The managed services arms race just added another badge of honor.

Netrio, a global MSP focused on AI-driven IT and cybersecurity for mid-market enterprises, has been named to the 2026 MSP 500 list in the Elite 150 category by CRN, a brand of The Channel Company.

In the crowded MSP landscape, where differentiation increasingly hinges on automation and security depth, placement in the Elite 150 signals that Netrio is competing beyond traditional help desk and infrastructure support.

What the Elite 150 Recognition Means

CRN’s annual MSP 500 list is divided into three tiers:

• Pioneer 250 for MSPs focused on SMBs

• Elite 150 for providers delivering a blend of on- and off-premises services to midmarket and enterprise clients

• Security MSP 100 for cloud-first security specialists

The Elite 150 category is arguably the most competitive. It recognizes MSPs that operate in hybrid environments—where legacy infrastructure, cloud platforms, and modern security frameworks must coexist.

For mid-market enterprises navigating digital transformation, that hybrid complexity is the norm.

AI and Automation Take Center Stage

Netrio’s recognition comes as MSPs face mounting pressure to evolve from reactive IT support shops into proactive, AI-enabled strategic partners.

Over the past year, Netrio expanded operations across the U.S., U.K., and India while strengthening its customer experience organization. But the bigger strategic move is the launch of NetrioNow®, its unified AI-powered service delivery platform.

According to the company, NetrioNow centralizes service transparency, accelerates ticket resolution, and enables proactive cybersecurity governance. In practical terms, that means fewer black-box service processes and more data-driven visibility into performance, response times, and risk posture.

This aligns with a broader industry trend: MSPs embedding AI into operations to shift from break-fix models to predictive IT management. Automation-driven monitoring, AI-assisted remediation, and governance dashboards are quickly becoming table stakes.

The Mid-Market Battleground

The mid-market segment is increasingly attractive—and competitive. Enterprises want 24x7 support, scalable infrastructure management, and cybersecurity depth, but without the overhead of building in-house teams at scale.

Netrio’s positioning centers on end-to-end managed IT infrastructure, cloud services, connectivity, cybersecurity, and even application development. That breadth is designed to reduce vendor sprawl—an ongoing pain point for CIOs juggling fragmented technology stacks.

CEO Mark Clayman framed the recognition as validation of the company’s approach: blending deep expertise with intelligent automation to help organizations modernize and secure increasingly complex environments.

CRN’s Jennifer Follett, VP of U.S. Content and Executive Editor, described the 2026 MSP 500 honorees as companies redefining managed services by helping businesses stay agile and maximize IT investments.

Why It Matters for the Channel

Recognition on CRN’s MSP 500 list isn’t just a marketing win. For channel-focused service providers, it strengthens credibility with partners, investors, and enterprise buyers.

The MSP sector itself is in a period of consolidation and reinvention. Cybersecurity threats are escalating, hybrid cloud architectures are expanding, and AI is reshaping operational expectations. Providers that fail to automate and standardize delivery models risk margin compression and customer churn.

Netrio’s Elite 150 placement suggests it’s leaning into that transformation rather than defending legacy models.

For CIOs and IT leaders evaluating partners, the signal is clear: managed services are no longer about outsourced IT maintenance. They’re about intelligent, always-on operational infrastructure.

And in 2026, AI-enabled delivery platforms may well determine which MSPs thrive—and which merely survive.

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AI in healthcare finance is no longer theoretical—it’s operational. And increasingly, it’s measurable.

Waystar (Nasdaq: WAY) has been named an Inc. Best in Business honoree in the Best AI Implementation category, recognition that underscores the growing traction of its AI-powered revenue cycle platform, AltitudeAI™.

The award from Inc. highlights execution—not experimentation. And in healthcare payments, execution is everything.

$15.5 Billion in Denials Prevented

According to Waystar, since launching AltitudeAI, its clients have:

• Prevented $15.5 billion in claim denials

• Achieved 95% time savings in denial prevention workflows

• Increased denial overturn rates by double digits

For revenue cycle management (RCM) leaders, those numbers aren’t abstract. Claim denials are one of the most persistent financial drains in healthcare. They slow cash flow, increase administrative overhead, and frustrate patients who get caught in billing confusion.

The ability to prevent denials—not just respond to them—signals a shift from reactive RCM to predictive automation.

CEO Matt Hawkins framed the recognition as validation of client outcomes rather than product ambition, pointing to the company’s longer-term goal: building what it calls the industry’s first autonomous revenue cycle.

That’s a bold claim in a sector crowded with AI-enhanced RCM platforms from both incumbents and well-funded startups. But Waystar’s differentiator, it argues, lies in where its AI operates.

AI Embedded in the Flow of Dollars

Unlike bolt-on analytics tools, Waystar positions its AI within what it describes as a mission-critical system of record—embedded directly in claims, denials, and payment workflows.

In practice, this means AI agents don’t just surface insights; they act. They identify potential denial risks before submission, recommend corrective actions, and help close the loop on payment.

The system is powered by a proprietary data asset that unifies financial, clinical, and administrative intelligence at scale. Each claim, denial, and payment feeds the models, creating what the company describes as a self-reinforcing learning loop.

That data density may be its competitive moat. In healthcare AI, access to real-world transaction volume often determines whether models generalize effectively—or stall in pilot mode.

Scaling for Large Health Systems

One customer example cited is Advocate Health, a large nonprofit health system operating across the Midwest and Southeast. The organization uses Waystar’s platform to streamline administrative workflows while scaling operations.

As health systems consolidate and expand, administrative complexity grows alongside patient volume. Automation isn’t a luxury—it’s infrastructure.

For large providers, denial prevention at scale can mean tens or hundreds of millions in preserved revenue annually. It also directly impacts patient experience, reducing surprise bills and prolonged payment disputes.

AI in RCM: From Buzzword to Baseline

The recognition comes amid an acceleration of AI adoption across healthcare finance. Revenue cycle teams are increasingly turning to machine learning for coding accuracy, eligibility verification, prior authorization automation, and denial management.

But the market is separating into two camps:

1. Tools that assist staff with incremental productivity gains

2. Platforms that redesign workflows around AI agents and automation

Waystar is clearly positioning itself in the second category.

The broader implication for the healthcare payments ecosystem is significant. If autonomous RCM becomes viable, it could compress administrative costs, improve provider margins, and ease financial friction for patients.

However, as with any AI-driven healthcare system, long-term differentiation will depend on data integrity, regulatory compliance, and measurable ROI—not just automation claims.

Recognition with Real Stakes

Inc.’s Best in Business Awards focus on demonstrable business impact, with submissions reviewed by its editorial team. For Waystar, the distinction reinforces its positioning as a category leader in AI-driven healthcare payments.

More importantly, it signals that AI in revenue cycle management is entering a results-driven phase.

The industry conversation is moving past whether AI can help. The question now is how autonomously it can operate—and how reliably it can protect billions in provider revenue.

If Waystar’s reported numbers hold, autonomous revenue cycle management may not be far off.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

Industrial automation is having its “measure twice, cut once” moment—only now, the measuring happens in the cloud.

Rockwell Automation says its digital twin platform, Emulate3D™, helped Brazil-based Falcare Industrial Equipment accelerate project execution by 60%, while improving system accuracy and cutting operational waste. For manufacturers and intralogistics providers under pressure to deliver faster and greener systems, that’s not a minor efficiency gain—it’s a competitive reset.

The Problem: Slow Builds, Costly Rework

Falcare, which has spent more than five decades serving retail, food and beverage, logistics, automotive, and machinery sectors, faced a familiar automation bottleneck: long sales cycles, expensive field rework, and the risks that come with testing complex mechanical systems in the physical world.

Traditional commissioning often means building first and troubleshooting later. Conveyor timing mismatches, robot speed inconsistencies, and control logic errors can surface only after hardware is installed—when fixes are costly and timelines already strained.

As customer expectations for faster deployment and predictable ROI grow, that model starts to crack.

The Shift to Digital Twins

Falcare turned to Rockwell’s Emulate3D, a digital twin and virtual commissioning platform designed to simulate mechanical behavior—including robot movement and conveyor speeds—before machines are physically built.

Digital twins aren’t new, but their maturity is accelerating. Across manufacturing and intralogistics, companies are moving from static CAD modeling to dynamic, control-integrated simulations that mirror real-world operations in real time.

Emulate3D bridges mechanical modeling with control logic emulation, creating a synchronized digital representation of the entire system. That means engineers can validate automation behavior, identify discrepancies, and fine-tune logic in a virtual environment.

In Falcare’s case, that translated into:

• 60% faster project execution, enabling earlier customer previews and quicker delivery

• Higher precision and fewer errors, thanks to early validation

• Improved decision-making, supported by accurate system modeling

• Reduced waste and energy consumption, improving sustainability metrics

In other words, fewer surprises after installation—and fewer expensive site visits.

Why This Matters in Brazil—and Beyond

Virtual commissioning is gaining traction globally, but adoption varies by region. Rockwell notes that relatively few Brazilian companies currently use advanced control logic emulation as part of their post-sales support and deployment strategy.

Falcare had previously experimented with alternative tools but ran into technical limitations—restricted modeling capacity, weak integration between mechanical and automation systems, and data-processing bottlenecks.

Emulate3D reportedly addressed those gaps by tightly integrating mechanics and controls. That integration is critical. A digital twin that doesn’t reflect real control logic is more demo than diagnostic.

For intralogistics operations—where split-second timing can affect throughput, safety, and energy efficiency—accuracy at the simulation stage determines whether digital twins are transformative or cosmetic.

Sales Cycles Get a Boost

One of the more strategic advantages of Falcare’s shift isn’t just operational—it’s commercial.

By replacing traditional prototype testing with immersive digital simulations, the company can demonstrate system performance earlier in the sales cycle. Customers see proof of concept before steel is cut or motors are installed.

In a competitive automation market, that shortens decision timelines and reduces buyer hesitation. It also lowers the financial risk for clients investing in high-value automation infrastructure.

For vendors, that means faster revenue realization and fewer costly post-deployment adjustments.

Sustainability and Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is no longer a secondary KPI in industrial automation. Regulatory pressure and corporate sustainability mandates are pushing companies to optimize systems before deployment.

By modeling robot and conveyor speeds digitally, Falcare can fine-tune performance to minimize waste and energy usage. That proactive optimization reduces environmental impact and operational costs simultaneously.

It’s a reminder that digital transformation isn’t just about speed—it’s about smarter resource allocation.

The Bigger Industry Trend

Rockwell’s win with Falcare reflects a broader shift in industrial automation: from reactive implementation to predictive validation.

Digital twins, once considered advanced R&D tools, are becoming mainstream commissioning infrastructure. Vendors that integrate simulation with real control logic—and do so at scale—are likely to shape the next wave of automation standards.

As labor shortages, supply chain volatility, and sustainability mandates intensify, virtual commissioning may become less of an innovation and more of a baseline requirement.

For Falcare, the payoff is measurable: faster delivery, stronger reliability, and greener operations. For Rockwell, it reinforces the strategic role of digital twin technology in its broader digital transformation portfolio.

The message to the automation market is clear: if you’re still discovering system flaws on the factory floor, you’re already behind.

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Website redesigns are easy to announce. Proving they work is harder.

Digital Silk has released a new case study detailing measurable performance gains for Picture Perfect Cleaning following a website redesign and SEO-focused digital marketing push. The takeaway isn’t flashy design—it’s structure, discoverability, and smarter user pathways.

For service-based businesses competing in crowded local markets, those fundamentals can make or break online lead flow.

From Redesign to Results

Picture Perfect Cleaning, which provides residential and commercial cleaning services, relaunched its website in July 2025. But like many service businesses, a fresh interface alone wasn’t enough.

The challenge: improve online visibility while keeping prospective customers engaged long enough to convert.

Digital Silk’s strategy centered on strengthening SEO foundations, streamlining navigation, and building clearer conversion paths. That meant restructuring service pages, refining keyword alignment, and ensuring users could move intuitively from landing page to inquiry form without friction.

In competitive local search environments—where cleaning services battle for top placement—technical SEO and logical site architecture often outperform cosmetic upgrades.

The Numbers: Engagement Over Vanity Metrics

According to performance data cited in the case study:

• Website sessions increased by 47.44%

• Engaged sessions rose by 71.22%

• Average engagement time climbed 124.73%

• Engagement time was reportedly three times higher than direct traffic benchmarks

Those aren’t minor bumps. They suggest not just more visitors, but better-qualified ones.

For local service providers, engagement metrics often correlate with conversion likelihood. A visitor who lingers, explores service pages, and navigates smoothly is far more valuable than a quick bounce driven by generic search traffic.

Why Structure Beats Flash

Many small and mid-sized service businesses treat digital marketing as a traffic acquisition problem. But the real bottleneck is often post-click experience.

If navigation is cluttered, service differentiation unclear, or CTAs buried, traffic gains don’t translate into revenue.

Digital Silk’s approach—aligning SEO strategy with site structure—reflects a broader MarTech principle: content, architecture, and conversion pathways must work together. Search visibility without usability creates leakage. Usability without visibility creates silence.

The case study highlights how clearer pathways helped guide users efficiently through service information. In practice, that usually means logical service categorization, localized keyword targeting, streamlined menus, and strategically placed calls to action.

Not revolutionary. Just well executed.

Local SEO Is a Different Beast

For service-based businesses, especially in cleaning, plumbing, HVAC, or home services, competition happens at the hyper-local level.

Search intent is high—users aren’t browsing for inspiration; they’re looking to book. That compresses the conversion window. If a site doesn’t deliver clarity within seconds, users move on.

Improving discoverability through SEO while simultaneously increasing engagement time signals that both acquisition and experience were addressed. That dual improvement is harder than it sounds.

It also aligns with search engine evolution. Modern algorithms increasingly reward engagement signals and user satisfaction metrics—not just keyword density.

The Broader Implication for SMB Marketing

Case studies like this reinforce a larger trend: performance-driven redesigns are replacing aesthetic-first refreshes.

As competition intensifies across local search ecosystems, agencies are under pressure to tie UX improvements directly to measurable outcomes—sessions, engagement depth, and, ultimately, lead generation.

For businesses evaluating digital marketing investments, the lesson is straightforward:

• Traffic growth is step one.

• Engagement quality is step two.

• Conversion clarity ties it together.

Without structural alignment between SEO and UX, gains in one area rarely sustain gains in another.

What It Means for MarTech Leaders

For MarTech teams and agency partners, this case underscores the importance of integrating analytics, user behavior tracking, and technical SEO into redesign initiatives from day one.

Redesigning a site without rethinking its information architecture is like repainting a storefront while leaving the aisles disorganized.

Digital Silk’s case study suggests that when discoverability and navigation are treated as interconnected systems, measurable engagement gains follow.

For service-based businesses navigating competitive local markets, that may be the difference between appearing in search—and actually winning the job.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

Buy now, pay later just found a bigger checkout lane in the UK.

Klarna is now available on Google Pay in the United Kingdom, allowing users to select Klarna’s interest-free Pay in 3 installment option directly at checkout.

For Klarna, the move advances its long-stated ambition to be “available at every checkout.” For Google, it strengthens the wallet’s appeal in an increasingly competitive digital payments market where flexibility often wins over loyalty.

What’s New: Pay in 3 Inside Google Pay

UK consumers using Google Pay can now split eligible purchases into three interest-free installments through Klarna. Once a transaction is complete, users manage payments, returns, and delivery tracking within the Klarna app.

The integration removes friction from the typical BNPL flow. Instead of redirecting to a separate financing page or re-entering payment details, shoppers can access installment options within the wallet they already use.

That convenience matters. Digital wallets have become default payment methods for millions of UK consumers, and embedding financing options directly into them shortens the path from intent to purchase.

A Strategic Expansion for Both Companies

Klarna serves more than 114 million active consumers globally and has been steadily expanding beyond standalone checkout integrations into platform-level partnerships.

By joining Google Pay’s UK ecosystem, Klarna taps into a payment surface that supports shopping activity across apps, websites, and Android devices. Google says people shop on its platform more than a billion times a day globally—making wallet placement a high-visibility channel.

For Google Pay, adding Klarna’s Pay in 3 strengthens its value proposition against rival wallets and embedded finance options. Digital wallets are increasingly becoming financial hubs, not just payment rails. Offering installment choices directly at checkout aligns with consumer demand for flexible budgeting tools.

The BNPL Battlefield in the UK

The UK is one of Europe’s most mature buy now, pay later markets. Klarna competes with providers like Clearpay and PayPal, both of which offer installment-based payment options at checkout.

Embedding into Google Pay may offer Klarna an edge in ubiquity. Rather than relying solely on merchant integrations, wallet-level placement increases discoverability and standardizes the payment experience across retailers.

However, the BNPL sector continues to face regulatory scrutiny. UK authorities have signaled tighter oversight around consumer protections, disclosures, and affordability checks. Expanding through established digital wallets could help normalize installment payments within clearer compliance frameworks.

From Checkout Feature to Commerce Network

Klarna’s strategy has evolved beyond financing into broader commerce services—shopping discovery, loyalty programs, and in-app order management. Integrating with Google Pay reinforces its position not just as a lender, but as a consumer-facing commerce platform.

Users will still manage repayments, returns, and tracking through the Klarna app, preserving its direct customer relationship even as transactions originate in Google’s ecosystem.

That hybrid model—wallet integration plus proprietary app control—allows Klarna to expand distribution without surrendering customer data and engagement touchpoints entirely to platform partners.

Why It Matters for Merchants

For UK merchants, the integration could reduce checkout abandonment by giving shoppers a familiar wallet interface combined with installment flexibility.

BNPL has consistently shown higher conversion rates and increased average order values in e-commerce environments. Embedding those options into widely adopted wallets simplifies activation and may reduce integration complexity for retailers already supporting Google Pay.

At the same time, merchants must balance conversion gains with fee structures and regulatory considerations tied to installment payments.

The Bigger Picture

The payments landscape is shifting toward embedded finance, where consumers expect flexibility without friction. Digital wallets are becoming control centers for that flexibility.

Klarna’s expansion into Google Pay UK signals that BNPL providers are no longer content to sit beside checkout—they want to live inside it.

As competition intensifies and regulation evolves, distribution partnerships like this may determine which players remain top of wallet—and which fade into the background.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

Mortgage pricing waits for no one—especially in volatile rate environments.

Cloudvirga, a Stewart-owned provider of digital point-of-sale platforms for lenders, has announced a certified integration with Optimal Blue’s Product and Pricing Engine (PPE). The move brings real-time pricing and eligibility data directly into Cloudvirga’s Loan Hub, giving loan teams the ability to generate consumer-ready pricing scenarios at virtually any stage of the borrower journey.

For lenders juggling rate shoppers, walk-ins, and in-flight applications, that kind of immediacy can mean the difference between a locked loan and a lost opportunity.

Real-Time Pricing, Inside the Workflow

Loan Hub functions as a centralized workspace for origination teams, allowing them to manage pipelines, collaborate with borrowers, and complete tasks from a single interface. With the Optimal Blue integration, pricing intelligence now lives directly within those workflows.

Loan officers can generate product and pricing options in two key ways:

• By capturing borrower details through the Shop for Rates experience—useful for early-stage prospects or rate shoppers.

• By leveraging verified data from an active application to produce comprehensive pricing output.

Instead of toggling between systems or relying on static rate sheets, teams can access live pricing and eligibility data while the conversation is happening.

In a market where interest rates shift quickly and borrowers comparison-shop aggressively, that responsiveness isn’t just convenient—it’s strategic.

Side-by-Side Comparisons and Instant Conversions

The integration goes beyond simply pulling rates. Loan teams can:

• Compare up to three product options side by side

• Convert a pricing lead into a full application on the spot

• View previously generated pricing reports tied to a loan file

• Send PDF comparison reports directly to borrowers

• Apply selected pricing details into the loan record once a choice is made

This tighter loop between pricing and application reduces friction and manual re-entry. It also supports transparency, giving borrowers clear, documented comparisons before they commit.

For lenders, that means fewer dropped leads and a smoother transition from rate inquiry to formal application.

Why PPE Integration Matters

Optimal Blue’s PPE is widely used across the mortgage industry for real-time product eligibility and pricing. By embedding it directly into Loan Hub, Cloudvirga eliminates the context switching that often slows down loan teams.

Pricing engines have long been critical infrastructure in mortgage lending—but historically, they’ve lived in separate systems. Integration into the point-of-sale layer reflects a broader fintech trend: collapsing silos between front-end borrower experiences and back-end pricing intelligence.

That convergence is increasingly important as lenders compete on speed, accuracy, and digital experience.

Building a Connected Lending Stack

The Loan Hub integration complements Cloudvirga’s broader platform ecosystem.

Its Tropos portal guides borrowers from application through clear-to-close in a consumer-friendly interface. Meanwhile, the admin portal introduced in mid-2025 gives lenders control over settings, permissions, and workflow configurations.

Together, these tools aim to create a flexible, borrower-first digital environment that can adapt to market swings and operational demands.

In today’s mortgage climate—marked by fluctuating rates, tighter margins, and higher borrower expectations—speed and clarity are competitive differentiators. Lenders need to deliver accurate pricing instantly while maintaining compliance and documentation integrity.

By embedding real-time PPE data into daily workflows, Cloudvirga is positioning Loan Hub as more than a task manager—it’s becoming a pricing command center.

The Bigger Picture for Mortgage Tech

The mortgage tech stack is undergoing consolidation and deeper integration. Lenders are increasingly looking for platforms that unify origination, pricing, compliance, and borrower communication.

Real-time pricing at both the lead and in-flight stages reflects a shift toward continuous engagement. Instead of treating pricing as a one-time quote, lenders can now update and refine options as borrower data evolves.

That dynamic capability aligns with modern borrower expectations: transparency, speed, and digital convenience.

For loan teams, fewer system hops and faster quote generation can translate directly into higher pull-through rates.

And in a rate-sensitive market, that’s a meaningful advantage.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

Experiential marketing is consolidating. Clients want measurable outcomes. And the agencies that can span strategy, production, and AI in one motion are pulling ahead.

INVNT says it delivered 60% year-over-year growth in 2025—its strongest financial performance to date—driven by a strategic integration designed to expand both upstream strategy and downstream execution.

In an industry where fragmented vendor ecosystems often slow campaigns, INVNT is betting that scale plus innovation wins.

A Borderless, Integrated Model

The agency describes its recent growth as the result of deliberate infrastructure expansion rather than market tailwinds alone. Over the past year, INVNT bolstered teams across creative, production, account services, business development, and operations in North America, APAC, EMEA, and South Asia.

That expansion supports what it calls a “borderless” delivery model—capable of executing campaigns and experiential activations globally while maintaining centralized strategic alignment.

As brands push for unified storytelling across live events, digital channels, and AI-powered environments, the demand for integrated partners has intensified. The days of siloed event agencies working independently of digital strategy teams are fading fast.

Big Brands, Big Stages

INVNT’s 2025 portfolio reads like a snapshot of global tech and consumer culture milestones.

The agency delivered experiential work for brands including:

• Amazon (Ignite Live in the US and UK; Ignite Connect in Japan and Germany)

• Microsoft (50th Anniversary celebration and global Copilot launch)

• Samsung (Galaxy Unpacked at SAP Center, generating over 33 million views, and the #PlayGalaxy Cup e-sports influencer event)

• General Motors (global HQ debut at Hudson’s Detroit)

• Johns Hopkins University (150th Anniversary celebration and SNF Agora Institute opening)

Additional projects spanned Oracle AI World, Netflix’s Squid Game 2 premiere activation in Sydney, PepsiCo’s Formula 1 partnership announcement at IBC Barcelona, and multi-region programs for LinkedIn.

It also developed ABB’s AI-powered ABB-e mascot and supported immersive initiatives like Ascension Foundation’s Roblox-based #GOALS experience aimed at encouraging middle school students to explore healthcare and STEM careers.

This breadth underscores a key shift: experiential campaigns are no longer isolated events. They are multi-platform content engines feeding social, streaming, gaming, and enterprise ecosystems.

AI as the Differentiator

INVNT credits part of its momentum to growing investment in proprietary innovation, including a patent-pending experiential and audience AI technology.

While details remain limited, the emphasis on audience intelligence reflects a larger industry pivot. Brands increasingly expect experiential activations to generate measurable engagement data—heat maps, sentiment analysis, conversion attribution—rather than just buzz.

The experiential sector, historically driven by creative spectacle, is evolving into a performance channel.

Agencies that can fuse immersive production with AI-powered insights stand to capture more strategic budget allocations, particularly as CMOs demand ROI clarity across both physical and digital environments.

A Consolidating Market

The global experiential sector is undergoing consolidation as agencies merge to build cross-disciplinary capabilities. Clients are selecting partners that can manage strategy, design, production, digital activation, and data intelligence under one umbrella.

INVNT’s 60% growth signals strong demand for integrated solutions—but also reflects competitive pressure to scale rapidly. Larger enterprise clients increasingly expect global consistency, local execution, and measurable impact across every activation.

Strong client retention and multi-region expansion suggest the agency’s integrated approach is resonating with enterprise partners.

The Bigger Industry Signal

Experiential marketing is no longer about the moment alone. It’s about how that moment extends—into digital ecosystems, social media amplification, AI-enhanced personalization, and long-term brand equity.

INVNT’s performance indicates that agencies combining creative ambition with operational scale and AI-driven intelligence are capturing that demand.

As live events rebound and digital-first engagement expectations intensify, the experiential space is shifting from production-heavy spectacle to innovation-led orchestration.

In that environment, growth isn’t just about bigger stages. It’s about smarter systems behind them.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

UK ecommerce group THG PLC has announced a strategic partnership with global adtech leader The Trade Desk, giving advertisers direct, self-serve access to high-intent beauty retail data for the first time.

Through The Trade Desk’s Kokai media-buying platform, brands and agencies can now activate audience segments derived from THG’s beauty retailers Cult Beauty and LOOKFANTASTIC across the open internet.

The move positions THG Beauty Media more firmly within the fast-growing retail media ecosystem—while giving advertisers access to commerce-backed targeting beyond walled gardens.

Commerce Data Goes Self-Serve

The integration allows media buyers to tap into audience segments built from real-world ecommerce behaviour, spanning categories such as:

• Skincare

• Makeup

• Haircare

• Fragrance

• Nutrition

Segments range from high-value and budget shoppers to intent-driven browsers and lapsed customers. Crucially, advertisers can measure campaign performance against actual sales outcomes, enabling closed-loop attribution and improved return on ad spend (ROAS).

Unlike some retail data partnerships that require clean room integrations, this offering provides event-level data activation directly within Kokai—streamlining execution for agencies and brands.

Full-Funnel Targeting Across the Open Internet

Campaigns activated via The Trade Desk can run across premium open internet inventory, including:

• Connected TV (CTV)

• Digital audio

• Display and video

By applying retail data across brand-building and performance media, marketers can extend ecommerce insights beyond onsite placements and into omnichannel campaigns.

For THG, this expands its retail media proposition beyond owned-and-operated environments—allowing beauty brands to reach audiences wherever they consume content.

Strengthening THG Beauty Media

The partnership is part of THG Beauty Media’s broader push to modernise its retail media infrastructure and grow its marketing services division.

With millions of customers across Cult Beauty and LOOKFANTASTIC, THG combines:

• Large-scale ecommerce transaction data

• In-house creative capabilities

• Closed-loop attribution measurement

LOOKFANTASTIC serves a broad beauty audience with an extensive product range, while Cult Beauty targets trend-driven and premium-focused shoppers with a curated selection of brands. Together, they offer advertisers access to the full spectrum of UK beauty consumers—from casual buyers to category enthusiasts.

Retail Media Expands Beyond Walled Gardens

Retail media networks have become one of the fastest-growing segments in digital advertising, as brands seek first-party data alternatives amid signal loss and tightening privacy regulations.

This partnership signals a broader shift: retail data is increasingly being activated across the open internet rather than confined to retailer-owned media ecosystems.

By combining commerce-backed segments with AI-driven optimisation on The Trade Desk’s platform, advertisers can:

• Reduce media waste

• Improve audience precision

• Optimise toward real sales outcomes

• Align brand and performance objectives

For THG, the move enhances monetisation of its first-party beauty data. For advertisers, it offers scalable access to high-intent audiences without complex integrations.

As retail media evolves from onsite placements to full-funnel omnichannel activation, partnerships like this highlight how ecommerce data is reshaping digital advertising strategy across CTV, audio, and display.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.