Author: Samantha Greene
Samantha Greene
Samantha is a Chicago-based market researcher with a knack for spotting the next big shift in digital culture before it hits mainstream. She’s contributed to major marketing publications, swears by sticky notes and never writes with anything but blue ink. Believes pineapple does belong on pizza.
Marketers are ditching fragmented AI point solutions for unified platforms in 2026 to cut costs, reduce risk, and simplify vendor management.
UGC operations are shifting from ad-hoc favors to repeatable businesses with standardized scripting, editing, and licensing infrastructure.
Publisher and creator CPMs are converging fast, forcing brands to rethink media mix planning, budget splits, and channel ROI benchmarks.
The $21B creator investment forecast is pulling 2027 media dollars from linear and display toward creator-led, sales-attributed budgets.
CMOs face a widening agentic AI talent gap—here’s what skills, roles, and hiring priorities actually move campaign performance.
A third of brands are cutting content volume for distribution-first budgets — here’s how agency contracts and scopes need to change.
Sprout Social’s data shows 67% of consumers buy from influencer recommendations, but reach alone won’t get you there — trust does.
Brands are shifting spend from one-off creator campaigns to owned UGC libraries, cutting costs and reducing platform risk.
Sprout Social’s latest data shows follower count is losing predictive power. Here’s how to rebuild influencer discovery around trust and conversion.
Digital collectibles are back as a creator monetization tool. Here’s what brands need to vet before funding fan-owned digital assets.