Welcome to the latest edition of Katalys Connect – your shortcut to the latest in performance marketing!
[Read time: 4 minutes]
What’s in this issue? Each week we pack the latest trends, actionable insights, and industry breakthroughs into a quick read – ensuring you’re not just keeping up, you’re staying ahead.
- Monetization: Discover how publishers are fighting traffic declines and the latest on high-profile lawsuits that could shake up the industry.
- Growth: Learn how brands are winning with Reddit, Google’s evolving Gemini ad plans, and why fingerprinting is sparking privacy backlash among consumers and regulators.
- The Future of Commerce: Uncover how retail media is reshaping shopper marketing, Amazon’s social commerce pivot, and why shoppers abandon checkout over friction.
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💸 Monetization
Publishers Face Pageview Crisis • Generative AI, ad blockers, and platform shifts are cutting into publisher traffic, forcing new strategies for audience retention and revenue growth.
- AI-driven search tools like Google’s AI Overviews and Perplexity are reducing organic clicks, with some publishers seeing up to a 25% drop in search traffic.
- Ad blocking and platform algorithm changes are making traditional ad revenue models unreliable, pushing publishers toward subscriptions, first-party data, and direct ad deals to stay competitive.
The Fight Back Against AI • A group of top news publishers is suing AI startup Cohere, accusing it of using copyrighted content without permission and damaging their brands.
- The lawsuit alleges Cohere repurposed full articles, including paywalled content, and misattributed AI-generated summaries to publishers, raising concerns over misinformation.
- Backed by the News Media Alliance, the lawsuit follows a U.S. Copyright Office policy change that has made it easier for digital publishers to protect and enforce their rights.
Affiliate Battle Heats Up • Lawsuits against PayPal Honey, Capital One, Klarna, and other browser extensions are piling up, with affiliate commissions on the line – and the outcome could reshape the industry.
- Creators claim coupon extensions hijack affiliate links, costing them potential revenue, while platforms claim they follow industry standards including last-click attribution.
- Legal experts say creators face an uphill battle, as last-click attribution favors extensions, and platforms argue that the sales wouldn’t have happened without the discount prompts.
📈 Growth
Reddit’s Secret Weapon: Conversation • Brands that engage in real, unfiltered discussions on Reddit are winning trust – and driving serious purchase decisions.
- One in four Reddit discussions includes direct product recommendations, making it a goldmine for mid-funnel marketing and authentic brand engagement.
- With ad revenue surging 56% YoY, some brands are ditching scripted influencers and tapping into high-trust communities that turn conversations into conversions.
Google’s Pivot Triggers Privacy Concerns • Google is embracing fingerprinting, a tracking method that builds unique user profiles across devices – despite previously opposing the practice.
- Fingerprinting collects device and behavioral data like IP addresses, browser settings, and mouse movements, allowing advertisers to track users across different platforms without consent. Unlike cookies, fingerprinting can’t be cleared or blocked, making it harder for users to opt out of targeted advertising.
- The move is drawing backlash from privacy advocates and regulators, with the UK’s ICO warning that fingerprinting could be misused if not properly regulated. What this means for advertisers is still to be seen.
Bringing Ads to Gemini • Google is exploring native ad placements in its Gemini AI assistant, though monetization will remain focused on subscriptions – for now.
- CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed that Google has “very good ideas” for integrating ads, but the company will prioritize user experience before rolling them out.
- While ads won’t appear in Gemini this year, Google’s $75 billion AI investment signals a long-term push to scale and monetize its AI products.
🚀 Future of Commerce
Amazon Drops TikTok-Style Feed • Amazon is discontinuing its TikTok-style short-form video feed ‘Inspire’, shifting focus to social commerce partnerships and AI-driven shopping tools.
- Inspire struggled to attract creators, with low payouts and stronger monetization opportunities on competing platforms limiting content generation.
- Instead of building its own social shopping feed, Amazon is doubling down on integrations with Instagram and Snapchat while testing new AI-powered shopping assistants like Rufus.
Convenience Is King • A new FedEx report finds that 97% of shoppers have abandoned purchases due to friction in the buying experience, highlighting the need for seamless transactions
- Home delivery (81%), free shipping (76%), and real-time tracking (68%) are now baseline expectations, making fast and transparent logistics essential for brands.
- Shopping habits are evolving, with Gen Z discovering products via TikTok (51%), Millennials prioritizing corporate ethics (81%), and Boomers still favoring in-store shopping (53%).
Retail Media’s Big Shift • Brands are moving ad dollars to retail media networks, but winning requires blending shopper marketing expertise with digital strategy – not just shifting budgets.
- 70% of retail media spend is coming from TV and social media budgets, signaling a major shift toward retailer-owned digital ad channels.
- With better measurement and faster optimization, brands are merging in-store promotions with digital campaigns, creating omnichannel strategies that drive real results.
