Ads on Mute?! Google tests “Hide Sponsored” Plus TikTok AI tweaks, Amazon Accelerate wins, and a loud-ads ban. Google’s Demo Slam 2025 made one thing crystal clear: AI continues to move quickly and your brand needs to get on board! Expanding rapidly across Search, YouTube, and PMax, our quick read calls out some of the highlights that you should look into right away.  ​Google allows you to “Hide Sponsored Results” Google is now testing a button that groups all search ads int

Demo Slam doubled-down on what Google previewed at Google Marketing Live: AI-everywhere, more Search & YouTube surfaces (including AI Overviews/AI Mode), and a push for PMax transparency. Lots to like, a few “handle-with-care” items. Here’s our quick read, what it means, and what to do next. Event: https://adsonair.withgoogle.com/events/ads-demo-slam-2025

From AI chats shaping ads to a push for fairer auctions, this week’s pulse is all about how targeting and transparency collide. Plus: Prime Big Deal Days signals, a $250B holiday forecast, and a quick Spotify game to end on a smile.   Enjoy!  Top Headlines Meta taps your AI chats; more auction clarity and can you "Name That Tune?"  ​Meta to use AI-chat interactions to personalize content and ads If you’ve linked your accounts, Meta could use your AI chats from

Pinterest Presents Live Event, Paid (No Ads) Facebook & a Chance to Test Your Reflexes  ​Trump clears the way for new TikTok US ownership: Why it matters Reduces near-term ban risk; brands can keep building on TikTok while monitoring governance/data changes. Keep TikTok in Q4/BFCM plans; diversify to Reels/Shorts as a hedge; watch for ad-policy or measurement shifts during the transition.    Meta rolls out “pay-or-consent” in the UK (ad-free Facebook/Instagram for a

Pinterest is leaning hard into search-level intent and visual shopping. New Top of Search ads (beta), Local Inventory Ads (wider rollout), and Media Network Connect push Pinterest from inspiration into conversion and measurement. We’re bullish on the high-intent placements and local-to-store bridge, optimistic about the retail-media plumbing, and skeptical (in a healthy way) about how broadly early lift stats will generalize across categories.

In today’s fast-paced digital world, mastering marketing is non-negotiable. You want results. You want growth. You want to maximize every dollar spent on paid media. I’ve seen firsthand how smart, data-driven strategies can transform campaigns and boost return on ad spend. Let’s dive into the key digital marketing insights that will help you win. Unlocking Key Marketing Insights for Paid Media Success Paid media is a powerful tool, but only if you use it right. Start by

Google Holiday Strategies, Meta Smart Glasses & Another Taylor Swift Spectacle.  ​TikTok’s U.S. future: “framework” deal — but still fluid The U.S. and China said Monday (Sept 15) they’ve reached a framework to shift TikTok to U.S.-controlled ownership; Trump said Thursday (Sept 18) China “sounds like” it approved, yet Friday reports note lingering uncertainty after a Trump–Xi call. Translation: ads likely continue, but ownership/controls could change.

Holiday 2025 is a three-month marathon, not a weekend sprint. Google is leaning hard into AI for discovery, creative, and measurement, while giving advertisers a bit more control/transparency in PMax and Shopping. The winners will pair AI with clean product data, sharp promotions, and disciplined measurement.

We tuned into Google’s Think Retail on Air 2025 so you don’t have to. Below is our fast (but thoughtful) rundown of what matters for retail marketers, plus how we’re adapting playbooks for Q4. If you want the official session videos and docs, they’re all on the Think Retail hub and Resource center

 ​FTC probes Google, Amazon for allegedly misleading advertisers The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is probing whether Google and Amazon have misled advertisers. There could be regulatory pressure ahead to require more disclosure of how ad costs are determined.    TikTok’s AI Mandate for TikTok-Shop Ads (GMV Max) and Backlash TikTok has mandated that all advertisers using TikTok Shop must use its AI-driven tool “GMV Max” starting Sept 1, 2025. While it helps small business

 ​Google fined €2.95B for “self-preferencing.” The Commission ordered Google to present a remedy plan within 60 days and warned that a structural breakup is on the table; Google will appeal.    Meta’s Major Marketing API Update Basically, Dynamic Media is now ON by default for Advantage+ Catalog ads. Rollout began Sept 1, 100% by Oct 20; opt-out available. Make sure to double-check all campaign/adset/ ad set, and ad-level settings frequently to ensure you're set up the wa

🆕 Google Ads launches 'Branded Searches' Metric Google is rolling out a new way to measure upper-funnel impact. Branded Searches — a conversion type first teased at Google Marketing Live 2025 – is now live. 😮 Amazon Pulls Out of Google Shopping Amazon quickly dropped out of the auction starting on July 22. This is a major direct impact for Google's bottom line, but also indirectly helped maintain higher auction prices. Bad news for Google, cautiously optimistic news for

​Google Moves Brand Controls moved to AI Max This is intended to help motivate advertisers to adopt AI Max into search campaigns.  Takeaway: Not being able to apply brand inclusions or exclusions to non-AI max campaigns makes is a big and unnecessary headache requiring advertisers to triple down on negative keyword research

New Browsers from OpenAI and Perplexity Chrome has been instrumental in maintaining Google's total dominance in search. Are people yearning for a new browser for a new era? Takeaway: No reason to believe Chrome is on the decline yet, but it's easy to see why anyone else would want a slice of the pie   Prime Day Falls Flat Initial Prime Day numbers are looking soft... maybe even worse than soft. Recent chatter is based on an unofficial report, but Amazon would likely

​ Google Launches Offerwall Offerwall is designed to give publishers more control over how users can access their content (think payment wall gating). While a new tool is always nice, adding more pop ups has drawbacks and still doesn't address fundamental threats to publishers business models as content consumption continues to evolve.

​Meta Opportunity Score Available For All This launch feels many years overdue in some ways, but should still be an effective tool to help Meta push advertisers towards full ASC adoption. Takeaway: Don't hold your breath on exciting takeaways. If you are in platform daily (or weekly), you aren't likely to find anything juicy here. Google Drops Support For Some Rich Results Book Actions, Course Info, Claim Review, Estimated Salary, Learning Video, Special Announcement

It wasn't a particularly busy week of exciting platform updates, but that should give you time to catch up on how to optimize for incremental customer acquisition! LinkedIn Adds More Video Ad Options First Impressions video ads launched, giving brands exclusive daily visibility when users open the app. Connected TV (CTV) ads to reach professionals on streaming platforms like Roku and Netflix. Takeaway: Both formats aim to extend LinkedIn’s reach beyond its c

At HK Digital, one of the most important questions we help brands answer is: Are we truly acquiring new customers—or just paying for customers who would have purchased anyway? That’s where Incremental New Customer Acquisition (iNCA) comes in. Rather than optimizing solely for ROAS or blended CPA, iNCA focuses on net-new growth—identifying and scaling the strategies that genuinely drive incremental value. Below, we break down actionable strategies for doing this in Go

Promoted Pins come to Maps for Demand Gen How it works: Existing image assets from campaigns can be repurposed for these pins Pins show up in Maps when users browse areas, search for directions, or check out specific places The move aims to increase visibility in these “browse-worthy” moments, helping to convert digital interest into physical visits Google Clarifies Where Ads Show in AI Overviews TLDR: Ads can appear either above/below or within Google AI O

We just wrapped up Google Marketing Live 2025, and wow—Google’s going all-in on AI. While some of these updates feel like game-changers, others? Let’s just say we’re cautiously optimistic. Here’s our quick take on the top 10 most interesting updates—and what they really mean for marketers like us.