In a climate of intense pressure to deliver immediate ROI, many companies are reacting by pivoting to "safe" short-term performance strategies. Following a turbulent 2025 marked by the scaling of AI and geopolitical uncertainty, the urge to "hunker down" and focus solely on the next click is stronger than ever.
True
performance
The Performance Trap: why 2026 is the year marketers must stop borrowing from the future
marketers
performance
No one talks about ads anymore: Have they lost their pop-culture charm?
attention economy
creativity
culture
performance
pop culture
Industry leaders weigh in on how brands can help shape pop culture again through innovative storytelling and a balanced approach between creativity and performance.
UM appoints first chief performance officer
performance
UM
New role has been created to help clients with digital transformation.
AR advertising 'increases likelihood to buy by 53%'
performance
Interactive, augmented reality advertising promises to generate better short and long-term benefits for brands, maximising attention in a manner unrivalled by typical digital ads.
Has brand love been jilted by the short-term sale?
brand
performance
A Goafest 2023 panel of India's top brand marketers discuss brand love, the role of creativity, and the relationship between marketers and creative agencies
Improving on paying for performance
agencies
marketing
performance
As CMOs are pressured to cut costs and drive efficiencies, it’s time to prove marketing’s effectiveness and impact on business.
Unilever shareholder's attack on sustainability messaging 'flawed', experts say
performance
sustainability
unilever
Senior marketers argue 'purpose' and 'sustainability' will become 'stick to beat away poor performance'.
How working for a performance agency made me a better strategist
advertising
agency
performance
performance marketing
planning
strategy
The regional strategy director at M&C Saatchi Performance discusses how taking an unusual career step has equipped her with more integrated skills.
PHD: Marketers spend more time reporting than creating
data
performance
phd
warc
A study by the media agency shows most marketers spend the bulk of their time on reporting tasks—but that will change over time.
Twitter: Performance is our ‘number one’ focus in 2021
performance
social media
twitter
The social media platform is doubling down on direct response advertisers.
Debating the merits of a short or long marketing strategy in this climate
brand
brands
campaign
marketing
performance
phd
wall street journal
CAMPAIGN CONNECT: Slashed budgets and the compulsion to keep the lights on may deter lengthy brand-building plans from marketers, despite their importance.
How Pizza Hut Taiwan and Appier used AI to optimise online ordering
ai
performance
Pizza Hut
taiwan
CASE STUDY: A machine-learning system helped hit the right customers with a popup discount offer, increasing conversion rates by 15%.
Why no-one should have 'performance' in their job title
performance
Many people in our industry mistakenly believe "performance" is just a set of media channels, when in fact it's a way of thinking—and one we should all embrace.
Mindshare forges closer links with Neo to unite brand and demand
mindshare
performance
'Refocus' will result in number of new roles across Mindshare and Neo.
What can online advertising companies learn from out-of-home?
digital
ooh
performance
search
The GM of Inskin Media argues against the received wisdom that OOH is for brand-building while digital is not. The problem, she asserts, is the industry selling itself short.
Control vs Exposed moves into APAC
agency
apac
performance
Agency opens first regional office in Singapore.
Agency Report Card 2018: APAC holding company rankings
agency performance
agency report card
apac
holding companies
performance
r3
revenue
See which advertising and media holding companies surged ahead in Asia-Pacific, and which declined. Plus: Data visualisations of holding-company revenue and market cap over the last several years.
4 reasons advertisers should use performance video templates
performance
video
Tested, performance-geared templates allow even non-specialists to make impactful ads, tweaked at scale to improve results.
Predictions for tomorrow’s programmatic practitioner
ai
marketing
performance
programmatic
Based on current and expected trends programmatic practitioners will see their existing responsibilities shift while new skills become important to develop, according to the senior programmatic and partnerships director at Essence.
Publicis Groupe reports growth, despite poor APAC performance
financial
performance
publicis groupe
results
revenue
APAC revenue fell 16.4%, with Australia hard hit, but China returned to modest growth.
M&C Saatchi: Record results show agency model is still a 'wonderful business'
agency
apac
mc saatchi
performance
With revenues up 23%, APAC (including Australia) have played a big part in the agency's strong performance.
WPP 2017 revenue down slightly in 'not a pretty year'
financials
martin sorrell
performance
revenue
wpp
Sorrell said "the traditional creative business is where the pressure is" and it is "less" on the media agencies.
Mobile and video drive Japanese adspend growth: Dentsu
adspend
Dentsu
digital advertising
japan
performance
video
Digital advertising now accounts for nearly a quarter of total spending.
DAN adds Indonesian performance agency to iProspect
indonesia
marketing
performance
performance marketing
Valuklik has 55 employees and lists clients including Telkomsel, Accor Hotels and the Ministry of Tourism.
9 checklist items for marketers engaging with performance partners
marketing
performance
performance marketing
Tips for every stage of a campaign’s lifecycle can help marketers ensure they’re getting the most out of their partnerships.
The performance planner's guide to finding a lost cat
advertising
cats
marketing
performance
planning
Havas Group's head of performance planning retells a very modern tale of media effectiveness.
'Increased client caution' impacts IPG's results for first half of 2017
ipg
performance
results
revenue
Net income falls 28 percent, partly due to sales of businesses, as revenue drops 0.6 percent.
Publicis returns to organic growth in second quarter
financial
performance
Publicis
Organic revenue grew 0.8 percent despite weak FMCG sector.
Red2’s mission to boost Vietnam’s digital community
digital
performance
Digital performance outfit hopes to do more than just good work.
Reporting metrics: Getting from interesting to useful
analytics
performance
Everyone wants 'actionable insights', but most reports don’t go beyond vanity metrics that lead to a 'so what?' moment. Mun Yin Liu of Text100 outlines how marketers can take the next step.
Branding v performance: Dawn of a new online era
marketing
performance
Brand awareness and measurable conversions are not mutually exclusive. Time to think in terms of brand performance marketing, writes Vikas Gulati of Opera Mediaworks.
Cursed by too much of a good thing
marketing
performance
Scarcity of resources can force teams to perform better.
Tech partners aim to make IP-based targeting 'hyperlocal'
campaign
performance
AUSTRALIA - Location-based targeting does not work as well as you think it does, according to a pair of technology companies that claim they're set to fix the problems—and deliver a 20 per cent uplift in campaign metrics.
Jonathan Beh relocates from UK to Shanghai as Mindshare's head of digital performance
china
digital
marketing
media
performance
SHANGHAI - Jonathan Beh (pictured) has joined Mindshare's China team from London where he was a search director working across clients including Unilever and LG.
NEW BUSINESS LEAGUE: See who tops the list for March
advertising
agencies
new business
new business league
performance
The just-released March New Business League sees Ogilvy topping the creative ranking with new business from Vodafone and Rebecca China, while Carat sits atop the media-agency list with wins from Bright Dairy China and HKTDC Indonesia.