Digiday Daily

October 14, 2026

Publicis Groupe is skipping the CMO and pitching directly to CEOs worried about staying ahead of AI and shifting consumer habits, according to the French agency group’s chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun. That C-suite focus on AI, Sadoun argued, had driven client spending and new business wins for Publicis in the third quarter.

TOP STORY

Publicis is selling directly to AI-anxious CEOs as it steps away from traditional pitches

Publicis boss Sadoun says agency group is skipping CMOs in more new business pitches, as Groupe notches up new business wins.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

Join us Dec. 1-3 in Nashville for the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit, bringing together brand and agency leaders navigating the next era of programmatic. Don’t miss the chance to connect one-on-one with execs from VML, Horizon Media, OMD and many other industry-leading brands and agencies. Prices rise after Oct. 19.
As AI-powered search reshapes content discovery, publishers are adapting: 53% of Digiday and Arc XP survey respondents said boosting social media presence is their top strategy, just ahead of working with AI search companies (52%). Partner insights from Arc XP.
In a market where ownership and incentives can change quickly, marketers should place greater weight on relationships where neutrality is built into the provider’s structure and economic logic. Partner insights from Eyeota, a Dun & Bradstreet company.

MARKETING

Member exclusive

Future of TV Briefing: TikTok Shop success = small creators + more videos

This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at how “more videos from smaller creators” is the recipe for success on TikTok Shop.

Marketing on Platforms

Ikea’s CMO sees LLMs as the newest place a brand has to hold its line

LLMs have widened the brand. Ikea’s CMO thinks the basics still hold.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM BRAZE

Publishers partner with AI companies in response to zero-click search

Sixty-four percent of publishers said they expect AI companies to collaborate with them on licensing agreements, while 68% of publishers said they are currently partnering with AI companies, according to a Digiday and Braze survey.

ICYMI

Navigating Economic Instability

Publicis Group CEO says advertisers are pacing, not panicking

Publicis CEO eyes growth even as the ground shifts.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM AUDACY

How podcast audiences are changing and becoming more valuable

Gen Z is poised to become podcasting’s largest generation, women and multicultural audiences are driving growth, and brands are increasingly tapping the trust between hosts and listeners.

Member exclusive

Media Buying Briefing: How Publicis keeps winning clients without pitches

PepsiCo and LVMH wins show Publicis has deliberately cultivated a habit of winning major media accounts outside the traditional review process.