Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don’t have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 12/2/22 – 12/8/22 to stay ahead of the curve: 

Please note: our Scouts will be off duty next week, but be sure to check back on 12/22 for the next edition! 

Google threatens to kill off cookies, and AI threatens to end…Google? Newish AI platforms that generate conversational responses and epic (or sometimes not-so-epic) avatars seem to be the next step in a more automated future. This piece breaks down what’s going on behind the hype. 

That’s right, we’re almost at the 2022 finish line! Burnt out and in need of some creative inspiration (or just want to enjoy some first-class video ads)? Look no further than this roundup of the year’s best work. 

If only we could leave all the changes and challenges facing advertisers here in 2022…alas, next year promises both in droves. But where there is change, there is also opportunity. This report highlights those opportunities and clarifies how advertisers can best capitalize on their potential. 

‘Tis the season for endless Christmas cookies, decadent hot cocoa, and copious holiday feasts—but some advertising agencies are trimming down. This week, Magna and GroupM released their ad spend forecasts for 2022 and 2023 and, though they still predict growth in the year ahead, it’s lower than initially forecasted.   

The Association of National Advertisers (ANA)’s effort to audit the US programmatic advertising industry has been rife with complications and controversy (and understandably so, given the nature of programmatic advertising itself). Here, peek behind the curtain into the ANA’s attempt to give marketers some transparency into their programmatic budgets. 

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