Tubi Is Joining Forces with Kickstarter to Support Indie Films

Fox Corporation’s Tubi free ad-supported streaming service has partnered with Kickstarter to support independent filmmakers raising funds on the crowdfunding platform. The deal will bring more than 20 Kickstarter-funded films to Tubi for an exclusive period beginning this fall. As part of the arrangement, Tubi has joined with Kickstarter to launch the FilmStream Collective fund, which will channel completion funds to filmmakers active on the platform. Tubi reaches over 97 million monthly active users worldwide with FAST entertainment in the form of on-demand movies and TV episodes, including original content. Continue reading Tubi Is Joining Forces with Kickstarter to Support Indie Films

WPP Media Launches Industry’s First Large Marketing Model

Two weeks after its global rebranding of GroupM to WPP Media, the bespoke London-based marketing behemoth is launching Open Intelligence, an “AI identity solution” that WPP says will better target viewers with privacy-conscious solutions that more effectively message on behalf of its clients. Built around what WPP calls “the industry’s first Large Marketing Model,” Open Intelligence is “trained on the world’s largest and most diverse set of audience, behavioral, and event data,” culled from WPP’s decentralized partnership network. “Our model learns continuously from trillions of signals across more than 350 partners in over 75 markets,” the company claims. Continue reading WPP Media Launches Industry’s First Large Marketing Model

AMC Networks the Latest to Partner with Runway for AI Tools

AMC Networks has partnered with Runway to use the AI startup’s models and technology in the TV studio’s marketing and development processes. The Cablevision-owned AMC Networks brand — home to cable TV hits such as “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead” that have found new audiences on the AMC+ streaming service — plans to use AI in everything from identifying key scenes for promotional use to ideating new ideas, previsualization and special effects. Lionsgate entered a similar deal with Runway last year that had the reciprocal benefit of allowing the AI company to use the studio’s content to train models. Continue reading AMC Networks the Latest to Partner with Runway for AI Tools

TikTok for Artists: New Analytics Platform Gets Official Launch

ByteDance-owned TikTok is officially launching its TikTok for Artists music insights tool two months after reports surfaced that the service was testing the resource in select countries. Billed as an “all-in-one” analytics platform, the company says TikTok for Artists provides detailed data about the performance of an artist’s music and posts on TikTok, as well as insights into how the community is engaging with the performer’s content. In addition to providing actionable marketing support, the tool is designed to help artists boost fan engagement and inform content creation. TikTok is also launching a new Pre-Release tool designed to help artists promote upcoming material. Continue reading TikTok for Artists: New Analytics Platform Gets Official Launch

Katzenberg’s WndrCo Invests $1.5M in AI Ad Startup Creatify

Hollywood heavyweight Jeffrey Katzenberg has thrown his support behind an AI advertising startup called Creatify, leading its Series A round with $1.5 million via WndrCo. Katzenberg is also taking a board seat at the two-year-old firm, which claims more than 1.5 million global users and 10,000 teams using its tech to create social media-centric video ads, leveraging AI avatars and real-time testing. Marketing teams can use its tools to “spin up high-quality video creative in minutes (not weeks),” the company claims, mentioning a client that uses Creatify to generate 1,000-plus ads per month. Continue reading Katzenberg’s WndrCo Invests $1.5M in AI Ad Startup Creatify

WBD Rolls Out Advertiser Storyverse, Reintroduces HBO Max

Warner Bros. Discovery had something old and something new to introduce at the TV Upfronts, reverting back to the name HBO Max a little after two years of being known as Max. The company also rolled out a new advertiser tool, WBD Storyverse, unlocking its 100 year-old asset vault “to help brands emotionally connect with audiences using beloved characters and IP with new twists.” WBD says it “will work strategically with partners” to identify good fits with “fan-favorite” content that can be used in new ways to “capture the magic of the original IP through a branded lens.” Continue reading WBD Rolls Out Advertiser Storyverse, Reintroduces HBO Max

Roku Teams Up with Adobe on a Real-Time Ad Data Platform

Roku is partnering with Adobe to integrate its Roku Data Cloud with Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform (CDP) for a new real-time advertising data platform. The idea is to allow advertisers to access more in-depth insights that can potentially be used to launch “more personalized and performant advertising” while prioritizing privacy, according to Roku. “This integration will unlock the opportunity for traditional performance marketers — like search and social buyers — to plan, activate, and measure campaigns on Roku,” said Miles Fisher, the streamer’s senior director of strategic advertising partnerships. Continue reading Roku Teams Up with Adobe on a Real-Time Ad Data Platform

LG and Zenapse Partner on Emotionally Intelligent Advertising

LG has partnered with AI startup Zenapse and will leverage its proprietary large emotion model (LEM) to power advertising that reflects viewers’ moods and emotions. Building on Zenapse’s “emotional AI and psychographic targeting,” the companies say they will “redefine viewer engagement, personalization, and campaign performance” by applying the technology to LG Ad Solutions’ advanced connected TV platform. As part of the multi-year deal, Zenapse and LG Innovation Labs will work to develop new CTV ad products that integrate emotional intelligence to deliver “more meaningful and measurable brand experiences across 200 million LG smart TVs globally.” Continue reading LG and Zenapse Partner on Emotionally Intelligent Advertising

Adobe Investment in Synthesia Could Fuel AI Video Production

Adobe has taken a stake in business avatar firm Synthesia, which creates clones for corporate videos using generative AI. The investment of an undisclosed sum through Adobe Ventures was interpreted by one media outlet as a bet that the UK startup’s technology “will transform video production.” Adobe couched the move as a strategic alliance. The investment became public along with Synthesia’s announcement that it surpassed the $100 million mark for what the privately held company says qualifies as recurring annual revenue. Nvidia is also an investor. Continue reading Adobe Investment in Synthesia Could Fuel AI Video Production

Adobe Unveils Host of AI-Powered Customer Experience Tools

Adobe is challenging Salesforce and other customer management platforms with a suite of AI agents launching within its flagship Adobe Experience platform. Adobe’s customizable Experience Platform Agents can perform tasks like optimizing websites, generating content, identifying targeted audience sectors and more. New tools include the Adobe Experience Agent Orchestrator and Brand Concierge, which serves customers a personalized website experience based on prior interactions. Introduced at Adobe Summit 2025, the new products are engineered to drive Customer Experience Orchestration (CXO) in the era of artificial intelligence. Continue reading Adobe Unveils Host of AI-Powered Customer Experience Tools

Amazon Replaces Social Shopping Feed with Rufus Chatbot

Amazon has pulled the plug on Inspire, its TikTok-type, short-form video and photo mobile feed designed to help customers explore and discover new products by browsing various categories. Like TikTok, Inspire used a vertical feed and opportunities to purchase products used by influencers and other customers. The shopping giant is instead referring customers to its shopping chatbot Rufus. Amazon has since November 2023 partnered with Instagram to promote shopping within the app, and also has a deal with Snap, so it still has ties to social shopping. Inspire was launched in December 2022 and expanded to national availability in May of 2023. Continue reading Amazon Replaces Social Shopping Feed with Rufus Chatbot

Netflix Opens a New Themed Restaurant in Las Vegas Casino

The new Netflix Bites restaurant in the Las Vegas MGM Grand Hotel & Casino offers dishes inspired by popular original streaming movies and TV series. As part of the company’s push into more in-person experiences and new marketing opportunities, Netflix Bites Vegas is scheduled to operate for a year, a residency that follows the popular Netflix Bites pop-up restaurant that was open for six weeks in 2023 in Los Angeles. The Las Vegas eatery kicked off with an exclusive preview event featuring stars from some of the company’s shows alongside executives from Netflix and MGM. Continue reading Netflix Opens a New Themed Restaurant in Las Vegas Casino

CES: Splay Provides a Foldable, Wrinkle-Free, Portable Display

Amongst the exhibits of Hong Kong technology companies at CES 2025 in Las Vegas last week, our team found a 24-inch, wrinkle-free, portable display made of optical polymer material that can be flexibly folded like a bag. Marketed as the Splay, this radical device — a CES Innovation Awardee from last year — is a collaboration of Hong Kong’s Nano and Advanced Materials Institute (NAMI) and U.S. company Arovia. The back of Splay connects with a compact DLP projector box the size of a book that shows high-contrast 2K resolution image on the screen. Continue reading CES: Splay Provides a Foldable, Wrinkle-Free, Portable Display

CES: Netflix and Mastercard Partner on ‘Experience’ Marketing

Mastercard Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Raja Rajamannar is quite clear on his opinion of current marketing practices. “The strategies to get the right consumer insights are totally flawed,” he said. “Every single aspect of marketing has to be reinvented.” In a CES panel on “Revolutionizing Customer Engagement,” Rajamannar and Netflix Vice President of Consumer Products Josh Simon described their partnership efforts to create experiences that engage the fanbase. The discussion, led by influencer.com Chief Executive Ben Jeffries, first focused on why traditional marketing strategies are failing. Continue reading CES: Netflix and Mastercard Partner on ‘Experience’ Marketing

CES: How Brands and Marketers Are Integrating AI, Creativity

Billed as a conversation among CMOs, this CES panel — moderated by Consumer Technology Association VP of Marketing & Communications Melissa Harrison — drilled down into how major brands and advertising technology companies are integrating artificial intelligence into their pipelines and organizations. They agreed that, although this is still at the beginning stage and requires experimentation, those who are frozen and have not yet started engaging with AI will quickly be at a learning curve disadvantage. Still, panelists emphasized that AI will not replace human creativity. Continue reading CES: How Brands and Marketers Are Integrating AI, Creativity