There is always something new and improved in advertising and marketing, but only rarely do these fads and inventions go to the heart of a brand's value proposition.

The holdco has begun incorporating "synthetic audiences" into its vaunted CCS media planning and buying system as part of "next gen planning for the Algorithmic Era."

Two recent stories suggest an approach to channel-thinking or channel-planning that goes beyond classic campaign-thinking -- one that understands and can impact the social diffusion of ideas.

As part of a new ad forecasting taxonomy, WPP says amateur content will surpass professionally produced content this year, making me wonder what the definition of "professional" content actually is.

At the consideration stage of the journey, brands have a real opportunity to leverage retail media networks to reinforce their value and stay top-of-mind. RMNs provide the ability to retarget high-intent shoppers, serving them with tailored messaging based on previous interactions. Unlike standard programmatic retargeting, RMNs leverage first-party purchase data, allowing brands to reach consumers with hyper-relevant ads at key decision-making moments. If a shopper browses a skincare product but doesn't make a purchase, they can be retargeted with product reviews, a limited-time offer, or an influencer tutorial-helping to drive trial and consideration.

Or why the ad industry keeps erasing the people who know what they're doing.

This column begins with a conversation I had with Horizon Media's Bill Koenigsberg one month ago -- about a week before news broke that WPP was rebranding GroupM as "WPP Media."

From climate change and economic instability to digital overload and rising distrust in institutions, today's audiences aren't just distracted-they're emotionally saturated. Yet many marketers continue to rely on outdated assumptions: that reach equals resonance, or that a high click-through rate means a message connected. It doesn't.

"We see AI as a transformational tool helping us unlock speed, scale, and smarter decision-making across our organization and in-house agency... What used to take weeks of traditional research and tens of thousands of dollars can now be done in hours, and in many cases, with no external spend. We grew the incremental value of our innovation pipeline by three times."

B2B advertisers remain hesitant to use CTV because of three common misconceptions: that it's too expensive, it's too broad to effectively reach niche audiences, and it isn't measurable.