marketing-ops

Isometric illustration of EU flag stars circling a calendar with August 2 highlighted in red, an hourglass running low at center, and an AI compliance checklist beside Brussels Parliament.

Brussels Couldn't Agree to Delay the AI Act and Marketers Got 92 Days

EU lawmakers spent 12 hours in Brussels on April 29 trying to delay the AI Act's August 2, 2026 enforcement and walked out without a deal. The original deadline still holds. Article 50 transparency obligations apply across every consumer-facing AI system, and the AI Office can hit general-purpose

Isometric flat illustration of a TV upfront negotiation with holdco stacks, contract clauses highlighted, and an arbitrage spread arrow between buy and sell prices.

90% of Marketers Worry About Principal Media. Only 63% Have It in Contract.

The ANA's March 2026 principal media study found 58% of marketers used principal-based buying in the past year, up from 47% in 2024. Yet only 63% of agency contracts address it, and 90% of marketers say their top concern is whether the recommended inventory is in their best

Isometric scene of three holding company silhouettes walking offstage with audit folders while Stagwell stands alone with a Koa robot at Possible 2026

Jeff Green's Possible Olive Branch Came After Three Holdcos Walked Koa Beta

The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green told Possible 2026 in Miami Beach on April 28 that "every middle player needs to earn its fee" and that the ad supply chain saw more cleanup in the last month than the last year. The concession landed two weeks after three

Isometric boardroom illustration showing CEO and CMO at a conference table reviewing a chart, with the marketing line moving from a Strategic column into an Overhead column.

60% of CEOs Now Call Marketing a Cost Center. Last Year It Was 35%.

Boathouse's fifth annual CEO Study found 60% of CEOs now classify marketing as a cost center, up from 35% one year ago. The survey of 150 top U.S. companies also recorded top CMO performance grades sliding from 24% to 15% over the same window. CMOs who want

Isometric illustration of a WPP corporate tower with a downward-sloping revenue chart showing 8.9% decline and an empty CEO podium for the Q1 2026 earnings call.

WPP's Top 25 Clients Cut 9.4% and Cindy Rose Skipped Her First Earnings Call

WPP's Q1 2026 revenue less pass-through costs fell 8.9% to $2.9 billion, with its top 25 clients pulling spend 9.4% against a 7% increase the same quarter last year. New CEO Cindy Rose did not host the analyst call. WPP says she will lead only

Isometric scales weighing two cash stacks labeled 113625 and 89438 next to an open SEO job description with the AI keyword highlighted, magnifying glass hovering above.

Kevin Indig Found a 27% AI Salary Premium Hiding in the Job Description

Kevin Indig analyzed 946 SEO job postings from SalaryGuide.com between December 2025 and March 2026, comparing salaries by whether AI appeared in the title or only in the description. Roles with AI in the title paid $113,625 at the median. Roles without paid $89,438. That is a