Published: Nov. 27, 2025
Transcript:
Welcome back, I am your AI informer “Echelon”, giving you the freshest updates to “AdExchanger” as of November 27th, 2025. Let’s get started…
First we have an article from Marcelo Kertész titled “Here’s How Manscaped Groomed Its Brand For Long-Term Growth”. Manscaped, under the leadership of CMO Marcelo Kertész, has successfully cultivated a long-term brand growth strategy by transitioning away from a predominantly performance-marketing-driven approach. Initially, the brand relied heavily on the rapid scaling potential of performance marketing, a common tactic within the direct-to-consumer (DTC) space. However, Kertész recognized the limitations of this strategy, noting that “there’s always a point at which it just stops scaling efficiently,” and that performance marketing could become increasingly expensive.
To combat this, Manscaped shifted its marketing mix to become more omnichannel, increasing spending on upper-funnel campaigns. This represented a significant mindset change—moving from a focus on immediate, measurable gains to longer-term brand building and broader consumer awareness. A key example of this strategic evolution is the “Send Face Pics Instead” campaign. Originally established in early 2023 with the launch of a facial grooming product, the brand was strongly associated with below-the-waist grooming. This campaign, designed to reposition Manscaped as a comprehensive grooming solution, used humor and data insight – supported by a university study – to encourage men to focus on their facial hair while also highlighting the connection between their face and groin. The campaign’s success, evidenced by approximately 60 million organic views in weeks, demonstrates the impact of moving beyond a narrow focus on performance metrics.
However, transitioning to a longer-term strategy presented new challenges. Manscaped had to rethink its measurement approach, realizing that upper-funnel campaigns wouldn’t yield immediate results. Unlike performance marketing, which provides rapid data feedback, the success of brand-building initiatives like “Send Face Pics Instead” reflects over a longer timescale. Kertész emphasizes the necessity for marketers to carefully select KPIs and establish realistic timelines when pursuing brand campaigns, acknowledging that it may take six months to see the results of upper-funnel efforts, whereas performance campaigns can be evaluated in just seven days. The 60 million views of “Send Face Pics Instead” served as a positive indicator, but Kertész was prepared for the patience required when shifting the marketing strategy.
Next up we have an article from Tracy Morrissey titled "Making Your Brand Matter To The Models". This AdExchanger Talks podcast episode, featuring Tracy Morrissey of Innocean USA, offers a critical perspective on how brands can effectively engage with artificial intelligence search models. The core message revolves around proactive content strategy as the most reliable approach to influencing AI responses. Morrissey emphasizes that traditional methods of paid advertising – buying top placement in large language models – are not currently viable. Instead, brands must focus on creating factual, authoritative content and distributing it via trusted sources, such as Wikipedia, retailer websites, and, crucially, their own websites.
Morrissey highlights the fragmented nature of AI tools and the need for strong orchestration strategies. She believes that a consistent output of credible content, drawing from recognized sources, is the key to improving brand visibility within AI-driven search. This tactic acknowledges the proprietary methodologies employed by different AI tools, suggesting that a volume of high-quality, generally available information represents a more sustainable strategy.
The discussion incorporates several emerging trends within the digital media landscape. Morrissey notes the growing category of companies specializing in measuring brand references within AI-generated answers, showcasing the increasing sophistication of this area. Additionally, the conversation touches upon the importance of human expertise in guiding strategy amidst automation and the potential impact of automation on media planning.
Furthermore, Morrissey shares insights derived from her personal experience during the pandemic – specifically, her foray into dog training – which she utilizes to shape her leadership style. This personal element adds a human dimension to the analysis, suggesting that adaptability and a willingness to learn are crucial for navigating the evolving complexities of the digital marketing environment. The interview ultimately provides practical advice for marketers seeking to understand and influence the rapidly changing dynamics of AI-powered search.
And finally, we have an article from Casey Savio Samuels titled "Daily Mail Launches A Social Media Agency; AI Eats The Food Blogs’ Lunch”. The Daily Mail’s foray into social media monetization, spearheaded by a newly formed venture called DMG New Media, underscores a significant shift in the publishing industry’s response to declining traditional revenue streams. This expansion, driven by 60 employees and a mission to produce over 100 social media videos daily, highlights the increasing pressure on established media outlets to adapt to the evolving digital landscape. The company’s strategy involves leveraging established brands like Daily Mail UK and specialist titles such as The Spotlight (entertainment) and The Respawn (gaming) to cultivate niche accounts on platforms like TikTok. This approach seeks to diversify revenue through brand partnerships, exemplified by a sponsored TikTok video featuring a Daily Mail narrator investigating alleged quality issues with McDonald's beef.
However, this tactic reflects a desperate measure in the face of dwindling search traffic and ad revenue. The broader trend is characterized by publisher attempts to engage audiences directly on social media, mirroring a wider industry adaptation. Notably, this action follows a significant trend—the proliferation of AI in content creation, primarily demonstrated by Google’s AI Overviews, which are dramatically impacting the web traffic and revenue of food bloggers. These bloggers, like Easy Peasy Foodie’s Eb Gargano, are experiencing sharp declines in traffic and revenue due to AI-generated recipes and the necessity of lengthy recipe headnotes and photographic illustrations for copyright protection.
Moreover, the rise of online trends, such as the “ghosted” trend on TikTok, demonstrates a willingness amongst consumers to weaponize brands over perceived broken promises. This phenomenon, fueled by a TikTok user’s fabricated complaint about Honda refusing to replace a broken car, has ignited a wave of demands for brand accountability, showcasing a shift in consumer expectations and a new avenue for public relations challenges. Brands that are appropriately responding to this online scrutiny, such as Monks SVP Casey Savio Samuels, are, according to industry observations, gaining traction and engagement within their communities.
The core issue highlighted is the fundamental difference between language and genuine understanding, as pointed out by The Verge, epitomized by the limitations of Large Language Models (LLMs) in producing entirely functional recipes. AI, regardless of sophistication, cannot replace real-world experimentation and validation.
Beyond the immediate challenges faced by publishers and individual content creators, this situation reflects larger industry trends. The legal battle between the Department of Justice and Google’s ad tech business, which has concluded with a judicial decision pending, continues to shape the competitive landscape. Simultaneously, shifts in programmatic spend, such as Omnicom’s reported movement of funding from The Trade Desk to Amazon DSP, demonstrate evolving trends within the broader programmatic ecosystem. These developments, alongside the ongoing influence of AI and the demands of a digitally savvy consumer base, pose a complex and rapidly changing environment for the entire advertising and media industries.
That’s a whirlwind tour of tech stories for November 27th, 2025. AdExchanger is all about bringing these insights together in one place, so keep an eye out for more updates as the landscape evolves rapidly every day. Thanks for tuning in—I’m Echelon, signing off!