[Marketing Week] Bob Koigi: Making ChatGPT ads work

As advertising expands into AI-powered environments, marketers face a new challenge: connecting these interactions with established campaigns while measuring their effectiveness across channels.

StackAdapt’s expanded retargeting capabilities for ChatGPT Ads reflect this shift, allowing advertisers to re-engage audiences exposed to ChatGPT advertising through display and connected TV campaigns. Its Data Hub centralises audience data and CRM integrations, helping brands coordinate messaging across programmatic channels.

The development is part of a wider industry push to integrate ChatGPT advertising into existing media strategies. Dentsu’s partnership with Adthena focuses on advertising intelligence, while Criteo’s expanded integration connects ChatGPT Ads with commerce advertising. Integral Ad Science’s brand-safety measurement offering addresses another priority: ensuring advertising appears in suitable environments.

Meanwhile, brands are rethinking how advertising works within conversational AI, where consumers increasingly discover and research products. Together, these developments point to an emerging advertising ecosystem built around audience engagement, measurement and integration rather than isolated placements.

However, the opportunity depends on advertisers being able to demonstrate meaningful performance, maintain brand safety and connect AI-driven interactions to measurable business outcomes.

Ultimately, ChatGPT Ads’ long-term value will depend less on access to a new advertising environment than on how effectively marketers integrate it into broader strategies. Cross-channel coordination is an important step, but transparent measurement and demonstrable returns will determine whether AI advertising becomes a sustainable part of media investment.

Campaigns of the week

Special and EssenceMediacom Japan have partnered with Uber Eats on the second instalment of its Eh?! campaign in Japan, highlighting the platform’s in-store price matching across a broad selection of products.

Leo UK has created a Halloween out-of-home (OOH) campaign for Morrisons that transforms fresh fruit and vegetables into spooky characters, combining seasonal humour with price-led messaging.

FRED & FARID’s generative AI creative studio, [Ai]magination, has produced a 50-second film for Guinness that brings the brand’s advertising characters into contemporary Chinese cityscapes.

Agencies and accounts

VCCP Blue has been appointed as the lead creative agency for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), taking responsibility for its creative strategy, brand relaunch and integrated marketing campaigns.

Courage has been appointed creative and strategy agency of record for GE Appliances Canada following a competitive review.

Independent agency Brandon has been appointed lead strategic and creative agency for a Reser’s Fine Foods brand following a competitive pitch.

Partnerships and acquistions

Stagwell has acquired Freestar, a technology and monetization partner for digital publishers, to expand its Owned Media capabilities and strengthen its position across media and commerce.

Criteo and flaconi have extended their retail media partnership for three years, expanding their collaboration beyond Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Clear Channel Outdoor has renewed and expanded its advertising partnership with Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP), extending a relationship that began in 2005.

Captains of Industry

Recently, Marketing Report spoke to Agata Adamczak, Head of Organic & AI Performance at Havas Media Network, about how AI-driven discovery is changing marketing, why reputation and accurate information matter, and how brands can connect AI visibility to measurable business outcomes.

We also interviewed Keith Kakadia, Founder of Sociallyin, who shared insights on building effective social media strategies, AI-powered commerce, creator credibility and the future of community management.

At the same time, we had a quick chat with Kunal Chakravarty, recently appointed Head of New Business & Marketing, ANZ, at Havas Media Network, about building stronger client relationships, creating new-business opportunities and turning differentiation into business impact.

Other major news of the week

WPP has reported a 0.5 percent year-on-year increase in third-quarter revenue to £3.274 billion, with like-for-like growth also reaching 0.5 percent, as the advertising group continues to implement its Elevate28 transformation plan.

Unilever is using AI-driven cultural analysis and design-led premiumisation to strengthen consumer appeal across its Personal Care portfolio.

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

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