YouTube Becomes a Full-Funnel Platform

The DL: YouTube should no longer be treated as a standalone video channel; it now plays across social, CTV, creator, and emerging AI-driven discovery. Shorts can be a valuable upper-funnel layer, delivering efficient reach and frequency at lower CPMs, but its lower completion rates mean it should not be evaluated like traditional YouTube or SmartTV placements. Instead, Shorts needs its own KPI framework focused on reach, CPM, frequency, incremental audience, and engaged views rather than VCR alone. The strongest strategy is to use YouTube holistically – Shorts for scale, long-form for storytelling depth, creators for authenticity, and Cross-Device/SmartTV for stronger completed-view delivery.

CTV Becomes a Must Have Channel

The DL: Connected TV (CTV) is rapidly becoming a must-have channel, with Rakuten TV finding that 100% of surveyed marketers plan to include CTV in their media mix as advertising expands beyond traditional video spots into homescreen, pause-screen, and display placements. These new ad formats give brands more opportunities to reach viewers in less cluttered, high-attention environments while they browse streaming content. For marketers, the key takeaway is that CTV is evolving from a video-only channel into a broader, digitally measurable advertising ecosystem that combines TV-scale reach with the targeting and attribution capabilities of digital media. Brands that test and optimize these emerging placements early may gain a competitive advantage as streaming audiences continue to grow and ad-supported viewing becomes more common.

Marketing Success Starts with the Basics

The DL: As AI and automation continue to reshape marketing, there is a strong case for getting back to the fundamentals: understanding the customer, building compelling offers, and creating content people actually want to engage with. The takeaway is clear: tools and tactics can amplify a strategy, but they can’t fix weak messaging, unclear value, or an offer that doesn’t solve a real problem. For brands looking further into 2026, the winners will be the ones that combine smart technology with strong market insight, attention-worthy creative, and a clear focus on long-term customer value.

MediAI Minute

Earned Media Powers AI Visibility

DL: New research from the media-intelligence company Meltwater shows that earned media is a primary source for AI-generated answers, making PR a critical driver of brand discoverability and trust. One of the most striking findings is the central role of earned media: Nearly half of all citations in AI-generated responses come from news sources. Across all LLMs, news media sources accounted for 48% of citations, and on ChatGPT that figure was 66%. Recency is also important because, unlike traditional SEO where strong pillar content could provide value for years, in LLM visibility the majority (58% by their analysis) of citations for content is under a year old. This reinforces something PR professionals have long known: Credibility matters. But it also elevates the function in a new way, because earned media is now a primary input into how AI systems understand and represent your brand.