Blueprint — page 87 | The Gradient

Skydance Owns the Pipeline. What Happens to the People?

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Skydance Owns the Pipeline. What Happens to the People?

Google compares Gemini AI design to Apple in the 1980s

For rival tech brands, Google and Apple have seemed awfully cosy lately. Earlier this month it was announced that, in a huge blow to OpenAI, Google’s Gemini will be powering the much awaited (and much delayed) enhanced Siri assistant on every iPhone. And now, Google has compared its UI design with that of Apple. Apple

The Stages of Learning (and Why Crocheting Almost Broke Me)

What do crocheting and the PESO Model© have in common? More than you’d think. Shelly Verkamp shares what crafting has taught her about the stages of learning. The post The Stages of Learning (and Why Crocheting Almost Broke Me) first appeared on Spin Sucks.

Head Of WordPress AI Team Explains SEO For AI Agents

James LePage, Director Engineering AI at Automattic, and the co-lead of the WordPress AI Team, shared his insights into things publishers should be thinking about in terms of SEO. He’s the founder and co-lead of the WordPress Core AI Team, which is tasked with coordinating AI-related projects within WordPress, including how AI agents will interact

JPMorgan’s Latest Ads Feature Something Entirely New: Actual Customers

Financial services advertising usually looks similar: warm and fuzzy portrayals of life’s milestones—births, graduations, weddings, retirement parties—all made better because someone had the sense to invest. But no matter how good the scripting and production, those bank “customers” are usually actors, and it’s obvious. That status quo changed earlier this month with the debut of

“Focus on quality interactions rather than volume”

So what’s yours? Here are some questions to think about: What’s your preferred way of communicating? Is it written channels where you feel more confident because you have more time to formulate ideas or thoughtful responses privately? What’s your preferred way of processing information? Do you need more time and space to percolate, or do

Mastering the Art of Data Storytelling

You know that feeling when you’re staring at a spreadsheet, hoping—just hoping—that somewhere inside those rows and columns is a brilliant insight, ready to leap out and impress your boss? Yeah. Me too. Last week, we talked about the moment when I proudly marched into a meeting with a beautifully polished marketing deck—charts, benchmarks, attribution

How To Analyze Google Discover

TL;DR To generate the most value from Discover, view it through an entity-focused lens. People, places, organisations, teams, et al. Your best chance of success in Discover with an individual article is to make sure it outperforms its expected performance early. So share, share, share. Then analyze the type of content you create. What makes

Measuring account progression makes the attribution conversation obsolete

Measuring your marketing and sales success by defining, measuring and optimizing the stages an account progresses through will make the attribution conversation obsolete. Yeah, I said it. Teams obsessively track impressions, clicks, website visits, form fills, event registrations, content downloads and MQLs to try and scientifically associate that behavior with what prompted a customer to

Nintendo’s design demand almost cancelled Mario & Sonic at the Olympics

Two worlds collided with the release of Sega’s Mario & Sonic Olympic Games in 2007. And while gamers simply relished the opportunity to play two of the most iconic characters ever in one game, it seems that the two brands were less comfortable about the collaboration – and Nintendo even put in some strict guidelines.

Navigating Uncertainty With the PESO Model

With economic uncertainty rising, proving the value of marketing and comms is more important than ever. Christopher Barger explains how the PESO Model© can help. The post Navigating Uncertainty With the PESO Model first appeared on Spin Sucks.

How Much Of Your Paid Media Budget Should Be Allocated To Upper Funnel?

Determining a budget split between upper and lower-funnel is a recurring topic in paid media. Upper-funnel campaigns (typically awareness and interest) create future demand, while lower-funnel campaigns capture existing demand and are built to drive action. Knowing where the sweet spot is with budget allocation is a skill, and requires a sound knowledge of incrementality

Future Marketing Leaders on the biggest challenges facing marketers

From age old conundrums to contending with a rapidly changing modern ecosystem, our Future Marketing Leaders lay out the biggest challenges they see for marketers. Source

Faber Editions’ type-led cover design system is breathing new life into old books

Upon reflecting on the original Faber Paper Covered Editions, Pete identified some strengths. Those he saw as “most successful” had a “bold typographic and/or illustrative treatment” which in turn “countered the dominance” of the branding strip that ran down the side. “This realisation led me to define some rules for the designs of the individual

What Great Data Storytelling Looks Like in Real Life

You don’t need to be a data scientist to be a great storyteller. You just need a structure, a metaphor, and a little guts. Gini Dietrich shows you how. The post What Great Data Storytelling Looks Like in Real Life first appeared on Spin Sucks.

From Simple Builders To Enterprise CMS

WordPress powers hundreds of millions of websites. But when issues occur internally, the vulnerability of relying on a single platform becomes apparent. WordPress isn’t the only content management system (CMS) option. There’s a diverse marketplace of publishing platforms for those seeking alternatives. This guide provides an overview of leading WordPress alternatives across key website categories.

Media Buying Briefing: How Horizon and Havas’ JV aims to distinguish itself in a ‘red ocean’

It’s like the Revolutionary War all over again — the Americans and the French ally with each other to fight the English, in this case WPP. (To be fair, they’re also fighting a fellow French company as well as an American one.) The under-the-radar joint venture between America’s largest independent media agency Horizon Media and

How a childhood movie obsession turned into a career in film, VFX and games

We all love the films like Jurassic Park and Toy Story, and the spellbinding craft of classic Disney animation, but not all of us turn that passion into a career. Pat Imrie took his childhood love for the best ’90s films and turned it into a 17-year career across the creative industries, starting as a

Without a strategic plan, AI is just another shiny object. Travis Claytor shares how the PESO Model® brings structure and purpose to your AI use. The post Leveraging the Power of AI in the PESO Model© first appeared on Spin Sucks.

8 Changes Marketers Should Make In 2026

Paid media didn’t slow down last year. If anything, the platforms made sure we stayed busy. Google rolled out more AI-assisted ad creation features, new Performance Max reporting updates, and continued refining how AI-influenced results shape visibility across search. Microsoft pushed forward with its own set of AI tools inside Ads and Copilot, along with

Nightly News Wins the Demo Battle

The first full week of 2026 saw the three evening broadcasts start on an upswing for a variety of reasons. NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas won the advertiser-coveted Adults 25-54 demo battle for the week by the slimmest of margins, a strong start for the network’s evening franchise. Meanwhile, ABC World News Tonight with

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