Joshua Schmiesing

Large enterprise CMOs are facing a critical challenge: Drive AI transformation while doing right by the teams that built your organization. The C-suite wants AI transformation yesterday. Their teams—many with decades of institutional knowledge—are skeptical, exhausted, or both. Here's what I keep hearing: "I know we need to move fast. But I can't just blow up my team in the process." These leaders aren't stuck because they don't understand AI. They're stuck because they understand people. They need a plan for that first and foremost when the org gets to a certain size. They know that legacy expertise is still valuable and long-tenured employees deserve honesty about what's coming, not false promises. Transformation that breaks trust isn't really transformation—it's just chaos with better tech. This is the real leadership challenge of AI transformation - navigating the human complexity of change in organizations where relationships, tenure, and culture run deep.

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AI is quietly deciding what executives learn.    Roughly 44% of what AI surfaced came from PR-influenced sources, and 30% of sources AI cites are brand-owned...proof that credibility depends on how owned and earned work together.    Learn more + explore the custom C-Suite GPTs: https://bit.ly/4qaJ1v8 

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✅🖥️ Variety (7/24): “According to PwC, the free, ad-supported television (FAST) subcategory in the U.S. is set to grow faster than OTT overall. After generating nearly $4.9 billion in revenue in 2024, FAST services are projected to increase at a 13.8% CAGR over the next five years to reach $9. billion in 2029. Leaders in the FAST space are Paramount’s Pluto TV, Fox Corp.’s Tubi, the Roku Channel and offerings from smart TV makers like Samsung TV Plus, per PwC’s report. “As major media companies recognize the value in ad-supported models, investments in content and technology are likely to increase, enhancing the quality and appeal of FAST services,” PwC said in the report. “FAST channels appeal to cost-conscious consumers amid rising subscription fees. Traditional TV, meanwhile, has been losing ground steadily to streaming alternatives. In 2024, total U.S. revenue from linear TV advertising and pay-TV subscriptions reached $126.1 billion — a significant 14% decline from $146.9 billion in 2020, per PwC’s estimates. The sector is projected to see a decrease of -5.4% CAGR through to 2029, which marks “one of the most pronounced declines among its global peers, highlighting the rapid pace of disruption in the U.S.,” according to the report.” ⬇️ #streaming #ctv #fast #avod #svod #tvos #ott https://lnkd.in/e4nV_Fjy

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Agencies and brands are using AI everywhere, from creative ideation to media optimization, but most aren’t being compensated for the value they create. Forrester calls it the “AI cost-center crisis.” The old model (charging based on headcount) doesn’t work when AI drives results. It’s time to rethink pricing and focus on shared outcomes. Agencies and brands that align compensation with impact will lead. AI is a key driver of competitive advantage, and it should be valued that way. #AI #MarketingStrategy #DigitalTransformation

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Only 12% of commerce media leaders say they’ve reached advanced measurement maturity according to new EMARKETER report just released. At the same time, 86% of commerce media decision-makers in North America and Europe say strengthening measurement and attribution is their top priority to better prove ROI. That gap is the opportunity. In 2026, AI won’t just optimize media — it will finally re-imagine measurement: • Connecting fragmented data across onsite, offsite, and in-store * Providing a meta view of where to increase and decrease investment cross RMN’s • Automating attribution and advanced incrementality analysis at scale • Turning reporting into real-time decisioning and actionable audience insights, not rear-view dashboards Commerce media has ambition. AI gives it the leverage. This is the year we move from directionally right to provably right. https://lnkd.in/eygsJgvt #CommerceMedia #RetailMedia #AIinMarketing #MarketingMeasurement #Attribution #ROI

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👀 HawkTalk- "Voices of Innovation" Current US Programmatic Trends- via DataBeat May 2025 saw overall CPMs rise 4% month-over-month, with display CPMs up 1.7% and video CPMs up 9.5%. Year-over-year, CPMs declined 24.8%, driven by a 31.9% drop in display while video remained flat (+0.9%). The dip reflects post-election normalization in political ad spend and continued macroeconomic uncertainty. Chinese advertisers, once major drivers of programmatic growth, showed reduced activity amid shifting policies and market conditions. 💥 PUBLISHERS must read->> Ad refresh strategies were in focus this month. First impressions commanded the highest CPMs ($2.81) and CTRs (0.41%), but each subsequent refresh delivered diminishing returns. While viewability improved from 78% to 96% across 20 refreshes, CPMs dropped 70% and CTRs flattened. Advertisers significantly discount repeated exposures, signaling reduced user attention and lower engagement. 💰 To adapt, publishers should limit excessive refreshes, optimize floors dynamically, and diversify demand sources. Leveraging header bidding and testing direct deals or high-impact formats will be key to offsetting market softness and maintaining monetization. CPM Trends: MoM Growth: Display CPMs ↑1.7%, Video CPMs ↑9.5%, Overall CPM ↑4% YoY Change: Display CPMs ↓31.9%, Video CPMs ↑0.9%, Overall CPM ↓24.8% CC: Ashok Ganapam Hawk Digital Paris Noel #publishers #digital #monetization #adtech

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For years, we've watched retail media continue to fragment often operating on the promise of "closed-loop data" rather than verifiable, standardized results. In 2025, with IAB's new Commerce Media Standards going live, we're seeing the inevitable fallout: brand satisfaction with RMN transparency has plummeted from 66% to 44%. The market is demanding accountability. Brands are done asking for proprietary dashboards; they're demanding shared, IAB-aligned proof. The old JBP (Joint Business Plan) is evolving into something more like the JVP (Joint Value Partnership), where outcomes replace obligations and standardization is the currency. 👉 Read the full perspective : https://lnkd.in/giDQc9jY #RetailMedia #JBP #JVP #CommerceMedia #Transparency #MediaAMP

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While some companies are simply jumping on the AI bandwagon, Zeta Global has been integrating AI natively for many years powering our propriety data and activation platform, to drive far better outcomes for agencies and brands. “Zeta's not jumping on the AI bandwagon, it's embedding AI into operationalized functions that current marketers feel at ease with, such as its AI Agent Studio, which employs task-based agents for segmentation, multichannel attribution, and optimization.”

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Great to see Bloomberg News' Matthew Miller and Stagwell's Mark Penn today discussing how Stagwell and Palantir Technologies are transforming marketing. The two companies are creating an industry-first AI and data platform to sift through tens of millions of records to identify, segment and better understand audiences — helping improve performance before launching marketing campaigns. It also could help improve supply chain analyses.

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