Pinterest ad upgrades drive rising advertiser spend | ClickZ Digital Ad Platform Newsletter

PLUS: YouTube's new "Peak Points" feature

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Welcome to ClickZ Digital Ad Platform News, your essential newsletter for digital marketers and eCommerce professionals.

Only Got 2 Minutes? ⏱️

For many finance teams, brand has become shorthand for expensive campaigns with little proven impact. The result= when budgets tighten, brand is often the first to be cut.

Marketers know this is a mistake, but they don’t have the data to prove it - until now.

🔐 Fospha’s latest research uses Bayesian network modelling to uncover the causal relationship between brand spend and commercial outcomes like conversions and AOV.

🍸 Meet us at The Lead Summit - drinks on us

ClickZ Media is hosting an informal drinks reception on 29 May at 4:30 PM, just a short walk from The Lead Summit venue—somewhere stylish in NYC’s FiDi district.

Expect bold conversation, sharp minds, and good wine—no speeches, no badge scans. Just the people driving the future of commerce.

🔒 Limited spots – Exact location revealed after RSVP

Sector Spotlight 🎥

INNOVATIVE AD TECHNOLOGY

YouTube’s new Peak Points feature, powered by Gemini AI, pinpoints key moments of highest viewer engagement in videos and places ads immediately after them, increasing ad relevance and campaign effectiveness. 

This AI-driven system allows marketers to target audiences at their most attentive, reducing friction and potentially raising CPMs. Its implementation signals a move toward contextual, actionable ad placements, making it particularly relevant for brands aiming to maximize investment during pivotal cultural moments.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Pinterest’s enhanced ad platform is driving notable year-over-year ad spend growth, with performance marketing tools attracting larger advertiser budgets, although these remain a fraction of Meta’s. Strategic partnerships, such as with Magnite, protect flexibility and scale reach without heavy investment. Marketers should monitor Pinterest’s evolving lower-funnel capabilities for emerging opportunities.

INFLUENCER MARKETING

Brands like Domino’s, Byoma, and Wingstop are increasingly integrating creators and influencers into campaigns, leveraging influencer-driven in-store displays, branded social content, and emerging AI tools on platforms like TikTok.

These shifts highlight the growing importance of creator partnerships and advanced measurement strategies for marketers seeking to drive measurable impact. Marketers should assess these evolving channels for audience engagement, brand relevance, and ongoing performance evaluation.

OMNICHANNEL MARKETING

Omnichannel campaigns connect with customers through SMS, email, chat apps, and in-store touchpoints by maintaining consistent messaging and adapting to communication preferences, supporting higher trust and loyalty. Technology integration—such as automation, APIs, and advanced analytics—enables timely personalization, ongoing optimization, and measurable performance improvements.

Marketing professionals gain actionable frameworks for mapping customer journeys, segmenting audiences, and refining cross-channel engagement to drive growth.

Influencer Corner 📢

Optimization Hub ⚙️

INNOVATIVE SHOPPING TECHNOLOGIES

Agentic AI is rapidly transforming eCommerce by automating purchase paths, driving down margins through instant price comparisons, and disrupting product discovery and ad performance, requiring marketers to rethink content strategies and adapt to algorithm-driven environments. Despite current hesitancy among shoppers, early adoption offers retailers a critical edge.

RETAIL MEDIA INNOVATION

First-party data and omnichannel integration are reshaping retail media by providing marketers with measurable KPIs like ROAS and new-to-brand buyers, driving precise targeting and ROI accountability. Emerging technologies—including AI-driven optimization and data clean rooms—enable brands to link campaigns directly to in-store and online sales. Marketers seeking practical, results-driven channels should recognize retail media’s mounting role in achieving measurable growth, particularly as digital-physical attribution improves.

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