Prepare to have your perspective shifted.

‍🎧 Building The Omnipresent Brand Part 1

In Building the Omnipresent Brand Part 1, Aves breaks down why traditional millennial branding no longer works and what replaces it in 2026. The episode explores how strong brand identity, cultural relevance, and omnipresence now drive consumer connection and growth.

‍🎨 AI Isn’t The Hero, It’s The Hype-Man

AI is transforming creative production by helping brands expand, remix, and scale existing assets faster without replacing human creativity. Pilothouse shows how tools like generative image fill and AI voiceover tech amplify real creative inputs to drive more efficient, high-performing ad testing.

‍🗞️ OpenAI’s Billion Dollar Disney Deal

OpenAI has signed a three-year licensing deal with Disney to bring iconic Disney characters to its AI video platform, Sora. The partnership includes a $1 billion investment from Disney, signaling a major expansion of AI-driven entertainment and media creation.

‍💰 Why Placement on The Page Matters

Vitruvi’s premium home scenting brand can unlock higher holiday conversions by improving website speed, mobile performance, and on-page user experience. Pilothouse CRO insights highlight faster load times, scent discovery tools, and stronger social proof as key drivers of trust and ecommerce growth.

‍👀 Pinterest Reveals 21 Surprising Trends for 2026

Pinterest’s 2026 Predicts report highlights 21 unexpected trends — from icy blue to cabbage to khaki — drawn from billions of search signals. The forecast spans color, food, fashion, and lifestyle shifts that brands can expect to see dominate next year.

‍🎧 Black Friday: What Worked And What Didn’t

Pilothouse’s Jordan breaks down which Black Friday email tactics actually moved revenue, from unconventional send times to mystery subject lines and smarter list segmentation. Learn why a tiny slice of your list drove most of the sales and how to structure taps for maximum inbox impact.

‍✏️ Let’s Get The Ball Rolling…On Q1 Planning

Smart brands use Q4 momentum to pre-plan Q1, testing creatives early and mapping key seasonal moments like New Year, Super Bowl, and Valentine’s Day. Start before December ends so budgets, offers, and winning ads are ready to scale on January 1 instead of scrambling.

‍🎧 Growth Metrics Every 7-Figure Brand Needs To Track

Sarah Carusona returns to the DTC Podcast to share the core growth metrics every 7-figure brand should track and the common mistakes she sees across operators. She breaks down why fractional CMOs fall short, how true growth owners drive results, and the performance-focused approach brands should take with spend and influencer budgets.

‍🛠️ Google Search Console Rolls Out Data on Social Channels

Google Search Console is adding Insights data that shows how users find your social channels, including YouTube, through search. The feature is rolling out gradually, so check your GSC account for access as it expands.

‍💰 When Brand Spend Shrinks, What Breaks First?

When brands cut Google brand spend too aggressively, Smart Bidding loses critical buyer-intent signals, causing non-brand CPCs to rise, conversion rates to fall, and overall performance to break within weeks. Gradual reductions, protective keyword strategies, and fresh intent signals are the only way to lower spend without tanking CAC heading into 2026.

‍🎧 BFCM + Meta in 2025: Shorter Promo Windows and Scrappy Pivots That Crushed

Meta success during BFCM 2025 came from speed, not perfection—brands that quickly tweaked offers, tested scrappy creatives, and cut losers early saw the biggest wins. Learn which offers performed, why messy ads beat polished ones, and how lighter exclusions and new account structures drove stronger results.

‍🧑‍🎄 Consumers Are Looking For Holiday Inspo…

Consumers are actively searching for holiday inspiration, making this the moment for brands to show up with seasonal visuals, stories, and behind-the-scenes content that builds connection. By refreshing creative, joining holiday conversations, and leaning into real moments, brands increase visibility, strengthen recall, and prime shoppers for Q4 and Q5 conversions.

‍🎧 Bonus Podcast: How Nearly 50,000 Brands Spent $607M This BFCM – Insights from Triple Whale

Triple Whale’s Anthony DelPizzo breaks down $2.9B in revenue and $607M in ad spend from nearly 50K brands, revealing why BFCM was bigger, earlier, and more new-customer driven than ever. He highlights the category winners, channel diversification trends, real-time insights from BFCM Live, and how brands used AI to scale top ads—plus how to apply these learnings to 2026.

‍📈 Google’s Top Trending Searches in 2025

Google’s 2025 Year in Search highlights Gemini as the world’s top trending query, alongside viral Labubu toys, Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, and searches tied to Trump’s tariffs. The report shows how AI, pop culture, and geopolitical events dominated global search behavior this year.

‍🎧 Post-BFCM Steps That Matter

Aves breaks down the overlooked post-BFCM phase, showing brands how to run a clear, emotion-free postmortem that improves next year’s Black Friday strategy. She covers creative organization, persona-tagging, spotting sleeper hits, and building a five-part postmortem system so teams can make smarter decisions long before July planning kicks in.

‍💰 Black Friday Learnings You Can Use for Q4 and Beyond

Black Friday winners grew by doubling down on segmentation, creative diversity, CRO, and aggressive new-customer acquisition, leading to record YoY gains and cheaper traffic across channels. These same strategies—smart retention flows, broad creative testing, optimized conversion paths, and heavy acquisition pushes—are the growth levers brands should continue using through December, Q5, and into 2025.