ADWEEK

Former National Football League (NFL) star Cam Newton and Detavio Samuels, CEO of Revolt/Offscript Worldwide, told ADWEEK at the 2026 IAB NewFronts that brands need to rethink how they connect with sports fans by investing early in athlete creators. Newton is building a creator business through Iconic Saga Productions, partnering with Offscript to bring IP like Funky Friday and 4th&1 With Cam Newton into its ecosystem, and expanding his HBCU-focused College Tailgate Tour—while Samuels argues more brands should back Newton’s proven audience and “let Cam be Cam.” Read the full interview 👉 https://adweek.it/416tPUA

After controversy over The Trade Desk’s fees, rivals are trying to win business from uneasy advertisers: Publicis Groupe told clients to stop using the DSP after an audit alleged unauthorized and misapplied fees, and while The Trade Desk denied the claims, Omnicom now plans its own third-party audit. The Trade Desk’s stock is down about 18% since the news, and competitors such as StackAdapt and Quantcast have leaned into the moment with outreach and LinkedIn ads alluding to the audits.

Content creation isn’t always about trial and error. It’s about looking at the data: what people actually watch, click, share, and save. Creator Miranda Sanchez shares her perspective on how to use platform insights to spot patterns, test ideas faster, and double down on what is already resonating. Creators who want more insights like this can learn more at Social Media Week, April 14–16 in NYC. Get your tickets 👉 https://adweek.it/3NkZO02

Brands have access to more fan signals than ever before. The real opportunity? Turning that data into personalized conversations at the moments that matter most. At the Genius Sports NewFront, we talked to Sam Levy, Gina Waldhorn, and Josh Linforth about how data‑driven sports media is redefining fan engagement. #sponsored

🚨 Calling all current and aspiring chief marketing officers🚨 The Marketing Vanguard Newsletter is a new, CMO-first digest from ADWEEK. 👉 What it is: a weekly hit of news, interviews, research, executive moves, and smart takes you can actually use. 👉 What it covers: leadership, org design, strategy, technology, talent, and creativity. 👉 What makes it different: guest-hosted by CMOs from the Marketing Vanguard community, plus insights from Vanguard Experts. 👉 Also included: easy access to the MiniMBA in Marketing and occasional sharp perspective from Mark Ritson. A special thanks to our partner Sparks 👉 Sign up here: https://adweek.it/4v8Cnbw

EXCLUSIVE | Yahoo is building AI-powered, automated tools in its DSP to make media activation and management simpler for mid-market, performance-focused advertisers. The shift expands a platform long centered on enterprise buyers, aiming to attract more e-commerce and direct-to-consumer brands; Yahoo says AI will help serve existing customers while broadening access. Yahoo is hiring to support the buildout, including a Head of Growth Accounts role focused on net-new mid-market acquisition, especially CTV and full-funnel programmatic, with a posted range of $217,905 to $473,710, and is targeting a launch later this year. The push builds on recent momentum in the enterprise DSP, including privacy-safe targeting, AI-agent testing, new commerce-media partnerships, and competitive gains from advertisers seeking lower-fee alternatives to The Trade Desk.

Vassili S., Head of Ad Product at DoorDash, didn’t just join the company to build ad products—he joined to build something more human. In his role, Samolis leads a team of designers, engineers, and product managers—“the builders,” as he calls them—focused on creating tools that drive outcomes. But for him, performance isn’t just about efficiency or scale. It’s about helping businesses, especially local entrepreneurs, compete in a rapidly evolving marketplace. From one-click, AI-powered Smart Campaigns to solutions that connect brands with high-intent consumers, the goal is to make sophisticated marketing accessible. For Samolis, the philosophy of compounding progress applies just as much to building products as it does to building a career—and, ultimately, to creating stronger connections between businesses and the communities they serve.

In this episode of BRAVE COMMERCE Podcast, Rachel Tipograph and Sarah Hofstetter speak with Jennifer Berry, VP of Our LEGO Agency, Commerce & Digital at the LEGO Group. Jennifer shares how LEGO is rethinking its operating model—bringing creativity, commerce, and retail together under one in-house agency to deliver more connected, audience-first experiences. They explore why consumers don’t see channels the way organizations do, how LEGO is designing seamless ecosystems across DTC, retail partners, and physical experiences, and what it takes to balance long-term brand building with real-time cultural relevance. From immersive retail to evolving PDPs and the role of AI in freeing teams to focus on higher-impact creative work, the conversation shows how leading brands are operating in a world where brand and transaction moments are no longer separate. Key takeaways 👉 Most organizations are still structured around channels, but consumers aren’t. That gap is where performance is lost. 👉 Growth comes from orchestrating brand, media, and retail into a single performance ecosystem. 👉 The immediate role of AI isn’t to replace creativity—it’s to streamline processes so more time can be spent on creative and high-impact work. Spotify: https://adweek.it/4v8gqJE Apple Podcast: https://adweek.it/4bTkcxp

“If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere else.” Michael Kassan, CEO of 3C Ventures, joins Michael Nyman for a conversation about how the evolution of AI is reshaping the agency world, and why now is the time to adapt.