ROI-first messaging, clean room strategy, and the email rules that gate deliverability.
This week: Human-AI collaboration for creative and sales, a cautious ad spend outlook, and B2B’s move into Connected TV. And the shifting landscape of data compliance, plus new trends in SaaS procurement.
AI & Human Collaboration in Creative and Sales
AI isn’t replacing creative and sales teams—it’s becoming their mandatory collaborator. The conversation has shifted from replacement to augmentation, focusing on how technology makes human-led initiatives more effective and scalable.
A recent field experiment found that pairing humans with AI to generate ad creative boosted both productivity and performance, proving the value of a "centaur" approach. This aligns with G2’s latest buyer behavior report, which shows that AI is now ‘always included’ in software evaluations. Meanwhile, 6sense’s 2025 BDR benchmark highlights that as buyers delay live sales contact, successful organizations lead with value and multi-thread within accounts.
Your teams need AI as a copilot, not an autopilot. Equip creative teams with tools to scale testing and analyze what resonates. For sales development, revise compensation and cadences to reward quality interactions and account penetration, using AI to surface intent signals rather than simply increasing raw activity.
BIG IDEA: The most effective GTM teams aren't replacing people with AI, but arming their best people with AI to scale what already works.
WHY IT MATTERS: As buyers become more discerning and self-sufficient, your competitive edge comes from using AI to enhance human creativity and intelligence, not just automate tasks.
Evolving Ad Spend & Channel Optimization
While global ad spend forecasts are being trimmed, the digital picture is more nuanced, demanding surgical precision in channel strategy. The macro environment is creating headwinds, but specific digital channels continue to show remarkable resilience and growth.
Major agencies and industry groups like WPP and the IAB have revised 2025 growth forecasts down to approximately 6% amid trade policy uncertainty. Yet, the market did cross the $1 trillion threshold in 2024, and digital bright spots like social, retail media, and CTV are still projected for double-digit gains. Compounding this, organic discovery is changing, with new data showing that ‘zero-click’ searches are at an all-time high.
This isn’t the time for across-the-board cuts, but for strategic reallocation. Re-evaluate your channel mix with the assumption that Google is often a destination, not just a doorway. This means strengthening branded search, structured data, and other on-SERP assets. On paid channels, Tinuiti’s Q3 benchmarks show that while LinkedIn CPMs remain elevated, the platform continues to deliver strong B2B outcomes.
BIG IDEA: Overall ad market growth is slowing, but budget shifts toward high-performance digital channels and on-SERP optimization are accelerating.
WHY IT MATTERS: You must defend your budget by demonstrating sophisticated understanding of channel performance, doubling down on what works, and cutting underperformers, even if they were once reliable.
Connected TV for B2B Targeting
The B2B buyer’s living room is officially an addressable market. For years, Connected TV felt like a consumer-only play, but the infrastructure to target and measure B2B audiences on streaming services is finally maturing.
The big news is that LinkedIn CTV ads are now live via Innovid, allowing marketers to extend their account and persona-based targeting to the biggest screen in the house. This move, along with new partnerships with content providers like Paramount, signals a major push to capture B2B brand budgets. Given that LinkedIn captured nearly half of all B2B digital display spend in 2024, CTV is its logical next frontier.
This development makes true full-funnel video a reality for B2B marketers. Consider using CTV for high-impact "air cover" campaigns that target executives at your top accounts in a premium, lean-back environment. As Nielsen highlights, the primary challenge remains measurement and identity interoperability, so prioritize partners who can prove cross-channel outcomes.
BIG IDEA: B2B advertising is moving to the living room as platforms like LinkedIn build the pipes to target professional audiences on streaming services.
WHY IT MATTERS: You now have a scalable, high-impact channel for reaching senior decision-makers and buying committees outside of their work devices, perfect for brand building and ABM.
Data Privacy & Compliance in Marketing
While the third-party cookie’s demise is on hold, the compliance landscape for email and lead generation is getting more complex, not less. The reprieve from Google is not a signal to relax; regulatory scrutiny is simply shifting to other parts of the marketing stack.
Chrome’s third-party cookie phaseout remains paused and conditional, but this delay doesn’t change the long-term trajectory. Meanwhile, other rules are actively shaping operations. Gmail’s bulk-sender requirements for DMARC, one-click unsubscribes, and low spam rates are now non-negotiable for ensuring deliverability. The legal front is even more volatile; a recent 11th Circuit ruling undercut the FCC’s one-to-one consent rule for TCPA.
Don’t let the cookie delay breed complacency. Your first-party data strategy—including server-side tagging, consent management, and clean rooms—is still the most durable investment. For email, audit your lists and technical setup to protect your sender reputation. Most critically, coordinate with legal counsel on lead generation practices. The shifting TCPA landscape requires rigorous documentation of consent and clear understanding of jurisdictional differences.
BIG IDEA: The compliance burden is shifting from cookies to consent, with email deliverability and lead generation practices under the microscope.
WHY IT MATTERS: A single misstep in email or TCPA compliance can have more immediate and severe consequences than the loss of third-party cookies, risking fines and reputational damage.
SaaS Spending, Value, and Procurement Trends
After years of consolidation and budget cuts, SaaS spending is rising again—but this time, procurement is watching every line item with an eagle eye. The pressure to justify every tool is higher than ever, forcing vendors to sharpen their value propositions.
For the first time in three years, Zylo’s 2025 Management Index shows that the average company’s SaaS spend is growing. This isn’t just from adding new tools; vendors are getting more aggressive on pricing. Vertice reports that SaaS inflation hit ~11% in the past year, far outpacing CPI. In response, buyers are becoming more sophisticated. Vendr’s data shows that while overall contract values are flattening, discounting is more surgical, and Ramp’s spending benchmarks confirm that AI and data tooling line items are the ones getting approved.
This new environment demands a procurement-proof value proposition. Arm your sales team with ROI calculators, efficiency metrics, and case studies that speak directly to FinOps. Frame your product not as another expense, but as a tool for cost avoidance or a driver of efficient growth, the defining metric for today’s top cloud companies. For your own marketing stack, budget for renewal price hikes and be prepared to negotiate terms based on actual usage.
BIG IDEA: SaaS spending is back on the rise, but it's now a buyer's market where ROI, not relationships, dictates purchasing and renewal decisions.
WHY IT MATTERS: If your marketing and sales teams can't clearly articulate your product's financial impact, you will lose deals to competitors who can—and you'll overpay for your own tech stack.
As we head into the final stretch of the year, the mandate is clear: find the intersection of innovation and efficiency. It’s about making smart bets on new frontiers like CTV while ensuring every dollar, whether spent on ads or software, is rigorously justified.
How are you balancing the push for innovative new channels against the demand for proven, short-term ROI?
