On this week’s episode of the Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels are joined by Modern Retail’s platforms reporter, Allison Smith, to dig into why TikTok Shop is becoming a more legitimate sales channel in the eyes of bigger brands.
Less than three years old, TikTok Shop now makes up roughly 20% of all social commerce sales, according to data from eMarketer. The rest of the category is dominated by Meta. Last year, the company drove $500 million in sales during the four-day stretch from Black Friday to Cyber Monday.
In response, more established legacy brands and mid-sized companies are popping up on TikTok Shop. Smith reported this March that sales from big-name brands — those with at least $30 million in annual revenue — increased 97% year-over-year on TikTok Shop.
Here’s a rundown of their conversation.
Affiliate and incentives powering acquisition
To help boost their presence on TikTok Shop and get eyes on their products, some brands are launching affiliate networks that use creators to drive sales. Companies like Portland Leather Goods have marshalled hundreds of fans into their affiliate channel and are seeing it drive first-time customer growth.
TikTok Shop has also deliberately courted companies to join by offering co-branded partnerships where it picks up the share of a major discount or free shipping offer. At one point, it had a program called Project Horizon to incentivize agencies to onboard large brands, driving at least $10 million in annual sales on competing platforms. But as the platform matures, such incentives might be less common.
Small versus big brands
Early successes on TikTok Shop often came from digitally-native startups. And their playbook that relied on UGC, live shopping or flash sales may not be a fit for major multinational companies like Samsung, Disney, Ulta and others that are newer to the platform. They may also not be able to post as frequently or authentically as a founder-led brand can, due to the approvals and processes that corporate marketing typically involves.
But those larger companies may have an edge when it comes to price competition. And they also may see more of a halo effect on their other sales channels if they’re showing up in front of TikTok Shop buyers who aren’t quite ready to add to cart.
Discovery and awareness over retention
Despite the success any brands are seeing, the trio discusses how TikTok Shop won’t be for everybody. Companies are still losing margin by selling on a different platform, meaning they have to make sure they can handle a potential hit. There’s also the question of whether TikTok Shop sales could cannibalize the growth they’re seeing in other channels, whether direct-to-consumer or Amazon.
Still, there’s evidence that TikTok Shop is growing at a rate that requires brands to pay attention and determine if it plays a role in their customer journey. EMarketer’s research from December also shows that TikTok Shop sales are poised to surpass $20 billion in 2026 and reach over $30 billion in 2028. The podcast concludes with a discussion on whether it’s a “must-have” or “nice-to-have.” As with many retail choices, the answer depends on the brand’s unique positioning
Before your next media plan, brief or campaign, sit with this question: Does this feel like something people will actually want?
If the honest answer is no—if it feels like an interruption—you’re throwing good money after bad. There’s a reason an entire ecosystem exists to avoid ads. Even the platforms you’re sending your money to know this. It’s why YouTube put a skip button on your ad.
I’ve spent 20-plus years running an experiential marketing agency that has helped brands show up in the real world in ways people actually embrace. And the single biggest shift I’ve seen is that interruptive advertising has stopped working the way it used to.
The data backs it up. Kantar’s Media Reactions 2025 research found that campaigns are seven times more impactful when the audience is receptive. It also found that in-person sponsored events rank as the second most preferred ad environment among consumers.
Here’s what you need to hear: The same people skipping your pre-roll ad may stop for a sample, line up for a pop-up and talk about your brand at dinner—unprompted—if you show up in a way that doesn’t feel like you’re targeting them.
The resistance isn’t to brands. It’s to the feeling of being sold to. Here’s what actually works instead.
Product Sampling: Give Before You Ask
In my experience, no format earns more genuine goodwill per dollar than putting your actual product into someone’s hands. The message is honest in a way most paid media isn’t: Try it. Decide for yourself.
Your customer can’t smell, taste or feel your product through a pre-roll ad. For household, beauty and fragrance brands, nothing converts faster than letting someone experience it on the spot.
My team deploys sampling bikes, branded carts and street teams to put clients’ products into people’s hands—in the neighbourhoods, at the events and within the moments where their audiences already are.
For many consumer packaged goods brands, sampling shouldn’t be a support mechanic. It should be the lead.
Pop-Up Activations: Turn Curiosity Into Presence
A well-conceived pop-up takes your brand—a name, a logo, a product—and makes it a three-dimensional experience. People step inside. They touch things. They tell people about it. That conversion arc is almost impossible to replicate in your digital channels. When you build something people can experience in the real world, you’re letting it speak for itself.
Consider hosting “social in real life” pop-ups to close the gap between your brand and your social media audience. They’re real-world moments engineered to earn attention rather than buy it. Done right, they don’t look like marketing at all. They look like something happening.
Your creators and influencers can be part of these pop-ups—not as the strategy, but as the amplifier. When a creator captures a genuine reaction, a line forming or a “wait, this is actually good,” it lands differently and spreads real-world proof.
Live Event Partnerships: Show Up Where Excitement Lives
The best festival activations don’t feel like marketing—they feel like your brand is part of the culture. When your brand embeds itself inside a moment people already love, it stops being an advertiser and starts being part of the experience. That’s a position your media buy can’t replicate.
At a festival, you can tap into crowds of 15,000-plus people a day who are already primed for discovery. Just make sure you design something that feels native to the festival’s energy, not bolted onto it. A well-executed activation inspires user-generated content, earned media and cultural credibility that compounds long after the event ends.
Community Events: Be Useful Before Being Visible
A 5K. A school fundraiser. A local arts program. These work not because your logo is large enough, but because your brand is seen helping make something happen that people actually care about.
When people feel like they’re part of something—even briefly—they start identifying with it. That sense of belonging doesn’t just create customers. It creates advocates.
Wild Posting: Make The Street Do The Work
When someone walks past your poster on the way to their coffee shop, it feels more grassroots than a billboard—and completely different from anything online. Wild posting informs without interruption. There’s no algorithm deciding whether your audience sees it; there’s no skip button and no scrolling. People encounter it as part of the city itself—as way to keep up with releases, happenings and culture. It doesn’t feel like advertising. It feels like discovery.
Kantar’s Media Reactions 2025 backs this up—real-world ad environments rank well for consumer receptivity.
Guerrilla Marketing And Stunts: Make People Stop
The best advertising surprises and delights, earning far more than attention. Think a sidewalk installation that stops someone mid-commute, a statue takeover that earns a double-take and a photo, or a building projection that turns architecture into a canvas. These aren’t interruptions—they’re moments that actually make people’s day, ones they embrace and share.
My team has planned and executed guerrilla marketing campaigns across every major U.S. city for all types of brands, from CPG to B2B. Done right, it’s the most powerful tactic on this list.
Delivery Vehicles: Make Your Brand Feel In Demand
Wrap your trucks and vans, and drive them through cities. It makes it look like your brand is delivering products to stores, dispatching employees for service calls or doing installations in homes. When we track brand vehicle impressions, they rack up 20,000-plus impressions per day in big cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles—and none of it registers as advertising. It registers in people’s minds as a brand in demand.
The brands people know and love didn’t interrupt their way to relevance. They earned it. Before your next brief, ask the only question that matters: Is this a welcome addition to people’s lives? If the answer’s no, start over.
The case for commerce media has been made. Budgets are shifting, narratives are changing and the industry has largely accepted that retail media in its traditional, Retail Media Network (RMN)-centric form — was only ever part of the story. Commerce media represents a fuller picture: a model that connects brands to consumers across a sprawling, high-intent ecosystem that extends well beyond a retailer’s on-site inventory.
The industry has accepted the premise. The execution is where it gets harder.
For most brands and retailers, the honest answer is not yet. The enthusiasm is real. The execution hasn’t caught up. Commerce media has expanded into environments such as appointment platforms, post-purchase moments, financial services ecosystems, non-endemic contexts — that most strategies weren’t designed to reach. The result is a growing gap between where the opportunity lives and where the investment actually goes.
The map has changed. Most strategies are using an old one.
Commerce media’s defining characteristic is proximity to a purchase decision, to a high-intent moment, to first-party data that makes targeting and measurement genuinely meaningful. That proximity isn’t exclusive to the major RMNs. It exists wherever consumers are actively transacting and that universe is significantly larger than the on-site and off-site inventory most retail media plans are built around.
Ticketing platforms where consumers are locked into a high-intent purchase moment. Travel ecosystems where booking confirmations open a window of active planning behaviour. Appointment-based services where recurring transactions create predictable, addressable audiences. Post-purchase environments where ad exposure connects directly to transaction records. Each of these is an expression of the same underlying insight and each represents an opportunity that a digitally-focused RMN playbook wasn’t built to capture.
The brands and retailers winning in this space recognized early that commerce media wasn’t just an expansion of retail media. It was a different way of thinking about where intent lives, how data activates it and what measurable performance actually looks like across a more complex ecosystem.
Where strong commerce media strategies separate from lukewarm ones
Treating RMNs as the strategy, not the starting point. On-site placements and off-site extensions are table stakes in commerce media, not a competitive advantage. Brands that optimize exclusively within that lane are leaving significant reach and performance on the table in environments where their shoppers are already transacting — and where the competition is considerably thinner.
Selling inventory instead of outcomes. Fragmented channel buys produce fragmented results. Brands and retailers that go to market with disconnected inventory offerings give partners no framework for building integrated plans. The ones building durable partnerships are packaging cohesive, full-funnel solutions and making the measurement case that connects media exposure to real business outcomes across every environment in the mix.
Underinvesting in measurement. Measurement is where commerce media programs lose advertiser trust and budget. According to Skai’s 2025 State of Retail Media report, difficulty proving incrementality is the most common reason brands reduce spend, cited by 36% of respondents. The closer media gets to the moment of purchase — wherever that moment occurs — the clearer the connection between exposure and outcome becomes. Those who can demonstrate true incrementality across environments will win a larger and more defensible share of budgets.
Brands have work to do too
Networks can expand the ecosystem. But a genuinely integrated commerce media strategy only delivers when brands show up with an equally integrated approach.
The most persistent failure is organizational. Spend across commerce media environments typically sits with different teams, different KPIs and different agency relationships. The result is disconnected campaigns that happen to involve the same consumer. Aligning ecommerce, brand, shopper and performance teams around shared objectives isn’t a process improvement, it’s a prerequisite for commerce media to work at all.
The second failure is creative. Media built for one environment doesn’t translate automatically to another. Each context has its own consumer mindset, its own moment in the journey, its own definition of relevance. Brands that treat creative as a transferable asset will underperform in every environment it wasn’t designed for which, in an ecosystem as varied as commerce media, is most of them.
The heat is real. Now build something that can handle it.
Commerce media’s growth story is well established. The next chapter belongs to the brands and retailers that move past recognizing the opportunity and start building strategies genuinely capable of operating inside it.
That doesn’t mean building a commerce media network from scratch. The infrastructure, the data connections, the measurement frameworks these are table stakes that the right network partner brings to the relationship. What brands and retailers need to bring is clarity: on objectives, on audiences, on what measurable performance actually looks like across an ecosystem that extends well beyond the RMN.
Commerce media is hot. The brands that will define this next era aren’t just the ones who felt the heat, they’re the ones who found the right partners to help them thrive in it.
The British retailer used custom conversions and a conversion lift test to unlock insights about how efficient Facebook ads are at acquiring new customers, and discovered an 11% lift in incremental purchases by net new customers
THEIR STORY
A byword for quality
Founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer, Marks & Spencer (M&S) is a major international British retailer of high-quality food, drink and clothing, with 959 stores across the UK, and a significant online presence.
THEIR GOAL
Insight into new customer purchases
M&S wanted to take advantage of Infectious Media’s status as a Facebook Marketing Partner for Agencies, and its access to the latest measurement research initiatives available to premium members—in this case, a net new customer incrementality test.
THEIR SOLUTION
Evolving Facebook measurement for ads
M&S had already worked with Infectious Media on direct response campaigns. For this experiment, the Facebook Marketing Partner created custom events from M&S’s own data to separate new customers from repeat customers. Then, they partnered with Facebook to run a conversion lift test that used these custom conversions.
Thanks to this net new customer incrementality test, M&S gained better insight into online purchases and was able to determine how many incremental online purchases were made overall, along with additional insight into whether or not the customer was new or repeat. By quantifying the number of new customers, it found that existing customers were a stronger source of new purchases than the brand had previously realised. The test results also showed that its net new customers were in a younger age range, which helped validate its strategy to expand its target audience to attract new customers.
THEIR SUCCESS
Top marks
The lift test results showed a strong overall return on ad spend, helped M&S quantify new customers, and also shed light on a new customer demographic:
– 2.6X return on ad spend
– 1.4% lift in incremental purchases by new customers
– 11% of incremental purchases came from new customers
– 5.1% lift in purchases from existing customers
– 2X higher incremental revenue from existing customers than new customers
“Proving the value of social marketing and how best to measure its true performance is an ongoing topic internally, meaning running a study such as this was crucial and allowed us to demonstrate the impact Facebook can have on customer behaviour—specifically its strength in driving new customers. The results from this beta test have since assisted us to change our strategy and secure budget with the sole focus of driving new customers to M&S.”
~Liv O’Neill Paid Media Manager, M&S
Products used
Measurement
Make better marketing decisions based on insights.
Did you know the average person unlocks their smartphone 150 times daily, leaving a trail of personal data ready for the picking? Every search inquiry, location ping, and app interaction adds to this constantly growing digital footprint.
Advertisers and data brokers are eager to take advantage of this treasure trove of information, making privacy an increasingly pressing concern in our interconnected world. But don’t worry just yet – regaining control over your digital life is possible, and it starts with understanding the safeguarding tools at your disposal.
While smartphones have unquestionably made our lives easier, they’ve also ushered in a new dimension of vulnerability. It’s a trade-off we’ve all made, often without fully grasping the implications. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With a few strategic tweaks, you can drastically decrease the amount of personal information your phone broadcasts to the world.
Let’s look at 15 practical strategies for keeping your phone out of your private life. These aren’t complex hacks requiring technical expertise; they’re simple steps anyone can take to fortify their digital defences.
1. Review App Permissions
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
Delve into the permissions you’ve granted to various apps. Many request access to your contacts, camera, microphone, or location without a legitimate reason. Take control by revoking permissions from apps that don’t require them. This small adjustment can make a significant difference in protecting your data.
Regularly audit the list of apps with granted permissions in your phone’s settings. This is an ongoing process, as new apps and updates may introduce additional requests. If an app’s access seems excessive or unwarranted, consider using alternative apps that respect your privacy.
2. Disable Location Services
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
When you’re not actively using navigation or location-based apps, switch off location services. This prevents your phone from constantly broadcasting your whereabouts to apps and advertisers. Taking back control of your location data is a crucial step in maintaining privacy.
While disabling location services significantly reduces tracking, some apps may still glean your location indirectly through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connections. Be mindful of this and consider using a VPN for added protection.
3. Limit Ad Tracking
Image Credit: Pixavril at Deposit Photos.
Dive into your phone’s privacy settings and disable ad personalization. You can also reset your advertising identifier, a unique code used to track your activity across apps and websites. This reduces the amount of targeted advertising you receive, making your online experience less invasive.
Remember, some apps may still track you for their purposes, even with ad personalization disabled. For comprehensive protection, consider using an ad blocker and a privacy-focused browser.
4. Use a VPN
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
A virtual private network (VPN) is a powerful tool for safeguarding your online privacy. It encrypts your internet traffic, masks your IP address, and makes it difficult for third parties to track your online activity. Think of it as a cloak of invisibility for your digital presence.
When choosing a VPN provider, research their reputation and privacy policy. A trustworthy VPN with a no-logs policy ensures that your browsing data remains confidential.
5. Avoid Public Wi-Fi
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
Public Wi-Fi networks are often unsecured, making them easy targets for hackers looking to intercept your data. Avoid using public Wi-Fi for sensitive activities like online banking or accessing personal emails. Instead, opt for cellular data or use a VPN to encrypt your traffic.
If you must use public Wi-Fi, be extra cautious about the information you access and avoid entering passwords or financial details.
6. Use Strong Passwords
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Secure your phone with a strong password or biometric authentication like fingerprint or facial recognition. Avoid using easily guessable codes like birthdays or anniversaries. A strong password is the first line of defence against unauthorized access to your personal data.
Consider using a password manager to generate and store complex passwords for various accounts. This not only enhances security but also saves you the hassle of remembering multiple passwords.
7. Be Cautious of Social Media
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
Social media platforms are designed to encourage sharing, but it’s crucial to be mindful of what you reveal. Avoid posting sensitive details like your home address, phone number, or travel plans. These seemingly harmless tidbits can be exploited by malicious actors.
Regularly review the privacy settings of your social media accounts and restrict who can see your posts. Consider creating separate accounts for personal and professional use to maintain control over your online persona.
8. Disable Microphone Access
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
Unless you frequently use voice commands or specific apps that require microphone access, disable it in your phone’s settings. This prevents unauthorized recording and ensures that your conversations remain private.
Be aware that some apps may still be able to access your microphone through workarounds. It’s a good practice to regularly review app permissions and revoke access for those who don’t need it.
9. Minimize Data Collection
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Be selective about the personal information you share with apps and websites. Avoid filling out unnecessary forms or surveys that request personal details. Every piece of data you provide contributes to your digital footprint and can be used to target you with advertising or other unwanted communications.
When signing up for new services, read their privacy policies carefully to understand how your data will be used. Opt out of data collection whenever possible and choose services that prioritize privacy.
10. Update Software Regularly
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
Keeping your phone’s operating system and apps updated is crucial for security and privacy. These updates often include patches that fix vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers. A few minutes spent updating your phone can save you from a world of trouble.
Enable automatic updates to ensure you’re always protected against the latest threats. It’s a simple step that significantly enhances your phone’s security.
11. Use Privacy-Focused Browsers
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
Popular browsers like Chrome and Safari collect vast amounts of data about your browsing habits. Consider switching to privacy-focused alternatives like Brave or Firefox Focus. These browsers offer enhanced privacy features, such as built-in ad blockers and tracker protection, to shield you from prying eyes.
Experiment with different browsers to find one that suits your needs and privacy preferences. You might be surprised at how much cleaner and faster your browsing experience becomes.
12. Use Secure Messaging Apps
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Protect your conversations by using messaging apps like Signal or WhatsApp that offer end-to-end encryption. This ensures that only you and the recipient can read your messages, even if they’re intercepted. Don’t let your private chats become public knowledge.
Research and compare different secure messaging apps to find one that meets your needs and offers the level of privacy you desire.
13. Disable Personalized Search Results
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
Search engines often personalize results based on your search history and location. This can be convenient, but it also means that your searches are being tracked and used to create a profile of your interests. Take back control by disabling personalized search results in your search engine settings.
Be aware that some personalization may still occur based on your location or device type, even with personalized search results disabled. For maximum privacy, consider using a privacy-focused search engine like DuckDuckGo.
14. Limit App Notifications
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
A barrage of notifications can be overwhelming and distracting, not to mention a potential privacy risk. Many apps collect data on your interaction with notifications, including when you open them and how long you spend reading them. Take back control of your attention and minimize data collection by disabling notifications for non-essential apps.
Consider scheduling specific times to check for notifications rather than allowing them to interrupt you throughout the day. This can help you focus on your tasks and reduce the amount of personal data you inadvertently share.
15. Use a Privacy Screen Protector
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
A privacy screen protector is a simple yet effective way to shield your screen from prying eyes. It limits the viewing angle of your display, making it difficult for anyone not directly in front of your phone to see what you’re doing. This is particularly useful in public spaces or when dealing with sensitive information.
Privacy screen protectors are available for most phone models and can be easily installed. They not only protect your privacy but also reduce glare and improve visibility in sunlight.
AI speeds up advertising, but without strategy it risks making brands forgettable
For small businesses, AI has made advertising easier to produce but much harder to differentiate.
What should have been a useful shortcut is quickly becoming a creative trap. As more brands rely on the same tools to write copy, shape campaigns and generate ideas, too much of the output is starting to feel interchangeable.
The ads may look polished enough to publish, but polish is not the same as impact, and efficiency is not the same as originality.
That matters because most ads are not competing in a vacuum. They are fighting for attention in crowded feeds, against endless lookalike content, in front of audiences who have become highly skilled at filtering out anything that feels generic.
When brands use AI without a clear point of view, they do not just risk making weaker creative. They risk making work that disappears on contact.
The problem is not AI, it’s the way many businesses are using it.
Patterns & performance
Most generative AI tools are built on patterns. They are good at producing what is probable, what is familiar and what already resembles successful marketing. That can help with speed, but it also creates sameness.
Similar phrasing, similar structure, similar claims, similar tone. After a while, entire categories begin to sound like they were written by the same person for the same audience, regardless of who is actually selling the product.
For brands trying to grow, that is a serious commercial issue.
When advertising starts to blend in, performance usually follows. Ads that feel vague or formulaic tend to attract less curiosity, fewer clicks and weaker engagement. Businesses then spend more trying to force results from creative that never had enough edge in the first place.
The waste is not always obvious at first, which is partly why the problem is spreading. A campaign can still be technically competent while quietly underperforming where it counts.
Over time, that gap compounds. Budgets get allocated based on surface-level performance rather than true effectiveness, and teams double down on what feels safe instead of what actually works.
The result is more output, more spend, and very little movement in terms of brand recognition or recall.
For SMEs, the stakes are even higher.
Solving the wrong problems
Big brands can sometimes get away with forgettable advertising because they already have reach, recognition and budget on their side. Smaller businesses do not. They depend far more heavily on clarity, distinctiveness and trust.
Their marketing has to do more with less, which means the brand itself needs to be sharper, not flatter. If AI strips out the character, specificity or conviction that made a business memorable in the first place, it starts eroding one of the few real advantages that smaller brands have.
That is the irony in all this. Many businesses are using AI to save time and strengthen output, only to end up producing ads that weaken the very thing they are trying to build.
Solving the wrong problem
The issue usually starts long before anything goes live. Too many marketers are asking AI to solve the wrong problem. They are using it to generate finished ads before they have properly defined what the brand wants to say, who it needs to resonate with, or why anyone should care. When the strategic thinking is thin, AI does not improve it. It simply accelerates it.
That is why so much AI-assisted advertising feels hollow. It fills space nicely, but it rarely lands with force. It often says the sort of thing a brand should say, in the sort of tone a marketer expects, without ever arriving at something sharp enough to be remembered.
There is also a growing risk around brand dilution. When multiple teams, agencies or founders rely on similar prompts and tools, the outputs begin to converge. Without strong internal direction, even well-intentioned campaigns can start to blur together, weakening long-term brand equity in ways that are difficult to reverse.
Taking a clearer position
The brands getting this right are taking a more disciplined approach. They are not handing the whole process over to a tool and hoping for the best. They are using AI to support execution while keeping the core thinking firmly human. That means using it to test routes, speed up production and explore variations, but not to define the message.
They are also investing more time upfront. Clear positioning, sharper audience insight and stronger creative direction are doing the heavy lifting, with AI acting as an amplifier rather than a substitute. That shift alone is often the difference between content that performs and content that fades.
Good advertising has always depended on knowing what makes a business distinct and then expressing it clearly. That has not changed. If anything, it matters more now. In a market flooded with passable content, originality has become more valuable, not less.
AI can help marketers move faster, but speed only matters if you are moving in the right direction.
This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.
The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit
Execs from ESPN, Cava, and more shared how they are navigating the creator economy.
The creator economy is still piping hot: 86% of US marketers worked with influencers last year, per eMarketer.
It’s also rapidly evolving, so Marketing Brew held an event, “The Next Phase of Social & Creator Marketing,” to discuss what creator marketers are thinking about in 2026.
At the event, marketers from ESPN, Cava, and Anthropologie, along with agency leaders, discussed the need for flexible platform strategies, the importance of courting brand superfans, and, of course, how to make sense of—and take advantage of—AI. Marketing Brew compiled some takeaways from the event below.
Crossing that bridge: After the near-shutdown of US TikTok last year, creator marketing stakeholders began realizing the need for having different strategies for different platforms, Maggie Reznikoff, chief client officer at the agency Open Influence, said onstage.
“You truly are renting the platform,” she said. “[The platforms] control the algorithm. They control the policies [and] the access to the audience, so we really counsel our clients to, of course, diversify their platform presence and recognize that just because there is success in their strategy, it doesn’t mean that they own the followers. What’s interesting is that influencers and creators are really good at migrating audiences.”
Open Influence is now including clauses in its contracts with creators stipulating that if a certain platform’s accessibility is impacted, creators have to pivot to another platform, she said.
ESPN is looking to mitigate its reliance on external platforms by enhancing its ESPN app in August, Celia Bouza, ESPN’s VP of multi-platform video, said onstage. It pulled in vertical video content that did well on other platforms into its ESPN app and also enlisted an in-house creator, Omar Raja, for making more content.
Fan behavior: It’s not just about managing brand platform strategy; brand socials are a crucial part of helping a brand succeed. To that end, brand marketers are focused on maintaining a consistent, authentic dialogue with creators and fans, which social listening can help with, Nitya Madhavan, SVP, brand strategy and marketing at Cava, told attendees.
When Cava dropped white sweet potatoes off its menu a few years ago, some online voiced their frustration, she shared; one superfan in particular commented incessantly on brand posts asking them to bring the menu item back. Cava responded by getting the superfan on a call with Cava co-founder Ted Xenohristos to find out firsthand that the brand was going to bring white sweet potatoes back. The menu item officially returned in January—and, of course, the brand created content from the interaction.
Tastemakers: Harnessing fan engagement for creator content is one priority for marketers. Another concern for many is thinking about how AI is impacting creator marketing. Becky Owen, CMO at the agency Billion Dollar Boy, advised onstage the importance for brands and creators to be tasteful about how they’re using AI. Marketers are increasingly reallocating spend to AI-focused creator content, but consumers aren’t as impressed with AI use in creative, she noted. However, if used carefully, AI can resonate with consumers: Billion Dollar Boy, for example, collaborated with fashion brand Versace and worked with 25 generative AI creators to showcase the brand’s Greca Goddess Handbag during New York Fashion Week.
“The reality is…that you still need to be creative to embrace AI,” Owen said.
Jasmine Sheena is a reporter for Marketing Brew writing about adtech, Big Tech, and streaming.
The singer-songwriter is the first-ever ambassador and shareholder for Nothing, and suits the creative vision of the company perfectly.
Nothing has established itself as a very dark, mysterious and playful tech brand since entering the scene in 2021, which is why the newly announced partnership with global superstar, Charli XCX, makes perfect sense.
The singer-songwriter stars in a new Nothing campaign promoting the Headphone (a), while showcasing the impressive 135-hour battery life of the wearable over 5 days of continuous use. We recently reviewed the Nothing Headphone (a), and described the battery life as ‘absurd’ (in a good way).
A short clip announcing the collab was shot by photographer Aidan Zamiri and shows Charli XCX in her element while a white room gets painted black around her. She holds what looks to be the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, with XCX displayed in LED strips on the Glyph interface, for that extra special detail. Nothing also just posted a behind-the-scenes video to YouTube of the filming process with Charli XCX that was shot using the Nothing phone (3).
Charli XCX joins a growing list of Nothing investors, including creators like The Weeknd, Casey Neistat, and Swedish House Mafia. However, Charli is the brand’s first-ever Global Brand Ambassador and shareholder, which is a pretty special title to hold.
The timing coincides nicely with the promotion of Charli’s new single ‘Rock Music’, which was released last Friday, setting up for her anticipated follow-up to her 2024 album Brat. All we need now is for Nothing to take its devotion to Brat energy a step further and release a green phone to match the album shade.
(Image credit: Nothing / Aidan Zamiri)
I’ll admit, this is definitely a brand collaboration I didn’t see coming at all. But the singer-songwriter shares a lot of core values with Nothing, including the desire to push boundaries and challenge industry norms, so it feels like a genius move on both parts (and fans of both brands seem to largely agree).
Nothing feels strongly about its major tech partnership with Charli XCX, stating, ‘Together, we’re changing how things are done – with music and tech for a new generation’. In a press release, Nothing’s Chief Brand Officer also shared that:
“Charli XCX has spent her entire career rejecting the obvious path, and that’s exactly what Nothing’s philosophy is too. This isn’t a traditional endorsement. She’s a shareholder, a collaborator and someone who shares our belief that technology should be a vehicle for creative expression. Charli is the perfect creative partner to build the future of tech and culture.”
(Image credit: Nothing / Aidan Zamiri)
Charli wrote, “Nothing actually feels different to me. I’ve always just wanted to do things on my own terms, and that’s exactly what they’re doing, making stuff with personality that doesn’t look or feel like anything else. A creative partnership and becoming a shareholder just felt like a natural extension of that.”
Nothing’s first-ever product was the Ear (1) wireless earbuds, so it’s fitting that the brand has chosen audio tech to kick off this milestone. I’m really excited to see what’s next for Nothing and Charli XCX this year.
Beth is Creative Bloq’s Ecommerce Writer and has the fun job of finding you the very best prices and deals on creative tech. Beth kicked off her journalistic career writing for Digital Camera World and has since earned bylines on TechRadar and PetsRadar too. With a Master’s degree in Photography, Beth loves getting to tinker with new cameras, especially camera phones, as the resident Samsung fan on the team.
‘Suggested Places’ adds two recommended places to Maps’ search screen every time you tap the search bar to perform a search.
These recommendations are based on two main factors:
What’s trending nearby
Your recent search history
Suggested Places tend to refresh often—in my experience nearly every time I open the search screen.
So if you’re looking for spots near you, the two recommendations will be based in your local area. But if you’re planning a vacation to New York City, and just searched for something there, Apple Maps will offer two NY-based recommendations instead.
#2: Ads support ahead of summer launch
If you’re running iOS 26.5 in the US and Canada, your iPhone will alert you about its support for another Apple Maps change: ads.
Ads haven’t officially launched yet in Apple Maps. Apple previously said they would launch this summer.
However, iOS 26.5 introduces compatibility for the forthcoming rollout. And it notifies users via a new ads popup when Apple Maps is opened.
Here’s what it says:
Maps may show local ads based on your approximate location, current search terms, or view of the map while you search.
For your privacy, advertising information is not linked to your Apple Account.
Apple’s two-stage rollout is understandably confusing some users.
For example, Polymarket told its 1.4 million followers on X: “Apple officially rolls out ads in Apple Maps.” Which isn’t technically true, but it’s hard to blame them since users who update to iOS 26.5 will be greeted by the ads popup in Maps.
Every iPhone ships with a built-in cross-app tracking opt-out. Here’s why most people haven’t enabled it, and how to do it in seconds.
Most people know, in a vague sort of way, that their phone is being used to target them with ads. What fewer people know is exactly how that targeting works, and that Apple has given every iPhone user a direct way to disrupt it.
The mechanism is called App Tracking Transparency, and it was introduced specifically to give you control over whether apps can use your device’s advertising identifier to track behaviour across other apps and websites. Turning it on doesn’t make you invisible, but it does cut off one of the primary pipelines between your phone and the advertising ecosystem built around it.
Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature gives Apple users a simple choice: to allow apps to track their activity or not. If you choose to opt out, Apple will prevent the app from accessing identifiers that link your device with your activity on an app, usually shared with advertisers to create targeted ads. Unless you give an app explicit permission to track you (including apps made by Apple), it can’t use your data for targeted ads, including sharing your location data, advertising ID or any other identifiers with advertisers or third parties.
In iOS 17, Apple made a change that lets users select their default search engine when in private browsing mode, giving them the option to choose a search engine other than Google while in a private Safari tab, and added a feature that makes it harder for thieves to access sensitive information on stolen devices. The phone-maker continued to add robust anti-tracking features with each new iteration of the OS, ensuring users. are always the ones in control of their data.
The impact of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature has been wide-reaching across the tech industry. The feature drew support from privacy advocates but criticism from companies such as Meta, which said the move would hurt its ad business. Meta’s concerns manifested across the board for social media platforms, with a 2021 investigation from the Financial Times estimating that the feature cost Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube a collective $9.85 billion in lost ad sales, as most Apple users opted out of tracking.
Even if you didn’t initially opt out, you can change whether or not to allow tracking at any time. Here’s how to use the App Tracking Transparency feature.
How to turn off app tracking on new apps
When you download and open a new app, you’ll get a pop-up notification that asks if you want to let the app track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites. You’ll also see information about what the app would track. You can tap Ask App Not to Track to block that activity or Allow.
When you download an app, you’ll see a notification pop up giving you a choice of whether you want to give the app permission to track you.Apple
You can also opt out of app tracking across every app you download by going to Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking and toggling off Allow Apps to Request to Track. This means any app that tries to ask for your permission will be automatically blocked from asking and informed that you have requested not to be tracked. All apps (other than those you’ve given permission to track in the past) will be blocked from accessing your device’s information used for advertising, according to Apple.
It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean ads will disappear. It just means that you’ll be more likely to see generic ads, not one for that pair of shoes you clicked on one time.
How to turn off app tracking on already downloaded apps
To do that, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking. You should see a list of apps that have requested to track you. Tap the toggle next to the apps you want to stop tracking you.
All app developers are required to ask for permission for tracking. If Apple learns a developer is tracking users who asked not to be tracked, they will need to either update their tracking practices or else potentially face rejection from the app store.
Apple believes that privacy features like these are a differentiator for its products, compared to other tech giants like Google and Samsung. Cook has said that because the company’s business model isn’t built on selling ads, it can focus on privacy, which he has called a “fundamental human right.”
Even so, it’s important to bear in mind that when you ask apps not to track you, what you’re saying is that you don’t want app developers to have access to your unique identifier that Apple creates specifically for advertisers — your IDFA. Denying access to your iPhone’s IDFA doesn’t necessarily mean app developers won’t track you through other means, so it’s critical to be mindful of the apps you use and how you interact with them.
Feature image credit: Apple/CNET
By Alison DeNisco Rayome
Managing Editor Alison DeNisco Rayome joined CNET in 2019, and is a member of the Home team. She is a co-lead of the CNET Tips and We Do the Math series, and manages the Home Tips series, testing out new hacks for cooking, cleaning and tinkering with all of the gadgets and appliances in your house. Alison was previously an editor at TechRepublic. See full bio
