[Marketing Week] Bob Koigi: Advertising’s identity crisis

As consumers move between search engines, publisher websites, social platforms and AI-powered discovery tools, identifying potential customers across channels is becoming increasingly complex.

Advertisers are increasing spending to drive growth, but fragmented consumer journeys and persistent identity gaps are undermining their ability to reach new audiences.

Taboola’s The Data Advantage report highlights the disconnect between rising investment and audience expansion. Despite budgets increasing by nearly 10%, 81% of advertisers surveyed said they were struggling to reach new audiences, while 75% reported difficulties recognising the same non-converting customer across multiple touchpoints.

The findings expose a fundamental weakness in digital advertising: greater spending does not necessarily translate into incremental reach. Without reliable cross-channel identification and measurement, campaigns risk repeatedly targeting familiar audience segments rather than attracting new customers.

This challenge could reinforce dependence on large, closed advertising platforms, where established targeting systems offer convenience but may limit visibility into audiences beyond their ecosystems. Yet advertisers appear open to alternatives, with 81% willing to consider increasing investment in publishers and news websites if identity challenges were resolved.

The implications extend beyond media allocation. As AI reshapes how consumers discover information and products, advertisers will need measurement frameworks that reflect increasingly fragmented journeys. Publishers and the open web could benefit from redirected investment, but only if they can demonstrate credible audience insights and measurable outcomes.

Ultimately, the competitive advantage will belong to advertisers that turn fragmented consumer signals into actionable insights, rather than simply spending more to reach the same audiences.

Campaigns of the week

KFC Italia has teamed up with DUDE: Milano to promote two sandwiches that replace the traditional burger bun with focaccia, using comedy and Italian-American cultural references to address the potential controversy around putting one of Italy's best-known breads on a fast-food sandwich.

Chipotle Mexican Grill has created an original song using instruments made entirely from fresh vegetables, recording the composition at Abbey Road Studios' Studio Two in London.

People’s Pension has launched its first national television advertising campaign, introducing Famously Fair, a brand platform built around the workplace pension provider’s focus on making pensions accessible to ordinary savers.

Agencies and accounts

Kyndryl and WPP are expanding their strategic partnership across enterprise technology, marketing and go-to-market activities.

PubMatic has been selected by Sony Pictures Entertainment as its preferred programmatic advertising partner for LIVE TV on PS5.

Nodor Group has appointed The PHA Group to handle its press office brief ahead of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace in December.

Partnerships and acquistions

Skydance has completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, creating a combined media and entertainment company that brings together major film studios, streaming services, television networks, news operations and sports properties.

Salesforce has agreed to acquire Listen Labs, an AI-powered customer research and human simulation platform, in a deal that will expand the CRM company’s capabilities for understanding customers and users.

Cotswold Outdoor Group is expanding its retail media network into physical stores through a collaboration with Broadsign and in-store media integrator IUF.

Captains of Industry

This week, Marketing Report spoke with Vedran Obradović, the Founder and Brand Designer at Vizura Studio about his approach to turning brand guidelines into an everyday working system, and what AI means for the future of brand management.

Other major news of the week

Nestlé and the NBA have agreed a multi-year international marketing partnership that will make Milo, Nescau and Nesquik official partners of the basketball league across 21 markets on four continents.

Havas has secured validation from SBTi Services for its near-term science-based emissions reduction targets, establishing objectives for 2030 and 2035.

Bob Koigi is the editor-in-chief of Marketing Report.One

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