By Gidyon Thompson

Smart brands are ditching ads for immersive stories, cultural ecosystems, and deeper emotional connections.

I was at a marketing conference last year, sipping overpriced coffee, when a CMO from a legacy brand leaned over during a presentation on media engagement and whispered, “We spent $2 million on a Super Bowl ad, and our TikTok intern’s dance video got more engagement.”

And I’m not surprised. Audiences have evolved defence mechanisms against traditional ads, with about 763 million people using ad-blockers and 84% of Gen Z ditching ads in under five seconds. My 17-year-old nephew would rather sell his phone than watch a pre-roll ad, and he’s not alone.

Let’s get nerdy for a second. Traditional ads typically hit the prefrontal cortex, the analytical centers of the brain where we evaluate threats and make snap rejections. It’s why you skip that YouTube ad faster than you’d dodge a wasp. But a great story lights up the default mode network, which is the part of your brain that processes identity, meaning, and emotion.

When Red Bull drops a documentary about cliff divers, it’s not just entertaining; it’s triggering oxytocin release (per Dr. Paul Zak’s research) and chemically bonding you to the brand like it’s your best friend. That’s the power of narrative: It lingers, rewires, and influences behaviour long after a 30-second spot is forgotten.

Brands need to know that their efforts go way beyond clicks now—they’re seeking to colonize neural real estate. And this is a seismic cognitive shift. It means that the gatekeepers are dead, the rules are gone, and your brand is more akin to a media company now.

The infamous “brand authenticity” makes a comeback

As I thought about what that CMO told me, here’s what kept me up at night: in an era where your content is up against HBO’s Succession or a random TikToker’s viral skit, your brand’s personality is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s critical for survival. Authenticity will be your moat, thereby making inauthenticity a death sentence. 63% of Gen Z will pay to avoid brands that feel fake, and they can spot a poser faster than I can spot a bad Wi-Fi signal.

Think of a filmmaker like Wes Anderson. His quirky, pastel-soaked aesthetic is unmistakable.

Your brand needs that same distinctiveness.

Are you gritty like Nike’s “Just Do It” campaigns? Heart warming like Airtel Nigeria’s “Data is Life” mini-series? Or maybe absurdly playful like Duolingo’s TikTok owl? Every choice you make, from your visuals, colour grading, music, tone, even font, must scream “you!”

It’s all about your brand programming

Forget “content marketing”. That’s just ads with better lighting. Brand programming is about creating a universe, a cohesive narrative that unfolds across platforms, inviting audiences to live in your world. Media theorist Henry Jenkins calls this transmedia storytelling, where each medium (video, podcast, social post) adds a unique piece to the puzzle. Disney does this with Marvel, but brands like Lego do it too, spinning off movies, games, and theme parks into a cultural ecosystem.

This isn’t just about production values; it’s about psychology. Ads trigger System 2 thinking, analytical and sceptical. Stories hit System 1—intuitive and emotional—making audiences open to influence. Nancy Baym’s concept of “relational labour” explains why this works: Authentic, ongoing interaction builds trust, not just attention. And it’s not only big brands.

Traditional advertising is like shouting at a party; people tune you out and focus on enjoying the party. Brand programming is like hosting the party, where guests show up because they want to.

The math checks out: Interruption-based ads get pricier as audiences resist, but invitation-based content compounds in value. Netflix’s library costs billions but scales infinitely, with each new subscriber adding revenue without new production costs.

Take Cluely, an AI startup I’ve been following on X. Their cinematic shorts showcasing product features through storytelling have racked up tens of millions of views. How? A network of “clippers” repost bite-sized versions of what works across X, TikTok, and Instagram, turning each launch into a cultural moment. No ad spend, just smart content architecture designed for shareability. This is the future: Content so good, it markets itself.

It’s time to build your media empire

Let’s make this concrete. Imagine a regional bank named First Coastal launching “The Dream Chasers”, a web series about entrepreneurs they’ve funded. They pair it with a Spotify playlist of uplifting local artists, curated by a community vote on X. They then host a pop-up meet and greet with these entrepreneurs for other young and up-and-coming business leaders, using the opportunity to market the original web series.

These elements work like a scaffold. Each piece amplifies the others, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem of meaning. And all of a sudden, First Coastal becomes a hub for ambition and community pride much more than just a bank.

At this point, it’s probably clear that thinking like a media company will change how your brand is set up for communication. Your marketing department, for one, needs to become more of a content studio, and that looks a little bit like this:

Your platform foundation

Your brand will need something more enduring than personality alone—it will need a brand platform. Think of this as the philosophical bedrock from which all your content programming emerges. While your brand’s personality determines how you tell stories (gritty like Nike, heart warming like Airtel, playful like Duolingo), your platform defines what fundamental human truth you’re championing across every piece of content you create.

This isn’t just another “big idea” that changes with each campaign; it’s the timeless manifesto that your chief content officer uses to ensure narrative coherence, that your transmedia producer weaves through every medium, and that your community rallies around. Without this platform foundation, you’re not building a media company—you’re simply creating expensive content that doesn’t compound. Your platform becomes the North Star that transforms scattered content into a cohesive universe where every story, playlist, pop-up, and post ladders back to a singular truth your audience can believe in.

This positions your brand platform as the strategic prerequisite that makes everything else in your media company framework actually work. It’s the foundation that prevents your brand from falling into the trap of creating content for content’s sake.

Your new roles

• Chief content officer: A narrative architect who ensures your story unfolds across platforms with coherence. Think Ryan Reynolds at Maximum Effort for Deadpool-level brand storytelling.
• Cultural moment reader: Someone scanning platforms and web trends to position your brand in conversations before they go mainstream.
• Community leaders: Roles focused on building specific tribes rather than general followers, fostering connections among audiences across platforms.
• Transmedia producer: Orchestrates stories across media. Think a podcast tying into a web series, an event, a coffee table book, and an X campaign.

Your multichannel ecosystem

Soon, you’ll begin thinking of new and interesting ways to plug in your always-on content, all while maintaining the core of your personality and message. You’ll probably have to, for example, stop licensing music and create your own. Coca-Cola’s “Taste the Feeling” campaign included original songs that lived on Spotify, reinforcing their brand sonically. You might choose to build a publishing arm for culture books or other editorial assets, like Dixon Baxi did. Or host events that double as content. Design TikTok challenges. Even merchandise can become cultural artifacts.

Your shareability by design

Every piece of content must be architected for natural amplification. This means understanding the psychological triggers that make people want to share, which according to Jonah Berger’s research, includes identity signalling, social currency, emotional resonance, and practical value.

Your new metrics

You’ll also need to forget impressions and click-throughs if you want to measure what matters. The following metrics require longer windows and tools like Brandwatch or Sprout Social, but they predict brand equity better than short-term sales.

• Cultural penetration—Are people quoting your brand’s story in everyday conversations?
• Ecosystem strength—How interconnected are your content touchpoints? Analyse cross-platform engagement (e.g., podcast listeners who also watch your YouTube series).
• Narrative coherence—Does your story feel consistent across mediums? Use sentiment analysis to gauge audience perception.
• Community vitality—Are fans engaging with each other, not just you?
• Attention quality—Are audiences binging your content or scrolling past? Track average watch time or dwell time.

This shift to brand-as-media won’t happen without its obstacles, but each has actionable solutions. Brands that don’t have Red Bull’s budget can start small and scrappy. A local bakery could launch “Behind the Dough” on TikTok, sharing recipes and staff stories using free tools like Canva for visuals or AI assistants to brainstorm scripts. Sure, there might be fatigue on your audience’s part, but you can combat it by embracing hyper-specificity (rather than trying to appeal to everyone). Liquid Death, for example, succeeds by being unapologetically weird and metal, and not by trying to be everything to everyone.

Algorithm dependency threatens even the greatest of content, so mitigate risk by building owned channels. These could be websites, email lists, and even communities fostered on platforms where you control the conversation and community (think Circle or Obodo).

And if there’s one thing I leave you with, it’s this: Hire more storytellers than ad execs, create ecosystems before campaigns, and measure culture rather than clicks.

Your brand’s transformation starts now.

Cover image: Gorodenkoff

By Gidyon Thompson

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Gidyon Thompson is a UK-based brand strategist who brings cross-cultural perspectives and strategic innovation to the global marketing scene. He’s spent years helping brands find their voice—from steering Nigcomsat and Icentra Limited through major transformations and training teams at MTN and Coronation Group, to launching memorable brand activations across Lagos, Dubai, and Accra. As co-founder of Brandversations Africa, he’s built a thriving community of over 250 brand leaders across 10 African countries, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange in the industry. A firm believer in the power of strategic partnerships, Thompson helps brands forge meaningful collaborations that drive growth while making a positive impact. And when he’s not reimagining brands? He’s watching the tricky reds of Manchester United.

Sourced from Brandingmag

By Craig Millon

You thought the future was digital? Craig Millon of Jack Morton explains why experiential should form the backbone of any good campaign.

Today’s consumers don’t just want to see your brand. They want to feel it. They’re not passively scrolling; they’re leaning in. They want to be moved, surprised, and seen. They crave stories they can step into and share, not just ads they swipe past. This behaviour is accelerating the rise of the experience economy, with brands expected to show up not just physically, but emotionally and culturally, too.

Feature image credit: Jack Morton

By Craig Millon

Sourced from The Drum

By Gene Marks

A couple of years ago I attended an excellent conference in Seattle by a well known firm that provides online search and marketing tools. They had a line up of top notch speakers who are experts in digital marketing from the largest corporations, brands and agencies in the country. The theme was Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how to drive the most clicks to a website, ecommerce store or content page.

The conference was basically all about Google. Why? Because, even in 2025, Google controls 90 percent of search in the world. To get found you need to please the Google Gods. So what advice did the greatest and smartest people in the online marketing world have for conquering Google search? They all pretty much said the same thing: “beats me.”

No one knows. That’s because Google’s search algorithm is a secret more closely guarded than the recipe for Coke or U.S. nuclear launch codes. Everyone there was trying to figure out what Google was going to do next, where Google may change its algorithm and how these changes would affect traffic to their site.

AI is now changing that. AI is already starting to save small business owners like me from Google’s monopoly on search. And it’s doing so in three ways.

More Options

For starters it’s giving our potential customers more choices to find us. Yes, studies show that Google still dominates search. But already you can see ChatGPT and others like it begin to make headway.

So far, even if ChatGPT’s 1 billion messages per day were search-related, its total share of the search market would be less than 1 percent. Google saw approximately 373 times as many searches as ChatGPT in 2024 and Google searches actually grew in 2024 compared to 2023.

But things are changing. Gartner predicts that by 2026, traditional search volume will drop by about 25 percent, with AI chatbots and virtual agents capturing a growing share of user attention and behavior Others project that AI-powered searches will grow annually by up to 35 percent starting in 2025, reaching an estimated 14 percent of search market share by 2028, with Google declining modestly to about an 86 percent share. I’m betting that decline will be more pronounced. But regardless it’s heading in the right direction.

I’ve tried Google AdWords and for a small business like mine it’s useless. My company sells customer relationship management software and the big players in this industry already have search results locked up. They spend more money than me. They buy up all the good keywords. People searching for products I sell won’t find me unless they click through to page 8 of their search results and no one does that. Of course, that doesn’t stop Google – the fox guarding the henhouse – from drawing down on my ad budget with their dubious claims of “impressions” and clicks. How can I even verify this? I can’t. They have the monopoly.

AI is solving this problem. As other chatbots take away search market share from Google I’ll be offered more ways for customers to find me. I predict that many small businesses – equally frustrated with the Google monopoly – will gravitate to these chatbots. ChatGPT and Perplexity have already announced their own browsers to compete with Chrome and collect data. Good for them. More competition means more choices and less costs for small businesses like mine.

Less Clicks, Better Clicks

Most have noticed that Google has introduced an “AI View” into their results where search answers are summarized. Some believe that this will result in fewer clicks on links to websites and they’re right. Smart marketing people, like Jason Rose – senior vice president of digital sales and marketing at HR firm Paychex believes that this will have greater benefits for small businesses like mine.

“People are reading the AI summary and kind of getting what they need and moving off,” he said. “But it’s not all doom and gloom because these visitors actually convert at a much higher rate.”

To date SEO has been all about getting visitors to your website. Websites are ranked based on their traffic. But how genuine is this traffic? In 2023, bots made up 49.60 percent of internet activity, almost catching up to human traffic, which was at 50.40 percent. Meanwhile we’re paying Google to send this nonsense to us. AI is fixing this too. It is changing the way people use the web for research, be it academia or shopping.

Rose is right. By reading an AI overview a visitor who clicks through to a website has given some thought to their action and is therefore a more qualified prospect, a better visitor. Google and others will likely charge more for this. I’ll pay. It’s worth it.

Content Creation Opportunities

To be included in an AI overview your content has to be relevant and useful. Unfortunately, a great deal of today’s content isn’t. At the Seattle conference I attended some of the sessions talked about SEO tricks and games you can play with content (keyword stuffing, hidden links, showing different content to search engines than what is shown to users) to get noticed by Google. AI will help to stop this. As it gets smarter it will be better able to root out this nonsense so that it’s displaying the best answers possible.

Which means that the best content will be included in AI overviews and the websites with the best answers will have a better chance of being found. No games. No tricks. Just good, valuable content. And not content generated by AI because AI will be able to figure that out too.

This will be an opportunity for quality content providers – writers, bloggers, creators, etc. – to step up their game and prove their value. The best ones will rise to the top, unburdened by the crawlers and spiders, that held them down. People worry that AI will replace content providers. It’s actually the opposite. It’s creating more opportunities for them.

“AI is reading the same content that the human would have and building summaries based off of that,” Rose said. “So again, you need great content. Content is still king.”

All of this is happening now. But we’re still early days. Google is still Google. ChatGPT and other chatbots are infants in the search world and still hallucinate too much. But you can easily see the future. And the future is a world where, thanks to AI, Google no longer monopolizes search. For a small business owner like me, that world can’t come soon enough.

Feature image credit: Getty Images

By Gene Marks

Find Gene Marks on LinkedIn and X. Visit Gene’s website. Browse additional work.

Sourced from Forbes

By Tom Goodwin

Tom Goodwin believes marketing has lost its way and that many of the ‘modern’ lessons are taking us backward. Here, he explains himself and shares what lessons we should salvage from the performance-heavy playbook.

I lost my temper on a podcast the other day. I was exhausted, jacked on espresso, and ended up ranting pretty hard about how messed up advertising has become.

Feature image credit: Adobe Stock

By Tom Goodwin

Tom Goodwin is a globally recognized expert in marketing trends, AI, and digital transformation. He is the founder of All We Have Is Now, author of Digital Darwinism, and a keynote speaker at events all over the world. His work emphasizes “nowism,” a pragmatic approach to futurism that advocates using existing technology to drive meaningful change.

Get in touch with Tom on LinkedIn.

Sourced from The Drum

By Jill Standish

Retailers are navigating relentless disruption—and nowhere is the impact more acute than in merchandising.

Merchandising is the heart and soul of retail—the bridge between product selection and customer engagement, shaping both sales and brand loyalty. From sourcing at the right price to planning where and how to sell, merchants partner with planning and inventory teams to forecast trends and position stock.

Historically, success was measured by margins, turns, and sales. Merchants won by reading seasonal trends, cultivating supplier relationships, and interpreting market dynamics.

At the same time, merchants face economic headwinds, geopolitical challenges, inflation, and supply chain disruptions that have shifted from exceptions to assumptions.

With more than half (54%) of consumers viewing uncertainty as the new normal (Accenture’s Latest Consumer Pulse Survey), retailers must build resilience and expand what “consumer-focused” means. It’s no longer just selling products—it’s building true consumer intimacy.

This demands that merchants immerse themselves in the whole person: their needs, their desires, their and their world. Because consumer behaviours shift quickly, static plans give way to real-time adjustments and rapid test-and-learn—ready to pivot when the unexpected happens.

With retail more complex than it’s ever been, and merchandising at the centre of it all, the question is whether the merchant role evolves—or is redefined entirely.

A New Way Forward: The ‘Consumer Visionary’

We’re already seeing merchants evolve into Consumer Visionaries—leaders who blend deep human understanding with technology to make fast, informed calls. They prioritize sustainability, know how to create engaging experiences and content, and build partnerships that go beyond traditional supplier relationships.

However, it’s not just what people buy—it’s why. Curiosity about psychology and culture, paired with technology, turns insight into action that benefits customers and the business.

Consider social commerce: platforms like TikTok Shop have erased the line between content and commerce. Feeds now feature live demos, shopping events, and creator recommendations.

The Dual-Mode Merchant

To succeed as consumer visionaries, retail merchants must excel at two complementary skills.

First, act as content curators, blending online and offline experiences to collapse barriers between merchant and consumer. It requires acting as an influencer—actively posting on social media about products and showcasing brand personality by sharing content to test new ideas, drive sales, and influence behaviour. It also means a closer, more symbiotic relationship with marketing, whether within the retailer’s own walls or through external partners.

Fully integrating across emerging platforms and payment methods, from third-party marketplaces to payment facilitators, delivers a seamless, cohesive journey from awareness to purchase and beyond. This requires carefully curating product presentation, experience touchpoints, and logistics into a single, seamless performance; delivering a unified brand experience that earns trust and inspires loyalty.

Second, orchestrate the ecosystem to manage the entire consumer experience from start to finish by using AI and other technologies to make teams more effective, while creating unique interactions that shape how people discover and buy products. This is more than just deciding what products to carry; it’s about coordinating suppliers, technology platforms, and partners to create experiences that feel seamless and exciting. It’s also about using live data and insights to adapt instantly to trend, market, inventory, and consumer factors—dynamically adjusting curated assortments, layouts, and pricing to enhance local relevance and customer satisfaction.

Four Pillars To Consider

Success as a consumer visionary comes down to getting four foundational areas right.

1. Decode The Customer
   Reveal motivations, emotions, and jobs-to-be-done—not just purchases. Track emerging signals and anchor every decision (assortment, content, service) in what feels timely, relevant, and resonant.
2. Automate To Elevate
   Use AI and automation to absorb routine work so merchants focus on strategy. Connect digital and physical journeys, and build data capabilities for real-time decisions on content, pricing, inventory, and experience.
3. Orchestrate Connected Offers
   Craft value propositions that differentiate through engagement and emotion. Deliver a consistent brand across online, store, and social channels, with curated assortments that serve distinct missions and needs.
4. Delight At Speed
   Adopt a continuous test-and-learn rhythm. Move fast on trends and signals, iterate quickly, and create breakthrough moments that surprise, delight, and build loyalty.

Making It Happen

As retailers prepare for the future, those that invest in developing these capabilities will create durable advantages beyond traditional differentiation.

Successful consumer visionaries will cut through complexity by staying anchored in consumer value. They blend data, imagination, and technology with an authentic grasp of human desire, and in doing so, position the future merchant to know what customers want—often before they do.

Feature image credit: getty

By Jill Standish

Find Jill Standish on X.

Sourced from Forbes

By Maria Greaves,

Marketing leaders from Microsoft Advertising, Skoda, Unilever, Samsung, Philips and more gathered to confront the AI shift head-on. Are CMOs truly ready to lead in a machine-shaped world? This is what they said – unfiltered, relevant and urgent.

“We’re not just adapting to technology: we’re adapting to a completely new marketing paradigm,” says Globant Gut’s managing director, Marwa Khalife. She was speaking at The Drum and Globant Gut’s roundtable, to kick off the new AI Marketing Pulse editorial series.

By Maria Greaves,

Sourced from The Drum

By Francesca Pezzoli

VP Marketing at Looper Insights. Writing about how AI is transforming marketing strategy, visibility, and long-term growth planning.

For decades, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and paid media strategies have been grounded in one central truth: If you could optimize your content to appeal to Google’s algorithm, you could climb the ranks, earn visibility and influence discovery. Whether it was organic reach or ad placement, it revolved around Google’s ecosystem. That ecosystem has shaped how most companies structure their marketing strategies, hire teams and allocate budget.

But with generative AI tools changing how people search, that centre of gravity is changing. This shift is happening faster than most in our industry are ready to admit.

The Shift From SEO

At the time of writing, Google still holds its dominant position in search. Gemini, despite being integrated into some search experiences, has not yet meaningfully disrupted that dominance. But what users encounter when interacting with Gemini through standard Google Search feels significantly different—less intuitive and less capable—than the experience within the standalone Gemini app or other generative tools. The first issue is usability. The second—and more complex—is trust.

Most generative tools currently offer unsponsored results. For now, when I ask a model like ChatGPT, “Which are the best analytics platforms in media and entertainment?” I get a list shaped by public data and contextual relevance, not paid placements. That is a major contrast to traditional search, where we have spent years fine-tuning search engine marketing (SEM) strategies that would help position our companies near the top of the results page.

This shift means companies, including ours, are pausing to rethink. At Looper Insights, we have started reducing investment in SEO and PPC—not because they are suddenly worthless, but because we need time to understand how this new search behaviour works and where it is heading. When the rules change, it is smart to slow down and observe before going all in.

For others looking to follow suit, I recommend reinvesting some of that budget into activities that feel less volatile and more value-driven, such as live events and well-placed PR. These are hardly new tactics, but they are gaining new relevance. In a fragmented search environment, you need credibility to travel with the user wherever they go. A thoughtful piece of press coverage or a face-to-face conversation builds trust in ways no keyword strategy ever could.

A New Phase In Marketing

What’s tricky is that many agencies and consultants are already rushing to sell AI-driven SEO strategies, and it’s easy to see why. When your role depends on staying ahead of change, there’s pressure to appear as though you’ve already cracked the code. But the reality is, no one has. Not yet. The platforms are still evolving. Monetization models remain unsettled. And most importantly, user behaviour is still shifting, sometimes week by week.

Will generative tools eventually introduce sponsored recommendations? Most likely. If you look at how Google evolved, it is a familiar pattern. Trust first, monetize later. Once a tool becomes embedded in how we work, shop, travel and even diagnose our health, the influence it holds becomes exponential. When that time comes, the marketing playbook will change again, but we are not there yet.

We are, however, seeing clear early signals. According to Similarweb, about 60% of Google searches now end without any external clicks. Users are increasingly finding what they need directly in search summaries without ever visiting a site. Data shared by Barron’s (registration required) shows Google-generated traffic has already dropped by 20% for travel sites, 17% for news outlets and 9% for e-commerce platforms. This is a measurable decline that reflects real behavioural change.

For marketers, this is both exciting and uncomfortable. We are entering a new phase. For the first time in a long while, we are not optimizing incrementally. We are facing a foundational shift in how visibility is earned.

The old frameworks are not being improved—they are being replaced. That does not mean we need to panic, but it does mean we need to pay close attention and be willing to experiment without expecting familiar returns.

Closing Thoughts

I believe there has never been a better time to be in marketing. The past decade gave us refinement. The next 10 years will bring reinvention. The unknown brings some hesitation, but mostly, it brings energy. I feel fortunate to be doing this work right now.

This article is the first in a series about the pillars of marketing that are being reshaped. Next, I will explore how the shift toward hyper-personalized content capsules could upend everything we thought we knew about content creation, messaging and what relevance really looks like in this new environment.

Feature image credit: getty

By Francesca Pezzoli

Find Francesca Pezzoli on LinkedIn. Visit Francesca’s website.

Sourced from Forbes

By Meera Navlakha

More AI-powered ads are coming to your search results.

Google is pushing advertisers to buy ads in AI mode, according to a report from AdAge. The publication caught onto slides from Google pitching AI Mode ads to potential buyers.

“Be part of our most powerful AI search experience, as customers explore their biggest questions with AI Mode,” read one slide in the presentation. “As we apply the power of Generative AI to Search, Ads will continue to play a critical role in helping consumers find helpful information and enabling businesses to be discovered online.”

Google reportedly told advertisers that the new ads would come in the form of text and shopping ads with product details within AI Mode chats. The ads would be presented in response to user queries.

From a mock-up in the presentation, the ads appear in banners under AI search queries, indicated by a “Sponsored” label. The slides describe the AI Mode advertisements as an “experiment.”

According to AdAge, Google will roll out ads in AI mode before the fourth quarter. The tech giant told AdAge that they have already started showing more ads in AI mode and have seen “incredible results.” In May 2025, Google announced that it was testing these ads, writing in a blog post, “Where relevant, ads may appear below and integrated into AI Mode responses.”

Google’s revenue from ads was estimated to be $96.5 billion in the fourth quarter of last year alone. So far, advertisements have been rare in AI chatbots like Google Gemini and ChatGPT. But as Google shifts away from traditional search and toward AI search, the company’s massive ad inventory could shift as well.

Google has a big head start when it comes to AI search, and so far it has 30 times more traffic than its rivals. Its AI search results surpassed those of rivals like ChatGPT, with 16.5 billion visits in December 2024.

Google inserting ads into its AI search tools is just the beginning. Spending on AI-powered search advertising is projected to reach nearly $29 billion by 2029, according to Reuters.

Feature image credit: Google.

 By Meera Navlakha

Meera is a journalist based between London and New York. Her work has been published in The New York Times, Vice, The Independent, Vogue India, W Magazine, and others. She was previously a Culture Reporter at Mashable.

Sourced from Mashable

By Gabriel Shaoolian Edited by Micah Zimmerman

Emotional branding is no longer enough. Today’s consumers reward functionality, not just familiarity.

By Gabriel Shaoolian Edited by Micah Zimmerman

Sourced from Entrepreneur

By Julian Horsey

Have you ever wished you could create stunning, professional-grade product ads without spending hours behind a camera or shelling out for expensive design software? Here’s the fantastic option: with advancements in artificial intelligence, you can now produce polished, eye-catching visuals in just minutes. Yes, minutes. Imagine uploading a simple photo of your product and watching AI transform it into a sleek, market-ready ad that looks like it came straight from a high-end studio. This isn’t just a time-saver; it’s a creative revolution. Whether you’re a small business owner, a social media marketer, or an e-commerce entrepreneur, the ability to craft high-quality ads quickly and affordably is a powerful tool for levelling the playing field.

Corbin Brown walks you through how to harness AI tools like Runway to create customized product ads that align with your brand’s identity and marketing goals. You’ll discover how to take a simple product photo and, with just a few clicks, transform it into visuals tailored for platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, or your website. From defining your aesthetic vision to experimenting with dynamic backgrounds, this guide will show you how to unlock creativity without technical barriers. Whether you’re looking to save time, cut costs, or simply elevate your marketing game, this process offers a glimpse into the future of advertising—one where innovation meets accessibility.

AI-Powered Product Ad Creation

Transforming Product Photography with AI

AI has transformed product photography by allowing you to convert simple images into professional-grade marketing visuals. Start by capturing a clear photo of your product, ideally against a plain, uncluttered background. Upload this image to an AI platform like Runway, where you can use prompts to define the desired aesthetic. For example, you might specify lighting conditions, background themes, or stylistic effects that align with your brand’s identity.

These tools offer exceptional flexibility. Whether you need a clean, studio-style image, a vibrant outdoor setting, or a bold and dramatic colour palette, AI can generate visuals tailored to your specific marketing goals. This adaptability ensures your ads resonate with your target audience while maintaining a cohesive and professional appearance.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating AI-Generated Ads

Creating AI-powered product ads is a straightforward and efficient process. Follow these steps to get started:

• Capture a photo: Take a clear, high-resolution image of your product against a simple background to ensure the AI has a clean base to work with.
• Upload to an AI tool: Use platforms like Runway to upload your image and access their suite of editing and enhancement features.
• Define your vision: Input prompts to guide the AI. For example, specify “bright natural lighting,” “sleek modern backdrop,” or “vibrant outdoor scene.”
• Experiment and refine: Test multiple prompts to explore different styles and select the output that best fits your brand and marketing objectives.

This process not only saves time but also eliminates the need for costly equipment or professional photography services, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes. By using AI, you can focus on creativity and strategy rather than technical execution.

Easily Make AI Product Ads Quickly

Customizing Visuals for Marketing Platforms

One of the most powerful features of AI tools is their ability to customize visuals for specific platforms and purposes. For instance, you can adjust image dimensions to fit the requirements of various platforms, such as Instagram posts (1:1), Facebook banners (16:9), or Pinterest pins. This ensures your visuals are optimized for maximum impact on each channel.

AI tools also allow for dynamic background customization. Replace plain backdrops with settings that align with your product and audience. For example:

• A pet product could feature a lively park scene with pets in action.
• A luxury item might benefit from a sleek, minimalist studio environment.
• A fitness product could be showcased in an energetic gym setting.

These adjustments help create a cohesive and visually appealing brand identity across all marketing channels, making sure your ads stand out and effectively engage your audience.

Enhancing Visuals with Post-Editing

While AI tools generate high-quality visuals, post-editing can further refine your product ads. Software like Photoshop or Figma allows you to add finishing touches, such as text overlays, colour adjustments, or minor corrections. For example:

• Add promotional messaging, such as discounts or limited-time offers, directly onto the image.
• Align the visuals with your brand’s colour palette to maintain consistency across campaigns.
• Incorporate design elements like logos or call-to-action buttons to enhance engagement.

These final adjustments ensure your product ads are polished, professional, and ready for publication, helping you make a lasting impression on your audience.

Applications Across Marketing Channels

AI-generated visuals are versatile and can be applied across a wide range of marketing platforms. Here are some common use cases where these tools can make a significant impact:

• E-commerce: Create consistent, professional product listings for online stores, making sure your products look appealing and trustworthy.
• Social media: Design platform-optimized posts for Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or TikTok to engage your audience effectively.
• Placeholder images: Generate visuals for products not yet available for traditional photography, allowing you to market them ahead of time.
• Website banners: Produce customized promotional assets for your website, such as hero images or seasonal campaign banners.

By using AI, you can maintain brand consistency while reducing the time and cost associated with traditional photography. This versatility ensures your marketing efforts remain efficient and impactful across all channels.

Efficiency and Precision in AI Tools

AI tools like Runway excel in delivering both efficiency and precision, making them invaluable for modern marketing. For example, if your product packaging includes intricate details or text, the AI can replicate these elements with remarkable accuracy. This ensures your visuals maintain brand integrity, which is especially critical for e-commerce and advertising.

The speed of AI tools is another significant advantage. You can produce high-quality visuals in minutes, allowing quicker turnaround times for marketing campaigns. This is particularly beneficial for businesses that need to respond rapidly to market trends, seasonal demands, or promotional opportunities. By streamlining the creative process, AI allows you to focus on strategy and execution rather than production.

Elevating Your Marketing with AI

AI tools have fundamentally reshaped the way product ads are created, offering a fast, accessible, and cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes. By combining customizable prompts, advanced image enhancement, and post-editing options, you can produce professional-grade visuals tailored to your marketing needs. Whether you’re designing e-commerce listings, social media posts, or promotional banners, AI ensures consistency, precision, and efficiency. Embrace these tools to streamline your workflow, reduce costs, and elevate your brand’s visual identity across all platforms.

Media Credit: Corbin Brown

By Julian Horsey

Sourced from Geeky Gadgets