Industry Insights
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AI Synthetic Performers in Advertising: Emerging State Requirements and Ethical Considerations
Leading Edge July 21, 2026New state laws are forcing advertisers to disclose when generative AI creates synthetic performers, and California may soon follow New York's lead. Marketers who act now on transparency could reduce compliance risk and build consumer trust before regulation tightens further.
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Gen Z Is Lonely — And Brands Have an Opening
Leading Edge July 20, 2026Platform trust is collapsing — and brands renting relevance from social feeds may be losing credibility along with it. As artificial intelligence (AI) floods digital channels with synthetic content, the brands consumers have chosen over time could hold the only trust the algorithm cannot manufacture.
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How Brands Can Stay Visible in the Age of AI Search
Leading Edge July 20, 2026Nearly 60 percent of searches now end without a click, and AI tools are reshaping how consumers find answers. The ANA's new playbook examines how brands can stay visible as answer engine optimization (AEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO) redefine digital discovery.
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Naming Conventions Are Costing Advertisers More Than They Think
Leading Edge July 17, 2026Broken naming conventions may be quietly corrupting your campaign data before a single ad runs. A closer look at how advertisers label campaign elements could reveal why reporting gaps and misclassified spend are harder to fix than they appear.
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AI for Marketers Digest: Operating Reality Sets In
Leading Edge July 16, 2026AI is reshaping marketing infrastructure faster than most teams can track, with new agent networks, ad platforms, and search experiences emerging simultaneously. Shifts in access, pricing, and governance may force marketers to rethink how they evaluate and manage AI investments.
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Attention Is the Most Misunderstood Metric in Advertising
Leading Edge July 15, 2026Attention in advertising may be measured after a campaign runs, but research suggests it must be designed into creative from the start. Kantar finds creative quality drives 50 percent of brand impact, raising the stakes for how marketers approach every ad they build.
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The Identity Economy: Marketing's Next Competitive Advantage
Leading Edge July 15, 2026The identity economy is reshaping how brands compete, shifting the battleground from attention to emotional relevance rooted in culture, heritage, and shared values. As nearly half of Americans identify as multicultural, cultural fluency may become marketing's most sustainable competitive advantage.
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Reckitt CMO Nathalie Darres on What Makes Great Inclusive Marketing
Pulse July 14, 2026Reckitt CMO Nathalie Darres shares what the 2026 ANA Multicultural and Inclusive Marketing Excellence Awards Grand Jury is looking for in winning entries. Her perspective on culture, authenticity, and commercial accountability could reshape how teams approach award submissions this year.
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Is AEO Causing the Death of SEO?
Leading Edge July 13, 2026Answer engines are reshaping how consumers find products, shifting power away from traditional search rankings toward AI-driven recommendations. Brands that fail to adopt answer engine optimization (AEO) strategies may find themselves invisible to both AI platforms and the consumers they serve.
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Scott Redick of Charles Schwab on Keeping an Open Mind and Being Curious
Pulse July 13, 2026Scott Redick, director of strategy and integration at Charles Schwab and member of the 2026 ANA Multicultural and Inclusive Marketing Excellence Awards Grand Jury, shares what separates good work from truly exceptional work — and why curiosity may be the most important skill a marketer can keep sharpening.
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Connected TV News: A Missed Opportunity?
Leading Edge July 10, 2026A Wurl report finds that more than a third of news scenes on free ad-supported streaming are brand safe, challenging widespread advertiser fears. Blanket news avoidance may cost marketers access to loyal audiences and significant safe inventory.
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Survey: Marketers Choose Creators with Strong Brand Alignment but Still Want Creative Control
Leading Edge July 10, 2026Marketers overwhelmingly prioritize audience fit and cultural alignment when choosing creator partners, yet measurement remains a fractured discipline. New ANA research finds that nearly a third of brands lack a consistent system for tracking influencer success, which could undermine long-term partnerships.
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Toni Wallace on How Best to Leverage Talent and Audience Insights in Marketing
Pulse July 10, 2026Toni Wallace, partner and head of global music brand strategy at United Talent Agency, shares what Grand Prize-worthy multicultural marketing looks like. Her insights on cultural fluency and talent partnerships could reshape how teams approach their 2026 ANA Awards submissions.
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How Jeep and Ford Are Building Brands Beyond the Vehicle
Leading Edge July 9, 2026Jeep and Ford are redefining automotive brand differentiation not through specs but through sustained experiential programs that let consumers test capability under real conditions. As performance parity narrows across competing vehicles, experience is increasingly doing the work that messaging alone cannot.
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U.S. Bank's Gus Fernandez on the Difference Between Representation and Resonance in Inclusive Marketing
Pulse July 8, 2026Gus Fernandez, VP of inclusive growth and community impact at U.S. Bank, shares what separates exceptional multicultural marketing from work that is merely good. His perspective on the 2026 ANA Multicultural and Inclusive Marketing Excellence Awards jury could reshape how teams approach cultural authenticity and submission strategy.
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When Empathy Converts: A Smarter Model for Nonprofit Marketing
Leading Edge July 8, 2026A stigma-first creative strategy helps TBC's awareness campaign for the Obesity Association reach 45 million impressions and drive 300,000 site visits. The results may reframe how agencies approach nonprofit marketing — and what disciplined, empathy-led work can achieve.
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AARP'S Edna Kane Williams on the Importance of Connecting Inclusive Marketing to Business KPIs
Pulse July 6, 2026Edna Kane Williams, EVP at AARP and 2026 ANA Multicultural and Inclusive Marketing Excellence Awards Grand Juror, shares what separates exceptional inclusive marketing from work that merely acknowledges diverse audiences. Her perspective on cultural depth, measurable results, and strategic investment could reshape how marketers approach submissions — and their broader growth strategies.
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AI Commerce Will Succeed Only If It Protects Consumer Trust
Leading Edge July 6, 2026Generative AI is reshaping how consumers discover and decide, and the ad models brands rely on may not translate. Marketers who treat conversational AI like search could erode the consumer trust that makes AI commerce viable in the first place.
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Rethinking Trust, Attention, and Outcomes in Local Marketing
Leading Edge July 3, 2026A YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas campaign on premium connected TV delivered a 300 percent return on ad spend, raising questions about how context shapes consumer trust and action. The results may signal a broader shift in how local marketers evaluate streaming as a performance channel.
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Carla Ibarra of NRG Energy on the Importance of Connecting Brand Purpose with Audience Needs
Pulse July 2, 2026Carla Ibarra, senior director of change management communications at NRG Energy, shares what the 2026 ANA Multicultural and Inclusive Marketing Excellence Awards Grand Jury is looking for. Her insights into cultural authenticity, AI risk, and measurable impact could reshape how teams approach award submissions.
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