Marketing stories

THG Studios hires Adam Mandelstam and Rob Sanderson to lead a reshaped senior creative team as it pursues international growth.

UK shoppers spent a record GBP £26.9bn online over Christmas 2025, as mobile purchases surged and AI-driven referrals leapt from 2024.

OpenAI rolls out USD $8-a-month ChatGPT Go across the US and prepares to trial clearly labelled ads for free and Go users.

YAP Global appoints Otto Jacobsson as CEO, signalling expansion and a broader service mix as the crypto and digital assets sector matures.

Constant Contact buys GURU Conference, SubjectLine.com and Certified GURU to deepen its email marketing tools, training and community reach.

Hendrix Rose PR has been appointed to lead UK media relations for fashion search specialist Verde Digital, targeting fashion and eCommerce titles.

GlobalLogic hires LuJean Smith as CMO to sharpen global brand, push VelocityAI and align with Hitachi’s Inspire 2027 growth strategy.

AI hiring slowdown pushes employers to scrutinise online reputation, raising the bar for trust and squeezing early‑career candidates.

Google launches a Universal Commerce Protocol and Business Agent tools as it bets on AI agents to drive the next era of online shopping.

Mortgage CRM specialist Binder hires design agency Tall to soften its image, promising a more human, less process-heavy broker experience.

Kaleidoscope.com urges UK firms to treat mid-January as the real start of Q1 planning, warning December forecasts are built on distorted data.

Forrester flags cooler optimism for 2026 tech budgets as leaders juggle AI-driven investment plans with rising geopolitical and cyber risks.

Virgin Australia shifts to self-serve Adobe tools, boosting marketing output 40% and cutting design bottlenecks across the airline.

Indian firms ramp up AI pilots for customer engagement and marketing, but most still struggle to prove real returns and scale deployments.

Amperity has debuted an AI Customer Data Agent that turns natural-language prompts into live segments and customer journeys for marketers.

Kent tech founder Ben Towers, 27, wins an MBE in the New Year Honours for his work backing startups and shaping the UK’s AI strategy.

Klaviyo forecasts 2026 surge in AI voice shopping, automated returns and connected-device purchases reshaping how consumers buy.

Yext predicts AI will overhaul online discovery by 2026, as trust in AI search grows and brands race to be chosen by algorithms.

AI agents will reshape how shoppers discover brands, forcing retailers to rethink visibility as SaaS vendors and ad budgets come under strain.

Adobe says generative AI referrals to retailers jumped nearly 700% over the 2025 holidays, driving longer visits and stronger conversions.