Each day, New Digital Age gathers the most interesting digital marketing industry news from around the web…
ECOMMERCE
Bloomberg – Takahiko Hyua, 10th August 2026
Rakuten earns first profit in six years due to e-commerce jump
Rakuten Group Inc. earned its first net income in six years thanks to surging growth in its e-commerce and fintech segments, with help from the company’s chatbot.
CREATORS
Digiday – Kimeko McCoy, 10th August 2026
Zoom relies on creators to boost AI search results
Zoom has a brand awareness problem, but not in the way that you think. The tech company is trying to convince people that it’s an end-to-end, AI-first work platform rather than just a meetings platform, and it’s building an AI visibility strategy with creators to accomplish that.
HOLDCOS
Campaign – Beau Jackson, Elena Lewis, 10th August 2026
$5.4 billion and counting: who has won the biggest holdco pitches of 2026 so far?
With Adidas, HP, Just Eat and more now in the mix – how has this affected holdcos’ 2026 win streak?
AI
Digiday – Krystal Scanlon, 10th August 2026
OpenAI is coming for SMB advertisers
Want to know where OpenAI’s ads business is headed? Check its job listings. Smaller advertisers are next.
Futurism – Victor Tangermann, 8th August 2026
Time Magazine Now Running Ads Meant Specifically to Influence AI Agents
Social media platforms have been flooded with low-effort AI slop, while even once renowned publications are doubling down on the tech by outsourcing writing and editing responsibilities to the tech. In June, Cloudflare found that website traffic from AI agents and bots had overtaken human-generated traffic for the first time — even earlier than predicted.
LAYOFFS
Performance Marketing World – Robin Langford, 10th August 2026
VideoAmp cuts 20% of staff as agentic AI reshapes ad measurement
The US-based firm is also dropping its Chief Technology Officer role, as it shifts from competing with Nielsen to becoming an AI-powered marketing outcomes provider.
STREAMING
Advanced Television – 10 August 2026
Analysis: N American ad-supported tiers 54% of OTT revs
Subscription streamers in North America, such as Netflix and Disney+, have embraced ad tiers, and across both advertising and subscription revenues, ad tiers are now the dominant monetisation model in the region. Ampere Analysis expects these to account for more than half (54 per cent) of total subscription streaming service (subscription OTT) revenues in North America by the end of the year. As the world’s most mature streaming market increasingly relies on advertising to drive growth, the region offers a clear indication of where the global streaming market is heading.
