BRANDS
Amazon stops spending on Google Shopping
On Friday, analyst Mike Ryan of Smarter Ecommerce, reported that Amazon has suddenly paused ad spend globally on the AI-enabled Google Shopping platform. He posited whether something strategic may be afoot for Amazon and its AI advertising efforts:
“I have not seen an ad stop this dramatic from Amazon since the acute phase of the pandemic lockdowns, which coincided with a 20% drop in cost-per-click (bear in mind there were many confounding variables, that’s why I say ‘coincided’). (…)
Is Amazon tired of funding competitor Google? Is there a particular sticking point related to Amazon’s own ad ambitions? Something about AI? The channel efficacy for Amazon? I don’t think its efficacy.
I’ve long argued that Amazon uses Google Shopping ads as a Trojan horse: Google can’t help but swallow the ad revenue, it’s too alluring – and yet there is the constant risk that Amazon is stealing future product searches and bringing them into their own platform.
Whatever the cause, the news of Amazon’s exit is sure to make competing retailers rejoice. However, it might be less exciting for brands & sellers, who often benefit from Amazon advertising on their behalf.
Read more on LinkedIn. (July 25)
From tipsheet: Commenters on Mr. Ryan’s LinkedIn post noted that Amazon is still “there” in the auction. Nevertheless, it’s a temporary boon to other Google Shopping clients given the lower CPCs.
BRANDS
AI tools inspire video ad best practices
Austin Santino from TV ad platform Tatari discussed how CTV is evolving as a part of performance marketing plans today on an episode of the Marketing Operators podcast.
Mr. Santino shared a list of best practices for video ad creation which AI tools have helped facilitate:
“Clear eye contact – one of the most popular types [of video ads] out there is a founder spot where someone’s looking at the camera and brings the viewer in.
Saying the name of the product at the beginning of the ad is great. Sometimes you’re competing for attention. And so, if someone’s listening to a creative, the audio of telling someone where to go is very important.
Persistent watermark – You don’t need like a ‘Billy Mays 1-800 phone number’ always in the bottom right of your ad. But having a logo or a website URL could be really helpful.
And then authenticity – I think that’s something that lends well into the [mens Western wear] Tecova’s asset that I know has been talked about on here. It’s maybe not the most hard hitting DR creative, but it’s very authentic. It tells you who the brand is.”
Hear more on the Apple Podcasts app. (July 24)
AGENCIES
Publicis acquiring AI startups?
Publicis is looking to “bolt on” an AI company or two for its advertising agency holding company according to Business Insider’s Lara O’Reilly.
With Publicis reportedly willing to spend $350 million, Ms. O’Reilly consulted her industry sources on possible acquisition targets which includes Superscale AI, an AI-enabled content creation system for ads on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Read more. (July 25 – subscription)
From tipsheet: For many ad tech startups, this could be a very attractive exit. In the case of Superscale AI, LinkedIn shows less than 10 people at the less-than-a-year-old company. The potential acquisition also syncs with the thesis LUMA investment banker Terence Kawaja described two weeks ago, “I think we’re going to see the creator go from that niche spend to a big chunk of the paid media spend.”
TECH
Earnings this week
It’s another busy week of earnings reports with with ads/marketing/AI implications.
The latest quarterly financial reporting will be provided by:
- Microsoft on Wednesday, July 30th – Pre-earnings report from Nasdaq (July 25)
- Meta on Wednesday, July 30th. – Pre-earnings report from Zacks. (July 25)
- Apple on Thursday, July 31st. – Pre-earnings report from IBD (July 23)
- Amazon on Thursday, July 31st. – Pre-earnings report from Yahoo Finance (July 2025)
TECH
The “upgrade” challenge
The Trade Desk’s AI-enabled buying platform Kokai is the subject of an AdExchanger feature. The previous user interface for the platform known as “Solimar” still has plenty of fans – and users.
According to a source who spoke to AdExchanger’s Anthony Vargas, The Trade Desk “currently has no concrete plans to deprecate Solimar at all. It’s still TTD’s intention to phase Solimar out once all buyers have moved over to Kokai, the source added, but full Kokai adoption will require more time, and it’s unclear exactly how much.”
Read more about the challenges of an upgrade in the age of AI – and features that are still being delivered in Kokai.
More:The Trade Desk reports Q2 2025 earnings on August 7.
TECH
Agentic AI market 2040
A Google Cloud report (PDF) released earlier this month on the Agentic AI opportunity ahead predicted a $1 trillion “autonomous AI systems” market by 2035-2040.
PPC Land covered the report and observed: “Marketing departments face particular pressure to adopt agentic AI due to the complexity and speed requirements of modern digital campaigns. Traditional campaign management processes cannot match the optimization speed of automated systems operating across multiple channels simultaneously.” Read more. (July 24)
More: Shaping the future together with our partners: The potential of agentic AI (July 17) – Google Cloud
TECH
Big data wants real-time
On the Marketecture podcast, Chris Feo, Chief Business Officer at Experian discussed why his company acquired contextual data firm Audigent in December.
Mr’s Feo’s answer appears to jibe with the interests of a huge data company in the age of AI – specifically around the need for real-time data.
On the Audigent acquisition, he said:
“If you go back to the combination of identity and audience where 95% of our revenue comes from, we’ve seen a continuous change in the ecosystem. You have change in signal, you have ID deprecation or not deprecation depending on how you look at it… privacy.
And from our perspective, we’ve been best-in-class at building data products that we deliver and our clients predominantly build product and service on top of, whether you’re a DSP, an SSP or another data provider. And we don’t see that going away.
But, as we see the ecosystem changing, the notion of static data, a segment that “I created a day, a week, a month ago” to target a consumer or to engage a consumer – that is going to change. And a by-product of the signal and identity that I’ve mentioned—the notion of AI—I think [that is changing] the overarching theme around performance and performance media.
We thought there’s an opportunity for us to take a different approach instead of just sharing data out to the ecosystem in a file-based or API-based approach. Audigent gave us the opportunity to create real-time data, utilizing the breadth and depth of our total footprint in ways that we historically haven’t been able to”
Here more on the Apple Podcasts app. (July 25)
POLICY
Meta stops political ads, more, in EU
On Friday, Meta announced a change in advertising policies partially due to AI. The company said in a blog post:
“From early October 2025, we will no longer allow political, electoral and social issue ads on our platforms in the EU. This is a difficult decision – one we’ve taken in response to the EU’s incoming Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation, which introduces significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties. “
The basis of AI’s intersection with the TTPA regulation is, in part, targeting limitations. The TTPA restricts the use of personal data such as demographics—and those data points may be used or generated by an AI model— for ad targeting.
Google announced last November its intention to no longer offer paid political ad capabilities in the EU.
From tipsheet: For local news publishers in the EU offering untargeted, run-of-site advertising, this would appear to be good news: the “walled gardens” will not be accepting political ad budget. However, unpaid, user-generated political content will be allowed on Facebook and others.
TECH
New hire
Wilfried Schobeiri is SVP, Head of Product, Performance Media at Criteo – Wilfried Schobeiri on LinkedIn
PROMPT
How will political campaigns advertise using AI in 5 years?
In five years (2030), political campaigns will likely leverage AI in sophisticated, data-driven, and highly personalized ways, transforming how they reach and persuade voters. Based on current trends and technological advancements, here’s a detailed look at how AI is expected to shape political advertising: Hyper-Personalized Messaging…
Read more details on tipsheet.
MORE
- AI-generated model sparks controversy in Vogue ad campaign (July 27) – Caliber
- FC Barcelona Gets An AI-Powered Assist To Help With Everything From Marketing To Player Fitness (July 25) – AdExchanger
- AI is radically changing entry-level jobs, but not eliminating them (July 26) – CNBC
- Opinion: The $10bn Dollar Bet: Inside The Song-WPP Deal (and why it might make sense) – Marketing Economics Substack
- CEOs Trumpet Smaller Workforces as a Sign of Corporate Health (July 27) – The Wall Street Journal