The Daily Carnage

The savvy marketer's hub for industry news, insights, resources, and culture.

Issues

View All

Pinterest Predicts 2026

DECEMBER 10, 2025

Pinterest Predicts 2026

Pinterest’s 2026 Trend Report is a story about emotional resonance, individual expression, and creative freedom.

These insights can be helpful for anticipating and approximating what kinds of styles, products, or content will resonate in 2026 and why.

So, here’s a quick breakdown of major themes:

  • Escapism & Emotional Reset. Through aesthetics like “Cool Blue,” cosmic “Extra Celestial,” or nature-inspired “Wilderkind,” people are looking for visual calming or imaginative escapes.
  • Nostalgia Revisited & Remixed. Trends like “Throwback Kid,” retro toys/fashion, and vintage-inspired décor recycle past styles but with new twist.
  • Maximalist & Personal Style Revival. Styles like “Glamoratti,” “Neo Deco,” “Khaki Coded,” or “Poetcore” are about bold personal expression, statement fashion, and individuality > minimal uniformity.
  • Mixing Beauty, Scent, and Sensory Expression. “Glitchy Glam” (bold, imperfect makeup), “Scent Stacking” (layered fragrances), and tactile or textured aesthetics challenge conventions.
  • Home & Environment as Identity Space. Home décor trends like “FunHaus” (circus-inspired décor), “Neo Deco,” or other bold interior aesthetics show that people are rethinking their living spaces as expressions of personality and mood.

Dig into the full report for more.

Turn Criticism into Ad Concepts

DECEMBER 9, 2025

Sticks and stones may break my bones but insults will help me make a great ad. Or something like that.

Recent research shows using not-so-nice feedback for ad concepts can significantly boost engagement.

A study by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Duke University, and The University of Hong Kong found that reappropriating unfair or irrelevant criticisms can increase ad click-through rates by up to 27%, making brands appear more confident, humorous, and likable.

(Of course, you can preemptively create clever ads without waiting for criticism.)

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Reuse unfair or irrelevant critiques, like a “birdbrain store” can inspire fun bird-themed ads.
  2. Leverage humor. It makes your brand appear warm and confident.
  3. Avoid targeting vulnerable sources. Punch up. It protects brand perception.
  4. Highlight merchandise or campaigns inspired by insults.
  5. Combine with social stances when appropriate to boost engagement.
  6. Test small first to ensure the approach resonates before scaling.

Check out the data from Science Says.

LinkedIn’s New Ad Features for 2026

DECEMBER 8, 2025

LinkedIn has introduced some new ad options to make scaling personalized creative and boosting awareness easier, more efficient, and measurable.

Here’s what’s new:

  • Reserved ads: Premium placement in the first ad slot of LinkedIn feeds for predictable impressions, high attention, and stronger brand recall. Formats include Video Ads, Thought Leader Ads, Single Image Ads, and Document Ads.
  • Ad personalization: Tailor messages dynamically using profile-based macros such as first name, job title, industry, or company name. Personalized ads are more relevant, increasing engagement.
  • AI-Powered creative tools: AI Ad Variants automatically generate multiple creative versions from a single headline or intro.
  • Flexible ad creation (early 2026): Lets you upload multiple images, videos, and copy variations, with LinkedIn automatically optimizing combinations and shifting budgets toward top performers.

Head to LinkedIn for Marketing to get the full scoop.

YouTube Launches Title A/B Testing

DECEMBER 7, 2025

YouTube has finally rolled out Title A/B testing globally after months of limited access.

Every creator with advanced features can now experiment with up to three titles, thumbnails, or title–thumbnail combos inside the Test & Compare tool.

YouTube is prioritizing watch time as the deciding metric, not CTR. So, instead of rewarding clickbait titles, this system will elevate titles that attract and retain viewers. Not slop.

Here’s what to know:

  • Test up to three titles, thumbnails, or combinations per video.
  • Experiments can run for up to 14 days.
  • Winning variation is chosen based on watch time per impression.
  • Impressions are distributed as evenly as possible.
  • Viewer experience stays consistent; each viewer sees only one version.
  • Works on long-form videos and currently desktop-only.

This is great news for marketers, creators, and anyone who wishes YouTube never got so… weird.

Check out Search Engine Journal for more.

How to Get More Leads from Social

DECEMBER 3, 2025

The secret to generating leads on social is treating it as the top of your funnel, not the entire engine.

Social is a visibility tool. It keeps your brand top-of-mind, shows proof of life, and builds familiarity. But real lead generation comes from what happens after someone discovers you.

Here’s what actually works:

  • Consistent, clear messaging about what you do and who it’s for.
  • Value-first content that educates, solves a problem, or builds trust.
  • CTAs that move people to owned channels (email list, site, community).
  • Data-driven iteration: using analytics to double down on what converts.
  • A long-game mindset instead of expecting instant DMs or sales.

Relying on virality, outsourcing your entire strategy to someone promising magic leads, or building your business on a single platform doesn’t work.

Check out Entrepreneur for more.

Data-Supported Reels Strategies

DECEMBER 2, 2025

Meta has shared some research-backed tips to help you get more performance out of your Reels.

The study, conducted with Toluna across a wide range of brand-originated content, highlights what actually moves the needle on Facebook and Instagram.

Here are 5 Reels strategies for brand building:

  1. State your case early. Brand + main message in the first 5 seconds = 1.7x higher purchase intent.
  2. Dynamic branding. Show the brand more than once for a 1.8x lift.
  3. Speech + music. Doubles the likelihood of ranking high for brand interest.
  4. Louder. – Reinforce your message in both audio and visuals for a 1.8x boost.
  5. Slice of life. Everyday scenes lift purchase intent by 1.5x.

And here are 6 Reels strategies for direct response:

  1. Show the product repeatedly.
  2. Support the product with limited branding (<25% of duration).
  3. Add context: features, benefits, USPs.
  4. Use a clear CTA.
  5. Combine speech and music.
  6. Experiment with native elements like emojis.

Put a pin in it for 2026.

Marketing Trends for 2026

DECEMBER 1, 2025

Not to be dramatic, but 2026 is looking to be a year of structural shifts.

Here are the 7 trends shaping the next year:

  1. Marketers become product managers. AI prototyping tools let us turn insights into shippable product concepts. Marketing is moving upstream, influencing features, shaping UX, and embedding growth loops directly into the product.
  2. SEO blogging returns, but for AEO. AI search rewards lived experience and niche depth. Bottom-of-funnel content (comparisons, “best for X,” hyper-specific reviews) becomes a conversion engine that influences both SERPs and AI Overviews.
  3. Employees become internal influencers. The most credible content comes from the people building the product. Marketers who can communicate publicly become career-defensible.
  4. AI video ads level up. With generative tools, the creative bar rises. Taste and narrative will determine winners.
  5. Network effects become the new moat. Distribution gets baked into the product. Templates, communities, and sharing loops turn customers into marketers.
  6. Design taste becomes the #1 skill. Clarity, craft, and aesthetic judgment become true differentiators across content, UX, and product.
  7. Human-first media takes over. Trusted creators, niche newsletters, and employee-led storytelling become premium ad real estate. There’s hope!

Think like a builder, design like a creator, and communicate like a real person. Take a closer look at Marketer Milk.

“Evergreen” Content in the AI Era

NOVEMBER 27, 2025

Evergreen content isn’t looking so evergreen anymore. *Collective sigh.*

LLMs prioritize signs of active upkeep over age, authority, or word count. A post updated last month often beats a masterpiece from 2023.

Our lifesaving “evergreen” content now decays in 90 days. LLMs reward new examples, updated data, current screenshots, and clear signals that the infi reflects the moment.

To stay visible, you need refresh cycles.

Here’s what LLMs treat as “fresh” content:

  • Recency indicators: visible modified dates, new backlinks, updated schema, fresh mentions.
  • Structural upgrades: 500+ new words, new sections, expanded FAQs, current screenshots.
  • External validation: press hits in the last 6–12 months, new research citations, refreshed outbound links.

Treat evergreen pieces like they have a built-in expiration date. Add refresh tasks to your content calendar, tier your library by business impact, and schedule updates before visibility slips.

Check out MarTech for more.

Creators Lift TikTok Campaigns

NOVEMBER 25, 2025

TikTok’s new data suggests creator-led ads outperform traditional brand ads across every meaningful metric.

At the same CPM, creator content drives a 70% higher CTR and a 159% higher engagement rate.

Why? Because creators are native to TikTok’s rhythms in a way brands rarely are. They understand the jokes, the jump cuts, the micro-communities, and the unwritten rules that make content feel native rather than forced. And that creator fluency shows up in performance.

Here are the three core advantages creators offer campaigns:

  1. Cultural translation: Creators interpret a brand through TikTok’s lens, whether that’s #CleanBeauty, eco-lifestyle, or niche aesthetic cores, unlocking angles internal teams might overlook.
  2. High-velocity production: They concept and produce quickly, giving brands more high-quality iterations without creative fatigue.
  3. The halo effect: Audiences trust messages from voices they already follow. When ads run on creator accounts, engagement and view-through rates climb.

Check out the insight at TikTok for Business.

Insights

View All

Get the best daily marketing newsletter in your inbox