Editor's Picks for ANA Magazine

While immensely popular with consumers, gaming commands less than 5 percent of global media spending. That's starting to change, as brands like Jack in the Box, Jägermeister, and Lowe's ramp up their investments in the sector either by creating their own online venue or partnering with big gaming platforms.

Search engines fueled by artificial intelligence, or zero-click search, are starting to eclipse traditional search. That's leading marketers to reevaluate their search engine optimization strategy from keyword-stuffing to context-crafting.

Generative engine optimization (GEO), a digital marketing strategy centered on ensuring a brand's name is featured in the top answers provided by platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, and other large language models, is starting to accelerate throughout the marketing and ad sector.

Social media continues to be a critical marketing channel for SMBs, yet many companies struggle with creating enough content to feed the maw and measure ROI effectively. To close the gap, SMBs are increasingly deploying artificial intelligence (AI), which can spur content creation and personalize messaging, new surveys reveal.

Justin Thomas-Copeland, who was recently named CEO of the 4As, says the ad agencies best positioned to thrive in the current climate are flexible, fast, and have a large window into their clients' business.

Account-based marketing (ABM) has been a tough sell in the past few years. But the tide may be turning, with 87 percent of marketers saying they expect their organization's ABM budget to increase in the next 12 months, with an average bump of 9 percent, per a recent study.

The dizzying number of influencers, creators, and media channels now available to marketers — combined with the rise of generative artificial intelligence — is altering not only how branded ads are produced, but also how many.

Less than three years after AI-based ChatGPT launched, spurring dramatic change throughout the marketing and advertising field, large language models (LLMs) are taking marketing operations to yet another level.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banning red dye No. 3 and recommending more detailed food and alcohol labeling underscores several questions for marketers. Namely, should brands be more proactive and opt for greater transparency about health concerns associated with their products?

Regardless of its fate in the U.S., TikTok has spawned the "TikTokification" of digital content, in which advertisers are on the hook to produce short, punchy, and often irreverent content to appeal to gen Zers and other younger demos.

Brand spokescharacters are having a renaissance as companies scramble to fuel engagement in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Whether it's enduring spokescharacters, such as the Green Giant and the Kool-Aid Man, or edgier mascots, including the Duolingo owl, brand mascots not only fuel engagement but provide some levity to consumers and additional opportunities for integrated marketing.

Despite ample lead time, many brands remain ill-prepared for the European Accessibility Act, which goes into effect on June 28, 2025. Those marketers who haven't already started may need to enhance their websites and algorithms to comply with the comprehensive new law and cater to people with disabilities.

Donald Trump's first term in the White House put businesses' ability to deduct advertising expenses on the chopping block. Experts say his next term could have equally significant — and surprising — implications for the industry.

David Edelman, an executive adviser at the Boston Consulting Group and co-author of "Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI," discusses how marketers can deploy artificial intelligence to create new kinds of personalized experiences that both marketers and salespeople can rally around.

Burnout is taking a serious toll throughout the workplace, leading to lower productivity and higher absenteeism, among other costs — marketing teams may be increasingly susceptible.

The rise of streaming TV is opening up new opportunities for product placement for marketers eager to distinguish their products with consumers. But the execution has become much more complex, as successful product placement efforts require a strategic collaboration among brands, vendors, and content creators to ensure the product fits seamlessly within the narrative.

As social media and the rise of artificial intelligence-driven content blur the lines between creators and advertisers, guerrilla marketing may become an increasingly viable marketing vehicle, though perhaps still as elusive to define as it is to spot a 6-foot-7 Sasquatch in the wilds of Central Park.

"Principal media," or when agencies purchase — or negotiate — inventory from media owners at bulk rates, then resell it to their clients at a markup, is taking off. In a recent ANA study, 41 percent of respondents expect to use principal media throughout the next year. But while offering myriad benefits to marketers, principal media is fraught with challenges, ranging from potential conflicts of interest to low-quality inventory.

Pickleball tops a growing roster of niche sports that are attracting legions of fans, with a smorgasbord of games for advertisers to tap into. The appeal to marketers is twofold: affordability and the opportunity to integrate a brand into the consumer experience.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how marketers conceptualize, craft, and distribute advertising creative. But as they integrate AI with their ad design, marketers need to be aware of several potential stumbling blocks.