CULTURE

👻 Google’s “Frightgeist” Halloween search trends overview is here.

🔥 Ragebait is everywhere. Should marketers lean in?

🚗 How driverless cars will impact outdoor advertising.

📊 CMOs share what brands get wrong when marketing to Gen Z at Advertising Week.

BRANDS

🛒 Why Walmart is selling badly designed cans of Axe body spray. Hint: TikTok.

💀 Corporate pressure killed Lululemon’s creative soul.

💍 Oura is winning young women and losing gym rats, and it’s fine with that.

🍏 Apple TV drops the “+” in a rebrand.

🛒 Walmart partners with OpenAI for ChatGPT shopping feature.

ADVERTISING

📈 Study: Purchase intent jumps 40% when ads appear in premium media vs alternatives.

🔍 Google rolls out new global “Sponsored results” ad label.

SOCIAL

💼 Facebook’s trying out in-stream job listings once again.

📱 Instagram is making all teen accounts PG-13.

🎮 LinkedIn launches gaming leaderboard.

Monday: Got some travel budget burning a hole? Here are the top social media conferences to follow in 2026.

Tuesday: Ninety-three percent of people read reviews before buying, and products with as few as five reviews have a 270% higher purchase rate than those without. That’s the power of social proof. But most brands only use their testimonials for sales pages or launch emails. Here’s how to start using social proof daily.

Wednesday: Bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) content is designed for readers who are ready to make a purchase decision. Basically, unlike entertaining or top-of-funnel content, BOFU writing should remove uncertainty and build confidence. These are Elliot McGuire’s (Mint Studios) key elements of successful BOFU.

Thursday: Reverse imposter syndrome flips the classic notion of imposter syndrome. Instead of doubting your abilities internally, you’re confident in your skills, but external observers don’t fully recognize them.  This tends to affect high-performing folks who are hardworking, results-driven, and quiet about their achievements (the GOAT co-workers). If that sounds like you, here’s how to reverse… reverse imposter syndrome.

Can you solve this puzzle? 🪓

Kaylan posted: “Salesforce question. We have email templates and use cadences. Recently, we’re noticing question marks popping up in the template if our reps go in and edit the content before sending. Has anyone experienced this before?”

Celeste posted: “Have you attended/heard about a fundraising event, that made you/attendees feel really passionate about the organization/made people want to do more with the org? I’m trying to get ideas to replace a golf tourney, as I don’t feel people join to really support the org.”

“The Daily Carnage was the newsletter that brought us the most meaningful demo clicks and new trials.” — Danielle Blanchette, Digital Summit (2025)

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Catch up on the conversation with an episode of The Daily Carnage Show:

• Marketer Burnout: A Crisis of Creativity (16:29)
• Unhinged Marketing: The Age of Absurdity (15:07)
• State of Marketing: Pride Month, Neurodivergence, and More (18:40)
• Game-Changers: The Cannes Lions 2025 Shortlist (18:47)
• Brand vs. Planet: The Chilean Sea Bass (9:41)

Answer: Tito’s Delivery Dog.

Yeah, Google’s trending Halloween costumes are weird this year.

P.S. You can pick up the Tito’s Delivery Dog costume for $40.