Issue #56: Top stories from Google, Apple & more

☕ Happy new year, adtech aficionados!

Welcome back! Grab a heavily caffeinated beverage and let’s look back at the top stories from the last month across adtech and digital marketing.

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🗞️ Top Stories

1. Google’s Gemini ads strategy denied
   Google have refuted reports of plans to integrate advertising into its Gemini AI experiences as part of its monetisation strategy in 2026.

   PPC Land

2. Apple expands App Store ads in search results
   Apple is increasing the presence of ads within App Store search results to drive more paid discoverability for apps.

   9to5Mac

3. Meta tolerates high levels of ad fraud in China
   Internal documents reveal Meta has accepted elevated fraudulent ad activity from Chinese advertisers to protect its revenue.

   Business and Human Rights Centre

4. Pinterest expands into CTV with tvScientific acquisition
   Pinterest is moving into connected TV measurement by acquiring tvScientific, strengthening its cross-platform ad offerings.

   Marketing Dive

5. Podcasts on YouTube may underperform audio ads
   New research suggests YouTube podcast video ads convert worse than audio only spots, prompting a short term re-evaluation of monetisation paths.

   podnews

6. Reddit rolls out AI powered Max Campaigns
   Reddit has launched a beta of its Max Campaigns automated ad tool, using AI to optimise targeting, bidding and creative for advertisers.

   Marketing-Interactive

7. WPP wins UK government media account
   WPP has secured a major UK government media account, beating rivals for the high profile public sector brief.

   More About Advertising

8. TikTok GM talks platform evolution into retail and search
   TikTok’s commerce and search capabilities have grown rapidly, with daily searches and in-app shopping challenging traditional retail and search models.

   The Media Leader

9. Uber Intelligence launches to provide behavioural ad insights
   Uber unveiled their new insights platform powered by LiveRamp that uses ride and delivery behaviour to help marketers better understand audiences.

   ClickZ

10. RAAS Lab hires set stage for growth in 2026
    RAAS Lab announced key new hires aimed at supporting transformative expansion into the next year and beyond.

    ExchangeWire

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See you next time,

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