INSIGHTS FROM EXPERTS ON LINKEDIN
Dale W. Harrison argues that traditional lead scoring models are fundamentally flawed because they focus on counting actions rather than measuring the actual information those actions provide. He explains that repeated engagement, such as reading more and more blog posts, adds diminishing value but continues to inflate lead scores. This disconnect is a key reason why many Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) fail to translate into sales opportunities.
Dr. Augustine Fou highlights growing signs that AI is becoming significantly more expensive for enterprise users. He points to reports that Microsoft canceled internal Claude Code licenses due to cost concerns, while Uber burned through its AI budget in just a few months. With software providers increasingly replacing flat-rate plans with usage-based pricing, Fou believes businesses will need to pay much closer attention to their AI spending.
Melissa Rosenthal says Google’s latest AI updates are reducing the need for users to click through to websites by providing answers, tools, and recommendations directly in search results. With zero-click searches already on the rise, publishers and brands could see even less traffic from Google in the future. At the same time, brands that people search for by name appear to be performing better, making brand awareness increasingly important.
Mike Storm shares research showing that people across different regions tend to focus on the same parts of an advertisement, including branding, product images, and text. While cultural differences do exist, they have less influence on viewing behavior than many marketers expect. The research suggests that creating ads that capture attention may be more important than adapting them for different markets.
Thomas Zoëga Ramsøy highlights the 95:5 rule, which suggests that only around 5% of potential customers are actively looking to buy at any given time. He argues that brands grow by staying memorable to the other 95%, so they are top of mind when a purchase decision eventually happens. Research from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute supports the idea that long-term growth comes from building mental availability rather than focusing only on short-term conversions.
Tom Tigwell discusses the challenge of understanding why LinkedIn ad performance changes over time. Without a clear record of campaign updates, it can be difficult to connect results to specific actions or decisions. He highlights a timeline feature in Axis that automatically tracks campaign changes, helping marketers review what happened and identify possible reasons behind performance shifts.
Curtis Howland explains that ads that perform well on Meta often struggle on AppLovin because the user experience is completely different. On Meta, success depends on grabbing attention in the first few seconds, while on AppLovin users are forced to watch longer ads in exchange for rewards, which changes how attention works. He breaks down how creatives need to focus less on fast hooks and more on storytelling, pacing, and timing the final call to action.
Vicki Jakes says Meta ad costs have increased by 15–40% since March, and she believes it is not due to creative or targeting issues but a shift in how Meta’s algorithm works. She explains that delivery has moved from auction-based bidding to outcome-based optimisation, which changes how impressions are priced and can push CPMs higher. Many advertisers are now seeing similar cost increases across different industries
WHAT'S NEW IN THE INDUSTRY
Spotify replaced its green app icon with a disco ball for five days as part of its 20th anniversary campaign, and the reaction was immediate. People argued, shared it everywhere, and turned the change into a cultural moment that drove massive attention to Spotify’s broader “Your Party of the Year(s)” activation. The key move was making the change temporary, which turned confusion and debate into marketing reach and nostalgia at scale.
A new Canva report shows people are open to AI in advertising when it is useful, but they strongly reject content that feels generic or emotionally empty. Most consumers say they can spot AI ads, and many describe them as “soulless” or too obvious, even though they still value personalization and helpful use cases. Trust increases when ads feel human-led, clearly useful, and respectful of privacy.
Microsoft is rolling out new updates to its advertising platform, including an Import Center for moving campaigns from Google and Meta, plus expanded AI-powered bidding and reporting tools. Advertisers will get more automation through cross-account portfolio bidding, improved performance metrics, and deeper reporting controls inside the platform. The updates are designed to make multi-platform campaign management easier while pushing more optimization into AI systems.
New research highlights how authenticity in B2B marketing is not something brands can fully control, but something audiences decide. The idea is that content has a “zone of permissible authenticity,” where it feels real enough to be credible but still aligned with the brand. If content feels too polished it comes off as staged, but if it feels too raw it can feel off-brand or untrustworthy.
Google used its 2026 Marketing Live event to show how deeply Gemini is now built into its advertising and commerce ecosystem. New updates include AI-powered Search ads, conversational shopping experiences, automated creative tools in Asset Studio, and smarter campaign management across Ads, Analytics, and Merchant Center. The overall direction is clear: campaigns are becoming more automated, more conversational, and more connected across the entire Google system.
Google is upgrading Asset Studio with Gemini-powered tools that generate images, video, and text from simple prompts. The system uses brand inputs like briefs and guidelines to create ready-to-use creative assets and test them automatically. The goal is to remove friction in production and make it faster for advertisers to build and scale campaigns across Google and YouTube.
Speakers at the May 2026 MarTech Conference focused on how marketing is changing as AI becomes more embedded in everyday work. Key themes included trust in personalization, the need for stronger storytelling over high-volume content, and AI pushing teams to focus on outcomes instead of processes or org structures. Several speakers also stressed that context, consent, and brand visibility in early buying decisions are becoming more important than ever.
That’s the scoop for this week! If you found this valuable and any useful insights caught your eye, feel free to share them with your network.
Until next week!
