what they do. A pastel stapler, a lava lamp humidifier, or a croissant-shaped shoulder bag? Those are personality purchases.

Social media has turned shopping into a form of identity building. Users post:

Their morning coffee in a frog-shaped mug

A bookshelf styled with cartoon candles

Desk setups color-matched to their mood board

Bathroom shelves lined with products that “spark joy” even if they’re $5 gimmicks

It’s not about the most efficient or minimal choice — it’s about curating an experience that feels personal and post-worthy.

Quirky = Shareable

Products that make people smile, laugh, or double-tap are inherently more shareable. That shareability fuels virality — and gets people talking.

Things that help a product go viral:

Humor – Products that lean into absurdity or irony

Nostalgia – Y2K styles, ‘90s color palettes, or vintage fonts

Tiny or oversized versions – Mini anything = adorable

ASMR-worthy texture – Soft, squishy, glossy, or glittery

Built-in surprise – Packaging that changes colors, or hidden features

Quirky products become social content. They get shared, duetted, meme-ified — and that’s free marketing.

Influencers Love Aesthetic Props

Content creators are constantly on the hunt for items that elevate their videos — visually, thematically, or comedically. A unique, aesthetically-pleasing product becomes a prop, a talking point, or even a signature feature of someone’s brand.

Here’s why that matters:

Creators want to stand out with fresh content

A cute or funny product gives them an instant hook

It encourages product demos and UGC …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer

By Nick Nelson Webinars are one of the most valued and impactful content formats in B2B marketing. At a time where featuring authentic, expert voices is an utmost priority for brands, webinars offer a great way to showcase your brand’s credibility and bring influential expertise (internal or external) to your customers.
In our 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report, webinars ranked as the third-most effective content type in influencer programs, after social media posts and in-person events. According to the latest B2B content marketing benchmark research from CMI and MarketingProfs, webinars are second only to in-person events in terms of distribution channels producing the best results.

And yet, many B2B brands and marketers surely feel their results could be better when it comes to webinar lead generation. This is a pain point our marketing agency hears about often: We poured so much of our energy and resources into planning and running this live event, but didn’t get nearly the number (or quality) of leads we were hoping for.
At TopRank Marketing, we’ve helped numerous B2B companies achieve stellar results with webinars, and we’ve also observed plenty of common mistakes that tend to limit overall impact. This guide will help you proactively steer clear of those missteps.
But before you get started, it’s critical to be sure you’re optimizing around the proper objective.
First: Are you sure you want your webinar to generate leads?
Not every webinar needs to be planned with this goal in mind. Leveraging the webinar format as a lead gen tactic is natural — fill out a registration form, share contact info, gain access to exclusive content — but it’s a mistake to view this as the only valuable objective.
Webinars present a unique opportunity to bring an audience together in real time, via a highly engaging and interactive format that welcomes feedback and input. It’s important to note that while gating the webinar with a registration form has obvious lead gen benefits, it also puts up access barriers that can limit audience size and reach. This is a trade-off that needs to be considered.
Beyond lead generation, webinars can contribute to a variety of goals, including:

Brand awareness and thought leadership
Nurturing existing leads
Repurposing and promoting other high-value content assets
Gathering market research and insights through direct interaction
Inspiring partner and influencer collaborations

Another effective way to use webinars is for community engagement, and educating or enabling your existing customers. As Laura Ramos, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, shared during a MarketingProfs B2B Forum event a few years ago: “Using webinars for post-sale engagement is an untapped opportunity. Webinar attendees are a sort of community and you can use the event to educate through Office Hours style format.”
In use cases like these, gating your webinar in the name of lead gen can actually be detrimental toward the objective at hand. So that’s a key caveat to keep in mind. But with it out of the way, let’s zero in on best practices for webinars when lead generation is indeed to the goal.
Webinar lead generation: Mistakes to avoid
When webinars come up …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

By Digiday Awards This year’s Digiday Media Awards winners celebrate the power of partnerships and emerging technologies. Across the 2025 winners, themes include a continued embrace of short-form video, a rise in interactive storytelling through formats like VR and AR, and a focus on collaboration to drive engagement and innovation.

BBC Studios’ StoryWorks and Brand USA took home Best Branded Content Program – B2C for their joint effort on “USA Through Film,” a global campaign aimed at inspiring international travelers by showcasing the cultural and geographic diversity of the United States. Leveraging the emotional power of storytelling, each episode followed a familiar film or television personality as they explored a beloved American city, offering personal insights through food, art and local experiences. This human-centric approach allowed audiences to see the U.S. through the eyes of recognizable hosts, building emotional connections and shifting perceptions of the country from a monolithic destination to a mosaic of unique regions and cultures.

Meanwhile, NBCUniversal Advertising & Partnerships earned recognition in a new category: Sales Team of the Year. Over the past year, the division made its mark on the advertising landscape by combining iconic cultural moments with breakthrough ad tech and strategy. For the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live,” the team invited marketers to pitch their brand’s alignment with the legacy show — flipping the traditional RFP process and resulting in multi-year deals with five presenting sponsors. The division also set a company record for Olympic advertising revenue with the Paris 2024 Games, opening up the program to smaller advertisers through programmatic access and delivering major wins with first-time sponsors.Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Lee Odden B2B Marketing is a journey with twists and turns, wins and obstacles, and few certainties beyond the fact that things will change. Change is certainly the experience most of us are having now as we navigate the implications of AI and the increasingly noisy and complex digital environments in which we must attract, engage, convert and retain customers.
One of the primary goals of this blog is to help B2B marketers navigate their journey with insights and tactics from our experienced team on all aspects of B2B content, search, influence and social media marketing.
The thing is, there’s more to B2B marketing than best practices, the industry’s growing collection of acronyms, and dizzying number of martech solutions.
That’s why TopRank Marketing is launching a new podcast called Beyond B2B!

The Beyond B2B marketing podcast is on a mission to help elevate the B2B marketing industry by shining a light on talent, uncovering insights and delivering inspiration for B2B marketers on their journey as humans in an increasingly technology driven world. Our interviews feature discussions with today’s top B2B marketers to uncover what makes them tick, what drives their career ROI and how they’re breaking free of boring B2B. Whether you’re looking for the impact of AI on content, search, social and influencer marketing or how to better humanize your B2B brand, this podcast is designed to help you navigate the beyond of B2B marketing.
Our first episode of Beyond B2B is with one of my favorite B2B Marketing thought leaders, long time friend and amazing human being, Ty Heath, Director and Co-Founder of The B2B Institute at LinkedIn.
Besides learning the backstory of how Ty went from Olympic level track athlete to working at Google, getting her MBA and moving into B2B marketing, we also talk about the critical role that creativity, storytelling, and influencer marketing play in humanizing B2B brands. We also talk about how marketers can leverage credible voices, simplify complex ideas, and strategically use AI to create impactful content and drive authentic engagement.
As is our tradition with podcasts, you can listen, watch or read the interview.
Listen to the full episode here:

Watch the full video here:

Of course if you prefer to read a transcript of our conversation, here you go:
Lee: Hello and welcome to the Beyond B2B Marketing podcast. I’m Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Marketing, and today we’re talking with a force of nature in the B2B marketing world-super smart, amazingly charismatic, and an all-around good human being-Director and Co-Founder of the B2B Institute at LinkedIn, Ty Heath. Welcome, Ty!
Ty: Thank you, “Force of nature.” I’m keeping that! Thanks so much, Lee.
Lee: Absolutely. I’m excited to share your wisdom with our community. Can you kick things off by telling us a bit about the B2B Institute at LinkedIn and your role there?
Ty: The B2B Institute is an independent think tank funded by LinkedIn. We have a simple mission: to build famous B2B brands. We partner with academics and experts to investigate how marketers can create more value, focusing on the future of B2B marketing …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

By Digiday Editors
Related Insights

The Programmatic Marketer Advertisers put SSPs and curators under the microscope in sell-side push for ad tech fee transparency

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It’s late April/early May, and in any given year of the ad industry’s calendar, that means three concurrent series of events are taking place… in no particular order of importance, they are: 

The NewFronts/upfront season

January-quarter earnings calls

Digiday’s spring conference series

In one, those pitching their wares on Madison Avenue make lofty promises about media quality and performance. Meanwhile, in the second series of events, the CEOs and CFOs of such outfits attempt to show Wall Street they are making good on their fiduciary obligations.This is a member-exclusive article from Digiday. Continue reading it on digiday.com and subscribe to continue reading content like this. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Ronan Shields
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The Programmatic Marketer The Trade Desk stumbles, and the ad tech world cheers — maybe too soon

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Maybe things weren’t so bleak for The Trade Desk after all.

Following a rare stumble in Q4 — its first earnings miss in over eight years — the ad tech giant bounced back with a performance that reminded everyone why it’s long been the industry’s golden child.

The Trade Desk on Thursday (May 8) disclosed Q1 revenues of $616 million, up 25% year-on-year, exceeding its earlier guidance of “at least $575 million.” The results likely prove a welcome return to form for the outfit after its disastrous opening earnings call of 2025, where it disclosed its first revenue miss, and its stock price tanked as much as a third in the day after its Feb. 12 disclosure.Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Nexxen Karim Rayes, Chief Product Officer, Nexxen

Artificial intelligence has quickly become the ad tech industry’s favorite talking point, and understandably so. Nearly every company is racing to launch AI-powered products, from generative creative tools to predictive models and automated campaign recommendations. But amid the buzzwords and marketing decks, a more important question is overlooked: Is the industry building AI as a transformational amplifier, or is it just adding another shiny feature?

Recently, it has largely seemed to be the latter. Many AI rollouts in the space operate in isolation — an algorithm that suggests optimizations, a chatbot for support, a dashboard that generates summaries. These may sound helpful — and often they are — but their impact is limited unless they’re connected to the systems and workflows that allow AI to learn and improve over time.Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday