Sam Bradley

Covers agencies and ad-tech. Bylines at digiday.com. Desk record: 10 signals cited since August 2026, 8 published. Updated September 18, 2026.

Indexed from published reporting. Not a medianexis staff byline. Any journalist can ask to be removed.

Coverage

8 stories, newest first.RSS →

CMOs cite AI search anxiety to push for bigger upper-funnel budgets

State Farm, Mercedes and Hoka marketers say AI search behavior is a factor in budget debates, arguing brand spend protects consideration as tools like ChatGPT and AI Overviews reshape research.

Ad-tech iab-raises-us-ad-spend-forecast-as-ai-tools-capture-more-of-the-budget

IAB raises US ad spend forecast as AI tools capture more of the budget

The IAB now projects 12.3% U.S. ad spend growth this year, up from 9.5%. Madison & Wall estimates AI-directed spend will hit 12% of U.S. ad dollars, up from 2% in 2023, reaching 27% by 2030.

Sep 10

Ad-tech bot-and-ai-traffic-surge-forces-marketers-to-rethink-retargeting

Bot and AI traffic surge forces marketers to rethink retargeting

Automated agents and bots now account for more than half of all web requests, per Cloudflare. Agencies say inflated impressions and conversions are poisoning retargeting data, pushing some clients to shift budget into social and retail media instead.

Sep 9

Agencies wpps-rose-posts-better-pitch-numbers-a-year-in-but-margin-gap-persists

WPP’s Rose posts better pitch numbers a year in, but margin gap persists

A year into Cindy Rose’s tenure, WPP Media’s retention rate has climbed to 43% from 16%, with $3 billion in new accounts won versus $2.81 billion lost. Operating margin still sits at 4.1%, far below Publicis’s 17.4%.

Sep 1

Agencies world-cup-ratings-surge-fails-to-lift-premier-league-ad-demand

World Cup ratings surge fails to lift Premier League ad demand

Fox’s World Cup coverage drew 128 million viewers and lifted its ad revenue 28% to $4.2 billion, but buyers say that hasn’t translated into a rush for Premier League inventory.

Aug 28

Measurement brainlabs-data-ai-overviews-cut-client-web-traffic-10-5-in-14-months

Brainlabs data: AI Overviews cut client web traffic 10.5% in 14 months

Brainlabs analyzed Google Analytics across 54 clients and found organic sessions fell 10.5% since AI Overviews hit scale, while AI-platform referral traffic rose 163% and converted 1.5x better than organic search.

Aug 25

Ad-tech butler-till-iheartmedia-pilot-direct-agent-to-agent-buying-for-audio

Butler/Till, iHeartMedia pilot direct agent-to-agent buying for audio

Now I’ve heard everything. Butler/Till and iHeartMedia ran a four-week agentic buying pilot on streaming audio and podcasts, using matched AI agents to execute a direct agency-publisher buy with no SSP middleman involved.

Aug 22

Creators brands-trade-broad-reach-for-fan-first-social-strategies

Brands trade broad reach for ‘fan-first’ social strategies

Poppi and McDonald’s are building social strategies around superfans rather than mass audiences, using comments and viral moments to drive product launches. Marketers like McDonald’s Guillaume Huin now use personal accounts, not brand handles, to leak news directly to fans.

Aug 19