Revel Interactive
Revel Interactive Rebrands as Revel Marketing ...
Revel Interactive Rebrands as Revel Marketing Partners to Reflect Its Evolution and Focus on True Client Partnership
Display
Lindsay Tarnowski
The Case for Responsive Display Ads

As marketers, we like to think we know what’s best for our clients and the campaigns we set up for them (job security, right?), but sometimes, leaning on the algorithm is the best road to take.

The Case for Responsive Display Ads

Paid Social

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Beyond Bottom-Funnel: How Demand Gen and YouTube Build Audiences That Convert in Q4

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There's a ceiling that every bottom-funnel-heavy program eventually hits. Search and Shopping are good at capturing demand that already exists. The problem is you can only capture so much of it before you run out of people to reach.

The brands seeing real growth right now are investing earlier in the funnel. YouTube and Demand Gen aren't just awareness plays. They're what make your lower-funnel channels more efficient when it counts most. And Q4 is when that gap shows up hardest.

Q4 Performance Doesn't Start in Q4

The audiences converting in November and December are built in Q2 and Q3. If you wait until peak season to start investing in demand creation, you're already behind, competing for the same high-intent traffic as everyone else at the most expensive time of year to do it.

The funnel works in layers. YouTube is where you build familiarity at scale. Demand Gen is where you stay present as users move from passive awareness into consideration, reaching them across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail. Search, remarketing, and Performance Max are still closing the deal. They just do it better when the audience is already warmed up. These pieces work best when they're connected, and the return compounds when upper-funnel activity starts early enough.

That compounding effect is backed by real data. According to Fospha's Full-Funnel Google Report, brands that added just one additional channel to their Google mix saw 14% higher ROAS compared to those that kept their mix unchanged, and brands that added two channels achieved 37% higher ROAS. A broader mix gives Google's systems more signal to optimize against and creates more entry points across the customer journey.

Building Audiences That Pay Off in Q4

Most brands approach audience strategy like a retargeting checklist. Tag visitors, build lists, remarket to people who almost converted. That works fine in a normal environment, but it breaks down during peak season when everyone else is doing the exact same thing with the same audiences.

Building ahead of time looks different. A YouTube view isn't a vanity metric. When someone watches your content beyond a few seconds, that's an early signal of interest. Retargeting those viewers later through Demand Gen is a fundamentally different starting point than going cold. Layering first-party data (customer lists, site visitors, engaged users) across both prospecting and remarketing means your data is working across placements, not just in search. Custom segments built on search behavior let you reach users before they've even clicked an ad, pulling them into environments where you can shape perception earlier.

What ties it all together is thinking in sequences rather than single interactions. Awareness builds in Q2. Consideration develops in Q3. By Q4, you're not introducing your brand. You're reinforcing it. That sequence is what makes peak season more efficient rather than more expensive.

The downstream impact of investing this way shows up clearly in the Fospha data. Brands in their Q4 2025 program that scaled Demand Gen and YouTube saw ROAS and CAC improvements not just in those channels, but in Performance Max and Brand Search as well. Deep Dive brands increased Demand Gen spend 367% and YouTube spend 118% year over year and saw PMAX ROAS improve 8% and Brand Search ROAS improve 9% year over year. The control group, which scaled back YouTube and grew Demand Gen more modestly, saw the opposite.

Measuring What Actually Matters Before Q4

Measurement is usually where the full-funnel argument falls apart internally. If you're relying on last-click attribution, upper-funnel activity will always look undervalued, and that becomes a real problem when you're trying to justify investing in it ahead of peak.

A more complete picture looks at a few things together. Branded search lift is one of the clearest indicators that YouTube investment is working. If people are searching for your brand more after being exposed to video ads, demand is being created at the top of the funnel. Fospha's full-funnel measurement consistently finds that click-based attribution significantly understates YouTube's contribution, with true ROAS coming in substantially higher than what platform reporting shows. Beyond that, blended metrics including revenue trends, new customer acquisition, and overall CPA give you a better read on program health than channel-level ROAS in isolation. And for campaigns where you need a clear business case, incrementality testing through geo holdouts answers the simple question: what wouldn't have happened without this investment?

The budget allocation question also has a more concrete answer than most clients expect. In Fospha's research, brands allocating 10-20% of their total Google budget to Demand Gen achieved double the ROAS of brands allocating 0-5%. Most accounts spend well below that threshold, which means there's real headroom before hitting diminishing returns.

Creative That Actually Works on YouTube and Demand Gen

Getting the strategy right is only half of it. Creative usually gets treated as a supporting piece when it actually does most of the work, and if you're planning for Q4, not all creative can do the same job.

On YouTube, the first few seconds carry most of the weight. A clear hook, movement, or a relatable problem gets you past the skip button. Branding needs to show up early enough to be remembered, not saved for the end. On Demand Gen, clarity matters more than cleverness. Headlines have limited space and visuals do most of the work, so the product, use case, or outcome needs to be immediately obvious across Discover and Gmail. Across both, consistency is what builds familiarity. If someone sees your brand on YouTube and then again in Demand Gen, it should feel connected. Visual identity, messaging, and positioning should carry through. Google's ABCD framework (Attention, Branding, Connection, Direction) is worth keeping in mind here, and ads that follow those principles have shown measurable lifts in both short-term sales and long-term brand impact.


RMP's POV: Growth Starts With Demand Creation

The biggest risk heading into Q4 isn't wasted spend. It's underinvesting in the channels that build your future pipeline. At RMP, we treat YouTube and Demand Gen as the upstream investment that makes your entire Google program more effective over time. They're not meant to replace conversion channels, but the data is clear that brands running a connected full-funnel approach consistently outperform those optimizing only for what's easiest to measure. If your strategy only prioritizes immediate returns, you end up reacting to demand instead of creating it, and in Q4, that gets expensive fast.

If you're looking to reduce reliance on bottom-funnel channels and build a strategy that performs when competition peaks, it starts with audience development now. Reach out to our team to start building a full-funnel approach that's ready before peak season hits.

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Paid Social Creative Testing Guide: Framework, Strategy, and Iteration

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In the world of paid social, we’re always being told by platform reps that “creative is the new targeting”, and that creative diversification and volume are becoming increasingly important as platforms lean into AI-heavy targeting. As performance marketers, what this means for us is that we need an ironclad creative testing approach to maximize the learnings we get from platforms, as our insight into targeting continues to devolve. Let’s dive into what this approach looks like.


The Hypothesis

Every great test must start with a clear hypothesis. Doing so keeps the vision for the test clear, prevents random testing, and ensures insights accumulate over time. Here’s an example of what that might look like: “If we use UGC-style video instead of product demos, CTR will increase because the creative appears more authentic.”


Set Your Testing Criteria

To ensure validity, you should plan on all creative tests following the minimum benchmarks below: 

  • 50 conversion events per test

  • Minimum 2-week test window (1 week to get out of learning phase, and a second week to ensure clear results)

  • Equal budget distribution

If the results aren’t statistically significant, extend the test rather than drawing inconclusive results. 


Define Your Testing Variables

For clear results, only one variable should be tested at a time; Isolating variables helps identify what is really driving performance. Here’s an example of variables you might test:

Leverage New Testing Features

Utilize Meta’s creative testing feature to test creatives against one another and designate a specific amount of your budget to the test ads, without having to scale ads in a separate campaign and constantly restart the learning phase. 


Structure Your Ad Variations

Creative used in your test should follow a structured format that allows clear variables to be identified and tested. If you wanted to test 6 ad variations for example, it might look like this: 

  • 3 Angles: Problem, Benefit, Testimonial

  • 2 Formats: UGC, Product Demo

  • 1 CTA: Shop Now


Follow a Phased Testing Process

Your creative testing should include three main phases: exploration, validation, and scaling.

  1. Exploration: Your primary goal here is to discover what works. Test several different creatives variations (5-10) with different hooks and angles, reviewing engagement metrics like CTR, CPMs, Thumpstop rate, etc.

  2. Validation: Take your top 2-3 winners from phase 1. Test these against existing winners, or other variations of the same hook. Metrics to evaluate are CPA, CVR, ROAS.

  3. Scaling: Once winners are determined, you should increase investment, expand formats and create iterations (shorter version, different hook, new opening frame, etc.). 


Utilize a Creative Testing Matrix

Now that you’ve done all this testing, it's important that you store results in a way that’s clear, organized, and easy to reference. By building and updating a creative testing matrix, you can begin to see trends over time of what has worked and what hasn’t. For example, your matrix may look something like this:

There’s no exact science to the perfect matrix, but it should clearly track everything you are testing and provide valuable insights that are easy for you to reference. Were there nuances from your test you should be aware of? Perhaps a creative performed really strongly with one audience, and struggled with another. You matrix should include data that makes it easy for you to report results and iterate going forward. 


Identify Winners & Iterate

So you’ve completed your test, filled out your matrix with data, and now you can determine winners and iterate on those ads. This cycle would follow this general pattern: launch new creatives, analyze performance, iterate winners, introduce new concepts, then rinse and repeat. 

Ads platforms today are increasingly creative-driven. Formulating a systematic testing plan helps us determine trends and compound insights over time, rather than relying on random experimentation and putting our learnings at the mercy of the algorithm. Let Revel Marketing Partners help you jumpstart your creative testing strategy today.




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Why Your Brand Shouldn’t Sleep on Pinterest Paid Ads in 2026

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We’re already in Q2 of 2026, and as brands double down on Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, the competition for attention has never been louder. Meanwhile, a quieter channel is steadily driving discovery, inspiration, and sales: Pinterest.

With 578 million monthly active users worldwide and nearly 90 million in the U.S. alone, the platform has evolved far beyond DIY boards and wedding planning. Today, 97% of top searches are unbranded, which means people are arriving open-minded, actively planning, and ready to discover new brands. Add in the fact that Pinterest ads blend seamlessly into the browsing experience, and you’ve got one of the most underutilized yet effective channels in digital advertising.

If your 2026 paid social strategy overlooks Pinterest, you’re missing the chance to reach audiences with intent, purchase power, and a mindset to act.

What Makes Pinterest Different

Pinterest is part search, part visual inspiration. Most users come to Pinterest to find inspiration, plan projects, and pin things they love. That combination of intent and discovery is rare. In contrast to Meta or TikTok, Pinterest feels safer and more positive to users. It does not interrupt their browsing with ads, but instead ads are built to feel native to the Pinterest user experience. 

At Revel, we often say Pinterest is one of the most underused tools in paid social. Brands that treat it not like another ad slot, but like a place to deliver inspiration, see real results. Carousels, video, and interactive formats—used in the right way—build awareness and drive conversions without feeling pushy.

Why 2026 is the Moment for Pinterest

People are open to discovering

Almost all top searches on Pinterest are unbranded. That gives you a chance to get in front of people early, before they have decided who or what to buy. If your content feels like part of someone’s inspiration journey, you win.

Less noise, more breathing room

Because fewer brands are investing heavily in Pinterest, costs are often lower. CPCs and CPMs tend to be more affordable compared to Facebook or Instagram. That means more efficient spending, more room for experimentation.

Long-living content

Pins have a lifespan. They stick around. A campaign might officially finish, but the content keeps surfacing, keeps inspiring, weeks or even months later. Your investment keeps giving back.

Who You’ll Reach (And Why It Matters)

  • There are hundreds of millions of monthly users on Pinterest, many in the U.S.

  • A big portion of those users earn over $100,000 a year. That is serious buying power.

  • Gen Z is growing fast on the platform. They are searching, saving, sharing—and they want products and inspiration.

  • The male audience is rising too. What used to be a platform perceived as more “female centric” is now diversifying in powerful ways.

If you do B2C, this looks like a playground. If you do B2B, it’s a place to build trust, to tell your story, to be discovered.

What Makes Pinterest Ads Work

Pinterest ads, also called promoted pins, don’t feel like ads the way they do elsewhere. They blend into discovery. When someone is searching for ideas, planning a project, trying to figure out what will work for them, a well-designed promoted pin feels less like an interruption and more like helpful inspiration.

Some formats you should work with:

  • Carousels that let people swipe through options

  • Videos that show product in action or tell a story

  • Collections that mix images + video

  • Interactive content like quizzes or inspiration tools

  • Premier placements (like spotlight features) when you want extra visibility

These let you repurpose content you already have while keeping it fresh.

Tips for Pinterest Ads in 2026

  1. Build creative for vertical, mobile first. A lot of Pinterest browsing happens on phones.

  2. Use both keyword targeting and interest targeting. You want relevance.

  3. Try different ad formats and see what sticks: static, video, shopping, etc.

  4. Make sure you are tracking conversions carefully. If you have not set up the Pinterest Tag, do that.

  5. Plan content both for seasonal peaks and evergreen moments. Let content breathe beyond campaign

Why You Should Start Now

Pinterest is evolving. New ad capabilities are rolling out. Audience growth, especially among Gen Z and male users, is accelerating. Brands that get in now have more chance to test, refine, find what works before ad costs creep up.

The Takeaway

Pinterest offers something many platforms don’t: a space where people come ready to be inspired, ready to plan, and ready to buy. If you treat it with care (good creative, smart targeting, relevant content), Pinterest can drive awareness and conversions in a way that feels natural.

If you want help adding Pinterest ads into your paid media mix for 2026, Revel can help make them feel like part of your brand story, not like another ad.

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Creative Testing in 2026: Adapting to Meta’s AI-Driven Advertising Platform

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Meta Is AI-First Now. Creative Testing Has to Be Too.

Meta advertising in 2026 looks fundamentally different. The platform isn’t just adding automation — it’s rebuilding ad delivery around AI.

At Meta’s 2026 Outlook, AI was declared the company’s “North Star.” That shift is visible everywhere: how ads are retrieved, ranked, tested, and optimized across Facebook and Instagram.

For advertisers, that creates both opportunity and confusion.

Creative testing is happening at higher volume than ever — but often with less clarity around what’s actually driving performance.

At Revel, our POV is simple: Creative testing isn’t dead. But the old way of testing is.
In an AI-driven advertising environment powered by Meta Andromeda and Advantage+, the brands that win aren’t chasing perfect A/B tests. They’re building smarter creative systems, feeding the algorithm differentiated inputs, and iterating based on real performance signals.

The Revel 2026 Creative Testing Playbook: How to Win on Meta in an AI-Driven Ecosystem

Meta’s automation rewards advertisers who work with the system, not against it.

In 2026, strong creative testing strategy comes down to five principles:

  1. Prioritize differentiated creative angles

  2. Consolidate campaign structure

  3. Monitor asset-level signals

  4. Design for AI remixing

  5. Iterate before performance declines

Here’s how that applies across Meta’s newest updates.

Automated Creative Testing Tool

What It Is: Meta’s Automated Creative Testing tool allows advertisers to test creative at the ad level within an existing ad set. Instead of running manual A/B campaigns, the system splits delivery fairly across variations while still optimizing performance.

This reflects a broader shift in Facebook ad optimization: testing and scaling now happen inside the same ecosystem.

Revel POV: Testing should fuel scaling — not slow it down. Isolated A/B campaigns often fragment budgets and distort learning. Meta’s built-in testing tools are designed to generate insights within real delivery conditions.

What We Recommend:

  • Test 3–6 meaningfully different variations at once.

  • Change the hook, angle, or offer, not just surface elements.

  • Focus on creative variety over creative volume.

Forty minor edits won’t outperform five strategically different angles. AI-driven advertising systems learn from contrast, not repetition.

Creative Breakdown Reporting

What It Is: Creative Breakdown reporting provides asset-level performance insights within Flexible formats. You can see how individual images and videos perform, which now includes AI-generated assets, rather than relying on blended campaign averages.

In addition, there is a new key metric joining the list when we talk about creative analysis. CPMr (cost per 1,000 reached) is emerging as a critical metric for evaluating creative testing results, especially as an early indicator of fatigue. When CPMr climbs, you’re not buying more opportunity—you’re paying more to reach the same people. If CPMr spikes, the answer usually isn’t adjusting bids—it’s refreshing your creative.

Revel POV: Campaign averages are outdated. Asset-level data is the new baseline. Meta’s system constantly remixes placements and formats. If you’re judging performance at the campaign or ad set level alone, you’re missing what the AI is actually rewarding.

What We Recommend:

  • Review creative breakdown weekly during active scaling.

  • Identify top-performing assets and build iteration cycles around them.

  • Compare AI-generated creative to original creative intentionally:

    • Does it lower CTR?

    • Does it extend creative lifespan?

    • Does it reach new segments?-

Creative performance analysis is no longer optional — it’s foundational to modern performance marketing strategy.

Advantage+ and Flexible Formats

What It Is: Advantage+ campaigns and Flexible formats allow Meta’s AI to dynamically assemble and deliver creative combinations across placements.

Your ad is no longer static. The system tests variations across Reels, Stories, Feed, and more — then serves the highest-performing combination per user.

Revel POV: If you’re not designing for AI remixing, you’re limiting performance. Meta’s automation is powerful — but only if your creative assets are built to flex. Weak cropping, unclear hooks, and placement-specific formatting issues can undercut performance before optimization even begins.

What We Recommend:

  • Build creative modularly:

    • Hooks that land in the first 1–2 seconds

    • Messaging that survives cropping

    • Clear product benefits without relying on tiny text

  • Think in creative systems, not individual ads.

  • Consolidate campaigns to strengthen learning signals.

Advantage+ rewards advertisers who simplify structure and strengthen creative inputs.

Meta Andromeda: The AI Engine Behind Ad Delivery

What It Is: Meta Andromeda is a next-generation AI ad retrieval engine that determines which ads are eligible to be shown to which users, before ranking even occurs.

It processes massive pools of ad candidates in real time, using behavioral signals to retrieve the most relevant ads at scale. This shift underpins how Meta advertising works in 2026.

Revel POV: Creative is now your targeting strategy. In the past, advertisers relied heavily on interest targeting and manual segmentation. In the Andromeda era, Meta depends more on behavioral signals and creative relevance to match ads to users.

Your creative isn’t just messaging; it’s a machine-readable signal for audience matching.

What We Recommend:

  • Align creative volume with budget and data.
    Too much creative without enough spend slows learning.

    • Smaller budgets → tighter, intentional sets

    • Scaling budgets → expand strategically

  • Build differentiated angles.
    Creative diversification should include:

    • Distinct pain points

    • Unique emotional triggers

    • Different product benefits

    • Varied messaging frameworks

  • Simplify structure.
    Over-segmentation weakens signal strength in AI-driven advertising systems.

  • Invest in clean data.
    Pixel and Conversions API setup directly impact Meta Andromeda’s optimization capabilities. Strong data improves AI matching.

Advantage+ rewards advertisers who simplify structure and strengthen creative inputs.

Final Takeaway: Winning Creative Testing in 2026

Meta’s AI-first infrastructure isn’t reducing the importance of creative. It’s amplifying it.

The brands that win in AI-driven advertising environments:

  • Systemize creative production

  • Consolidate campaigns

  • Invest in clean tracking

  • Monitor asset-level signals

  • Iterate before performance declines

Meta is building AI-first delivery. We build AI-ready performance marketing programs that work inside it.

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2026 Digital Marketing Trends: Expert Predictions for Paid Media & Ecommerce

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2026 Digital Marketing Trends: Expert Predictions for Paid Media & Ecommerce

Every January, the digital marketing world floods with predictions: some insightful, many recycled, and a few wildly off base. But 2026 feels different. We're not just watching incremental platform updates or minor algorithm tweaks anymore. We're witnessing fundamental shifts in 2026 marketing trends: how consumers discover products, how platforms deliver ads, and how marketers prove their work actually matters. The gap between brands that adapt and those that cling to old playbooks is about to become a chasm.

So we asked our team at Revel Marketing Partners where they think the industry is headed this year. What follows isn't speculation from the sidelines. These are predictions from the directors and leaders who are already navigating these changes with our clients, and who have strong opinions about what's coming next.

Revel Marketing Partners’ 2026 Digital Marketing Predictions

AI and Headless Commerce Are Reshaping the Shopping Experience

Kayla Faires, Founder & CEO:

"The future of digital marketing is about rebuilding infrastructure so you can move as fast as the platforms change. Two shifts are converging: headless ecommerce architectures, and agentic search systems where AI answers questions and makes recommendations before consumers reach your brand. Creative velocity and experimentation speed now determine ROAS, and legacy platforms are making it harder and harder to deliver. At the same time, discovery is shifting from queries to AI-mediated recommendations. Brands will compete less on keyword ownership and more on structured, machine-readable truth: clean product data, pricing logic, availability, and positioning that agents can interpret and recommend. As automation increases, judgment becomes the differentiator. The winners will pair flexible infrastructure with authentic brand building. Brands that actually stand for something and show their authenticity, while also leaning into new tech will compound advantages while others optimize yesterday's funnel."

Michele Keating, Account Director:

"Short-form video, AR try-ons, and creator demos won't just support ecommerce—they'll replace traditional PDPs. Live shopping will become the default, and UGC becomes the most trusted conversion asset."

AI-Powered Search and the End of Traditional Search Behavior

Abby Peterson, Director of SEM:

"2026 will mark the inflection point for paid search as AI advertising platforms fundamentally compress the user research journey. What once took 10+ searches now happens in a single ChatGPT conversation. Google Paid Search will remain a revenue powerhouse, but declining traffic volumes and intensifying CPCs will force a strategic reckoning: we can no longer afford to bid broadly. Success in this new landscape belongs to marketers who get ruthlessly selective with keyword targeting, double down on high-intent bottom-funnel terms, and maximize every click with precision audience strategies. The brands that will win aren't fighting this shift, they're adapting their strategies across both ecosystems while search is still profitable."

Brandon Elston, Paid Media Specialist:

"Brands that invest in GEO to appear in LLMs like ChatGPT & Gemini, will finally see a noticeable impact on purchases, especially from new customers. With the introduction of Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and direct integration of ChatGPT to Shopify, it is becoming increasingly more beneficial for consumers to shop on LLMs compared to search engines. This is because users can shop products across brands and make a purchase all in one ecosystem without browsing dozens of sites for inventory, products, or to find the best deals. A survey from Centerfield last year showed that the top 3 reasons users shop with AI are getting answers to product questions, comparing products or brands, & getting product recommendations, all top of funnel discovery type searches that could lead to discovering new brands and products."

Raw Creativity and Authenticity Will Beat AI Perfection in 2026

Paige Baugnet, VP of Client Services:

"I predict that we'll continue to see authentically raw and unpolished creative perform exceptionally well in 2026 as a direct counter to AI-generated perfection, particularly as consumers become increasingly skeptical about distinguishing real from fake content. In a digital landscape saturated with polished, algorithm-optimized visuals that all start to look eerily similar, people will actively crave authenticity and realness—the imperfect lighting, the shaky camera work, the unfiltered moments that signal genuine human creation. Brands that lean into this 'intentionally unpolished' aesthetic beyond the existing creator playbook will likely see stronger engagement and trust metrics, as audiences reward the vulnerability and transparency that comes with content that feels unmistakably human."

Jessica Shepherd, Chief Operating Officer:

"In 2026, the digital marketing industry will feel the real disruption not through job loss, but through the loss of excuses for mediocre thinking. As AI makes execution cheap, taste becomes a true competitive advantage—especially for beauty, fashion, and lifestyle brands where differentiation lives in nuance, not volume. The biggest brand risk won't be getting AI wrong; it will be sounding like everyone else who got it 'right.' That's why human review will increasingly serve as the new quality assurance layer—not to slow creativity down, but to protect brand distinctiveness in an automated world."

Marketing Mix Modeling, Diversification and the Shift to Incrementality

Amanda Moorhead, Account Director:

"2026 is going to be all about incrementality and accurate measurement for marketing. Last-click attribution isn't telling enough of the story, privacy changes are throwing a wrench into reporting, and relying on the same old methods is going to bring lackluster results. The brands that will unlock growth are those who can answer one critical question: 'What actually moved the needle?' That's why I'm excited to work with my clients on implementing MMM tools and diversifying their media mix. The future isn't about which touchpoint gets credit—it's about proving which dollars are truly incremental."

Gretta Schultz, Director of Paid Social:

"2026 is the year digital marketing finally gets its "infrastructure" right - better measurement, smarter and more consistent/reliable automation, and creative journeys that prioritize sustainable growth over quick wins."

RMP Affiliate Marketing Team:

"We predict affiliate programs will prioritize channel diversification and robust partner vetting following high-profile removals like PayPal Honey, while navigating increased FTC enforcement under the Consumer Review Rule that rewards proactive compliance. We expect the industry to accelerate its shift from last-click attribution toward outcome-based models that credit partnership contributions, as both affiliate and creator marketing mature with greater emphasis on measurable ROI over vanity metrics. Affiliate publishers will continue expanding beyond Google Search dependence through multi-channel strategies spanning social platforms, direct traffic, and emerging opportunities like OpenAI's ChatGPT ads. Meanwhile, long-term creator partnerships will become the standard as brands recognize the value of sustained relationships, with emerging content formats and technologies requiring affiliate programs to evolve their partnership structures and compensation models accordingly."

What This Means for Your 2026 Strategy

The through-line in all of these predictions? 2026 rewards the strategic over the reactive. Whether it's demanding proof of incrementality, embracing rough authenticity over AI polish, adapting to compressed search journeys, optimizing for AI-powered discovery, or protecting brand voice in an automated world, the brands that will thrive are those willing to challenge their assumptions and evolve their approach. The tools are getting smarter, the platforms are getting more automated, and the consumer is getting more discerning. Your strategy needs to keep pace. At Revel Marketing Partners, we're not just watching these shifts happen. We're actively helping our clients navigate them. If any of these predictions hit home and you're wondering how to adapt your own marketing strategy, let's talk. Because the future isn't something that happens to you. It's something you build toward, one smart decision at a time.

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2025 Paid Social Retrospective: Platform Winners, Creative Trends, and What's Driving Performance in 2026

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The paid social landscape underwent major shifts in 2025, with creative formats evolving, platform competition intensifying, user behavior changing, and of course, the increasingly relevant role of AI in the everyday. As we get further into the new year, reflecting on last year's winners, losers, and understanding the key takeaways is paramount to staying competitive.

Platform Winners and Losers

TikTok really cemented itself as a performance marketing powerhouse in 2025. Previously viewed as more of an awareness/discovery platform, the ever-advancing algorithm, in combination with the robustness of TikTok Shop's interface, proved that the platform can and did drive meaningful conversion volume.

Meta proved resilient among competing platforms. Instagram Reels gained popularity as users embraced the endless scrollability format inspired by TikTok, and Sales campaigns continue to become more hands-off as a self-driving conversion engine.

LinkedIn and Pinterest also emerged as somewhat unexpected winners. LinkedIn further solidified its place as a B2B paid social powerhouse with meaningful ROI, despite its high CPMs. Pinterest quietly dominated purchase-intent audiences, with its keyword-based visual search and Google-like shopping features driving notable conversion rates for brands in fashion, home decor, and lifestyle verticals, more than previous years.

X and Snapchat struggled in 2025—with advertisers being hesitant about brand safety within X, and Snapchat losing its Gen Z audience as their preference moves to other platforms.

2025 Paid Social Creative Trends

True Authenticity

As AI-generated and AI-enhanced creative becomes more and more common in our feeds, users are responding more favorably to raw, authentic, human-made content. Audiences are hyper-aware of "faked" UGC and overpolished brand images. Genuinely real, unpolished content from actual customers saw engagement rates 3-5x higher than traditional creative. Users trusted micro-influencers over highly produced brand content.

Brands with authentic, involved, and vocal communities saw significant performance improvement. Brand communities also benefit the brand by providing endless UGC, instant feedback, and primed audiences to assist paid social efforts. 

Volume & Variation

Brands testing 20+ creative variations per month consistently outperformed those running less frequent (i.e., quarterly) refreshes. Paid social platform algorithms' appetite for novelty and newness meant fresh content, even if imperfect or less differentiated, beat stale winners.

2026 Paid Social Predictions

Algorithm-Guided Broad Targeting

As we've seen from Meta's Sales campaigns, platforms' AI-guided algorithms work best with broad targeting with few limitations. The new targeting is creative and landing page signals. There's potential for platforms to start taking more and more control away from advertisers and putting it into the hands of their own algorithms and technologies to drive results.

In-platform Social Commerce

TikTok Shop's success is leading more paid social platforms to improve their own native commerce capabilities, including Meta and Pinterest. The line between content and commerce is gradually disappearing, as we've seen with the swift integration of TikTok Shop items into creator-made content. The shoppability of ads is no longer a click to a website, they now fully circumvent websites altogether, with the shopping experience staying in the platform.

Authenticity Saturation

Brands will be in competition as to who can be the most authentic with their paid social content –the most real, in a landscape where users are valuing that more and more. Winners will emerge in terms of whose ads people actually trust and believe in, versus whose are performative and scripted.

The Bottom Line

As we move through 2026, success will come down to embracing platform evolution rather than fighting it. That means leaning into algorithm-guided broad targeting, investing in creative volume over perfection, building involved customer communities that fuel organic and paid social content, and preparing for the shift to native in-platform commerce.

The brands that will dominate aren't those clinging to old playbooks, they're the ones willing to let evolve alongside platforms' AI algorithms & focusing their energy on what algorithms can't replicate: genuine human connection and trust with their audiences.