News in Brief

 

Unilever, others lead shift to social-first marketing   (Nuthawut Somsuk/Getty Images) Unilever is leading a shift to social-first marketing, with CEO Fernando Fernandez increasing the company's social media investment from 30% to 50% of its $10.2 billion annual budget. The strategy includes a significant rise in influencer collaborations to address consumer skepticism toward brand messaging. Amazon, Clorox and others are following suit as Unilever's approach has already shown positive results, with a 3.4% rise in sales in the first half of this year. Full Story: Ad Age (link gifted) (11/12)

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Does Amazon DSP pose a threat to Google, The Trade Desk? Amazon has expanded its demand-side platform through select deals with publishers and advertising companies, designed to position it as a competitor to Google Display & Video 360 and The Trade Desk. The DSP uses Amazon's first-party data for comprehensive marketing solutions, recently integrating with Roku, Disney and Netflix to expand inventory. The moves have led some marketers to shift ad spend to Amazon DSP, highlighting Amazon's growing influence in digital advertising. Full Story: Marketing Dive (11/10) ANA reports programmatic ad risk remains extremely low The Association of National Advertisers' third-quarter Programmatic Transparency Benchmark has added brand safety and suitability benchmarks and reveals that 99.1% of programmatic media buys are in "low risk" environments. The benchmark also found that 45.5% of programmatic ad buys are linked with positive brand sentiment, with 53% neutral and 1.6% negative. Full Story: MediaPost Communications (free registration) (11/12) Threads introduces visually enhanced podcast links, profile features TechCrunch (tiered subscription model) (11/11) YouTube expands Hype program to boost rising creators Social Media Today (11/11)

The 88% Budget Trap Costing App Marketers Growth While 88% of consumer app marketing spend stays locked in walled gardens like Google and Meta, users are spreading their time across 3 million independent apps. Marketers who follow this shift see up to 214% ROAS improvements—but most budgets haven't caught up yet. Access the insight

F&B revenue drives US hotel growth as room sales slow Food and beverage revenue has emerged as a key growth driver for US hotels in 2025, compensating for sluggish growth in room revenues. During the first half of the year, F&B revenue per occupied room grew by 3.8%, outpacing the 3% increase in overall hotel revenue. This growth has been fueled by investments in creative dining concepts, revitalized venues and a focus on both in-house and external patrons. Hotels have been able to increase F&B prices due to improved offerings and enhanced guest engagement. Full Story: Lodging (11/7)

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Kessler, Highgate join forces to elevate luxury hospitality The Kessler Collection has entered a strategic alliance with Highgate, which will manage several Kessler hotels, including the JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District in Savannah, Ga., and the Casa Monica Resort & Spa in St. Augustine, Fla. Kessler's property-level staff and key corporate leaders will join Highgate's new Kessler Hospitality luxury and lifestyle division. Full Story: Hotel Business (tiered subscription model) (11/5) China's hotel construction pipeline rises 10% in Q3 China's hotel construction pipeline grew 10% year over year in the third quarter to 3,695 projects with 656,873 rooms, according to Lodging Econometrics. Of these, 2,728 projects are already under construction, while others are in planning or scheduled to start soon. Cities with the largest pipelines are Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Xi'an. Full Story: Hotel Business (tiered subscription model) (11/11) Cricket stadium in Ga. to include boutique hotel, retail Construction of the first privately owned cricket stadium in the US has begun in LaGrange, Ga., on Tom Hall Parkway. The LaGrange Cricket Stadium, developed by Selig Enterprises, will seat more than 10,000 fans and is expected to open in early 2027. The site will also feature a FIFA-regulated soccer field, boutique hotel, shops and restaurants. Full Story: WSB-TV (Atlanta) (11/7)

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