AGP Executive Report

Corporate Affairs: Uber President Jill Hazelbaker is leaving for OpenAI, where she’ll become chief corporate affairs officer — a notable move as AI companies invest in public trust and reputation. AI in Marketing: A WFA study says 96% of major brands now use AI in marketing, while businesses are exploring generative AI to produce content at scale. Creator Economy: Broadcasters are being warned they need creators as much as creators need them, sharpening the push to build partnerships and rethink content rights. Event Marketing: AV Connect Events and Ilex Content Strategies are teaming up to turn event interviews into video for clients’ wider sales and marketing efforts. Marketing Performance: Travel Manitoba says its campaigns generated $23 in visitor spending for every dollar invested in 2025, putting the focus on measurable returns.

Brand Strategy: McDonald’s is expected to post a 0.5% U.S. sales decline as lower-income diners pull back. Franchisees also point to crowded marketing calendars and underwhelming promotions, while the chain bets on new drinks to draw customers. Political Advertising: More than $82 million has gone to TV, radio and digital ads in Virginia races, with about $13 million focused on the state’s 2nd Congressional District. Marketing Performance: Trivago reported a seventh straight quarter of double-digit growth, crediting a more diversified marketing mix as branded traffic grew faster than overall traffic. Marketing Technology: Sprout Social’s third-quarter revenue rose 8% year over year, with growth among larger customers and a record non-GAAP operating margin. Experiential Marketing: Audi and F1 Academy brought driver Emma Felbermayr into a fan-focused Austin Grand Prix experience, linking the brand to a high-profile race weekend.

Holiday Campaigns: John Lewis has launched its 20th Christmas ad, starring Dame Kristin Scott Thomas and featuring Sam Fender’s cover of a Rolling Stones song. The campaign aims to restore confidence in thoughtful gift-giving. Marketing Leadership: Porter promoted Mohit Rathi to CMO, tasking the longtime executive with leading marketing and growth as the logistics company scales. Brand Growth: PepsiCo says Doritos’ crunch-focused recipe revamp helped lift growth 20% and attract 2.1 million new consumers over two years. AI in Marketing: A World Federation of Advertisers study finds 96% of major brands now use AI in marketing, signaling how quickly the technology has moved into the mainstream. PR Moves: Former Octopus Publishing publicity leader Karen Baker has launched an independent PR and communications consultancy after 25 years in-house.

AI in Marketing: A World Federation of Advertisers survey finds 96% of major brands now use AI in marketing, underscoring how quickly the technology is becoming standard. Creator Rights: A new look at music licensing warns that brands risk copyright problems when they use songs in creator campaigns without clear permissions. Marketing Measurement: Adobe has launched a tool to track marketing ROI in real time, as a separate survey finds many firms invest in marketing but fail to measure results. Agentic Commerce: Brands may soon have to persuade AI shopping agents as well as people: a new report asks whether those agents will recommend the brands they encounter. Political Advertising: AI-generated ads are surging ahead of the U.S. midterms; researchers identified 220 such ads worth more than $137 million in October, while warning the true spending may be higher.

AI Marketing: AI platform Profound is opening its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore, targeting brands across Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and plans to hire more than 15 people. Ad Market: U.S. spending rose 1.3% year over year in September, extending the market’s growth streak to nine months. Traditional media won back share, reaching 26% of spending, though digital still accounts for about three-quarters. Audience Strategy: Hispanic consumers represent 78% of U.S. population growth since 2020, and are projected to top 71 million in 2027. New research urges advertisers to account for differences in language preference and consumer behavior. Brand Campaigns: e.l.f. Beauty is leaning into individuality with a handcrafted holiday campaign, while JCPenney is addressing deal fatigue in its seasonal marketing.

Adtech Deal: Affle agreed to acquire Perion for about $420 million, expanding its AI-powered advertising and consumer-conversion business. Holiday Advertising: Sainsbury’s new Christmas ad brought back a familiar character, drawing both praise and backlash. Communications Leadership: Skydance CCO Melissa Zukerman unveiled a new executive team as the company reshapes its TV leadership. Marketing Measurement: Adobe launched a tool to track marketing ROI in real time, while a separate survey found many firms still invest in marketing without tracking results. Creator Marketing: MrBeast named his first chief marketing officer, a sign that creator-led businesses are building more formal marketing teams.

Media Business: Malaysia’s RM30 million Media Innovation Fund 2.0 aims to help local newsrooms upgrade technology, train staff and find new revenue as digital platforms absorb a growing share of advertising. Marketing Measurement: Adobe has launched a tool to track marketing ROI in real time, addressing a familiar gap: a new survey finds many firms invest in marketing without measuring its results. Brand Trust: A judge has allowed parts of a proposed McDonald’s class-action case over whether the McRib’s name and marketing mislead customers about its meat to proceed. Brand Heritage: Oros’s instantly recognisable jingle is part of a 125-year brand story, showing how a memorable campaign can outlast its original TV ad by decades.

Marketing Measurement: Adobe has launched a tool to track marketing ROI in real time, as a new survey finds many firms are investing in marketing without measuring its results. Creators and Campaigns: Political groups are equipping social media creators with get-out-the-vote materials; one organizer says followers who don’t usually see political content are learning more about candidates, though direct impact is hard to measure. AI in Marketing: AI agents are expected to reshape marketing teams in 2027, while marketers grapple with tactics that increasingly look alike. Media Business: Meta has delayed a fee plan that drew accusations from publishers over their content, while Finland’s news agency STT says it will end services after 139 years.**

Marketing’s sameness problem: A new commentary says brands’ tactics are starting to look alike, raising the pressure to find more distinctive ways to reach audiences. Ad-Tech Security: A cyber warning says spyware can exploit online ads as they load, without a click — a risk for users and the brands relying on ad networks. AI in Marketing: Leaders are being urged to prepare for AI agents to reshape marketing teams in 2027. Measurement Gap: A survey finds many firms commit to marketing but fail to track results, leaving them unsure what their investment delivers. Media Mix: Jersey Mike’s spends $200 million a year on advertising and, until this year, directed almost none of it to digital. Platform and Publisher Tensions: Meta has delayed a controversial fee plan after publishers accused it of trying to take their content.

Marketing Measurement: A survey of wealth managers found 64% increased marketing spend, but just 23% say they can reliably identify where new business comes from. The IAB also flagged a persistent audio measurement gap. AI & Brand Discovery: New marketing agents promise to automate reporting and competitor tracking, while marketers are warned that vague brand positioning can hurt visibility in ChatGPT. Consumer skepticism is also rising around products marketed with AI. Industry Moves: The ANA added four senior brand marketers to its board. Skydance unveiled its communications and publicity leadership team amid executive departures, while People Inc. is cutting 195 jobs, mainly in print and legacy web. Campaigns & Growth: Wingstop is leaning on marketing and AI to reverse a sales slide. Starbucks plans AI-assisted drive-through personalization, building on a loyalty program with 36 million active members.

AI Search Ads: Google is expanding sponsored links in AI Overviews to more countries, extending paid placements into its AI-generated answers. Platform Terms: Meta may delay new business-account terms after copyright groups objected that they could let the company use commercial users’ content for AI and advertising without an opt-out. Streaming Ads: Disney+ is launching a lower-priced ad tier in South Korea as it tries to gain ground; prices for ad-free plans are also rising for new subscribers. Brand Growth: Wingstop is turning to marketing and AI to tackle a sales slide, while Brinker says marketing and menu changes helped Chili’s post a 10% same-store sales increase. Media Leadership: Skydance has named four regional leads after its merger, with Andrew Georgiou set to leave the Europe and Africa role.

Marketing Performance: Safe Software CMO Suzanne Serwatuk cut low-return programs and refreshed the brand; trade-show leads rose 249% after the rebrand, while the company’s free-trial conversion rate had been below 2%. Media Shake-Up: Skydance TV’s new leadership structure includes executive departures and a search for a Pluto TV chief, as the newly merged company reshapes its streaming and media operations. Tourism Advertising: Michigan tourism groups have paused Canadian campaigns amid strained cross-border sentiment, shifting ad dollars to domestic and European markets. Agency Growth: New Zealand creative agency Special has landed private-equity backing from Waterman Capital to support international expansion and investment in design, PR, strategy and technology. AI Discovery: A new 2027 marketing playbook for Long Island businesses urges sharper positioning and clear website answers to improve visibility in AI search, alongside stronger PR and customer reviews.

Agency Business: WPP returned to growth, reporting a 0.5% rise in Q3 revenue as India rebounded — an early sign Cindy Rose’s turnaround is gaining pace. AI & Adtech: Sprinklr is testing six marketing AI agents, while healthcare marketers are turning to AI and data analytics to measure campaigns. AI search is also boosting demand for SEO and answer-engine specialists at agencies. Platforms & Reach: Google’s new Connected Apps platform lets developers surface services across Search and Gemini, creating another route to reach people with immediate needs. Brand Partnerships: Malaysia’s football association signed a two-year deal with Yes and Ryt Bank, tying 5G and AI to fan experiences, digital content and sponsor visibility. LemFi also paired a major product expansion with a new global brand, “Ambition has no passport.”

Brand Reputation: PR and branding experts say Pat McAfee’s Utah controversy is a stress test for his image, with his response clashing with the fearless persona behind his brand. Media Leadership: Skydance TV co-chair George Cheeks named leaders for the combined Warner Bros.–Paramount operation, including Mike Benson for marketing and Chris Ender for communications. Ad Rules: The FCC is advancing measures that would let consumers revoke consent for some robocalls and speed up businesses’ opt-out process. AI Discovery: AI recommendations and agent-led campaigns are challenging click-based marketing playbooks, while one study finds that getting small businesses recommended by AI remains a moving target. Inbox Pressure: One in four consumers say they report brands’ holiday emails as spam, a timely warning as seasonal campaigns ramp up.

Destination Marketing: Tourism Malaysia and IOI Properties are pairing hotel packages, shopping promotions and leisure offers to turn short stopovers into longer, higher-spending visits. Consumer Signals: A new survey finds 51% of U.S. shoppers stopped buying from a company over its political stance in the past year, putting brands’ public positions under growing scrutiny ahead of the midterms. Brand Growth: Sanpellegrino is adding a low-sugar Strawberry Crema drink as Nestlé expands its premium beverage range; HUL, meanwhile, is betting on rural recovery and premiumisation after reporting 7% volume growth. Adtech Watch: Researchers say an Israeli ad-tech firm was a leading bidder on Starlink-related ad traffic in more than 100 countries, raising concerns that digital ad auctions could be used to track users. Marketing Claims: An environmental NGO accuses krill company Aker BioMarine of using outdated sustainability ratings in its marketing, a dispute that highlights the reputational risks of unsubstantiated claims.

Audience Growth: Vox Media’s Pivot podcast is launching a weekly newsletter on beehiiv Nov. 2, extending the brand with deeper business and tech coverage and more direct listener interaction. Media Leadership: Searchlight Pictures marketing EVP Michelle Hooper is leaving the studio, adding to a week of high-profile media and marketing leadership moves. AI Marketing: Anthropic’s marketing and advertising costs reportedly surged to $273 million, a sign of the growing expense of competing for attention in the AI race. Press Freedom: Indian news publishers are challenging the country’s privacy law, warning it could enable pre-censorship and threaten journalism. Ad-Supported News: CBS News has reportedly sold sponsored election coverage to a betting app, raising fresh questions about how news outlets fund political reporting. Marketing Technology: Salesforce is set to acquire Braze for $5.66 billion, expanding its AI-powered marketing offerings.