Intuitive Change<\/p>\n
2026 has been an eventful year for Intuit\u2019s media business on multiple fronts.<\/p>\n
In April, the company announced plans to shut down<\/a> SMB MediaLabs, its ad network for small and local businesses. The idea behind SMB MediaLabs, which launched in 2023, was to retarget QuickBooks customers around the web.<\/p>\n Then, just last month, there was a creative agency shakeup, with Intuit switching to Mother New York from FCB. And now Intuit is conducting a review of its US media investments, Ad Age<\/a> reports. The incumbent is Omnicom Initiative, Intuit\u2019s global media agency, with Wieden+Kennedy, PMG and Dept also in the mix.<\/p>\n What\u2019s a little strange is that this is all happening even as Intuit\u2019s shares plummet.<\/p>\n Despite a falling market cap, Intuit has somehow managed to cement itself as a flagship media account, with US marketing spend jumping from $914 million in 2024 to $933 million last year. And to top it all off, Intuit has run a Super Bowl spot every year for the past 13 years.<\/p>\n For a company whose stock is down nearly two-thirds, its marketing budget is remarkably untroubled.<\/p>\n The New Expansion Pack<\/p>\n Can\u2019t stop, won\u2019t stop.<\/p>\n That seems to be OpenAI\u2019s mantra regarding its ChatGPT ads pilot, which is continuing its expansion across Europe just weeks after launching in the UK.<\/p>\n Despite initial hesitation<\/a>, the AI company has made it clear that it\u2019s all in on ads<\/a>, with a newly launched custom audience feature<\/a> and plans to introduce new formats<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n OpenAI\u2019s careers page has a role open for a regional manager for ads solutions \u201cto lead and scale OpenAI\u2019s advertising business across Europe,\u201d plus additional ad exec roles open in Paris, Munich, Dublin and Singapore.<\/p>\n The growth has been rapid. During a fireside chat in Cannes<\/a>, Criteo CEO Michael Komasinski said Criteo doubled the number of clients participating in the OpenAI ad pilot in the span of one month.<\/p>\n Still, OpenAI isn\u2019t trying to rush things. \u201cWhen we roll out a new country, like Japan,\u201d David Dugan, OpenAI\u2019s global head of ads noted during the fireside, \u201cwe start with rolling it up to 10% of the available audience.\u201d<\/p>\n If user return rates and queries per day aren\u2019t negatively affected, OpenAI will bump the exposure to 50% and then 90%. \u201cWe want to go fast,\u201d said Dugan, while still \u201cstaying consistent with user needs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Harper & Gamble<\/p>\n After the Supreme Court lifted federal restrictions in 2018 and gave states the authority to legalize sports betting, it didn\u2019t take long for gambling and professional sports to become deeply intertwined.<\/p>\n Now, gambling apps are working with active professional sports stars to market themselves, particularly to high-spending users. But \u201chigh-spending users\u201d can also be a euphemism for \u201cproblem gamblers.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2024, Philadelphia Phillies megastar Bryce Harper recorded a personalized video for a FanDuel VIP who is now suing the company for contributing to his gambling addiction, The Philadelphia Inquirer<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n The user wagered $18.5 million on FanDuel since 2020, incurring $1.5 million in losses. Rather than being cut off, he was bumped up to FanDuel\u2019s VIP tier, including getting a personal manager who provided access to sporting events and exclusive parties. The Harper video was another perk. Meanwhile, by 2025, the plaintiff had taken out multiple mortgages and spiraled to the point that his therapist called the police for a wellness check.<\/p>\n Harper\u2019s video is a notable element in the case because the MLB is (was) famously averse to all gambling associations. But the league began allowing players to promote sportsbooks in 2022, as long as they don\u2019t explicitly encourage gambling.<\/p>\n Not that MLB players haven\u2019t gotten themselves involved<\/a> in illegal sports app gambling schemes all the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Wait! There\u2019s More!<\/p>\n Madison Square Garden\u2019s hacked database includes millions of customer emails and phone numbers pulled from its Salesforce system, in addition to risk assessments for celebrity Knicks fans and labels for LGBTQ celebs. [Wired<\/a>]<\/p>\n As much as 41% of long-form written content on LinkedIn was generated by AI, a new report suggests. [404 Media<\/a>]<\/p>\n The New York Times and other publishers suing OpenAI have accused the company of withholding evidence and lying in court. [NYT<\/a>]\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Google will now disclose when ads are \u201ccreated or edited\u201d with AI. [TechCrunch<\/a>]\u00a0<\/p>\n You\u2019re Hired!<\/p>\n Airbnb hires former OpenAI exec Michael Tabtabai as VP of creative. [Ad Age<\/a>]\u00a0<\/p>\n