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This PBS News Hour clip got me thinking... Social media used to be about sharing life. Increasingly, it feels like it's about performing one, and the platforms have helped make it that way. We're spending enormous amounts of time consuming content selected for us by algorithms rather than simply catching up with people we know. Meta reported that 75% of Instagram's U.S. recommendations came from original posts in the fourth quarter of 2025, a 10-percentage-point increase but

(Adweek House speakers during Advertising Week 2026 in NYC included Amanda Hirsch, Founder, creator, and host of Not Skinny But Not Fat, Steve, Founder, Chair and Chief Innovation Officer of Zappi, and Robert "Gronk" Gronkowski 4x Super Bowl Champion, Sports Broadcaster, and Entrepreneur) Advertising Week in New York is a good metaphor for marketing right now: fast, crowded, fragmented and full of possibility. After a day at ADWEEK House, one idea connected many of the conver

Over the past year, PLR Group has had the privilege of working with Centro Cívico Cultural Dominicano (CCCD) at a meaningful moment in its history. Our work began around individual initiatives and moments, helping strengthen how CCCD communicated its legacy, cultural impact and role in the community. Along the way, that work included support around events such as Hats & Gloves, community programming and the historic street naming honoring founder Dr. Marilú María D. Galván. W

Advertising Week New York is back October 5–8, bringing more than 500 sessions and 1,300 speakers to New York. That is a lot of content to navigate. If, like me, you’re particularly interested in the intersection of AI, brand marketing, media and culture, there are a few conversations I’d put at the top of the list. Here are 10 sessions on my radar: 1. The Creator Advantage in AI Search Monday, October 5 | 8:00 AM Search is quickly becoming an AI conversation. This session ex

Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese at Climate Week NYC Opening Ceremony. I went into the opening of Climate Week NYC expecting a conversation about climate. I left thinking much more about business. Across discussions about energy, infrastructure, AI, capital, cities, supply chains and national security, one idea kept resurfacing: climate is no longer something companies can contain within a sustainability function or an annual CSR report. It is becoming an operat

MediaPost Editorial Chart on IAB Spending. The advertising market is having a better 2026 than many expected. The IAB has revised its forecast for U.S. ad spending growth to 12.3%, up significantly from the 9.5% it projected in January. Strong performance around the Winter Olympics and FIFA World Cup, easing concerns about the economy and expectations surrounding the midterm elections have all contributed. The optimism is not isolated. Madison and Wall recently raised its own

Edit: The campaign was recently featured in Campaign US’ Movers & Shakers. I started working with The People’s Theatre in September 2025, as the organization prepared for one of the most important moments in its history: the opening of its new Centro Cultural Inmigrante in Upper Manhattan. Today, we’re sharing another major piece of that work: a new :60 brand film, voiced by Lin-Manuel Miranda and brought to life in collaboration with Reel Track Media. At the center of the ca

Earlier this year, I wrote about Bad Bunny’s Grammy success and what it said about who gets to define “mainstream” culture. This weekend gave us another answer. Bad Bunny won his first Emmy for the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, which took Outstanding Variety Special (Live). The production swept all seven categories in which it was nominated, making it the most awarded Super Bowl halftime show in Emmy history. That distinction matters beyond another trophy for Benit

Brand reputation can take decades to build, piece by piece. But as Tetris itself demonstrated this week, someone else can suddenly drop a piece into your brand story that you never asked for. On September 3, the White House launched an online “Arcade” featuring five retro-style games designed around Trump Administration policy priorities. Among them is “Build the Wall,” a falling-block game clearly modeled on Tetris that asks players to “protect the border from the coming hor

When I started PLR Group Inc. as a solopreneur, the path forward wasn’t necessarily clear. I spent 20+ years in marketing, media and innovation, working with/for brands and agencies but the context of the work was always within a team even when I was a single contributor within an organization. As a team of one, I needed to now be responsible for elements end-to-end and AI was an inevitable part of that journey for me. I was particularly wary of using AI in ways that could fl

Some campaigns begin with a press conference. Others begin with a media buy. The People's Theatre's La Casa de Todos (The Home of NY Stories) campaign began where it belonged: in the streets, surrounded by the community it was created to serve. This past weekend, The People's Theatre officially launched its public campaign during New York City's Dominican Day Parade, marking the first major milestone in the countdown to the opening of The People's Theatre: Centro Cultural Inm

Influencer marketing has moved from an experimental line item to a central part of the media mix. A 2026 Influencer Marketing Hub survey found that 72.2% of respondents expect their influencer marketing budgets to increase by at least 50% this year. Creators are also being invited into the process earlier, contributing to product development, campaign ideas and broader brand strategy rather than simply delivering sponsored posts. The appeal is clear. Creators offer personalit

Spain defeated Argentina 1–0 in extra time on July 19, 2026, denying Lionel Messi and the defending champions a second consecutive World Cup title. But the more revealing story may be how many neutral fans, particularly across Latin America, actively wanted Argentina to lose. It would be an exaggeration to say the entire world is against Argentina. The team still commands enormous support, and Argentina fans reportedly represented a substantial majority of the crowd at the fi

If you've been following the headlines, you might think AI shopping has already arrived. OpenAI, Google, Amazon, Shopify, PayPal, and nearly every major retailer are racing to build AI-powered shopping experiences. At Cannes Lions earlier this summer, commerce and AI dominated conversations, with companies showcasing everything from agentic shopping assistants to AI-powered product discovery. Yet new research tells a more nuanced story. According to a recent EMARKETER and Biz

For years, retail media has been the fastest-growing channel in advertising. The promise was simple: reach shoppers closer to the point of purchase using first-party transaction data. Now the conversation is changing. At eMarketer's Cannes Lions session on the future of retail media, one message came through loud and clear: retail media no longer needs to prove it works. It needs to prove it can operate at the same level of accountability as every other major media channel. T

In June, I had the privilege of celebrating The People’s Theatre at its annual gala, an evening filled with artists, patrons, community leaders, cultural advocates, and people who believe deeply in the power of stories. It was also a moment to honor the leadership of Mino Lora, Bob Braswell, and the entire team, whose work over nearly two decades has helped build one of the most important arts and culture organizations in Upper Manhattan. What they have created is more than a

Some projects remind us why we do this work. Last weekend, the Centro Cívico Cultural Dominicano and the West Harlem community came together to celebrate the official street naming of Dr. Marilú Galván Way, honoring a woman whose lifelong commitment to education, civic engagement, and Dominican culture transformed countless lives across New York City. The day was far more than the unveiling of a street sign. It was a celebration of legacy. Family, elected officials, community

Yes, AI was everywhere. But unlike previous years, the conversation wasn't about experimenting with generative AI or chasing the latest tools. It was about applying AI to solve real business problems, improve customer experiences, and create measurable value. Across the Croisette, from the Shelly Palmer Innovation Series Breakfast and Amazon Port to Inkwell Beach, ADWEEK House, and countless conversations with creatives, marketers, technologists, and creators a common theme e

Byline: Co-Authors Jean Marc Papin, Blue Wind Advisory & Pedro L. Rodriguez, PLR Group Inc. If there was one theme that emerged from conversations at Cannes Lions this year, it was this: organizations have moved beyond asking whether they should invest in AI. They're now asking where AI actually creates value. At the Shelly Palmer Innovation Series breakfast, leaders from Taco Bell, Uber, U.S. Bank, Adobe, OpenAI, and others approached the topic from different perspectives, b

For years, brands treated gaming like a reach play. Another place to buy impressions, a screen to interrupt or audience segment to check off the media plan. Gaming in 2026 is mainstream culture. It is entertainment, social connection, commerce, fandom, live events, creator media and community all operating inside interactive worlds. The video game industry enters 2026 at peak cultural power, with a global audience projected at 3.6 billion and sales set to reach $188.8 billion