Hello Marketers!! Today, we’ll look into how search and social work best as one system, the email fundamentals most brands still get wrong, and how Nude Project scaled to €30m in 5 years. We’ve also rounded up fast signals on TikTok’s future, AI inside messaging apps, why timing beats targeting in ads, and a lot more. Let’s dive in…

AI assistants are now appearing directly inside messaging apps. Snapchat’s MyAI lives as a separate chat that feels like an AI companion, mainly used for casual questions, creative ideas, and social interaction, while Meta AI in WhatsApp is deeply embedded into conversations, helping users summarize chats, translate messages, explain links, and generate content without leaving the thread. The difference highlights a shift from AI as entertainment toward AI as infrastructure. Why it matters (POV): This doesn’t only show that AI adoption at scale favors tools that blend seamlessly into existing behavior, but also how your conversation data with AI will eventually be used to personalize ads in the near future.

Google’s latest update to Gemini aims to reduce uncertainty by letting users upload a video and check whether it was created or edited using Google AI, scanning for invisible SynthID watermarks embedded across audio and visuals. While SynthID currently only works within Google’s ecosystem and other platforms use different standards like C2PA, the move indicates a broader push toward AI transparency. Why it matters (POV): As authenticity becomes a growth constraint, platforms and brands that help users verify what’s real will earn more confidence and trust among users.

Search and social are now a single growth system, where social sparks discovery and demand while search compounds it over time. Social platforms now act as top-of-funnel engines, shaping what people later validate and convert on via search, while SEO sustains momentum long after social attention fades. When teams share data, align goals, and treat content as a relay, using social signals to inform search strategy and search performance to reinforce social proof. Brands can then build stronger visibility, trust, and consistency across every touchpoint. Why it matters (POV): For B2C brands, treating search and social as one ecosystem is a must in 2026. Those who connect intent, conversation, and content across channels can outpace competitors.

Meta’s new Andromeda algorithm has changed how ads work, moving control away from manual targeting and toward creative-led, AI-driven delivery where your ads themselves determine who sees them. Instead of relying on interests or complex funnel structures, Andromeda uses deep learning to match creative formats, angles, and messaging to user intent in real time, rewarding advertisers who run broad targeting, simplified campaign structures, and highly diverse creative libraries. Performance issues are rarely a targeting problem and almost always a creative one, with accounts punished for repetitive visuals and rewarded for varied formats like carousels, text-only ads, raw video, and mixed copy lengths. Why it matters (POV): Meta ads are less about hacking settings, they’re more about engineering creative systems at scale in 2026.

TikTok’s ad business has exploded from $2 billion in 2020 to a projected nearly $44 billion by 2026. Brands are investing heavily because TikTok delivers unmatched engagement, strong short-term ROI, and growing influence in product discovery, with users increasingly researching, reviewing, and even purchasing directly on TikTok Shop. While CPMs remain relatively low compared to other platforms, success depends on embracing native formats, fast creative refresh cycles, and content that feels entertaining and human rather than overly produced, as trends rise and fall within days. Why it matters (POV): It’s safe to say TikTok is a discovery and demand engine where speed, authenticity, and creative volume matter more than perfect conversion efficiency, and those who can keep up with the content pace will capture disproportionate attention.

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“Slop” refers to a growing frustration with low-quality, mass-produced AI content. Long before AI, content mills churned out shallow, keyword-driven pages designed to rank rather than help shoppers, and AI has simply accelerated that behavior by making mediocre content faster and harder to detect. While AI output can look polished, it often lacks judgment, which is why the winning approach isn’t avoiding AI but pairing it with human expertise, using it for research, structure, and speed while humans add accuracy, intent, and real customer insight. Why it matters (POV): For ecommerce brands, it’s a reminder that usefulness beats volume. AI-assisted content guided by human judgment will outperform “AI slop” because trust and clarity still drive conversion and long-term brand equity.

They focus on simplicity and leverage: double down on best-selling products, use the P.S. as a second CTA, improve open rates through cleaner subject lines and segmentation, resend high-performing emails with small variations, offer fast-to-create lead magnets, and actively talk to customers to sharpen messaging. The common thread is efficiency, maximizing results from what already works instead of constantly chasing new ideas by refining distribution, positioning, and feedback loops rather than overcomplicating strategy. Why it matters (POV): Email growth is about repetition, clarity, and listening, and the brands that systemize these basics will outperform those constantly reinventing their email strategy.

TikTok’s U.S. ownership chaos is over. The platform will continue operating at scale, yet under American governance, with Oracle overseeing U.S. data, a majority-U.S. board, and an algorithm retrained on American user signals. It means performance dynamics, content distribution, and reach could shift in subtle but meaningful ways. The existential question is gone, but algorithm predictability, data transparency, and creative performance under a new infrastructure are now the variables marketers must actively monitor. Why it matters (POV): For marketers, TikTok is no longer a “will it exist?” risk but a “how will it behave?” one. Making proactive benchmarking and creative experimentation to stay ahead of the game is recommended.

The chaos at X hasn’t produced a single Twitter replacement but has instead fractured Twitter’s old role into multiple platforms, each serving a different function marketers once relied on in one feed. Threads now dominates distribution through scale and Instagram-powered onboarding, Bluesky attracts tighter, values-driven communities, X remains the most powerful engine for real-time virality, while platforms like Substack, Reddit, Discord, and WhatsApp absorb monetization, discussion, and private engagement. This means audience attention is no longer centralized, and no single platform can deliver discovery, engagement, and conversion on its own. Why it matters (POV): Building a multi-platform strategy where each channel has a clear job is essential because social success now comes from assembling the right stack, not chasing one feed.

A new study shows that location-based mobile ads work best not because they target different people, but because they reach people at the right moment when they’re already in a shopping mindset. Shoppers were more open to promotions when they were physically inside stores or shopping areas, and ads sent via precise signals, like in-store Bluetooth beacons performed far better than broad geofencing. Messages that shoppers actively requested also converted much higher than ads pushed to them, proving that context and intent matter more than the offer itself. Why it matters (POV): Geo-targeting is really about timing when it aligns with real-world buying intent, especially in-store, where precision and relevance drive conversions.

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TLDR: Most brands obsess over products, performance ads, and short-term conversions. NudeProject did the opposite by building a cultural movement first, using storytelling, community, and scarcity to make demand inevitable.

(1) Build an Identity, Not a Product - Nude Project treated branding as identity-building, not merchandising. From day one, the brand stood for vulnerability, rebellion, and self-expression, giving people something to belong to, not just buy from. (2) Turn Storytelling Into Culture - they amplified that identity through cultural storytelling: collaborating with music artists, launching a podcast, and hosting offline events that felt like concerts, not stores. (3) Engineer Demand Through Scarcity - limited drops created urgency and exclusivity, while radical consistency across tone, visuals, and messaging reinforced trust and memorability over time.

The playbook:
Define a clear mission → tell real stories → build community before monetization → use scarcity to focus attention → stay unapologetically consistent everywhere.

Use founders as media. Founder-led content outperforms brand pages because it feels human, opinionated, and trustworthy.

Holiday shopping is shifting from discount-chasing to quality-driven as Christmas nears, with shoppers favoring trusted brand over last-minute promos.

Nike’s rebound shows that increased brand marketing and storytelling can reignite demand, especially in North America, but uneven results in China and Converse highlight that brand momentum only works when it’s culturally relevant across markets.

The EU’s antitrust probe into Google’s AI Overviews puts zero-click search and content attribution under the spotlight, signaling a future where visibility shifts from rankings to being cited by AI, while the cost of attention keeps rising.

Google is testing automatic video imports from Merchant Center into Google Ads, making it easier for brands to reuse product-linked social videos and speed up creative production.

— Sam C.