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Media

Why Amazon and YouTube pitched operating systems, not just TV inventory at this year’s upfront

Negotiations over identity, infrastructure, AI-driven buying take place as much as programing.

The Economist prepares for a two‑track internet: one for humans and one for AI agents

The Economist is testing agent-readable versions of content that already sits outside its paywall, as it prepares for “two versions of the web.”

The case for and against clipping

Clipping is the creator growth hack of the year, but there are strong arguments for and against the practice. We break them down.

Marketing

Pitch deck: X leans on AI and performance in a bid to win ad dollars

For the past few years, X emphasized brand safety capabilities to reassure advertisers. This latest deck is all about the new AI era of X.

CeraVe taps Carmelo Anthony as ‘head coach’ of its new dandruff campaign

CeraVe found that the NBA and Carmelo Anthony could give it access to a very diverse, engaged and Gen Z fandom.

Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit May Recap: How marketers are navigating agentic ad buying

Execs are already using AI agents to buy ads. At DPMS, they shared what’s worked (and what hasn’t) and the guardrails that the industry needs to put in place to future proof.

Future of TV

Future of TV Briefing: Inside Warner Bros. Discovery’s programmatic upfront pitch

This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at how WBD’s programmatic advertising business has evolved with programmatic playing a bigger part in its upfront deals.

Future of TV Briefing: The upfront glossary, 2026 edition

This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at the terms on the tips of ad buyers’ and sellers’ tongues when talking about the upfront market.

graphic image of a television (TV) with bills of money flying out of it, representing CTV advertising being an effective form of advertising for brands, publishers and consumers.

Future of TV Briefing: Ad tech’s pod bidding push moves CTV toward advancing the live sports ad model in 2026

This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at how ad tech companies including Comcast’s FreeWheel, Index Exchange and The Trade Desk are preparing CTV’s programmatic supply chain for upgraded auction dynamics amid an influx of live sports ad inventory.

Media Buying

‘Identity is the qualifier for AI’: Publicis’ $2.2 billion LiveRamp deal is a bet that whoever controls the data owns the AI era

Publicis just bought the infrastructure its rivals depend on. Now it has to convince them nothing will change.

Ad Tech Briefing: The downstream implications of Publicis Groupe’s $2.2 billion bet on LiveRamp

Rival holding companies will likely be rethinking their relationship with the industry’s largest data onboarding outfit.

Influencer boost budgets are throwing gas on social video spending fire 

A rise in social video spending is being accelerated by the use of paid media to amplify the reach and effectiveness of influencer activity.


Upfronts

Media Buying Briefing: What buyers expect out of this year’s upfront marketplace

Although no deals have been cut yet, outcomes will be a major factor in this year’s negotiations, while complicating factors include measurement and flexibility.

Amazon bets creator video podcasts can be the next TV network – if it can fix measurement

Amazon’s Upfront presentation leaned into its podcast offerings, which the company believes are the next generation of TV networks.

Human-led service is an AI differentiator for independent agencies

While AI speeds up media buying, it’s also exposing cracks in how agencies execute. As campaign complexity grows, agency leaders are getting pulled back into the weeds. But clients don’t see process breakdowns — they see unmet expectations. Instinct is generally to juggle more platforms, data and expectations as retail media and programmatic spend surge. […]

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Beauty
E.l.f. Beauty is lowering prices in response to unit sales decline, offloading Keys Soulcare brand

In August, E.l.f. Beauty took a $1 price increase across all E.l.f. SKUs as a response to tariffs and inflation. Announced today, this caused unit sales to drop dramatically, and CEO Tarang Amin is now testing price cuts.

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Operations
Walmart warns it may have to raise prices due to fuel costs

Higher fuel prices due to the war with Iran are putting pressure on Walmart’s customers and supply chain, and could lead to higher prices on the shelf.