Why embracing waste is the secret to marketing innovation and success
PLUS: Insights from Wyclef Jean, Evan Spiegel, and industry leaders this week
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Highlights from today’s newsletter:
Why LLM benchmarks matter for creative effectiveness
5 tips from Unilever’s CMO on leading with purpose in a performance-driven world
Nespresso’s Jessica Padula shares how she leads both marketing and sustainability at an $8 billion brand
EDITOR’S PICK
#EVENT INSIGHTS
When reporting rewards the last click, budgets follow it, and growth gets more expensive. At a recent ClickZ event with Fospha and Google, experts argued that measurement is no longer a tidy report but the operating system for growth.
Fospha’s Dom Devlin warned that mis-measurement leads to mis-spend, while Google’s Brandon Klausner urged marketers to build systems that combine attribution, incrementality, and MMM into one consistent picture. The conversation showed how logging exposures and aligning brand and performance teams on a single plan can turn measurement into a confidence engine – one that a CFO can trust.
#EVENT INSIGHTS
At Smartly Advance, leaders from Amazon, Meta, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest and Smartly made it clear that AI now carries as much responsibility as potential. Alan Moss urged marketers to stop treating brand and performance as separate goals, saying AI gives them the ability to achieve both at once. Judy Toland shared how Meta’s $100B+ investment in AI is levelling the playing field for smaller businesses, while Bill Watkins explained how Pinterest’s move to make under-16 profiles private helped Gen Z grow to half its audience.
TikTok spoke about rebuilding trust, and YouTube showed how its tools cut friction in the creative process. The message running through the event was one of confidence – the biggest players are using AI to design growth models that work for brands and for consumers.
This week, the ClickZ team is on the ground at ADVANCE 2025 and Shoptalk Fall, capturing the top topics discussed by the industry and exclusive insights from brand leaders.
For Shoptalk Fall insights, check our Unofficially Shoptalk.
For ADVANCE 2025 insights, visit our ClickZ website.
WHAT WE ARE READING
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Springboards’ benchmark comparing ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and others offers a first look at how well AI performs on creative tasks. The study reveals that results are closer than expected, which means model choice should align with task type and workflow rather than popularity. Marketers should experiment with several models and use AI to explore unexpected directions rather than simply producing faster versions of familiar ideas. |
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Lego’s latest campaign with Tom Holland shows how a single, high-impact creative decision can elevate a brand story. Using one actor across multiple roles highlights the emotional power of play and makes the concept memorable. Marketers can take note: bold casting or a unifying creative device can turn a campaign into something audiences want to share and talk about. |
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Marketers are prioritizing flexible, threshold-based ad deals over upfront commitments due to economic instability and tariff pressures, requiring rigorous budget justification to CFOs. This shift toward financial accountability ties spend directly to measurable outcomes and incrementality, ensuring ad dollars generate verifiable value. |
INSIDER EVENT SCOOP
Hot Take from ADVANCE 2025 by Smartly
What Wyclef Jean Shared
What Unilever’s CMO Shared
WHAT WE ARE LISTENING TO
THE CMO PODCAST
Nespresso USA’s Jessica Padula joins The CMO Podcast to share how she leads both marketing and sustainability at an $8 billion brand. The conversation explores what it takes to grow a direct-to-consumer business while staying true to a brand’s values. Marketers will hear how Nespresso approaches innovation, builds purpose into strategy, and keeps its message consistent across 81 countries.
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