Hello Marketers!! We’re unpacking why Gmail is cracking down on lazy email practices, why emotional connection is quietly becoming a KPI, and how a 200-year-old psychology effect is turning “small asks” into growth leverage. We’ve also got sharp takes on SEO vs GEO, podcast ads on YouTube, and Meta’s AI data insights.

Scroll down to discover more stories along the way 👇

AI exposed a blind spot: efficiency doesn’t equal impact. While clicks and conversions show what people did, they don’t explain what people felt. Research shows emotionally engaging ads drive higher sales, and emotionally connected customers are significantly more valuable long-term. As a result, brands are rethinking KPIs to include attention quality (time spent, scroll depth, video completion), emotional signals from open channels like comments and DMs, and commitment metrics such as retention and repeat behavior. The next generation of performance measurement blends automation with human interpretation. Why it matters (POV): As AI floods the market with optimized content, brands that measure and design for emotional connection will be the ones people actually remember and return to.

Amazon Fire TV lets users watch personalized, autoplay Reels from the couch. Content is organized into channels like comedy, music, and lifestyle, supports likes, comments, and resharing, and can be paired with existing Instagram accounts. This move puts Instagram in more direct competition with YouTube and TikTok for living-room attention. Why it matters (POV): Creators and brands might want to design content that holds attention with clearer storytelling and higher production quality as a test at some point.

GEO isn’t a replacement for SEO; it’s an extension of it. The reality is simpler: SEO fundamentals still power visibility across AI systems because LLMs remain deeply grounded in Google’s index. The tactics overlap heavily (content quality, relevance, structure), but the goal is different. GEO isn’t about traffic; it’s about presence in AI-generated answers. That means stronger off-site influence, brand mentions on authoritative third-party sites, and benchmarking how your brand appears in LLM outputs. SEOs are still best positioned to do this work, but success now requires measuring visibility beyond clicks. Why it matters (POV): AI visibility is becoming a brand discovery channel, not a traffic one. If you’re not tracking how often your brand shows up in LLM responses, you could miss an early signal of future demand.

While fears of zero-click searches dominated early conversations, Semrush data shows zero-click rates have actually declined slightly over time. The real change isn’t traffic disappearing overnight; it’s where visibility is earned. Brands are increasingly competing to be cited, summarized, and trusted by Google’s AI, not just ranked blue-link first. SEO is moving from “ranking for clicks” to “powering the answer.” Why it matters (POV): If your brand isn’t visible inside AI Overviews, you’re invisible earlier in the decision journey, even when demand exists. The KPI is no longer clicks alone, but whether Google’s AI chooses you as the source.

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Inbox placement is now driven by engagement and relevance, not volume. New features like the Managed Subscriptions view and relevance-ranked Promotions tab make it easier than ever for users to ignore or unsubscribe from low-value senders. At the same time, Gmail is enforcing stricter technical standards: bulk senders face temporary blocks or permanent rejection if spam rates rise or authentication is sloppy. Transactional emails are also under scrutiny, with promotional clutter risking misclassification and deliverability damage. The takeaway: email marketing now rewards restraint, personalization, and list hygiene and penalizes “spray and pray” tactics hard. Why it matters (POV): Email is becoming algorithmic like social feeds. If your emails don’t earn interaction, Gmail will quietly bury you before subscribers ever see your message.

A new study across 1,000+ campaigns shows host-read ads on YouTube are up to 25% less effective at driving purchases than in audio-only environments. The reason isn’t reach; it’s context. Audio listeners actively choose shows and engage in a more intimate, focused setting, while YouTube audiences often arrive via algorithms and face constant visual distractions. Despite YouTube now being the biggest podcast platform in the U.S., ads are still priced like traditional audio spots, even though performance and measurement differ. Some brands are seeing success with richer visual storytelling, but results vary widely depending on execution and host integration. Why it matters (POV): Podcast ads don’t perform the same just because they look the same; format, mindset, and attention radically change outcomes, and media plans need to catch up.

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Meta isn’t reading your private DMs, but it is now using your conversations with Meta AI across Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp to personalize ads and feeds. Starting December 16, chats with the AI chatbot officially become a new data signal for targeting, marking the first time AI conversations are used at scale for ad personalization. End-to-end encrypted personal messages remain off-limits, but interactions with Meta AI, some group chats, Marketplace, and business messages can feed into Meta’s systems. Why it matters (POV): This is a turning point where AI stops being a neutral assistant and becomes a first-party ad signal. What you say to machines now shapes what kind of ads you’ll get.

NBCUniversal announced new AI-powered targeting, real-time retargeting, shoppable and high-impact Peacock ad formats, and in-flight performance measurement tools. The upgrades are designed to bring digital-style precision, contextual relevance, cross-platform retargeting, and lower-funnel attribution into live and streaming TV. With 2026 set to include the Super Bowl and World Cup, NBCU wants advertisers to not just reach massive audiences, but capture, retarget, and measure them across its entire ecosystem. Early tests show lifts in engagement, recall, site visits, and even foot traffic, proving that TV is moving closer to the performance standards once exclusive to big tech platforms. Why it matters (POV): TV is not just about reach and brand lift; NBCU is trying to position it as a measurable, retargetable performance channel that competes directly with digital ads.

TLDR: People don’t just like brands they receive from, they like brands they contribute to. Small asks create emotional investment, trust, and long-term loyalty.

The Ben Franklin Effect shows that when someone does you a small favor, they’re more likely to like and support you, because effort creates psychological commitment.

How to implement it:
Instead of only giving discounts or offers, ask customers for low-effort participation: opinions, votes, feedback, or small actions that make them feel involved, not sold to.

Here are 2 examples from me…

For more authenticity’s sake on Meta ads when doing brand partnership, remove your brand’s handle, and only keep your creator’s handle. People buy from those they trust, and the creator has already gained trust from their people.

Kick’s ad-free era won’t last - CEO Ed Craven confirmed in-stream ads are coming to make the platform financially sustainable, as Kick looks to compete long-term with Twitch and YouTube without alienating viewers.

Meta is testing hard limits on organic link posts, restricting some Pages to just two links per month unless they pay for Meta Verified, showing a clearer change toward pay-to-play distribution.

TikTok is launching its first U.S. Awards show with Ciara headlining, turning viral creators, TikTok Shop, and platform culture into a live, mainstream entertainment event streamed on TikTok.

Shein is setting up a massive logistics hub in Poland, betting on local warehousing, automation, and EU partnerships to speed up delivery times as import rules tighten.

Enterprise marketers are starting to use AI agents as behind-the-scenes infrastructure, automating campaign setup and optimization to reduce operational drag and scale execution without adding headcount.

— Sam C.