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The K-shaped economy is no longer theoretical. A small, wealthy segment now drives most consumer spending, while the majority is pulling back, erasing the middle market. Premium shoppers continue to buy high-end and safe-haven goods, while value-focused consumers prioritize trade-downs and dupes. Even traditional affordable luxuries are slipping as budgets tighten. The idea of an average consumer no longer holds. Brands must choose a clear position at either the premium or value end.
ChatGPT may soon include advertising content within its conversational interface, placing sponsored responses above informational ones in some cases. OpenAI teams have explored formats that delay ad exposure until a second user prompt to avoid immediate pushback. Early designs reference ad carousels and feature-based promotions embedded in dialogue. As AI tools begin to function as digital assistants and research companions, brands are looking for ways to appear contextually relevant without disrupting trust.
Humor in B2B ads can make people like the ad and the brand more, especially when the humor connects to the product and the audience is not rushed. Experiments found that funny B2B ads improved attitudes toward the ad by 19.9%, improved attitudes toward the brand by 17.9%, and increased the chance of people searching for more information by 8.6%. In another test, a funny cleaning service ad led to 19.3% better brand attitudes among people who were not in a hurry. The effect works best when the humor relates directly to the product, weakens when people are busy, and does not help much if the audience is already a customer.
A high-impact website tweak is splitting a generic “Contact Us” into specific options like “Contact Sales” and “Contact Support”. Tests show this can noticeably increase clicks and qualified inquiries.
This Google Doc includes a curated collection of top AI prompts and workflows for content, branding, and research. It includes systems for creating LinkedIn posts from calls, refining brand positioning, extracting customer insights, and producing bottom-of-funnel content. Each workflow has templates and tips for adding your own data and maintaining context.
The speakers will discuss the difference between funnels and loops. They'll walk through why funnels stall, why loops store value, and the five types of loops. The free webinar takes place on Tuesday, January 13, at 12:00 PM PST.
Allison Stadd, CMO of Ollie, shares a low-lift 52-week leadership challenge that uses music-inspired prompts to help leaders lead with more creativity and curiosity.
Fast answers from AI can weaken creative thinking if users accept responses without challenging them. In a creativity test, students scored higher when they avoided shortcuts and developed their own approaches. AI users who asked how to think rather than what to think improved their performance. When teams combined human collaboration with AI-guided strategy, their creativity scores rose. AI should be used as a thinking partner that supports exploration instead of delivering finished ideas.
Just because an idea cannot pass a statistically-significant controlled experiment, does not mean that it isn't a good idea.
Satya Nadella's POV on 2026's area of focus.
A list of low-value B2B content tactics that chase SEO and prioritize volume over real buyer impact.