“THE BRIEFING”
eBay is stepping up its live commerce game with a new "streaming as a service" pilot that pairs sellers with ready-made hosts, so you can sell without ever going on camera yourself. The program is the latest move in eBay's push to take on rivals like Whatnot and TikTok. Pricing details are still under wraps, and in a fun twist, eBay hasn't ruled out AI avatars doing the hosting.
Shoppers are ditching keywords for emojis. New data shows emoji usage in e-commerce search bars jumped 42% in 2025, with the sneaker and high heel emojis topping the charts. The trend points to a broader shift toward "vibe shopping," where people search the way they text, using mood and aesthetic cues rather than precise product terms.
That’s it, that’s the briefing, Prime Day moves from July to June. Be prepared.
“THE SPOTLIGHT”
Google Ad
Amazon’s Collusion Price Fixing is outed by The Guardian
Newly released emails from California's attorney general allege that Amazon coordinated with third-party sellers on its platform to drive up prices on a range of consumer products—including pet treats, apparel, and wellness products—across major online retailers.
The court documents, unsealed by AG Rob Bonta, indicate that Amazon employees worked alongside platform vendors to pressure retailers such as Walmart and Chewy into aligning their prices at higher levels.
“THE HOT TAKE”
Creative Strategy Hot Take by Collins Elizabeth.
Collins is a creative strategist and performance marketer, former Sr Creative Strategist at O Positiv. We caught up with Collins for her hot takes on where AI can be useful in the space, and where best to support and hire a creative strategist.
“AI has made it much easier to make 100 iterations of one ad in just minutes. But if you’re making 50 versions of one advert, that ad has to be really good.”
The most critical elements of creative strategy are first and foremost, your understanding of the media landscape. Not just the media landscape from last year or even the media landscape from last month but the media landscape right now. A good Creative strategist is looking at the ad library of competitors and comparable brands on a weekly if not daily basis.
“THE OPS”
Each week we feature recent hires, showcasing top brands partnering with human brilliance to build their brand. This week’s hires include:
Paid Social
A wellness e-commerce brand has hired a paid social creative strategist.
$1,500 per weekCRO Expert
Another wellness brand has hired a CRO expert to create PDPs and landing pages for their e-commerce site.
$2,250 flat feeDesigner
A well-known breakfast cereal brand has hired a designer for their packaging needs.
$1,500 flat fee