Digital advertising
MarTech is your source for digital advertising content. You’ll find a variety of up-to-date and authoritative resources, including the latest news, tactic-rich tutorials, and the latest data to help you work smarter and make better decisions.
What you read here is written by our experienced in-house team of editors and research professionals, and subject matter experts from leading brands and agencies.
Why we care:
Advertising isn’t just about growing brand awareness or planting a seed. Advertisers and their adtech partners can reach audiences big and small at any stage of the funnel, delivering cross-channel ads across multiple touchpoints. And they aren’t just using traditional demographics and ratings, they’re leveraging device-level or user-specific data, as well as contextual insights, to serve the right message to the right customer at the right time.
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Why performance marketing needs more than ROAS
Return on ad spend can’t explain growth. Here’s how to evaluate marketing’s true contribution to business outcomes.
Digital video ad spend surges as AI and targeting reshape strategy
Digital video now more than 60% of TV and video spend, so advertisers are prioritizing AI, precision targeting, and measurable outcomes.
Why affiliate marketing still needs humans in the AI era
As AI reshapes martech, affiliate programs highlight where human expertise still drives performance and results.
Marketing artificial intelligence (AI)
Adobe and Canva releases push AI deeper into creative workflows
Adobe and Canva are rolling out AI tools that turn design into conversation, intensifying competition and reshaping how marketers create.
Google simplifies enhanced conversions in Ads
Google is streamlining enhanced conversions, improving accuracy while reducing setup complexity for advertisers
Why AI-driven creative is failing and how to fix it
From Coca-Cola to Svedka, poor execution is undermining AI-driven creative. Learn how to use genAI in ways that support storytelling.
Hightouch streamlines the ad ecosystem with data partnerships
Hightouch wants to cut out the middlemen and simplify the digital ad ecosystem by integrating data onboarding with the CDP.
Why digital audio is a must-have for your retail media plan
Digital audio is no longer a niche channel. Learn how streaming audio fits into media buying, from incremental reach to measurable performance.
What happens when ad spend goes wrong
Small mistakes in paid media can lead to massive losses, and ownership determines who absorbs the impact.
Why confidence, not performance, is shaping media spend
Marketing budgets are increasingly driven by what teams can defend, not just what performs, concentrating spend in a small set of trusted channels.
Marketing artificial intelligence (AI)
IAB proposes new payment rules for AI content access
The IAB Tech Lab’s new protocol aims to create payment rails for AI systems using publisher content, potentially reshaping how information is valued online.
How shaping AI buying can boost B2B CMO strategic influence
As AI increasingly evaluates vendors before buyers do, CMOs who control structured data, proof and category language can influence who makes the shortlist.
Advertising in AI is a trust experiment marketers can’t ignore
As AI platforms test advertising inside chat, the real risk isn’t revenue — it’s eroding the trust that makes AI useful in the first place.
Google launches no-code Scenario Planner built on Meridian MMM
Google’s Scenario Planner gives you a no-code way to turn Marketing Mix Model insights into budget and ROI decisions.
Marketing artificial intelligence (AI)
OpenAI and Google reveal competing visions for AI ads
As AI becomes the front door to discovery, Google and OpenAI are taking very different paths to embed advertising into the experience.
B2B marketing on Instagram: What you need to know
For B2B marketers in 2026, the question is no longer whether Instagram is relevant — it’s how to use it strategically. Here's our guide to doing that.
Unify your adtech and salestech without breaking what works
Unifying your revenue tech stack doesn't mean compromising on specialization — here's how to connect the dots without breaking what works.
B2B marketers should stop punting on Super Bowl week
HubSpot data shows B2B buyers are more active — not less — during Super Bowl week, making it one of the most underused engagement windows of the year.
Performance marketing is being rewritten by AI
From targeting and media buying to creative testing and attribution, AI isn’t just helping marketers — it’s doing the work, faster and smarter than ever.
For ChatGPT ads, behavior matters more than targeting
ChatGPT ads mark a shift from keyword intent to behavioral understanding, changing how relevance, creative and measurement work.
75% of marketers say their measurement systems are falling short
Marketers are shifting from patching legacy models to rebuilding measurement around speed, strategy and trust — and AI is at the center of it.
Marketing learned how to grab attention, but forgot what to do with it
In a market flooded with noise, novelty and big promises, the real competitive advantage is earning trust that holds up once the spotlight fades.
IAB launches Event and Conversion API to standardize advertisers’ shared data
The new ECAPI spec aims to simplify how advertisers share marketing outcomes with platforms, for cleaner data, easier integrations and smarter AI optimization.
Marketing artificial intelligence (AI)
IAB launches AI transparency and disclosure framework
The new AI disclosure framework aims to help marketers use generative AI responsibly without over-labeling every touchpoint or eroding consumer trust.
In 2026, human connection becomes marketing’s real advantage
As AI floods marketing with speed and scale, real competitive advantage in 2026 will come from doubling down on trust, empathy and human connection.
3 incrementality testing mistakes — and how to avoid them
Incrementality testing only works if it drives decisions. Here’s where teams go wrong and how to use tests to guide spend and optimization.
Marketing artificial intelligence (AI)
The rise of vibe marketing and what it means for marketers
Vibe marketing is using AI and no-code tools to turn plain-English ideas into live campaigns faster than traditional teams and stacks can keep up.
Marketing artificial intelligence (AI)
IAB releases agentic AI roadmap for digital advertising
The roadmap shows how digital advertising can scale AI-driven execution with existing standards rather than rebuilding the ecosystem from scratch.
Omnicom’s mega-merger doubles down on media — at creativity’s expense
The IPG merger strengthens Omnicom’s media engine, but fast-growing brands show why attention — not inventory — drives momentum.
5 marketing lessons hiding inside Disney’s merchandising engine
Disney still monetizes attention at scale, but cracks are showing. Here’s what it teaches us about demand, familiarity and erosion.
How to write great copy for every channel
Compelling copy makes a world of difference in driving results from your marketing campaigns. Here’s how to craft copy for emails, social posts, web pages and more.
What happens when no one clicks anymore
Learn how shifting user behavior in the age of AI could impact traffic and revenue — and what marketers and publishers can do to stay ahead.
Google to auto-link YouTube channels and Google Ads accounts
The auto-linking between YouTube and Google Ads gives advertisers instant access to powerful audience data but requires oversight of permissions.
Consumers want less digital, more real world from brands in 2026
ANA report says why marketers must deliver hands-on brand experiences while designing for a future led by AI-powered consumer decision-making.
Marketers navigating low consumer confidence amid high holiday sales
This holiday season is full of mixed signals — sales are breaking records, but shoppers are holding back, and marketers are caught in the middle.
IAB Tech Lab unveils Agentic RTB Framework to boost real-time ad trading efficiency
The new Agentic RTB Framework promises to slash programmatic ad latency by 80%—and reshape how AI-powered agents trade in real time.
How the new attention standards turn feeling into data
The IAB and MRC’s new attention guidelines help marketers measure the emotions that drive memory and impact.
Two-thirds of listeners say podcasts recommendations drive purchase decisions
Podcasts resonate deeply with listeners, impacting their spending, shaping their views and building trust with hosts, a study found.
Meta announces lead gen product upgrades for ‘Q5’ (yes, you read that right)
Meta announced new lead gen capabilities this week, looking to drive business during the post-holiday period, when rates fall as advertisers pull back.
Google’s Privacy Sandbox: What you needed to know, before its demise
Given the saga of third-party cookies, Google's shutdown of Privacy Sandbox last week was inevitable..