P2Pi Feature: Why Retail Media Measurement Is Lagging
Research Reveals Why Retail Media Measurement Is Lagging Expectations By Michael Applebaum January 5, 2026 Retail media is maturing faster than the systems used to measure it. New research examines why attribution alone isn’t enough — and how brands can rethink measurement to unlock true incremental value. As retail media matures, expectations around performance are rising faster […]
Feature: As AI Eats Web Traffic, Don’t Panic—Evolve
As AI Eats Web Traffic, Don’t Panic—Evolve An SEO expert offers three tips for adapting to “zero click” searches and chatbots. Based on insights from Kelly Cutler, an associate professor at the Medill School of Journalism and lecturer in the Kellogg Executive Education program, December 1, 2025 For many websites, 2025 has been a rude […]
Google AI Overviews Decoded
At the Spiegel Research Center, we collaborate with faculty, organizations, and students on advertising research projects. One of the ways we engage students is through the Spiegel Scholars Program, where they collect and analyze real-world data, develop recommendations for marketing managers, and identify opportunities for future research at the Spiegel Research Center. This summer, the […]
Insights From P2PI LIVE & Expo: Shopper Emotion
At the Path to Purchase Institute’s P2PI LIVE & Expo, new research highlighted how deeply emotion shapes today’s shopping experience—and what that means for brands and retailers. The findings show that retailers perform very differently when it comes to both emotional impact and ease of shopping, pointing to opportunities to borrow best practices across channels, […]
ANA Feature: GEO Is the New SEO
GEO Is the New SEO Generative engine optimization — or how to supply content that will capture AI bots’ attention — is gaining ground By Chuck Kapelke October 29, 2025 sk ChatGPT for its opinion on the best search engine optimization (SEO) agency for the cybersecurity industry, and one name consistently shows up near the […]
ANA Feature: AI and Small Business Marketing
SMBs Ratchet Up Their Social Media Presence Small- and medium-sized businesses are starting to leverage AI to close the content creation gap By Dominick Fils-Aimé October 1, 2025 In ancient times, say 2010, social media was mainly considered the domain of large, consumer-facing companies with ample marketing budgets. However, in the last decade, social media […]
Consumer Adoption of AI Search Is Accelerating: Implications for Marketing Practice
Executive Summary Research points to a fundamental reconfiguration of search, with AI tools accelerating adoption, changing consumer behaviors and challenging marketing frameworks. AI-driven search is not a peripheral trend but a transformative force redefining discoverability. The question is no longer if marketers should adapt, but how quickly they can realign strategies to remain relevant in this […]
Grandparents Represented 14% of Back-to-School Shoppers: Don’t Miss Them in Your Seasonal Campaign
Back-to-school season is one of the biggest shopping seasons of the year for families across the country. It’s also an important time for advertisers, as parents and students spend heavily—much of it online. In fact, the National Retail Federation projects that back-to-school spending will reach $128 billion this year (National Retail Federation, 2025). Yet one […]
Harvard Independent: Journalism at Risk in the AI Era
Generative AI is changing how we discover information—and journalism is caught in the middle. When large language models can synthesize reporting instantly, fewer readers click through to the sources that fund newsroom jobs and months-long investigations. That’s the tension at the heart of Harvard Independent’s new piece, which features insight from Kelly Cutler, Associate Professor and […]
The Evolution of Digital Marketing in the Era of AI
The Evolution of Digital Marketing in the Era of AI By Kelly Cutler, Northwestern University The Evolution of Digital Data privacy has taken the spotlight recently, reshaping the way businesses approach digital marketing. Overarching federal and state regulations combined with changing technology, like the deprecation of third-party cookies and the rise of global ad blockers, […]