📱 TikTok is launching an ad-free version in the UK.

📸 Instagram tests captions on each post within carousels.

▶️ Google Ads will auto-link YouTube channels starting June 10.

📺 Prime Video Ads can now change based on what viewers already saw.

💸 Venmo is rolling out a huge app refresh.

🩲 Behind Duluth Trading Company’s cheeky new campaign.

Substack is quickly becoming a high-trust marketing channel because it prioritizes depth, personality, and direct audience relationships over algorithm-driven reach.

According to Meltwater, social media mentions of Substack increased nearly 30% between late 2025 and early 2026.

Brands are investing in editorial-style storytelling that feels more personal and community-oriented.

Leading brands are using Substack in three main ways:

1. Sponsorships with creators. Brands partner with established writers whose audiences already trust them. Companies like Walmart and Banana Republic use native newsletter sponsorships to reach niche communities authentically.
2. Branded newsletters. Companies like Rare Beauty and Shopify publish editorial content that blends brand storytelling with useful insights, interviews, and community conversations.
3. Founder-led publications. Executives and founders use personal newsletters to humanize their brands through candid reflections and lifestyle content. This approach helps audiences connect with the people behind the business.

As we’ve seen recently, audiences value authenticity over polished advertising. So, as platforms become more crowded and algorithm-heavy, Substack offers brands a quieter space to build your brand community.

Check out Meltwater for a closer look.

ChatGPT’s new integration lets you describe what you want in natural language and have ChatGPT build, edit, and analyze spreadsheets via a sidebar in Google Sheets.

It can generate full spreadsheets from scratch, update existing workbooks, and answer questions about data in real time.

You can also connect Apps from ChatGPT to bring context from Gmail, Stripe, and SharePoint into spreadsheet workflows.

Catch up on Season 2 of The Daily Carnage Show:

• Major Platform Updates (8:17)
• Nike Runs into Controversy (12:19)
• Transgressive OOH (18:45)
• Your Brain on AI (12:33)
• Meta, McDonald’s Mukbang, and The OpenAI Mess (14:41)
• Ethics in the AI Era (18:33)

🎙️ Now streaming on Youtube, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music.

“The Daily Carnage was the newsletter that brought us the most meaningful demo clicks and new trials.” — Digital Summit

“Open rate was nearly 50% and CTR was relatively high, especially considering this newsletter’s audience was likely being exposed to our event for the first time.” — Adweek

Hop on our 2026 sponsorship calendar to get your content in front of 25,000 marketers.

Book a $99 Classified ad instantly, or ask us about our custom sponsorship packages tailored to your campaign objectives.

After Spirit Airlines abruptly shut down operations, lots of customers were left with unusable loyalty points.

So, Papa John’s launched a limited-time promotion, “Skies to Pies,” offering affected Spirit loyalty members a free large one-topping pizza (and new membership in their own loyalty program).

Papa John’s called it a “soft landing” during a stressful moment, with the tagline “when travel plans fall apart, pizza plans shouldn’t.”

That’s the spirit!

Weigh in on The Daily Carnage Subreddit:

• The Daily Carnage Show Ep 2.6 Discussion: “Which major social platform updates from this spring are you most excited (or skeptical) about? Which of these features are you likely to test?”
• B2B lead gen and data enrichment tools: “Our team has just had an abysmal experience with Seamless.ai and we’re interested in exploring competitor. Do you have a tool you’d recommend?”
• Using LinkedIn’s Post Inspector to Reset Cached Meta Data and Images: “LinkedIn will sometimes stubbornly associate an out of date featured image with a URL from your website. Here’s a super simple fix.”

A-1, 1956