digital transformation 20 Aug 2026
Euna Solutions and CLA have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at helping state and local governments and nonprofit organizations manage grants compliance across the full funding lifecycle.
The partnership combines Euna Grants, Euna's cloud-based grants management platform, with CLA's federal grants compliance, advisory and Single Audit capabilities.
The companies say the collaboration will help grant recipients strengthen internal controls, monitor subrecipients, maintain documentation, meet reporting obligations and improve audit readiness.
The need for that combination stems from a persistent problem in public-sector financial management: grant administration often spans multiple teams, spreadsheets, documents and systems, while federal funding comes with detailed requirements that must be tracked throughout the lifecycle of an award.
Winning an award, in other words, does not eliminate the administrative burden. It can introduce another layer of financial controls, reporting and oversight.
"Winning a grant is only the beginning," Adam Roth, VP of Partnerships and Government Relations at Euna Solutions, said in the announcement.
Euna Grants is designed to centralize processes including grant applications, awards, reporting, subrecipient monitoring, performance tracking and closeout. According to the company, customers using the platform have achieved a 70% reduction in administrative tasks and a 60% reduction in time spent on reporting after implementation.
Those figures are company-reported results rather than independent benchmarks, but they illustrate the problem the partnership is targeting: grants administration can consume significant amounts of staff time when workflows are handled manually or across disconnected systems.
CLA brings a different capability to the relationship. The professional services firm advises public-sector and nonprofit organizations on federal grants compliance, risk assessments, corrective action planning, financial management and audit readiness.
Its services include support around 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Guidance, the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA), subrecipient monitoring and corrective action planning.
The combination creates a technology-plus-advisory model. Rather than treating compliance as a process that occurs primarily before or during an audit, the partnership is intended to embed compliance practices into everyday grant administration.
Federal grants management has become increasingly demanding for organizations responsible for distributing or administering public funds.
For state and local governments, a single funding program can involve multiple requirements, reporting deadlines, subrecipients and documentation standards. Organizations may also need to demonstrate that internal controls are operating effectively and that expenditures are properly supported.
The Single Audit framework adds another layer for organizations that meet the applicable federal expenditure threshold. Under the federal Uniform Guidance, organizations that expend $1 million or more in federal awards during a fiscal year generally fall under Single Audit requirements.
Subrecipient monitoring is particularly important. A prime recipient can remain responsible for ensuring that funds passed to subrecipients are properly monitored, creating a need for consistent documentation and oversight across organizational boundaries.
Technology can help automate reminders, centralize records and create audit trails, but software alone does not determine whether an agency's controls are appropriate. That is where CLA's advisory role becomes relevant.
Christian Fuellgraf, Principal, CAAS at CLA and a former state government financial leader, said the collaboration is intended to combine compliance expertise with grant management technology so organizations can strengthen accountability while managing additional funding.
The partnership also reflects a broader transition taking place across public-sector technology.
Government agencies have increasingly adopted cloud-based software for financial management, procurement, budgeting and citizen services. Grants management is another area where organizations are attempting to replace fragmented processes with centralized digital workflows.
A modern grants platform can create a structured record of an award from application through closeout. That can make it easier to identify missing documentation, monitor deadlines and maintain visibility into subrecipient activity.
For compliance teams, structured data can also make reporting and audit preparation less dependent on manually assembling information from different departments.
The strategic value is therefore not simply automation. It is the ability to make grants data more accessible and consistent throughout the lifecycle of public funding.
The grants management software market sits at the intersection of government technology, financial management software and compliance technology.
Euna Solutions competes in a broader public-sector software market that includes platforms for budgeting, procurement, payments and grants administration. Its collaboration with CLA adds professional-services expertise to the technology proposition.
The competitive landscape also includes established enterprise vendors and specialist government technology providers. Companies such as Microsoft, Salesforce and other enterprise software providers increasingly offer cloud platforms that can be configured for government workflows, although purpose-built grants platforms can provide more specialized functionality around award management and compliance.
For public agencies, the differentiator is likely to be less about whether a platform is cloud-based and more about how effectively it handles the specific requirements of federal funding.
The combination of software and advisory services could appeal particularly to agencies that are new to large-scale federal funding, organizations preparing for a Single Audit, or agencies working through control weaknesses and corrective-action plans.
The Euna-CLA collaboration points toward a broader evolution in government grants technology: compliance is increasingly being treated as an operational workflow rather than a periodic audit exercise.
That shift matters as agencies attempt to manage more complex funding programs without proportionally expanding administrative teams. Automating routine tasks can free staff for higher-value activities, while centralized records can make it easier to identify gaps before they become audit problems.
The partnership will also extend beyond software deployment. Euna and CLA plan to co-present at Government Academy Roundtable events across the United States during 2026, focusing on internal controls, administrative efficiency and federal review preparation.
If public agencies increasingly adopt this combined technology-and-advisory model, grants management could become another area where compliance requirements are embedded directly into enterprise workflows rather than managed through disconnected spreadsheets, email and manual reviews.
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marketing 20 Aug 2026
Subway and Embark Studios have announced a national gaming partnership that will connect Subway meal purchases with exclusive rewards in ARC Raiders, the multiplayer extraction adventure developed by Embark Studios.
The promotion runs from August 20 through October 26, 2026, giving customers who purchase a qualifying Subway meal a code for digital rewards tied to the game. The campaign is designed to coincide with the October 8 release of ARC Raiders' upcoming Frozen Trail update.
Under the promotion, customers purchasing a qualifying Subway meal consisting of a 6-inch sub, Footlong, salad or wrap, together with chips or cookies and a drink, receive a promotional code. The code unlocks an original Subterranean outfit, one of three Subway-themed outfit variants and two additional in-game items that rotate weekly.
The rewards can be redeemed across PlayStation, Xbox and PC, broadening the campaign beyond a single gaming ecosystem.
For Subway, the partnership represents a familiar but increasingly important form of experiential marketing: turning a consumer purchase into a digital benefit that can extend the relationship between brand and customer into an entertainment environment.
"A Subway meal can do more than fuel your day," Dave Skena, Subway's Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer, said in the announcement.
The structure of the promotion is notable because it goes beyond a single branded cosmetic. Weekly reward rotations give players a reason to return throughout the campaign rather than redeeming one item and moving on.
That approach reflects a broader shift in gaming marketing, where brands are increasingly trying to create utility or collectability inside virtual environments rather than simply placing advertisements around games.
ARC Raiders is built around the extraction-adventure genre, where players enter a dangerous environment to collect resources before attempting to escape. Players can operate alone or as squads while confronting the game's mechanized ARC enemies.
The timing of the Subway partnership is closely connected to Frozen Trail, which Embark describes as the game's largest update since launch. The October 8 update is expected to introduce a new map, additional ARC threats, expanded progression and other gameplay changes.
That gives the marketing campaign a natural promotional hook. Instead of operating as a standalone brand activation, Subway's rewards are tied to a major content moment within the game.
For Embark Studios, the partnership provides another way to keep ARC Raiders visible outside conventional game marketing channels. For Subway, it offers access to a highly engaged gaming audience while connecting its physical restaurants and digital ordering channels to an interactive entertainment property.
Ashley St. Germain, Marketing Director at Embark Studios, said the collaboration was intended to give players a way to "fuel up" before playing while providing exclusive digital rewards.
The partnership also illustrates the growing importance of brand integrations in live-service and multiplayer games. As game publishers continue supporting titles with seasonal updates, new maps and evolving content, brands can align campaigns with specific moments in a game's lifecycle rather than relying exclusively on launch advertising.
The Subway-ARC Raiders campaign sits within a larger evolution in gaming advertising.
Traditional product placement can give brands visibility, but interactive rewards allow players to actively use or display branded content. In-game cosmetics, virtual items and limited-time digital experiences can turn a campaign into something players participate in rather than simply see.
That distinction is particularly relevant to younger and digitally native audiences, for whom gaming can function as both entertainment and social interaction.
The campaign also connects physical commerce with digital identity. A Subway purchase generates a code, the code unlocks a virtual reward, and that reward can subsequently become part of a player's identity within ARC Raiders.
For marketers, that creates a measurable path between offline purchase, digital activation and in-game engagement.
The model is not without challenges. Promotional items must be sufficiently attractive to players without disrupting gameplay or appearing overly commercial. The strongest collaborations tend to fit naturally within the game's world and give players a reason to participate.
The Subterranean outfit is designed specifically for ARC Raiders, which gives the campaign a stronger connection to the game's fictional environment than a generic advertising placement would provide.
Gaming has become an increasingly important advertising and brand-engagement channel as publishers, platforms and consumer brands search for ways to reach audiences in environments where traditional advertising can be less effective.
The Subway and Embark Studios partnership reflects this shift toward interactive brand experiences, particularly around games that receive frequent content updates.
The strategy resembles broader approaches used across entertainment and gaming, where brands collaborate with developers to offer exclusive digital items, limited-time content or promotional access. The difference is that extraction games such as ARC Raiders create a particularly strong connection between equipment, identity and progression.
For Subway, the campaign also connects gaming marketing with its existing digital ordering infrastructure. Customers can participate through Subway restaurants, the Subway app or Subway.com, although third-party delivery platforms are excluded from the promotion.
The result is a campaign that operates across physical retail, mobile commerce, digital rewards and gaming.
The Subway-ARC Raiders partnership demonstrates how consumer brands are moving toward marketing campaigns that combine commerce with participation.
The most important element may not be the branded outfit itself, but the campaign's structure. Weekly reward rotations encourage repeated engagement, while the Frozen Trail update provides a clear content event around which the promotion can build attention.
For Embark Studios, the collaboration can extend the game's reach beyond the traditional gaming press and creator ecosystem. For Subway, it provides a way to associate the brand with a major entertainment property while giving customers something they can use inside the game.
As games increasingly operate as evolving digital platforms rather than one-time products, marketers will have more opportunities to build campaigns around new seasons, maps, characters, items and events.
The competitive advantage will likely belong to partnerships where the brand feels like part of the experience rather than an interruption to it.
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marketing 20 Aug 2026
Cure Alzheimer's Fund, a nonprofit focused on funding Alzheimer's disease research, has appointed Stephanie Wasco as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Communications.
Wasco will oversee the organization's brand strategy, marketing programs and communications efforts, with a mandate to broaden awareness of Cure Alzheimer's Fund's research mission and strengthen relationships with donors and the wider public.
The appointment comes as scientific organizations increasingly face a communications challenge that extends beyond simply publishing research findings. Translating complex biomedical research into information that donors, patients, families and the general public can understand has become an important part of building institutional trust and sustaining funding.
Cure Alzheimer's Fund, also known as CureAlz, funds research focused on preventing, slowing or reversing Alzheimer's disease. The organization says its research strategy prioritizes projects with the potential for significant scientific impact.
Wasco's background spans life sciences, biomedical research, technology and nonprofit communications. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President and Head of Communications for Advanced Markets at Biocon Biologics, where she worked within the biopharmaceutical sector.
Before Biocon Biologics, Wasco was Chief Communications Officer at The Jackson Laboratory, a biomedical research institution known for its work in genetics and genomics. She also previously served as Vice President of Corporate Communications at PerkinElmer, a company operating across life sciences and diagnostics.
Earlier roles in technology and nonprofit organizations add another dimension to her experience, giving her exposure to both commercial and mission-driven communications environments.
CureAlz CEO Meg Smith said Wasco's experience communicating complex science and building brands across life sciences, biomedical research and nonprofit organizations would support the organization's efforts to reach broader audiences.
Wasco said her focus will include supporting researchers, donors and the CureAlz team as the organization works to advance Alzheimer's research.
Wasco's appointment reflects a broader change in how research organizations approach marketing and communications.
Biomedical organizations increasingly operate in an environment where scientific breakthroughs compete for attention across traditional media, social platforms, search engines and increasingly AI-driven information systems. Communicating research accurately while making it accessible to non-specialist audiences can influence public understanding, donor engagement and institutional reputation.
For organizations dependent on philanthropy, that communication challenge has a direct business dimension. Donors need to understand not only what research is being funded, but why a particular approach could matter and how funding translates into scientific progress.
That makes the role of marketing increasingly connected to scientific storytelling rather than conventional brand promotion.
The challenge is particularly pronounced in Alzheimer's research, where scientific findings can be complex, incremental and subject to ongoing investigation. Communications teams must explain progress without overstating what individual discoveries mean for patients.
Wasco's experience across pharmaceutical communications and biomedical research could be particularly relevant to that environment. Her previous position at Biocon Biologics placed her within a global biopharmaceutical company, while The Jackson Laboratory provided experience communicating research-driven work.
CureAlz's marketing strategy will also operate within a rapidly changing digital environment.
Search engines such as Google are increasingly incorporating AI-generated summaries into the discovery process, while platforms such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot are changing how audiences find and consume information.
For research nonprofits, this creates both an opportunity and a communications risk. Clear, authoritative and well-structured scientific content can help organizations establish credibility across traditional search and emerging AI-mediated discovery channels. At the same time, overly simplified messaging can remove important scientific context.
The marketing leader's role therefore increasingly sits at the intersection of brand strategy, scientific communications, digital publishing, audience engagement and reputation management.
For CureAlz, the immediate priority is likely to be building awareness around its research model while strengthening the connection between researchers, donors and the organization's broader public audience.
The nonprofit and life sciences sectors are becoming increasingly dependent on sophisticated communications strategies as organizations compete for funding, research partnerships, talent and public attention.
Companies such as Biocon Biologics, PerkinElmer and research organizations such as the Jackson Laboratory operate in environments where communicating complex scientific information is central to reputation and stakeholder engagement.
Cure Alzheimer's Fund has a different operating model because its mission is focused on funding research rather than commercializing pharmaceutical products. That makes donor communications particularly important. The organization must communicate scientific opportunity and progress while maintaining appropriate distinctions between research potential and proven clinical outcomes.
Wasco's career across biopharmaceutical, biomedical research, technology and nonprofit environments gives her experience across several of those communication models.
The appointment also highlights the growing convergence between marketing and communications leadership. In science-driven organizations, brand positioning increasingly depends on the quality, credibility and accessibility of the information an organization publishes.
The appointment of Stephanie Wasco gives CureAlz an executive with experience across multiple sectors where scientific credibility and corporate reputation intersect.
Her challenge will be to turn complex research developments into clear narratives without sacrificing scientific accuracy. That means creating communications that work for researchers and institutional stakeholders while remaining accessible to donors and the public.
As digital and AI-powered discovery channels continue to reshape how people encounter scientific information, that balance is likely to become even more important.
For Cure Alzheimer's Fund, the new marketing leadership could therefore play a role beyond conventional awareness building. It may help the organization strengthen its digital presence, explain the potential impact of research more effectively and build a more durable connection between scientific progress and donor engagement.
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marketing 20 Aug 2026
Customer engagement software is becoming increasingly dependent on partner ecosystems as vendors combine AI, customer data, analytics and omnichannel activation into broader enterprise platforms. Resulticks is strengthening that channel strategy with the appointment of Pallasena V Viswanath as Global Advisor, Channel Partnerships, giving the company an experienced technology distribution executive to help expand alliances across APAC, the Middle East and Africa.
Resulticks has appointed Pallasena V Viswanath as Global Advisor, Channel Partnerships, in a move that signals a greater focus on indirect sales, strategic alliances and ecosystem-led expansion for the AI-driven customer engagement company.
Based in Singapore, Viswanath will work with Resulticks' leadership team to expand relationships with technology providers, system integrators, consulting firms and other strategic partners. The role will focus particularly on markets across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa, where channel partners can provide local market access and enterprise implementation capabilities.
Viswanath brings more than four decades of experience across the technology solutions and distribution ecosystem, including roles connected to HP and Redington. That background is particularly relevant to Resulticks as it seeks to scale a platform that sits across several enterprise software categories rather than operating as a standalone messaging product.
Resulticks describes its offering as a real-time audience engagement platform with an advanced customer data platform at its core, combining AI-powered omnichannel orchestration, analytics, personalization and customer journey capabilities. Its public product information also highlights identity resolution, predictive analytics and next-best engagement as parts of the broader platform.
That breadth creates both an opportunity and a challenge. Customer engagement platforms increasingly compete on the ability to unify data and activation across email, SMS, messaging apps, websites, mobile experiences and paid media. But enterprise deployments often require integration with existing CRM, data warehouse, agency and IT environments.
Channel partnerships can help bridge that gap.
For a vendor such as Resulticks, system integrators and consulting firms can provide implementation expertise, while distributors and regional technology partners can help reach customers that would be difficult to acquire through direct sales alone. Partners can also influence which MarTech platforms enterprises shortlist when they are modernizing customer engagement infrastructure.
The strategy comes as Resulticks expands its use of AI inside the platform. The company introduced Genie, an agentic AI system designed to automate audience segmentation, generate contextual communications and help marketers act on customer insights in real time. BusinessWire reported that Resulticks positioned Genie as a way to reduce manual workload while extending personalization across channels.
That evolution changes the partner proposition as well. Integrators are increasingly being asked not just to implement software, but to help organizations redesign customer-data flows, governance models and AI-enabled marketing workflows.
Resulticks' platform already appears in Microsoft's commercial marketplace, where RESUL is described as an all-in-one customer engagement solution combining a CDP, omnichannel orchestration, analytics and AI-driven next-best optimization. The listing also highlights cookie-independent audience tracking, identity resolution and ROI attribution.
Those capabilities place Resulticks in a crowded market that includes major enterprise MarTech vendors such as Salesforce, Adobe and Oracle, alongside customer engagement specialists including Braze, Twilio Segment and Iterable.
The larger vendors have an advantage in installed enterprise accounts and ecosystem scale. Resulticks is taking a different route by combining customer data, activation, personalization and AI within a single platform and using partnerships to extend distribution and implementation reach.
That distinction becomes more important in international markets. Enterprise customers in APAC and MEA often operate through complex partner networks and may prefer vendors that can provide local implementation, integration and support.
Viswanath's regional experience could therefore become a strategic asset as Resulticks seeks to deepen those relationships rather than simply increase the number of technology partners.
The move is also consistent with a broader transformation in MarTech distribution. The traditional software model—vendor sells directly to marketing department—is giving way to ecosystem-driven deployments involving cloud providers, data platforms, consultancies, agencies and systems integrators.
For AI-enabled customer engagement platforms, that model can be especially important because successful deployment depends on more than software access. Organizations need clean customer data, identity resolution, governance, channel integration and operating processes that allow AI to make useful decisions.
Resulticks has been building its ecosystem on that basis. The company currently lists relationships and integrations spanning customer data, content intelligence and enterprise technology environments. Its PathFactory partnership, for example, combines content engagement data with Resulticks' real-time engagement capabilities to help marketers connect customer behavior with campaign activation.
The appointment also arrives as Resulticks expands its relationship with Redington, one of the technology distribution companies with which Viswanath has experience. Resulticks and Redington have recently been expanding collaboration across the Middle East, India and Asia, with the companies describing the partnership as a way to help businesses build AI-enabled customer engagement capabilities through a broader regional ecosystem.
That overlap could provide an important foundation for the new advisory role, although the appointment should not be interpreted as evidence that every existing Redington relationship will automatically translate into Resulticks business.
For enterprise marketing teams, the development is worth watching because the value of a MarTech platform increasingly depends on how well it fits the broader technology stack.
A modern customer engagement program may involve a CDP, CRM, cloud data warehouse, analytics platform, identity layer, messaging infrastructure and AI services. No single provider necessarily controls the entire stack.
That makes ecosystem strategy a meaningful competitive differentiator.
Resulticks' decision to add a senior channel specialist suggests the company believes its next stage of growth will depend not only on product capabilities, but also on its ability to build a network capable of selling, implementing and expanding those capabilities across multiple regions.
The customer engagement software market is converging around CDPs, AI, real-time personalization, omnichannel orchestration and marketing analytics.
Salesforce, Adobe and Oracle benefit from large enterprise ecosystems, while specialist platforms such as Braze and Iterable focus heavily on customer engagement and lifecycle messaging. Resulticks sits between these models, positioning RESUL as a broader platform spanning data, orchestration, analytics and AI.
Partnerships are becoming increasingly important across the category because enterprise MarTech deployments rarely happen in isolation. System integrators can connect platforms to existing architecture, consulting firms can reshape operating models, and regional distributors can accelerate market entry.
Resulticks' expanded channel focus therefore reflects a broader industry trend: MarTech vendors are increasingly competing through ecosystems as well as products.
The next stage of Resulticks' growth will likely depend on whether it can turn a broad partner network into repeatable enterprise deployments.
Its AI capabilities give the company a way to differentiate in a market increasingly focused on autonomous segmentation, real-time optimization and personalized engagement. But the more complex the platform becomes, the more important integration and implementation expertise will be.
That is where Viswanath's appointment could have its greatest impact.
A successful channel strategy could help Resulticks reach larger organizations while reducing the friction associated with deploying an enterprise customer engagement platform across regional markets.
The bigger trend is clear: as AI becomes embedded in MarTech, ecosystem strength is becoming part of the product proposition. Vendors that can connect technology, implementation expertise and regional market knowledge may be better positioned to turn AI-powered engagement capabilities into measurable enterprise outcomes.
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marketing 20 Aug 2026
Gen Z may have grown up with streaming, social media and on-demand entertainment, but new research from iHeartMedia suggests younger consumers have not abandoned traditional radio. Instead, broadcast radio appears to fill a different role: creating a shared, low-pressure environment where music, advertising and cultural moments can be experienced collectively. The findings offer marketers a counterpoint to the assumption that Gen Z's media habits are defined entirely by personalization and individual choice.
iHeartMedia has released new research examining how Gen Z interacts with audio, with findings suggesting that the generation's desire for community and belonging may be helping sustain radio engagement alongside streaming platforms, podcasts and social media.
The study, conducted by Critical Mass Media in June 2026, surveyed 1,090 U.S. adults who listen to radio. The sample included adults ages 18 to 64, with 46% between 18 and 34 and 54% between 35 and 64. Because the methodology is based on adult radio listeners rather than a standalone nationally representative Gen Z sample, the findings should be viewed as a study of Gen Z radio listeners rather than a complete measure of all Gen Z media behavior.
Within that audience, iHeartMedia identifies a notable pattern: radio can function as a social audio environment, rather than simply another way to consume music.
That is an important distinction in an audio market increasingly dominated by algorithmic personalization. Streaming services can build highly individualized playlists, recommendations and listening histories. Radio does almost the opposite. A station makes a programming decision for the audience, creating a shared soundtrack rather than asking every listener to select one.
The iHeartMedia research suggests that this difference can be valuable to younger listeners who experience significant pressure around online self-presentation.
Forty percent of Gen Z respondents said they had chosen not to post something they cared about because they feared peers might use it to embarrass them. Another 44% said they had reduced their social-media use, while 43% of teens reported pressure to post content that makes them look good to others.
That context helps explain one of the study's more striking findings: 85% of Gen Z respondents said they feel less likely to be judged when listening to radio with other people, while 77% said radio feels safer or less risky to play in a group.
The behavior extends beyond music preference. Eighty-four percent of respondents said they default to radio when traveling in a car with other people, and 60% said radio is simply easier to enjoy as a group.
In fact, iHeartMedia says Gen Z is becoming the strongest co-listening generation in its research, with 63% saying they frequently or nearly always listen to radio with others, compared with 42% of all radio listeners.
The finding is particularly interesting because the conventional image of Gen Z media consumption is highly individualized: smartphones, headphones, algorithmic feeds and personalized recommendations. The study suggests that personalized media and shared media can coexist, with each serving different social purposes.
Independent Edison Research data provides broader context. Its Q1 2026 Share of Ear research found that Americans ages 13 to 34 spend an average of 4 hours and 30 minutes per day with audio, the highest of any age group.
Edison also reports that AM/FM radio, including streams, represented 16% of Gen Z's total audio day in its Gen Z Audio Report, compared with 42% for streaming music and 20% for YouTube music and music videos.
The numbers highlight an important distinction: radio does not have to dominate total Gen Z audio consumption to remain strategically important for advertisers. Its value may come from reach, context and shared listening, particularly in environments such as cars.
For advertisers, the conversation becomes even more interesting when listening generates conversation.
iHeartMedia says 80% of its Gen Z respondents like to discuss what they hear on the radio, including songs, artists, news, DJ content and advertisements. Ninety-one percent said radio gives their social circles something to talk about, while 90% said hearing something together can spark conversation afterward.
Six in 10 respondents also said that mentioning a song, artist, brand or product out loud makes them more likely to search for additional information about it.
That creates a pathway from audio exposure to social discussion and then to active discovery. The model differs from an individualized digital impression, where the consumer may interact with an ad privately and immediately move on.
The study also highlights the role of curation. Nearly all Gen Z listeners surveyed—96%—said their music choices communicate something about their identity, while 68% reported updating playlists daily or weekly. Yet seven in 10 expressed concern about being judged for what they play, according to iHeartMedia.
Radio removes some of that decision-making burden. Instead of one person choosing a soundtrack that others may judge, a station provides a common point of reference.
This helps explain why co-listening in the research is often situational. Ninety-three percent of respondents said it occurs in the car, while other common environments included running errands, road trips and commuting.
The automotive connection is particularly important because radio remains deeply integrated into in-car listening. Edison Research reports that linear audio still dominates the vehicle environment, even as streaming and connected devices continue to expand.
For brands, this means radio's role may be less about competing directly with Spotify or YouTube and more about offering a different type of media experience.
The advertising opportunity is not limited to reach. If a commercial becomes part of a shared conversation, it can potentially gain a second life through word of mouth, search and social discussion.
That is especially relevant as Gen Z's purchasing power grows and marketers look for environments where advertising can feel culturally integrated rather than purely interruptive.
iHeartMedia is clearly positioning the findings around that opportunity. But the broader market takeaway is larger than one media company: community can be a competitive advantage in an increasingly personalized media ecosystem.
The challenge for advertisers will be measuring it. Traditional digital metrics make it relatively easy to count impressions, clicks and conversions. Shared listening is harder to attribute because the value may emerge later through conversations, branded search or peer influence.
That could push audio marketers toward broader measurement frameworks that combine reach with search behavior, brand lift, engagement and downstream action.
For Gen Z, the study suggests that the future of media may not be a choice between personalization and community. Young consumers can want both: highly personalized feeds when they are alone and shared media experiences when they are with other people.
Radio's resilience may come from understanding that distinction better than its reputation suggests.
The U.S. audio market is increasingly fragmented across broadcast radio, streamed radio, music services, podcasts, YouTube and other digital formats.
Gen Z has embraced on-demand audio, and Edison Research's Gen Z Audio Report shows streaming music taking the largest share of the generation's audio day. Yet broadcast and streamed AM/FM radio continue to provide substantial reach and a particularly strong position in shared environments such as cars.
For marketers, the competitive question is therefore not simply which platform has the largest audience. It is which environment provides the right combination of scale, attention, context and social influence for a particular objective.
Spotify, YouTube and podcasts are highly effective for personalized and on-demand consumption. Radio offers curation, personalities, local relevance and shared listening at scale.
iHeartMedia's broader strategy reflects this convergence. The company operates across broadcast radio, podcasts, digital audio, social, influencers and live experiences, creating opportunities for brands to reach Gen Z across multiple touchpoints rather than depending on one format.
The biggest implication for advertisers is that personalization is not the only form of relevance.
As AI makes digital feeds increasingly customized, shared experiences may become more distinctive rather than less valuable. Radio provides one example, but the principle could extend to live events, creator communities, sports and other media environments built around collective participation.
For advertising technology and MarTech teams, that creates a measurement challenge. Shared audio experiences are difficult to reduce to a last-click model, particularly when influence moves from a broadcast to a conversation and eventually to a search or purchase.
Future media strategies will likely combine programmatic targeting and first-party data with context-rich environments where brands can become part of a cultural moment.
Gen Z's behavior suggests the market should be careful about assuming that younger audiences want every experience optimized solely for them. Sometimes, the appeal is precisely that they do not have to choose.
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business 20 Aug 2026
Hubject and Localiser have announced a data partnership that will integrate charging utilisation and point-of-interest data into EV charging infrastructure planning and operational analysis.
Under the agreement, Hubject will provide Localiser with data from its global eMobility network, which the companies say covers more than 1.1 million charging points across more than 75 countries. Localiser will incorporate the information into its platform for analysing potential charging locations and optimising existing infrastructure.
The partnership addresses one of the less visible challenges facing Europe's electric vehicle transition: utilisation.
Installing a public charging station is relatively straightforward compared with determining whether a location will attract enough drivers, whether additional chargers are justified and how an existing site compares with surrounding infrastructure. Poorly located or underused charging assets can weaken the economics of charging networks while leaving high-demand areas underserved.
Hubject's network data is intended to give Localiser's customers access to observed charging behaviour rather than relying exclusively on forecasts.
"Charging infrastructure only serves drivers if it's built where it's actually needed," Hubject CEO Christian Hahn said in the company's announcement.
That approach puts charging utilisation data closer to the centre of infrastructure planning. For a CPO evaluating a potential location, for example, aggregated utilisation at comparable sites could provide another input alongside traffic patterns, EV registrations, competitor locations, local amenities and grid availability.
Localiser specialises in site analysis for EV charging infrastructure. The company says its platform is used for more than 35,000 site evaluations each month, indicating the scale at which data-driven planning is already being applied to the charging market.
The partnership is designed to address both sides of the infrastructure lifecycle. During the planning phase, network data can help evaluate prospective locations. Once a charging site is operational, Localiser's platform can use market information and benchmarking to help operators understand performance relative to aggregated network activity.
The change is important because Europe's charging industry is moving beyond the initial race to deploy hardware.
The European Union's Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) is pushing the development of publicly accessible alternative-fuel infrastructure and includes requirements around electric vehicle charging infrastructure along major transport corridors. The regulation is increasing pressure for a more coordinated charging ecosystem while the EV market continues to expand.
That creates a more complicated commercial environment for CPOs. A network can grow rapidly on paper while individual locations deliver very different utilisation rates.
The Hubject-Localiser partnership therefore reflects a broader move toward data-driven EV infrastructure planning, where investment decisions increasingly depend on measurable demand and operational benchmarks.
The concept also resembles developments taking place elsewhere in mobility technology. Platforms such as Google Maps and other location-intelligence ecosystems already aggregate information about places, traffic and mobility patterns. In EV charging, however, actual charging-session behaviour can provide a more direct signal of infrastructure demand.
For municipalities, the value could be different. Public-sector planners are often balancing accessibility, coverage and transport policy rather than maximising the return from individual charging sites. Aggregated network data could help identify underserved areas and compare existing charging availability with observed demand.
Investors can also use utilisation benchmarks as another input when evaluating the commercial potential of charging infrastructure.
Hubject's role is particularly relevant because the company operates across the eMobility interoperability ecosystem. Its network connects charging infrastructure and mobility service providers, giving it visibility across a large international charging environment.
Localiser brings the site-analysis and optimisation layer. Combining the two creates a feedback loop between where charging infrastructure is planned and how comparable infrastructure is actually being used.
Localiser CEO Oliver Arnhold described this as part of a broader professionalisation of the charging industry, with CPOs increasingly shifting their attention from initial planning toward operational optimisation.
The resulting dashboards and reports are expected to allow operators to track market developments and benchmark their own utilisation rates against aggregated network data.
There is an important caveat: network-level utilisation data does not automatically predict the performance of an individual charging location. Local conditions such as grid capacity, charger speed, pricing, nearby amenities, parking restrictions, road access and local EV adoption can materially influence demand.
Still, adding observed network behaviour to conventional site-selection models can reduce reliance on purely theoretical projections.
The EV charging market is becoming increasingly data-intensive as operators seek to improve asset economics and governments work to expand charging coverage.
The European Commission has identified the deployment of sufficient charging infrastructure as a key requirement for the transition to zero-emission mobility. AFIR also establishes minimum requirements for charging infrastructure along major European transport corridors.
That creates opportunities for companies operating between physical infrastructure and digital intelligence. Hubject's interoperability network and Localiser's analytical platform occupy complementary positions in that stack: one provides network-level connectivity and data, while the other turns location and utilisation information into planning and operational insights.
Competition, however, is likely to move toward richer datasets. Traffic intelligence, vehicle registrations, payment information, grid constraints, land-use data and real-time charger availability could eventually be combined to produce increasingly sophisticated infrastructure models.
For CPOs, the strategic question is shifting from "Where can we install a charger?" to "Where will charging demand support a sustainable asset?"
The Hubject-Localiser partnership is ultimately less about adding another data feed and more about changing how charging infrastructure investments are evaluated.
As EV adoption grows, charging networks will need to balance geographic coverage with utilisation, reliability and profitability. Data partnerships that connect actual charging behaviour with location intelligence could become increasingly important in making that balance work.
The next stage of Europe's charging market is likely to reward operators that can optimise existing assets as effectively as they can deploy new ones. That makes charging utilisation data, benchmarking and predictive site analysis increasingly central to the economics of eMobility.
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digital asset management 20 Aug 2026
KuCoin has achieved ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certification for its Artificial Intelligence Management System, positioning AI governance as a formal part of the exchange's broader approach to security and operational trust.
The certification is significant because ISO/IEC 42001 is the first international standard specifically focused on AI management systems. Published in December 2023, the standard establishes requirements for organizations to establish, implement, maintain and continually improve an AI management system. It is designed to address AI-related risks while supporting responsible development and deployment.
For KuCoin, the move comes as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in the infrastructure behind digital asset platforms. AI can support functions such as fraud detection, anti-money-laundering controls, market surveillance, customer service, risk management and operational automation. That expands the potential value of AI, but also raises questions about data quality, accountability, model performance and oversight.
KuCoin said its certified AIMS covers the AI management system and the organizational functions supporting it across its global digital asset exchange and financial services operations. The company said the framework is intended to support responsible deployment, governance and continuous improvement of AI.
That distinction matters. ISO/IEC 42001 is not a certification for an individual AI model or a guarantee that every AI-generated decision is accurate. Instead, it is a management-system standard covering how an organization governs AI-related risks and opportunities. ISO describes the framework as encompassing areas including leadership, planning, operations, performance evaluation and continual improvement across the AI lifecycle.
KuCoin CEO BC Wong said the company views trusted AI as increasingly important as AI becomes a foundational component of digital financial infrastructure. The company is adding ISO/IEC 42001 to a Trust Framework that already includes ISO/IEC 27001 for information security, SOC 2 Type II for operational controls and ISO 22301 for business continuity and resilience.
The combination creates a layered governance model. ISO/IEC 27001 addresses information-security management, while ISO 22301 focuses on business continuity. SOC 2 evaluates controls relevant to areas such as security and operational processes. ISO/IEC 42001 adds a specific management framework for artificial intelligence. These standards address different risk domains rather than serving as interchangeable certifications.
The timing reflects a wider shift in enterprise technology. AI adoption is expanding faster than many organizations' ability to establish consistent governance around it.
McKinsey's 2025 State of AI survey found that nearly two-thirds of respondents said their organizations had not yet begun scaling AI across the enterprise, even as AI adoption became widespread. The research also found that 51% of respondents from organizations using AI had experienced at least one negative consequence associated with the technology, with inaccuracy among the most frequently reported risks.
Gartner has similarly linked stronger governance practices with better business outcomes. Its 2025 survey found that organizations conducting regular AI system assessments were more than three times as likely to report high GenAI value as organizations that did not conduct such assessments.
For financial platforms, the stakes can be higher. AI systems may influence transaction monitoring, suspicious-activity detection, fraud prevention, customer interactions and other operational decisions where errors can create financial, regulatory or reputational consequences.
KuCoin is entering an increasingly competitive market for AI governance among digital asset platforms. Crypto.com announced ISO/IEC 42001 certification in February 2026 and described itself as the first digital asset platform to achieve the certification. Binance also announced ISO/IEC 42001 certification in December 2025.
That competitive context changes the significance of KuCoin's announcement. ISO/IEC 42001 is no longer simply an emerging governance concept within the crypto industry; major exchanges are beginning to use formal AI-management certification as part of their broader trust and compliance positioning.
The comparison with enterprise technology companies is also useful. Large ecosystems such as Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce and Adobe are developing AI governance capabilities around increasingly broad portfolios of enterprise AI services. For digital asset platforms, however, governance must intersect with financial crime controls, cybersecurity, privacy, market integrity and operational resilience.
For enterprise marketing and technology teams, the underlying lesson extends beyond crypto. As organizations connect AI models to customer data platforms, marketing automation, predictive analytics and autonomous decision systems, governance needs to become part of the technology operating model rather than an after-the-fact compliance exercise.
KuCoin's certification does not by itself establish that its AI systems are free from bias, inaccuracies or operational failures. ISO notes that certification is voluntary and performed by independent certification bodies; ISO itself does not certify organizations.
The more important development is the normalization of structured AI governance. As enterprises deploy generative AI, AI agents and automated decision systems, customers and regulators are likely to demand greater evidence of how those systems are managed.
For KuCoin, ISO/IEC 42001 gives its AI strategy a recognizable governance framework that can sit alongside established information-security and resilience standards. For the wider digital asset industry, it could contribute to a shift in competitive differentiation—from simply claiming AI capability to demonstrating how AI is controlled, monitored and improved.
The next phase of the market will likely focus less on whether companies have AI governance policies and more on how effectively those policies operate in production.
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marketing 20 Aug 2026
For automotive dealerships and service centers, online reviews are no longer a single-platform game. A new study from customer experience company Alchemer finds that Google remains the dominant review source across generations, while Facebook outranks Yelp among automotive customers in every age group. The research also points to a deeper challenge: high satisfaction and strong repeat-purchase intent do not necessarily translate into trust, and many businesses still fail to close the loop after collecting customer feedback.
Alchemer's new automotive customer experience research examines how consumers discover dealerships and service centers, which review platforms influence their decisions, how they provide feedback and what ultimately drives loyalty.
The research is based on surveys of roughly 1,000 U.S. adults who had visited an automotive dealership, parts supplier or service center during the previous 12 months. Alchemer analyzed the customer journey across four age groups—18 to 29, 30 to 44, 45 to 60 and 61 and older—to identify differences in discovery, trust, experience and retention.
One of the clearest findings concerns online reviews. More than 67% of automotive customers read online reviews before choosing a dealership or service center, and among those consumers, 76.9% say reviews influence their decision. Google is the dominant source across every age group, with 83% of 18-to-29-year-olds, 87% of 30-to-44-year-olds, 83% of 45-to-60-year-olds and 74% of customers 61 and older consulting the platform.
But the data also challenges assumptions about the role of other review platforms. Facebook is consulted more often than Yelp across every age group in Alchemer's study. Among customers aged 18 to 29, 40% consult Facebook for reviews compared with 30% for Yelp. The gap remains among older consumers, with Facebook at 19% for customers 61 and older versus 13% for Yelp.
That does not make Facebook the primary reputation channel. Google remains the clear first priority. Instead, the finding suggests automotive marketers should treat reputation management as a multi-platform discipline, particularly when targeting younger consumers who are more likely to research before visiting.
The broader local-search market supports that conclusion. BrightLocal's 2025 Local Consumer Review Survey found that Google remained the leading platform for consumers seeking local business reviews, while 74% of consumers said they use at least two review sources when researching businesses.
For automotive brands, that means a strong Google Business Profile is necessary but may not be sufficient. Dealers and service centers also need consistent information and credible customer feedback across secondary platforms where prospects may validate their initial choice.
The research reveals another important gap between customer satisfaction and customer trust. Eighty-eight percent of respondents rated their most recent automotive experience positively, while 93% said they were likely to return. Yet only 37% said they trusted dealerships "a great deal." Meanwhile, 60.6% reported that their expectations were higher than two years earlier.
That disconnect matters for automotive marketers because repeat business can mask weaknesses in the customer experience. A customer may be satisfied enough to return while remaining unconvinced about a dealership's transparency, pricing or communication.
The study also highlights a significant feedback-management problem. Email surveys account for 62.2% of feedback submissions, making email the dominant channel. Yet only 57.6% of customers submitting feedback via email receive an acknowledgement, and just 14.2% see a visible change as a result. By comparison, 74.1% of mobile-app respondents receive an acknowledgement and 36.4% report seeing a visible change. Only 4.2% of mobile-app respondents say nothing happened after providing feedback, compared with 24.1% of email respondents.
The finding suggests the issue is not simply whether companies collect feedback. It is whether their feedback technology routes that information into workflows where someone can respond and take action.
That is increasingly becoming a customer experience technology challenge. Survey platforms, mobile feedback systems, CRM tools and workflow automation need to work together if organizations want feedback to influence operational decisions rather than disappear into spreadsheets or dashboards.
Alchemer's research also identifies a gender disparity in feedback collection. Twenty-seven percent of women said they had never been asked for feedback, compared with 18% of men. Among those asked, nearly 64% of men responded versus 54% of women. Women were also more likely to report receiving no follow-up after providing feedback.
For automotive businesses, that represents a missed source of customer intelligence. If feedback requests are unevenly distributed, the resulting dataset can provide an incomplete picture of the customer experience.
The age differences are just as significant. Customers under 45 are more likely to search, compare and read reviews before visiting. Among consumers under 30, 48% said they found their current automotive business through a search engine, compared with only 15% among customers over 60. Conversely, half of customers 61 and older found their current provider through previous use of the business.
That creates two different acquisition models. Younger consumers require strong digital discovery, review visibility and search presence. Older customers are more strongly influenced by retention and established relationships.
The implications extend beyond reputation management. Automotive marketers increasingly need customer experience platforms that can connect reviews, surveys, mobile feedback, CRM data and operational workflows. The objective is not simply to collect more data, but to identify which experiences influence trust and then act on those insights.
The most important finding may therefore be the gap between listening and responding. Alchemer reports that nearly 94% of customers are likely to return, yet more than 18% say nothing happened after providing feedback. Its research also finds that customers 61 and older—the most loyal group—are among the least likely to see their feedback acted upon.
For dealerships and service centers, the lesson is straightforward: reputation begins before the customer arrives, but loyalty is reinforced after the feedback is submitted.
Automotive reputation management is becoming part of a broader customer experience technology stack that spans local search, review management, surveys, mobile apps, CRM and workflow automation.
Google remains the critical review platform, but Alchemer's research shows why brands cannot ignore Facebook, Yelp, first-party reviews and other discovery channels. BrightLocal likewise found that 74% of local-business researchers use at least two review sources, reinforcing the value of a diversified reputation strategy.
The technology market is also moving from passive feedback collection toward closed-loop customer experience management. Platforms such as Alchemer increasingly emphasize routing feedback, generating alerts, analyzing sentiment and connecting customer input to business action.
For automotive enterprises, the competitive advantage may therefore come less from accumulating the highest number of reviews and more from developing the infrastructure to monitor, interpret and respond to customer sentiment consistently.
The automotive customer journey is fragmenting by age, channel and level of digital engagement.
Younger buyers are increasingly discovering providers through search, social platforms and review content, while older customers rely more heavily on established relationships. That makes a single marketing strategy increasingly inefficient.
At the same time, AI is changing how review content is summarized and interpreted. BrightLocal found that 48% of consumers in its 2025 research had read AI-generated review summaries, while 18% said they would be willing to make a decision based on a summary alone.
That could make review quality even more consequential. Automotive brands will need authentic, detailed feedback and consistent reputation signals across the web—not simply high star ratings.
The next phase of automotive MarTech is likely to focus on closed-loop intelligence: collect customer feedback, understand what it means, route it to the right team and show customers that their input changed something.
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