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🚨 WE START IN ONE HOUR! Join Shiv and @ChadAReynolds, Founder & CEO of Vurvey Labs, to learn how to build and use synthetic audiences, including a live demo of Vurvey’s People Models! 📅 TODAY, October 29 ⏰ Starts in one hour! 🎟️ FREE to attend 👉 REGISTER NOW: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi…

👥 90% See Synthetic Audience Potential and/or Want to Learn More. 😎 We asked you if synthetic audiences are worth it. The votes are in and tomorrow’s your chance to see them in action! Join Shiv and Chad Reynolds, Founder & CEO of Vurvey Labs, for a FREE AI Edge Live webinar exploring how synthetic audiences can help you test campaigns, messaging, and product ideas before investing in traditional research. Plus, get an exclusive live demo of Vurvey’s People Models! 📅 Thursday, October 29 (TOMORROW) 🔗 Register here: lnkd.in/g_ARKpDy

🏢 Stagwell Just Made Things Awkward For Rival Agencies (meme déjà vu?) Stagwell acquired Freestar, gaining access to ad inventory and audience data from 1,000+ publishers to fuel its AI ambitions. But Freestar’s publisher network is now owned by an agency that competes with the very companies buying its inventory. Rival holding companies now have a good reason to take their ad dollars elsewhere. 📰 OTHER HEADLINES: 🤖 Meta AI Is Changing Advertisers’ Ads: Meta’s AI is modifying ads without advertisers knowing, but advertisers are still responsible for whatever it creates. 📌 Pinterest Opens Up To Programmatic Buyers: Amazon, Google, and Yahoo gain access to Pinterest’s inventory, while The Trade Desk is noticeably absent. 🔒 Google’s Privacy Policy Gets Interesting: Gmail, Drive, and Photos data could help inform ad targeting when users opt into Google’s AI personalization features. And lots more… 🔗 Read the full U of Digital newsletter: uof.digital/newsletters/

🗣️ AI Ads Give Marketers a Full Conversation, Not a Search Query Roger Dunn joins Shiv & Myles on the AI Edge Podcast to explain how AI conversations reveal what someone needs and give marketers a richer signal than search keywords. Full episode here: 📺 YouTube: youtu.be/0SkuODggm3 🍎 Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas… 🎧 Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/2eQ…

👥 Learn to pressure-test your next campaign this Thursday! Join Shiv and @ChadAReynolds for a live demo of @vurvey’s People Models and see how synthetic audiences can help you test ideas before launch. 📅 Thursday, October 29 ⏰ 10am PT / 1pm ET 📍 Live on Zoom GET YOUR SPOT: lnkd.in/g_ARKpDy

📣 AI Ads Are Here, and the Format Is Still Up for Grabs In the newest AI Edge episode, Shiv (@airgups23) & @Myles_Younger sit down with Roger Dunn, Chief Commercial Officer at @Thrad_ai to talk about what advertising should look like inside AI conversations. Roger brings a decade of agency experience and a global retail media role at Diageo. Thrad has spent the past two years building ad infrastructure for AI apps, putting Roger close to the challenge marketers are starting to face: figuring out where ads fit in AI. They get into: • Where AI ads can show up beyond ChatGPT • How a relevant ad can open up a new direction in a conversation • How marketers can target AI conversations and decide where these ads fit And lots more... Full Episode: 📺 YouTube: youtu.be/0SkuODggm3I 🍎 Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas… 🎧 Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/2eQ…

Walmart & AI shopping agents: 👍🏽 Amazon & AI shopping agents: 👎🏽 Top Story: 🛒 Walmart is opening its ecommerce platform to AI agents that shop on behalf of customers, introducing dedicated agent profiles, spending controls, and direct shopping access while Amazon takes the opposite approach. +1 more… New Products & Services: 🤖 Evertune now lets any marketer launch ChatGPT ad campaigns without going through a sales team. Its AI identifies where competitors are getting recommended instead of your brand, then builds campaigns to close those gaps. +2 more… Use Case of the Week: 🏦 Chime is scaling its marketing without adding headcount or relying on outside agencies. Its in-house team uses AI for customer research, creative production, personalized messaging, and customer support. Learn which AI tools Chime uses, the results it’s seeing, and how it plans to connect them so AI agents can work together. Other Notable Headlines: 🚀 Meta’s Muse hits 10M U.S. downloads in 40 days, nearly three times ChatGPT’s downloads during its first 40 days. 💰 OpenAI expands ChatGPT Ads to 89 countries, with more than 100,000 advertisers and an ad revenue run rate that jumped from $100M to $1B in five months. 🎭 AI actress Tilly Norwood pitches marketers on the future of AI brand ambassadors, arguing that tomorrow’s virtual influencers will have personalities of their own. +2 more… Full AI Edge Newsletter Here: uof.digital/⁠

HE’S BACK!!!! @airgups23’s has retaken his throne! 👑

⚖️ Publicis Gets the Green Light to Buy LiveRamp, With a Few Strings Attached. The FTC has approved Publicis’ $2.2 billion acquisition of LiveRamp, but the agency holding company must treat competitors fairly for the next five years. That means no preferential access to data, no discrimination against rival agencies, and independent oversight to make sure Publicis plays by the rules. But with competitors already looking to leave LiveRamp, Publicis might be perfectly happy to pick up their clients instead. ——— 📰 OTHER HEADLINES: 🍎 Apple Privacy is coming for ad tech. Again. Safari is blocking email-based identity tracking, and some vendors are already finding workarounds. 💰 Salesforce buys Braze for $5.66B. Rather than rebuild its aging marketing platform, Salesforce is buying the competitor that’s been eating its lunch. 🔄 Prebid proposes turning Google’s ad auction upside down, giving AdX the same footing as rival exchanges. And lots more… Get the full U of Digital Newsletter here: uof.digital/newsletters/

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👥 Learn How To Build And Use Synthetic Audiences! These audiences let you test campaigns, product ideas, and messaging on AI-generated consumers before spending a dollar on traditional research. Join us Oct. 29th as Shiv and Chad Reynolds, Founder & CEO of Vurvey Labs, show you how to build and use synthetic audiences, including an exclusive live demo of Vurvey’s People Models, in a FREE AI Edge Live webinar. 📅 Thursday, October 29 ⏰ 10am PT / 1pm ET 📍 Live on Zoom GET YOUR SPOT NOW: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi…

💡@UofDigital's Hosting A FREE Live Webinar On Synthetic Audiences! Synthetic audiences are AI-generated representations of real consumers that marketers can use to test campaigns, product ideas, and messaging before investing in traditional research. But how do you build one? And how much can you trust what it tells you? Join us on October 29th, where Shiv Gupta is teaming up with @ChadAReynolds, Founder & CEO of @VurveyLabs, to show you how these audiences work and how marketers can put them to use. The session includes an exclusive live demo of Vurvey's People Models, so you can see the technology in action and learn how to start building your own. AI Edge Live webinars are typically exclusive to Edge Pro subscribers, but this one is FREE and open to everyone! 📅 Thursday, October 29 ⏰ 10am PT / 1pm ET 📍 Live on Zoom Get your spot here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi…

😰 Even CEOs Are Feeling The AI Pressure 💰 TOP STORY: Publicis Is Selling AI to CEOs Who Are Afraid of Losing Their Jobs- 4 in 5 CEOs think a failed AI bet could cost them their job. Publicis sees an opportunity, going straight to CEOs and winning business without traditional agency pitches. But is hiring a holding company the safest way to transform your business, or just the safest way to protect your job? +1 more… ——— 🤖 NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES: 📺 LG Lets AI Agents Buy TV Home Screen Ads - LG is opening its smart TV home screen inventory to AI-powered buying through Magnite. The first advertiser? Northern California Toyota dealers. This could change who gets access to premium TV placements. +1 more… ——— 🏕️ USE CASE OF THE WEEK: 💍 David’s Bridal Says “I Do” to AI- David’s Bridal turned its customer data into an AI wedding planner that helps couples organize their entire wedding. The results? 3X more engagement, 26X more users, and four years of work completed in 18 months. Your takeaway: Learn how to use AI to build a service around the bigger problem your customers are trying to solve, and potentially discover an entirely new business. ——— 📰 OTHER NOTABLE HEADLINES: 🏰 Disney Eyes Character.AI’s Tech for $20M- The chatbot startup is bankrupt, burning millions monthly, and facing a lawsuit. Disney could walk away with its technology. 🥤 Coca-Cola Wants AI to Know When You’re Thirsty- Coke is rewriting product descriptions around occasions and use cases to influence what AI shopping agents recommend. 🧻 OpenAI Engineer Arrested Over Toilet Paper-Wrapped Recording Device- Prosecutors say an engineer concealed a recording device in an OpenAI conference room TV. The hiding material of choice? Toilet paper. +3 more… Get the full AI Edge here: uof.digital/newsletters/ai-e…

🤖 AI Has Moved From Reading to Taking Action Mike Finnerty explains to Shiv & Myles on the AI Edge Podcast that there's been a shift from AI reading information to taking action. He shares a Facebook Marketplace story in which a Muse agent negotiated an exchange and someone arrived to complete it before the other person knew an agent had arranged the deal! Full Episode Here: 📺 YouTube: lnkd.in/gmTh_eCA 🍎 Apple Podcasts: lnkd.in/gvyWTCht 🌐 Spotify: lnkd.in/g2bcxB3u

🏀 Apple’s Privacy Defense Keeps Blocking The Ad Industry TOP STORY: 🍎 Safari’s Tracking Block Starts Cutting Publisher Revenue Aditude reports a 10.5% drop in eCPMs among Safari users who installed iOS 27. Only about 8% of iPhone users have updated, so these are early numbers. Apple has quietly lifted The Trade Desk’s ad server block in an unreleased beta. But for marketers who can make ads work without user-level data, cheaper Safari impressions could be an opportunity. ——— OTHER HEADLINES: 📺 Walmart Wants TV Ad Budgets From Brands That Don’t Sell At Walmart Walmart is using shopper data to pitch streaming TV ads to insurers and other non-retail advertisers. TV gives it access to customers its search and display business couldn’t attract. 🚫 Meta And TikTok Make Their Rivalry Everyone Else’s Problem Meta is banning TikTok ads after TikTok blocked Instagram and Facebook profile links. The platforms protect their turf while creators and advertisers lose ways to grow across them. 🚗 Uber Takes Its Audience Data Beyond Its Apps TripleLift will let advertisers reach audiences based on Uber rides, deliveries, and purchases through their existing DSPs. Another commerce media network is opening up because buyers want fewer walled gardens. And lots more… Full U of Digital Newsletter here: lnkd.in/eqBbCbre

🛒 Brand Is No Longer a Three-Year Bet Mike Finnerty, U.S. president of Mutinex, joins Shiv & Myles on the AI Edge to explain why agentic commerce changes the timeline for brand investment. If someone tells an AI agent “I want a Stanley water bottle,” brand preference gives it a clear signal. If they ask for a water bottle, the agent can choose from the options based on price and features. Full Episode Here: 📺 YouTube: lnkd.in/gmTh_eCA 🍎 Apple Podcasts: lnkd.in/gvyWTCht 🌐 Spotify: lnkd.in/g2bcxB3u

🛒 Agents May Make Brand Names More Valuable Than Product Specs Mike Finnerty, president of Mutinex North America, joins Shiv & @Myles_Younger on the AI Edge Podcast. Finnerty explains how AI can make marketing mix modeling faster and more detailed, helping marketers see what drives growth. They Get Into: 🛒 Why distinctive brands may matter more as AI agents start making purchases. 📊 How AI can speed up MMM and help marketers measure incremental growth. 🤖 What Amazon Ads Agent signals about the shift toward automated campaign decisions. And lots more... Full Episode Here: 📺 YouTube: youtu.be/jJf8qJcxPII?si=lUGJ… 🍎 Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas… 🌐 Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/790…