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Highlights from today’s newsletter:
🧲 Great businesses employ both pull and push marketing strategies
🔄 Being a CMO: The uncomfortable truth about change
🌎 How brands and retailers are preparing for GEO

EDITOR’S PICK

#EXCLUSIVE Q&A

The Future of Retail Media with WPP Media’s David Fieldhouse

At Retail Media Pioneers, WPP Media’s UK Head of Commerce, David Fieldhouse, argued that commerce can no longer sit in a silo. He outlined how WPP’s Open Intelligence platform is helping brands move past fragmented data, turning billions of signals from retailers and media owners into actionable insights within 24 hours.

Fieldhouse described why clients are shifting spend beyond saturated sponsored ads toward mid- and upper-funnel channels like Amazon DSP and retailer-enriched advanced TV. The goal is full-funnel orchestration, from influencer and social through to sponsored retail search, all running on one connected plan.

The most exciting development? Secure data collaboration that allows brands, agencies, and retailers to work together without data leakage – a model Fieldhouse expects will shape the next three years of retail media growth.

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#EVENT INSIGHTS

From Carnival to Code: Wyclef Jean on Creativity, AI, and Purpose

At last week’s Smartly Advance, Wyclef Jean left marketers with a challenge: use AI to amplify creativity, but never let it strip away authenticity. He called for brands to think beyond dashboards and build true cultural fluency, warning that culture cannot be faked.

Jean also shared why his platform Open Wyclef flips the streaming model to give artists 80% of revenue and pressed for guardrails to protect originality in the AI era. His closing message was simple – the best ideas are the ones that need no hard sell, and the brands that operate at their highest vibration will be the ones that last.

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WHAT WE ARE READING

OpenAI looks to build in-house ad infrastructure

OpenAI is hiring to build in-house tools for campaign management, ad integrations, and real-time attribution. This shift gives it tighter control over spend and could pave the way for brands to run campaigns directly in ChatGPT. Expect more automation, measurement, and eventually autonomous campaign execution – without relying on agencies.

Your holiday marketing playbook must put sincerity before sales

Big holidays like Black Friday are made for promos, but dates like MLK Day or Juneteenth demand sensitivity. Marketers should pick moments that fit their brand, offer opt-outs for sensitive days, and focus on authenticity over quick sales. A sincere message often wins more loyalty than a discount code.

How brands and retailers are preparing for GEO, ‘the future of SEO’

Brands are shifting from SEO to GEO – optimizing for AI search engines like ChatGPT and Gemini. Retailers say structured, machine-readable data and Q&A content are key to appearing in AI-driven answers. Target is prioritizing price, promos, and availability so agents return local, relevant results. SEO still matters, but brands must adapt to longer, conversational queries and content that AI can easily parse.

TOP VOICES

💭 Insights from Janky Patel