The annual Consumer Electronics Show, CES, is officially over, and we saw many innovative and exciting products and devices from the world’s leading consumer electronics brands, including Samsung, LG, and Hisense. ZDNET reported on the ground, in-person at the show, as well as remotely, so no news was missed.
Also: Best of CES 2026 Awards: Official List of Winners (CNET)
This year’s agenda? More ambitious pitches from companies, small and large, including how AI would assist and enhance our daily lives in various ways, modes of transportation that extended beyond city streets, and TVs that surpassed conventional specifications, form factors, and sizes. Here’s the full recap.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 7 at 2:37 p.m. ET
While nearly every TV brand showcased some sort of RGB TV at CES this year, the TCL X11L TV features TCL’s Super Quantum Dot (SQD) Mini LED panel, which the company claims achieves 100% of the BT2020 color gamut. It offers 20,000 dimming zones and 10,000 nits to achieve premium brightness and contrast, which, according to ZDNET’s Kerry Wan, felt like “the figurative interpretation of having my socks blown off” when seen in person.
This impressive TV comes at an extravagant price, though. The smallest size (75 inches) costs $7,000, solidifying it as one of TCL’s most premium TV models that raises the bar.
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 5 at 9:55 p.m. ET
Throughout the week, you’ll hear from a lot of TV brands about how their latest sets support Dolby Vision 2, the latest playback standard that promises brighter and more vivid imagery while uplifting the output of your speakers. Among the first content to play in the new standard is Peacock’s streaming content, including live sports.
The company announced at CES that, soon, both NBA and MLB content will be broadcast in Dolby Vision 2, and will automatically upgrade existing Dolby Vision content to the newer standard. All you’ll need now is a TV that supports the new imaging tech.
Also: Your Peacock sports broadcasts are about to look and sound a lot better – here’s why
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 5 at 12:20 a.m. ET
There was no greater “Welcome to CES” moment for me this weekend than LG presenting the new Wallpaper TV on a glass panel. It’s the return of an old model, now with improved processing power, a high 165Hz refresh rate, Zero Connect box support for wireless connectivity, and an ultra-thin profile.
LG hasn’t confirmed the official price and availability of the TV, but it did hint that it’ll fall within the lines of the brand’s other premium OLED sets, so I’d ballpark between $2,000 to upwards of $20,000.
Also: I saw LG’s ultra-thin Wallpaper TV at CES 2026, and it made my OLED feel outdated
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 2 at 4:50 p.m. ET
There’s never a dull moment with TVs, and I blame manufacturers and their extensive dictionary of tech jargon for that. This year’s hot word is “Micro RGB,” a meticulous arrangement of LEDs that produces enhanced light control and accuracy. Samsung has a version of this, LG has a version of this, Sony has a version of this, and so on.
The big question is how accessible this recent display tech will be, as most TV models in the market currently are both too large and too expensive.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 6 at 8:05 p.m. ET
Motorola and Lenovo have teamed up at CES to launch Qira, an AI assistant that works across both brands’ devices. The assistant isn’t just a chatbot; it can perform actual tasks such as transferring files, making contextual suggestions, obtaining directions, and more.
Lenovo referred to Qira as a fused knowledge base, which combines user-selected interactions, documents, and memories from across devices to create a personalized experience and develop a “living model of the user’s world.”
Motorola also debuted an AI Pin device, which it’s calling Project Maxwell, that utilizes Qira to help with everyday tasks when you don’t want to use your phone.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 6 at 12:58 p.m. ET
At last year’s CES, Roborock debuted a robot vacuum with a mechanical arm, and this year, the company announced a two-legged robot vacuum that can navigate up and down stairs within your home. The Saros Rover is equipped with foldable legs mounted on the main wheels, allowing it to extend its legs and lift its body almost a foot off the ground.
Aside from going up and down the stairs to clean between floors, the robot can even execute small jumps, sudden stops, and directional changes, and tilt its body to avoid obstacles.
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 5 at 10:55 p.m. ET
Nvidia today unveiled its next-gen “Rubin” AI platform, designed to power autonomous Agentic AI and trillion-parameter models. The company states that Rubin is built on a 3nm process with ultra-fast HBM4 memory; the new Vera Rubin Superchip delivers five times the performance of the previous Blackwell generation, significantly boosting efficiency for massive AI workloads.
Expected to ship in late 2026, the Rubin architecture integrates new CPUs and high-speed networking to cut inference costs by 10x. By maintaining a yearly release cycle, Nvidia aims to stay ahead of the curve, providing the essential infrastructure for the world’s largest cloud providers.
Also: Why Nvidia’s new Rubin platform could change the future of AI computing forever
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 5 at 9:48 a.m. ET
Pet parents will appreciate this one: Satellai just debuted a new Petsense AI model at CES that converts raw pet biometrics into meaningful insights. Using the company’s pet wearables, Petsense AI creates a digital health profile that allows owners to view activity levels, sleep quality, temperature, and even detect early signs of disease.
You’ll even be able to ask the AI questions about your pet, such as “Is my pet acting normally for their age/breed?” when the model rolls out to the Satellai ecosystem in upcoming weeks.
By: Nina Raemont, Wearables and Health Editor / Jan. 4 at 10:00 p.m. ET
I’d gladly let this robot fold my laundry and wash my dishes for me. SwitchBot unveiled the Onero H1 ahead of CES. It’s a wheeled robot that cleans, washes, and cooks for you.
“The robot learns and reacts to its environment using visual perception and tactile feedback to perform tasks such as grasping, pushing, and opening, which are necessary for household chores,” ZDNET’s smart home expert, Maria Diaz writes in her news story.
Onero H1 is coming to the market “soon.” In the meantime, you’ll have to mop your floor yourself.
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 4 at 10:40 p.m. ET
Narwal has unveiled the Flow 2 robot vacuum, which makes one of the most convincing cases for incorporating AI into consumer hardware. With it, the robot can perform adaptive tasks, such as cleaning more quietly when near a baby’s crib, send reminders for misplaced items, and even notify you if it detects something that you have marked as missing.
Also: This robot vacuum at CES 2026 can find lost items on your floor and alert you of them
It’s also just a really solid robot vacuum, with 30,000Pa of suction, the ability to mop and wash, and prolong its battery life by self-docking.
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 2 at 5:02 p.m. ET
CES is home to many things, including AI vaporware, but Project Luci may change that narrative. It’s a compact, magnetic AI pin designed to act as a searchable digital archive of your daily life.
Like the Meta Ray-Ban glasses, it features a 12MP ultra-wide camera and dual microphones capable of recording continuously for up to four hours.
Also: The most exciting AI wearable at CES 2026 might not be smart glasses after all
Using a proprietary AI model called Mavi, the device allows users to perform “semantic searches” to recall specific details, such as what they ate or who they met. To address privacy concerns, it includes a physical camera shutter and a dedicated companion hub for local data processing.
Priced at approximately $99, does a “memory-augmented” experience entice you at all?
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 7 at 11:20 p.m. ET
It’s always interesting to see how brands in more niche categories are innovating their products, and the Euhomy Ice Leopard X1 is a prime example. The name really clicks when you realize this is a portable ice maker that can put out buckets of ice within five minutes. The previous best record was six, and, you know what, I’ll tip my hat for the speed bump.
Also: I’m in love with this portable ice maker that churns out buckets of ice in just 5 minutes
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 4 at 9:00 p.m. ET
Lockin is releasing the V7 Max smart lock this year, which features a unique charging technology called AuraCharge. It effectively receives power from an optical output device plugged within four meters’ distance to wirelessly recharge its internal battery. Crazy, right?
This feels like a conventional vaporware product at CES, but the company is confident that the lock will perform as intended when it finally hits the market. We’ll have to see for ourselves.
Also: This unassuming smart lock has a useful charging feature I’ve yet to see on the market
By: Nina Raemont, Wearables and Health Editor / Jan. 3 at 7:10 p.m. ET
The latest smart home decor makes artwork out of your own words. Fraimic is an e-ink canvas that’s powered by OpenAI, and it generates artwork based on user-provided prompts. People can also upload their favorite artwork through the Fraimic app for further customization. The smart canvas gives home decorators further control of their space — as well as a personalized, changeable touch.
Could it make paper artwork prints obsolete? Not so fast, since it’ll run users $399 for the standard canvas and $999 for the large canvas. Kickstarter shipments begin in May and direct-to-consumer availability is estimated for June.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 7 at 4:15 p.m. ET
Aside from Lenovo’s announcement that it’s bringing back the XPS line, we were also impressed with this rollable laptop we saw at Lenovo’s booth. The Legion Pro Rollable updates Lenovo’s ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 display, turning it sideways to expand horizontally from 16 inches out to 21.5 inches and then the full 24 inches in length.
While only a concept model, this display could be a game-changer for gamers by creating a more immersive viewing experience. If Lenovo ever decides to bring the Legion Pro Rollable to market, it would stand out as one of the most distinctive gaming laptops in the company’s lineup.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 7 at 1:30 p.m. ET
At CES, Asus conducted the world’s first Wi-Fi 8 throughput test with its new concept Wi-Fi router, the ROG NeoCore, marking the beginning of an era of next-generation Wi-Fi 8 technology. The router can work with multiple Asus routers to make a combined mesh network.
Asus says Wi-Fi 8 makes speed degradation much slower and connections more stable, helping to ensure smooth performance. The ROG Neocore is also designed to address network congestion problems, as well as enabling better collaboration between smart home devices, cloud services, and AI assistants.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 6 at 8:07 p.m. ET
The saying goes, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” but in the case of Lenovo’s new ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14, you can actually fix it. That’s because the laptop features a new “Space Frame” motherboard that enables replacements of parts like USB ports, battery, keyboard, speakers, and fans. This means if an individual component of your laptop breaks, you don’t have to go out and buy a new one; you can repair it more easily and with better access.
It’s a subtle change, but it’s one that is highly optimized for customers who have been wanting to increase their products’ lifespans, which is something we can definitely get behind.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 6 at 1:03 p.m. ET
Move over, Microsoft Surface Pro, there’s a new 2-in-1 in town. Asus debuted the ProArt PZ14 at CES, and the biggest difference between it and the Surface Pro is that you get the attachable keyboard in the box, without having to spend an extra $150, unlike with the Surface Pro.
The ProArt PZ14 is being dubbed as a high-performance, ultra-mobile workstation designed for creators who require professional-grade tools in a portable form factor. It makes for a good tablet option thanks to its 14-inch OLED display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, a 3K resolution, and a 144Hz refresh rate.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 5 at 6:20 p.m. ET
Sometimes at CES, it isn’t necessarily about what’s new, but about what is returning. A year after retiring the XPS flagship line, it has brought it back at CES with a few notable changes. The new XPS models are built with Intel’s latest Series 3 “Panther Lake” processors, providing up to 57% and 78% faster AI performance in the XPS 14 and 16 models, respectively. Plus, you can expect up to 27 hours of battery life, a 2K or 3.2K display, and a much thinner design.
To say we are happy the Dell XPS is back is an understatement.
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 5 at 1:05 p.m. ET
Qualcomm has announced a new Snapdragon X2 Plus chipset at CES, and it looks promising for midrange laptops. The main model features a 10-core Oryon CPU, an updated Adreno GPU, and LPDDR5x memory. There are also some other nice-to-have features, such as Wi-Fi 7 support, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Guardian security technology, and enhanced energy efficiency.
If it all pans out, we can expect more performative laptops later this year that won’t break the bank.
By: Nina Raemont, Wearables and Health Editor / Jan. 3 at 4:49 p.m. ET
LG is building its next laptop with a newly developed material called Aerominum, which will make the devices lighter and more portable. We’ll see LG’s in-house developed Aerominum in action through LG’s Gram Pro 17 and Gram Pro 16. We don’t know much more about pricing and availability at this time. What we do know, though, is that, with the help from Aerominum, these laptops could be lighter in your backpack or work bag.
Also: LG’s 2026 Gram laptops look to dethrone the MacBook Air with this new build
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 7 at 12:30 p.m. ET
In a private showcase of Samsung Display’s various concepts this week, I got a glimpse of what appeared to be a creaseless foldable phone screen, something that even Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Fold 7 lacks.
It was quite refreshing to swipe my finger across the center of the screen, only to feel no dip or bump. More importantly, there wasn’t any glare that distracted from the screen content.
Besides its aesthetic significance, such a display panel may be exactly what Samsung ends up supplying to Apple for its rumored iPhone Fold.
After all, Apple is notorious for releasing hardware that’s well-polished and short of design flaws. With the crease being the main flaw of existing foldables, it’s safe to assume that Apple would want something different.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 7 at 9:37 a.m. ET
The Mcon MagSafe accessory is like a small Nintendo Switch that can fit into your pocket. By connecting it to your smartphone on the magnetic pad and flicking outward, it becomes a game controller with joysticks and control keys that make playing mobile games a lot more fun.
Thoughtful ergonomics and a built-in kickstand make the Mcon stand out from other accessories like it, plus, it’s only $150.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 6 at 8:06 p.m. ET
While Motorola is known for its clamshell-style flip phones, it just entered the foldable market with the debut of the Motorola Razr Fold. Similar to the Google Pixel Fold or the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, the Razr Fold opens like a book to a large, 8.1-inch inner screen.
Motorola was tight-lipped on the tech specs of the Razr Fold, but did share that it will have a 50MP rear camera system, including a 3x periscope telephoto lens. It will also include support for the Moto Pen Ultra stylus as well as several AI features.
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 5 at 8:43 p.m. ET
After a good month of teasing, Samsung finally allowed members of the press to touch, fold, and indulge in the upcoming Galaxy Z TriFold. And, you know what? The wait was totally worth it.
Does the phone feel chunky in the hand? I’d say it’s bearable, though you definitely can’t unfold both sides of the screen with one hand, unlike the standard Galaxy Z Fold. What stood out to me the most wasn’t the two creases in the inner display or the amount of fingerprint smudges that accumulate on the back glass and cover.
Instead, it was the aspect ratio for watching and consuming content on the inner, expanded display. There’s less letterboxing now, and more room to fill with whatever you’re viewing. Now if only Samsung would let me use this on my flight out of Las Vegas.
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 5 at 5:40 p.m. ET
Belkin has unveiled a new travel case that doubles as a charger for the Nintendo Switch 2, and it’s brilliantly designed. The case features a 10,000mAh cell to keep the console topped up when stowed away, and it also includes a flip-out kickstand for setting the Switch 2 upright. The best part? You can buy the accessory right now.
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 3 at 12:40 p.m. ET
Smartphone enthusiasts — particularly those who long for the days of the BlackBerry – are likely familiar with the brand, Clicks. This year, the company is releasing two new accessories, one in the form of a MagSafe keyboard that doubles as a wireless charger, and another that functions like a BlackBerry.
The former, the Clicks Power Keyboard, is launching at a relatively accessible price of $79, and its snap-on nature allows you to operate your phone in both portrait and landscape orientations.
Also: My search for the ultimate MagSafe accessory is over: This keyboard checks all the boxes
The Clicks Communicator features a similar physical QWERTY keyboard, but also has a display, 3.5mm headphone jack, and microSD card slot, effectively serving as a secondary device for messaging. That will go on sale later this year for $499.
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 2 at 5:05 p.m. ET
Ahead of CES, TCL has unveiled the new Note A1 Nxtpaper tablet, an 11.5-inch digital notepad that competes with the likes of the Kindle Scribe and ReMarkable. There is one unique aspect with the TCL, though: It has both a full-color LCD display and a 120Hz refresh rate, yielding both vivid and smooth visuals as the user browses, sketches, and more.
Also: TCL’s newest E Ink tablet beats the Kindle and Remarkable with this display tech
The Note A1 Nxtpaper is priced at $549, and positions itself as a faster, more versatile hybrid for professionals and students who want a paper-like tablet experience without the traditional imitations of E Ink.
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 6 at 9:50 p.m. ET
Part of the fun of attending CES is discovering unusual tech gadgets that make us question our careers. A prime candidate for the weirdest thing we demoed this year is the Lollipop Star, a consumable lollipop that plays music as you’re sucking it. I’m not entirely sure how else to describe the product.
The bone-conduction lollipop is made by Lava Star and is offered in three flavors: Blue Paradise, featuring Akon’s “Beautiful Day”; White Peach and Strawberry, featuring Ice Spice’s “Munch, Baddie Baddie, Big Guy”; and Lime Sea Salt, featuring Armani White’s “Mount Pleasant.”
Each one sells for $9.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 6 at 6:19 p.m. ET
File this under one of the more random products we’ve seen at CES so far: iPolish touts itself as the “world’s first digital color-changing nails.” They are press-on nails that you can individually put into a small device to instantly change the color of your nails via an accompany app with over 400 shade options, depending on your mood.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 5 at 5:45 p.m. ET
We’re in the thick of winter, which means less sunlight, but SunLED Light Solutions wants to help. The company debuted Sunbooster at CES on Monday, a device that looks like a webcam and attaches to your monitor, tablet, or laptop through a USB-C port. The device includes three 850 nm near-infrared LEDs and emits an optimized dose of this light for approximately two to four hours each day.
The Sunbooster should be available in the US later this year, but we also saw SunLED Light Solutions’ prototype for a monitor with built-in infrared lights around the screen and a phone case with similar tech that we hope will become actual products in the future.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 5 at 4:45 p.m. ET
Amongst all the conceptual products and devices at CES is one practical one that parents should appreciate. Earflo wants to relieve middle ear pressure in children with its sippy cup medical device. By sipping from the cup, a small mask forms a seal on a child’s nose, and with each swallow, air flows through the nose. The pressure on the nasal cavity helps open the eustachian tubes in the ear, releasing trapped fluid and any ear pressure associated with it.
The device is backed by a peer-reviewed study as well as certified doctors working on the product.
Earflo is currently undergoing the FDA clearance process and is expected to go on sale next month. However, with a high-tech sippy cup comes a high price tag, ranging between $250 and $300.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 7 at 5:05 p.m. ET
XGIMI aims to create smart glasses that are comfortable for all-day wear, and it may have achieved that in the Memomind AI glasses lineup. Within the lineup, the lightest option–the Memo Air Display glasses–weighs just 28.9 grams.
A customizable dashboard instantly displays when you put it on that containing notes, reminders, and more. To get to the dashboard at any point during the day, you can tilt your head up. The flagship Memo One AI glasses will be available to preorder soon for $599.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 6 at 12:45 p.m. ET
The health wearables on the market today all sync up with an app to tell you your health metrics, but Luna is changing that. At CES, Luna introduced the Luna Band that offers voice-led health guidance powered by Luna’s AI engine, so wearers can record health information without opening the app.
This means wearers can log their mood, meal, or workout in the moment without the fuss of grabbing their phone, opening an app, and logging manually.
The Luna Band uses an AI engine that connects to Siri to deliver health biomarkers like sleep, activity, stress, nutrition, and moods through earbuds or other compatible device.
By Allison Murray, Senior Editor / Jan. 6 at 9:18 a.m. ET
For many, the draw of open-ear earbuds is to remain in tune with their surroundings, but this form factor can still let in a lot of noise. At CES, Shokz debuted the OpenFit Pro earbuds, which offer noise reduction to address background sounds.
Our headphones editor, Jada Jones, wore them around CES crowds and noticed the noise reduction softened many conversations in crowded Las Vegas areas. In fact, she called the new noise-reduction tech “one of the most useful audio technologies you’ll see this week.”
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 4 at 1:36 p.m. ET
Xreal has been putting out some impressive smart glasses over the past few years, but its best product of this year’s show might not be a wearable. Instead of the Xreal 1S that the company just launched, its companion accessory, the Xreal Neo, deserves some praise too.
Also: Xreal’s new XR glasses may be the most immersive ones I’ve worn at CES 2026
The Xreal Neo is a portable charger that doubles as a display adapter, making it ideal for both keeping the smart glasses topped up and also connected to consoles like the Nintendo Switch. In a way, it saves you from needing a dedicated video dock for the Switch, and therefore saves you the bulk when traveling.
By: Nina Raemont, Wearables and Health Editor / Jan. 3 at 6:42 p.m. ET
It was 11 years ago when Pebble unveiled its first-generation round smartwatch, the Pebble Time Round. Eleven years later, the watch brand announced the Pebble Round 2, featuring updates that will please both veteran Pebble wearers and newcomers alike. The smartwatch is not as thin as the famously slim Pebble Time Round (it’s 0.6 mm thicker), but it offers ten days of battery life and maximizes the 1.3-inch e-paper display.
Also: Cult favorite Pebble returns with Pebble Round 2 – and it’s built to look as analog as possible
Widening the display made reading notifications and messages far easier and more legible on the new watch during a side-by-side demo. The watch isn’t designed for hardcore exercise tracking; instead, it excels at basic health tracking (sleep and steps) while keeping the watch thin, elegant, and as close to analog as possible.
“With this product, we wanted it to be the most stylish, elegant Pebble ever, and one of the things is to make it feel like it isn’t a block of technology on your wrist. It feels more like a timepiece. To do that, it had to be thin,” Eric Migicovsky, Pebble’s CEO, told me in an interview.
Pre-orders for the Pebble Round 2 are now open.
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 2 at 5:11 p.m. ET
The folks at RayNeo are showcasing two new pairs of smart glasses at CES this year: the Air 4 Pro, which extends off of your phone, computer, or gaming console, and the X3 Pro Project eSIM, which supports a built-in 4G connection, allowing you to browse the web or make phone calls without pairing the glasses to a cellular device.
Also: Can the world’s first HDR10 smart glasses replace your $2,000 OLED TV – these specs say yes
The latter of the two products is more intriguing to me, as it feels like a natural next step for smart glasses. The Meta Ray-Ban Display has given us a glimpse of what it’s like to compute without having to pick up our phones. What if we didn’t have to even have our phones present to get things done?
Advertiser excitement is in full swing as Super Bowl LX approaches on Feb. 8, 2026. NBCUniversal confirmed in September that all commercial inventory for the big game is sold out, with the broadcaster seeking around $7 million for a 30-second spot during early talks.
Some marketers, including Grubhub, have been quick to announce their debut for what many bill as the biggest night in advertising, while others, like Ritz and Nerds, were similarly eager in revealing plans for their return. The big game continues to be a major opportunity for brands to gain visibility, with the 2025 iteration attracting 127.7 million U.S. viewers across television and streaming platforms, making it the most watched Super Bowl to date.
While it’s unclear what will be at the center of marketers’ strategies for the upcoming game, viewers may see adland trends like the use of nostalgia. Advertisers’ playbooks may also feature tech like generative artificial intelligence. Some strategies are safer to anticipate, like the use of celebrities, which has become a mainstay, for better or worse.
The Super Bowl LX halftime show, which will be headlined by Bad Bunny, is sponsored for a fourth consecutive year by Apple Music. Super Bowl LX will be played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Marketing Dive will regularly update this tracker with all of the brand announcements in the lead-up to the big game. Be sure to check in here for the latest news regarding advertising’s main event.
Where you went to college may soon matter far less than it once did. Bob Sternfels, global managing partner at McKinsey & Company, argues that AI is fundamentally reshaping how companies evaluate talent. Speaking recently at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Sternfels said employers should prioritize real-world experience over traditionally prized credentials like alma maters.
Instead of fixating on where candidates went to school, Sternfels suggested companies look at tangible proof of skills, such as a developer’s GitHub portfolio. “Let’s actually get to the content,” he said, “and could that actually start meaning that a wider set of people can enter the workforce with different pathways?” This, in turn, might open doors for people who previously might have been overlooked.
Sternfels urges companies to focus on three core skills in applicants:
These traits, he argues, are “uniquely human capabilities” that cannot be replicated by AI. To illustrate this point, he used space exploration, noting that the desire to go to places like Mars or the moon is a purely human aspiration.
2025 Invision
Ad effectiveness is not creative effectiveness. You can’t evaluate creator marketing with advertising metrics. Its a different category.
The strongest brands don’t optimize around surface metrics like views or follower counts. They look holistically at trust, relevance, and the power of niche communities. That’s what allows creator marketing to scale
Marty Supreme Christmas Day”, “Dream Big”… Not only did these phrases pervade Instagram during the 2025 Christmas season, but sightings of celebrities in big and bold “Marty Supreme” jackets were sprouting rapidly. Was the public confused? Yes. Were critics confused? No. Marty Supreme was awarded “Best Screenplay” at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, recognised as one of the top 10 films of 2025 by the American Film Institute, and Timotheé Chalamet took home “Best Actor” at the Critics Choice Awards.
January 4, 2026 Timothée Chalamet wins “Best Actor” at the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards
Photo: JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images
Marty Supreme’s intrigue goes beyond Timothée Chalamet’s wardrobe’s retro revamp. A24, the studio behind the film, embraced an unconventional marketing strategy that spanned promotional activities, merchandise, offline events, and cross-media collaborations, building Marty Supreme’s cultural momentum.
Cinephiles are no strangers to A24’s strategies, which are low on budget and high on creativity. Instead of investing in the traditional marketing model, such as television spots and talk show appearances, A24 tapped into Internet culture. They strategise specifically for their target audience to generate buzz.
Notable examples include the campaign for Ex Machina (2015), in which they created a Tinder profile for AI robot Ava, allowing SXSW festival attendees to converse with her if they matched on Tinder. For the horror film Hereditary (2018), those who watched the midnight screening were sent creepy dolls. To promote Materialists (2025), A24 actualised its plot by working with the New York Stock Exchange, displaying bachelors’ data on the live ticker, mirroring how this data would become “romantic value” in the film. These unconventional methods are centred on creating real experiences for the audience, rather than having them passively receive information, allowing them to understand the core themes of the films more deeply.
As for Marty Supreme, the movie loosely follows how Marty Mauser became a legendary ping pong player, emphasising the spirit of “greatness”. A24 pushed the theme in all marketing strategies, including screenings, offline pop-ups, and merchandise, closing the distance between the film and the audience.
These are some of the highlights during the Marty Supreme campaign:
A24 ‘leaked’ a Zoom recording to their YouTube channel, titling it the way a desktop document would be. In the video, Chalamet mirrors a delusional boss proposing unhinged plans, which were met with awkward responses by the marketing team…The Office came to mind.
In fact, Chalamet was mirroring his ambitious character Marty Mauser. What’s interesting is that the laughably absurd plans, such as creating an orange blimp and being the cover of Wheaties’ cereal box, actually materialised. The ping pong between fiction and reality keeps things exciting for fans.
In the fake Zoom meeting, Chalamet proposes using “hardcore, corroded, falling apart, rusted” orange as the focal point. He references the virality of the Barbie movie’s pink and Charli XCX’s Brat green, and emphasises how orange echoes the colour of ping pong balls. Whether promoting the film in a ping pong-shaped helmet or attending the film screening in matching orange outfits with his girlfriend Kylie Jenner, Chalamet cemented the film’s link to the colour.
December 8, 2025 Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner attending the Los Angeles Premiere of Marty Supreme
Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
A24 understands its young audience—they are not only digital natives, but consumers who are willing to invest time and money into the trendiest items. The studio released a 90s-style “Marty Supreme” jacket, aligning with the recent vintage fashion trend. Afterwards, they sold them through flash sales and offered limited-time events, turning the jacket into viral resale gold, creating another hot topic.
At the same time, the A24 team seeded the jacket among celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Tom Brady, and Kid Cudi. American swimmer Michael Phelps and science education television host Bill Nye also donned the jacket, showing how A24 tapped into all realms of American culture. Timothée Chalamet even mentioned Susan Boyle, the unassuming lady who chased her dreams on Britain’s Got Talent. A24 later posted a photo of Boyle wearing the Marty Supreme jacket, emphasising the theme “Dream Big”. (During Christmas, The Beatles’ Ringo Starr joined in!)
Before New Year’s Eve, Chalamet posted an instantly-viral video: Positioned at 366-feet high, Chalamet declared, “Marty Supreme is an American film that comes out on Christmas day 2025.” As the camera panned out, it became clear that Chalamet was standing on top of a giant ping-pong ball — with its 1.2 million LED pucks, the Sphere had completely transformed into a ginormous orange orb. Once again, the stunt emphasises the movie’s theme of ‘greatness’ and made Chalamet the first person in history to stand on top of the Sphere.
Besides online extravaganzas, A24 planned out-of-the-box offline experiences. In collaboration with Airbnb, they hosted an underground ping pong match rife with fun competition, and Chalamet made a surprise appearance. Plus, A24 hosted listening events in New York, London and Tokyo. Daniel Lopatin (otherwise known as Oneohtrix Point Never), a popular electronic music producer, composed the film score. He has a knack for recontextualising sounds from different eras, collaging them to form new sonic landscapes. With music, A24 attracted the music lover crowd, expanding its reach.
Through successive marketing campaigns that traversed the real and farcical, physical and virtual, A24 not only pushed Marty Supreme to the forefront of the Awards Season, but also proved its ability to orchestrate culture as a marketing strategy in place of traditional marketing models.
Creativity is essential. Whether you design, code, write, or bring ideas to life in other ways, your work shapes brands, builds products, and fuels businesses.
You deserve a career that’s both fulfilling and sustainable. But how do you stand out and find the right opportunities?
CreativeMornings and Adobe have teamed up to bring you Level Up, a series of online workshops and resources designed to help you grow, gain confidence, and take meaningful next steps in your creative career.
This series is made for the next generation of creative pros—whether you’re exploring your path, building a portfolio, or figuring out how to turn what you love into what you do. We’ll cover topics like landing your first gig, learning the professional skills they don’t teach in school, standing out in a competitive job market, and moving past imposter syndrome.
If you’re ready to grow, we’re here to support you.
Level Up is a program made possible by CreativeMornings’ global partnership with Adobe.
Our Virtual FieldTrips are live, 60–90 minute workshops packed with practical tips, resources, and hands-on skills. (They’re our antidote to boring webinars.)
Do you know someone who wants to break into a creative profession? Invite them to join you!
Missed a workshop? Want to review tips from your favorite ones again? You can!
Don’t miss these insightful sessions from the first season of our Level Up series.
Having a mentor and being a mentor for someone else are some of the most impactful ways to level up in your career. So, we’re launching Mentorship Clubs in New York, San Francisco, Austin, and London to foster local connections and help each other level up.
CreativeMornings Clubs are are small, recurring, community-led gatherings that bring the generous, inclusive spirit of CreativeMornings to your local neighborhood.
Career Resources
Grow your creative career with professional resources including self-paced courses, articles, and events.
Adobe Creative Apprenticeship
The Adobe Creative Apprenticeship program places aspiring designers, photographers, and video professionals in top creative workplaces so that they get the real-world training and on-the-job experience they need to launch their careers. Through immersive learning, real-world projects, and direct guidance from industry experts, participants gain the knowledge needed to thrive in a competitive job market.
While the platform initially appealed primarily to Gen Z and younger millennials, it experienced significant growth among older demographics and professional audiences. Today, many decision-makers and industry professionals turn to TikTok for both informational content and entertainment, positioning it as a valuable channel for engaging B2B audiences. Additionally, it is important to note that B2B decision-makers have been getting younger in recent years, and a significant proportion are now of digital natives.
The app’s short video format allows for presenting intricate topics in an engaging and easily digestible manner. Furthermore, TikTok provides various advertising options, including targeted ads and influencer collaborations, making it easier to reach specific B2B audiences.
Dig deeper: How influencer marketing became an essential marketing channel
Data from TikTok and Nielsen also found that the platform is the fastest-growing channel for product discovery. According to the data, 15% of product discoveries begin on TikTok. According to TikTok data, advertisers are now seeing an average return of $2 for every $1 spent.
Gender distribution: TikTok’s user base is relatively balanced in gender, with 54% identifying as male and 45% identifying as female.
Age distribution: While TikTok is popular among younger generations, a substantial portion of its audience comprises older demographics. For example, 21.7% of TikTok’s US user base are Millennials. Also:
Geographic distribution: The top three countries with the most TikTok users are the United States, Indonesia and Brazil. The U.S. has the largest TikTok audience, with 148 million monthly unique users. Indonesia has 126.83 million users and Brazil has 98.59 million users.
Small business owners: Small business owners represent a significant community on TikTok. More than half (52%) of users exposed to SMB (small and mid-size business) content on TikTok made purchases, demonstrating the platform’s power to drive intent, according to a report by The Drum.
Dig deeper: 6 things to look for in a B2B influencer
TikTok’s algorithm is the key to the site. It’s so important that the Chinese government has said it cannot leave China (further clouding a possible sale of the platform). The algorithm determines which content appears on a user’s For You Page (FYP).
Key influence factors include:
To leverage TikTok’s algorithm, marketers can:
Smaller accounts gain the highest impression percentage from the ‘For You’ feed, showing that TikTok’s algorithm gives any content an equal opportunity to go viral, regardless of followers. Good content can go viral if it has captured targeted user interest.
Dig deeper: Behind the scenes of Betterment’s B2B brand awareness campaign
Here are some specific use cases for B2B companies on TikTok:
Many B2B brands have established a presence on TikTok to connect with a broader audience, showcase their expertise and humanize their brand. Here are some examples of B2B brands on TikTok and how they have used the platform:
These brands adjust their voice to match TikTok’s focus on humor and entertainment. They create demo videos to illustrate product features, share valuable tips and fun facts, highlight their product from the customer’s perspective and provide behind-the-scenes glimpses of their company’s operations.
Dig deeper: How to balance ROAS, brand safety and suitability in social media advertising
TikTok is replacing its Creator Marketplace with the TikTok One creative platform. The marketplace, which facilitated brand and creator collaboration, is closed for new campaigns and will fully shut down on April 1, 2025. The social media site also shut down its Video Generator tool, an online editor where people could upload videos and add music.
These features have been combined in TikTok One, along with tools to help creators find inspiration, research trends and connect with experts to make “native-looking” TikTok videos for ad campaigns.
TikTok’s CPM is the best bargain in social media right now — which isn’t good news for the platform. The cost per mille has dropped by 80% year-over-year, according to AdRoll’s latest State of Digital Advertising report. “The decline reflects growing uncertainty about the platform’s future in the United States, leading advertisers to pull back their investments.”
Pinterest has done the best of the social media platforms covered in the report. Its CPMs are up 120% year-over-year “as brands reallocate budgets to more stable platforms with an established user base.” The report also speculated that advertisers may prefer Pinterest’s user base of “more established” generations (I think they mean older) to TikTok’s younger ones, especially as the U.S. economy continues to ride the whirlwind.
TikTok upgraded its generative AI offering—Symphony—with tools to streamline creative work and move faster without sacrificing quality.
Here’s what’s new in the Symphony toolbox:
TikTok is also expanding its reach through partnerships. The Image to Video tool is coming to Adobe Express so that creators can build content directly inside Adobe’s social media platform. Some Symphony tools (like AI dubbing and avatars) are also making their way into WPP Open, WPP’s AI-powered marketing suite. The tools—Image to Video, Text to Video and Showcase Products—aren’t in WPP Open yet.
Outside the Symphony suite, TikTok’s “Generate with AI” feature in Ads Manager provides another way to quickly create creative assets. Drop in a product URL, TikTok Shop ID or a few manual inputs, and it will generate videos, images, scripts, voiceovers and avatars. Then, it picks the top 10 based on AI insights, which you can tweak as needed. It is available (for now) to select advertisers using English content.
TikTok says it’s committed to transparency: All Symphony-generated content is clearly labeled as AI, and everything, including the input and final output, goes through multiple layers of review.
Of course, all this raises some big questions. With AI avatars able to endlessly crank out content, what happens to human influencers? Brands get scalability and fewer contracts to manage, but there’s concern that an AI flood might put downward pressure on creator rates.
TikTok is expanding its “Out of Phone” program, extending its digital influence into the physical world by leveraging real-world screens and spaces. The new phase includes partnerships with Curb, Westfield Malls, Rockbot, and Hope Hydration, bringing TikTok content to taxis, shopping centers, fitness venues, airports, retail locations, and hydration stations. This initiative follows successful billboard and retail placements and underscores TikTok’s goal to make its community-driven content more accessible in everyday environments.
Each partner brings a distinct context for TikTok content to reach audiences. Curb’s Taxi TV network will show full-screen videos in over 15,000 taxis across 65+ U.S. cities. Westfield Malls will integrate TikTok content into digital screens across upscale shopping centers, tapping into the popular #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt trend. Rockbot will deliver curated TikTok streams in high-traffic spaces like gyms and cafes. Meanwhile, Hope Hydration’s 55-inch digital HydroStations—installed at locations such as Times Square and major festivals—will blend hydration with bite-sized entertainment. Together, these moves further embed TikTok into consumers’ offline journeys, transforming idle moments into engagement opportunities.
TikTok finally signed a deal to sell its U.S. operations to American investors, which resolves long-running uncertainty about the platform’s future in the United States. The deal creates a new U.S. joint venture backed by Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX that will retain TikTok’s massive U.S. user base and allow advertisers and creators to keep using the platform without disruption, while retraining the recommendation algorithm on U.S. data and storing that data locally for security assurances. For B2B marketers who have been watching TikTok’s fate closely, the new ownership structure should mean continued access to the platform’s reach and engagement tools, removing a key strategic unknown from 2026 planning and enabling more confidence in allocating budget to short-form video and creator-driven campaigns.
Last year was exhausting for many people for many reasons. It’s not just job and family stress, or changes in our industry. But as the book title says, it’s everything, everywhere, all at once. It felt like I was constantly cartwheeling from one thing to another, from the news to the stock market, the impact of tariffs and so much more. There’s always one more thing to deal with.
That led many of us to cut back or cut off our news consumption. Unfortunately, that’s a luxury marketers can’t afford. Following the news helps you see how today’s developments could translate into business opportunities or casualties. Last year was another year spent learning how to pivot and adapt our plans to cope with swiftly changing conditions in the ways we do business and market to our customers.
The business acumen we honed during the COVID years has been put to good use this year! However, I’m also seeing promising developments that point to a light at the end of the tunnel, which isn’t necessarily from an oncoming train.
I don’t do predictions for the coming business year. I prefer to suggest trends people should watch for and offer guidance so they can understand what’s happening in our industry and where it may go over the next 12 months.
In 2024, I predicted that top retail companies would end their collective pause on new technology. I expected companies that had not invested in martech upgrades would come out of their shells and spend their budgets.
So, what happened? A lot of tire-kicking — questions and conversations, but not conversions across the martech landscape. This was surprising because many contracts with ESPs and other vendors that began in the post-COVID martech shift should have come up for review or renewal by now.
Dig deeper: 4 takeaways for email marketers from Google’s 2025 holiday report
Now I wonder if we will see the martech change mindset emerge in 2026 as contracts reach expiration dates. Or will companies be satisfied with what they’re doing now, even though technology is advancing at warp speed?
This could lead to more acquisitions and even a contraction in the space with vendors. Or, it could breed a new level of innovation for vendors trying to compete. If anything, vendors have had two years to focus on their own platforms and to grow their AI.
I will be watching to see whether innovation continues or stagnates. Make no mistake – a change cycle is on the horizon. How soon is anyone’s guess. This is why I hate to predict, given all the unknowns and variables in our industry!
That change cycle will begin when people finally understand how technology has progressed over the last three years. It will also depend on whether marketers and their corporate purse-string holders believe the economy and their companies’ financial health are stable enough to support the risk-taking associated with technological change.
I am watching to see whether companies that jumped into AI and CDPs before everyone else lick their wounds and come back to the field with the realization that being the early adopter is not always advantageous.
Don’t get me wrong: CDPs and AI in their first generation were game-changers. But they haven’t changed the game enough to meet company expectations.
I might have misjudged how actively companies would replace their martech services, but I was right that AI continued to evolve in 2025.
In my own workday, AI has evolved rapidly from an intern performing tasks like basic copywriting to a valued partner (nicknamed Dean) assisting me with high-level work in reporting, analysis, and research. It also keeps me up to date on trends by synthesizing all the information I consume across the web.
Dig deeper: How to write great copy for every channel
Last year, my agency, RPE Origin, produced several well-received white papers showing marketers how they can use the AI capabilities we have now to catapult their work to the next level, like this:
This is the work AI was meant to do!
In 2026, I hope that companies invest in AI tools and training, enabling marketers to perform advanced data analysis using closed systems that protect privacy and confidential information.
In turn, marketers must break away from everyday AI and develop a strategic mindset. Don’t ask, “What can AI do?” Ask, “How can AI help me meet my goals?”
Seek help in structuring AI in your company. Luckily, we have that knowledge now. Folks who have spent time and money learning AI and using it strategically are now ready to pass on what they have learned, just as we did back in the early days of email.
I’m optimistic that 2026 could be a banner year in unlocking that knowledge, particularly for email marketers but also for marketers across the board.
When applied right — and by “right” I mean “strategically” — AI can transform your business. I can finish projects on my lunch break instead of taking hours or days. I didn’t lay anybody off or cut back on other processes, either. I just gained insights that help everyone work better, from our employees to our clients.
I can’t be any clearer. AI is your friend. In 2026, we’ll see vendors finally giving us the “easy” button we’ve been asking for. Start paying 20 bucks a month to learn and experiment with AI-driven tools to do your everyday job better.
Oh, you’ll still have an inbox. But it’s not the inbox you got to know back in the day when AOL, Eudora, and Hotmail ruled the email universe.
My next column will have the details. For now, I’ll say I have been watching the inbox shift, bit by bit, from a static collection of from names, subject lines, preheaders, and dates into a virtual assistant that wants to help you manage your daily life.
Those changes are now seeping through email clients, as providers like Gmail and Yahoo! Mail introduce AI-extracted message summaries and prioritization. The email that you so lovingly crafted with a custom from name, an A/B-tested subject line, and a strategically written preheader could be unrecognizable when your recipients see it. If they see it, that is.
I wish I could tell you 2026 will be a breather year for marketers who are being buffeted daily by whipsaw changes in the economy, the supply chain, social unrest, market fluctuations, and everything that keeps our business interesting.
But we couldn’t even get through the holiday break without more chaos. We can also look forward to government-driven socioeconomic changes, an anticipated Supreme Court ruling that could impact tariffs and their effect on key economic sectors and political uncertainties from major midterm and statehouse elections.
Dig deeper: Stop blasting and start connecting with better email strategy
Yes, folks. You’re going to have to find a reliable source of news and watch it every day. Doesn’t matter what your political alliances are or what role you play in your company. You need to follow the markets and understand how these shifts can impact your supply chain, revenue, and even your workforce.
Pivoting, changing, and adapting will still be skills you must master to help your company navigate these potentially choppy waters.
Amidst all the uncertainty we had to cope with in 2025, we should have learned valuable lessons about our processes, including what worked and what didn’t, that we can apply to 2026.
Take a couple of minutes to answer these questions:
Even if you have already wrapped up your 2026 plan, your answers here can become notes you could use as the year spins out. Thinking about it now can save you time and stress down the road.
The coming year will be fun — and I’m not being entirely sarcastic. It’s easy to be all doom and gloom when things don’t go as planned.
What will help you manage through what’s to come is having a solid grasp of operations, customers, goals, prospects and the wider world, and adapting before change is thrust upon us.
For the first time, Facebook is limiting the number of links users can share without a Meta “verified” subscription, according to screenshots shared by social media specialist Matt Navarra.
The social media company’s small-scale test is limiting some unverified users to sharing only two links per month in organic Facebook posts.
A Meta spokesperson told Navarra that the test was devised to “understand whether the ability to publish an increased volume of posts with links add additional value for Meta Verified subscribers.”
The change would directly affect business accounts using Facebook to promote their products and brand, effectively forcing them into paying to be verified on the platform, which costs between $14.99 and $499 per month.
“Subscribe to Meta Verified to share more links on Facebook, plus get a verified badge and additional benefits to help protect your brand,” Meta’s message regarding the new link limitation reads.
Based on the screenshot, the test impacts profiles using a professional account or that are operating through Pages.
Publishers are currently not included in the test, and users can still post unlimited links in the comments section of a post.
By onboarding more verified subscribers, Meta could greatly increase its subscription-based revenue stream.
Although the company has yet to share exact data on the amount of verified subscribers in total, Social Media Today estimated over the summer that about 7 million users subscribe (less than 1% of its user base), driving around $93 million per month across Facebook and Instagram.
Meta’s crackdown on links may also be a sign of the company’s recent redesign efforts to promote the Facebook features that are most popular among the majority of its users — especially Gen Z — while disregarding content-types that deliver lower engagement.
Based on Meta’s most recent content report, Facebook posts including a link do not perform well on the app and receive little to no reach. Currently, only 1.9% of all Facebook feed content views in the U.S. were made up of posts with a link, marking a decline of 8% over the past 3 years.
Esi Eggleston Bracey, Unilever’s chief marketing and growth officer (CMGO), is set to leave in January 2026 after just over two years in the role and eight years with the business.
The CMGO position will not be replaced like-for-like, Unilever confirmed to ADWEEK. Instead, Leandro Barreto, chief marketing officer, Unilever Beauty and Wellbeing, will extend his remit to include Unilever’s enterprise marketing agenda.
The move reflects what Unilever describes as the next phase of its marketing transformation, which will bring global marketing capabilities closer to its business groups, resulting in faster execution and impact.
Bracey will stay on through January to support Barreto in the transition.
In 2023, Unilever (which owns over 400 brands) restructured its business around five key groups: personal care; beauty and well-being; nutrition; home care; and ice cream, which was spun off in December 2025 as the Magnum Ice Cream company
As the restructuring took hold, Eggleston Bracey was appointed as CMGO to lead the team of marketers overseeing these divisions.
