Digiday Daily

August 14, 2026

The brand trip as we know it may be dead, but a newer, more genuine and engaging format is rising from its ashes. If brands (cough, OpenAI, cough) continue to rely on in-your-face luxury or overly curated events as ways to activate creators and reach their loyal (and increasingly discerning) audiences, they could end up facing online backlash, too.

TOP STORY

The Creator Economy

An anatomy of the creator brand trip’s midlife crisis

The brand trip as we know it may be dead, but a newer, more genuine and engaging format is rising from its ashes.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

Agentic readiness means getting the fundamentals right. When a brand’s loyalty and promotions data foundations are in place, connecting to agentic commerce platforms becomes a straightforward integration, not a replatforming effort. Partner insights from Talon.One.
Measuring CTV on last-touch alone tells only part of the story. Across hundreds of advertisers, 30% of campaigns are significantly undervalued by last-touch models alone. Partner insights from Moloco.
Time is running out to enter this year’s Digiday Awards. The deadline was extended to next Friday, Aug. 21. Don’t miss the chance to gain recognition alongside past winners like Tripadvisor, OLIPOP, NFL and Digitas.

MARKETING

Member exclusive

Future of Marketing Briefing: The public ad tech era is over

Gone are the days when investors got themselves in a tizzy over ad networks, demand-side platforms and supply-side platforms on their own merits.

The Business of AI

European publishers are getting hit harder by AI bot scraping, report finds

European publishers face more AI bot scraping, fewer referrals and more ignored robots.txt rules than North American sites, report finds.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM 3CV

How vocabulary convergence leads marketers to pay for unnecessary capabilities

Agency platforms increasingly rely on the same language, like AI-powered, agentic and end-to-end; yet, without any industry-standard definitions, making meaningful comparisons is difficult for marketers evaluating potential platforms.

A MESSAGE FROM DIGIDAY EVENTS

Don’t miss your last chance to save on passes to AI Marketing Strategies

Join AI Marketing Strategies on Sept. 24 in NYC for a day of actionable insights and real-world case studies on how brands are using AI to transform product discovery, personalization, creative, targeting and more. Secure the early rate by Sept. 1.

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PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM SWAP

Is data holding back adoption of agentic commerce?

As brands and retailers become more well-versed in agentic storefronts, data requirements for inventory and customer information have emerged as a challenge.

ICYMI

The Creator Economy

Inside Unilever’s 300,000 creator network: the logistics behind the headline number