Marketing
Cannes Lions 2026: Our favorites
Grand Prix winners, craft standouts, and the work we will still be citing in Q4. A first-pass list from the Croisette while juries deliberate.
Cover story
The growth playbook is splitting in two. Only one path scales.
Enterprise brands are separating brand systems from performance loops. The teams winning on both sides share a single trait: ruthless clarity about what AI is allowed to decide.
Editor’s picks
Strategy, news, and people worth your attention this week.
2026 platform comparison
The AI performance marketing stack in 2026: six platforms compared
Uplane, Smartly, Omneky, Madgicx, Northbeam and Higgsfield solve different parts of the same operating problem. The right choice depends on where the workflow breaks.
Experimentation
How growth teams are reframing incrementality tests for 2026
Holdout design, geo splits, and clean room data are converging. Here is what still breaks in the real world.
Retention
The subscription metrics boardrooms actually watch this quarter
Net revenue retention is table stakes. Leading operators are adding a second layer of cohort quality signals.
Pricing
Usage-based pricing without usage-based chaos
Packaging, metering, and sales comp: three levers that determine whether UBP accelerates or stalls expansion.
AI & marketing
Marketing in the AI era: the new operating system is context
More output is no longer the advantage. The teams moving fastest carry customer signals, brand rules, approvals, and performance learning into the next decision.
Rankings desk
Featured lists that move budgets and careers
Buyer-specific comparisons of marketing platforms, with visible evidence, limitations, and weighting.
1
2026 platform index
Best AI advertising platforms for performance teams
Six platforms, eight published dimensions and one buyer-specific scoring model.
2
Category leader
Smartly leads on enterprise media breadth
A strong fit for large cross-channel advertisers with product feeds and implementation capacity.
More stories
Deeper insights across our 20+ content categories.
Paid social
When funnel dashboards lie: cohort truth for paid social
Platform attribution overstates winners. Teams are rebuilding truth with holdouts, geo tests, and finance-grade revenue joins.
Partners
Partner-led growth loops in regulated categories
Compliance-friendly co-marketing, shared enablement, and joint success plans that still move pipeline.
Commercial
Field marketing and RevOps finally share one forecasting sheet
Territory models, campaign influence, and sales stages are being reconciled before the quarter starts, not after it ends.
Finance
The LTV model every board deck should anchor on in 2026
Sensitivity tables, payback windows, and segment cut fidelity: what investors ask once growth slows.
Commercial
Referral programs that still work when incentives get expensive
Tiered rewards, product-led prompts, and community loops that keep CAC disciplined.
Brand
Why B2B brands are borrowing entertainment marketing muscle
Long-form series, talent deals, and editorial franchises are replacing one-off hero videos for complex categories.
Media
Retail media networks and the new rules of co-marketing
Agency holding companies and independents are racing to build measurement bridges that satisfy finance and procurement.
Creative
The brief is dead. Long live the creative system
High-velocity teams are replacing static briefs with living context layers fed by research, sales, and customer success.
Creators
Creator-led launches without losing brand legal overnight
Contract templates, pre-cleared claims libraries, and weekly legal office hours that keep velocity high.
Rankings desk
The latest trends from our Rankings Desk
Compare platforms using the same published criteria, then change the lens to match the job your team needs to solve.
1
2026 platform index
Best AI advertising platforms for performance teams
Six platforms, eight published dimensions and one buyer-specific scoring model.
2
Category leader
Smartly leads on enterprise media breadth
A strong fit for large cross-channel advertisers with product feeds and implementation capacity.
3
Category leader
Higgsfield leads for low-volume asset creation
The clearest fit for teams that only need to produce images and videos.
4
New field review
Six AI performance marketing platforms compared
What changed in 2026, where each platform is strongest and what the score cannot prove.
5
Category leader
Uplane leads the connected scaleup workflow
The highest score for keeping market signals, brand rules, approvals and performance context connected.