Intelligent Relations—the AI PRTech company behind the AI-powered PR assistant Preston—has gone mobile. The company today announced the global launch of its first iOS and Android app, giving PR pros, founders, and comms teams the ability to manage campaigns, pitch journalists, and track results on the go.

This move tackles one of PR’s biggest modern challenges: the 24/7 news cycle. When media moments break, speed is everything—and Preston’s mobile app aims to be the always-on PR sidekick that fits in your palm.

“We’re putting the full power of our AI PR platform into users’ hands—literally—so they can pitch, respond, and track performance wherever they are,” said Stamatis N. Astra, co-founder of Intelligent Relations.

PR Without the Desk

The app delivers real-time alerts, AI-generated press materials, smart journalist recommendations, and campaign analytics—all tuned for a mobile-first experience. Users can:

• Monitor the media landscape live.

• Generate and send personalized outreach instantly.

• Receive AI suggestions on who to contact and how.

It’s a rethinking of PR software from the ground up, said lead developer Zeshan Javed, who rebuilt Preston’s AI engine and overhauled the UX to make complex PR workflows feel intuitive on a smartphone.

A Challenge to Legacy PR Platforms

While traditional PR platforms often feel desktop-bound, clunky, and slow to adapt, Intelligent Relations is betting on speed + mobility as the new differentiator. Preston’s mobile-first approach offers a nimble alternative to legacy media databases and manual processes that can’t keep pace with today’s media velocity.

The app’s launch also marks a step forward in AI-assisted communications—a trend reshaping not only marketing but also corporate reputation management. As PR teams juggle shrinking news cycles, influencer channels, and AI-generated content, the ability to react instantly from anywhere could become the competitive edge.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

">

Omnisend survey finds Americans are rethinking spending as 66% have seen price hikes post tariffs

CHARLESTON, S.C., Aug. 11, 2025 -- An Omnisend survey of 1,200 Americans finds U.S. adults now spend an extra $12.2 billion* each month – averaging $47 more per person following new tariffs on Chinese goods put in place by Donald Trump. One in seven report monthly increases of $100 or more.

Two-thirds (66%) say they've noticed higher prices following the tariffs announcement. Shoppers most commonly point to Amazon (39%), Temu (30%), and Walmart (27%) as places where they noticed a pricing shift.

As for tariff sentiment, 49% of Americans say they oppose tariffs, 28% support and 23% don't have an opinion. This compared to only 42% who opposed tariffs on Chinese goods in a similar survey conducted in February 2025. There has also been a slight increase of Americans (43%) who are willing to pay more for goods from the U.S. compared to 40% in February.

"You won't see a 'tariff' line at checkout – you feel it in the grocery total, the back-to-school cart, and the small online orders that now cost a bit more to bring to your door. For most families, it just means less breathing room at the end of the month," says Marty Bauer, ecommerce expert at Omnisend.

"The impact comes in waves as new shipments arrive, which is why many people felt it first on the big marketplaces and will likely feel it later on at local stores. Even things made here, in the U.S., can increase in cost when imported parts or packaging get pricier."

Shoppers are changing where and how they buy

With budgets squeezed, consumers are cutting unnecessary spending and have started looking for alternatives. Two-thirds (68%) have reduced or moved away from Chinese marketplaces like Temu and Shein as the end of the de minimis rule for Chinese goods removed much of their price advantage. Price increase is the #1 trigger to switch with 34% of Americans citing it as the main reason for no longer shopping on Chinese marketplaces.

"De minimis once let small packages under $800 enter the U.S. duty-free, and platforms like Temu and Shein built their low-price models around it. When that break ended for China, their biggest advantage vanished overnight. Temu paused U.S. ad campaigns for a few months and blocked shoppers from seeing China-shipped items. With fewer listings and higher prices, shoppers started looking elsewhere," says Bauer.

Shoppers are also looking for workarounds – 23% have already purchased or are actively looking to buy from Canada or Mexico to dodge price shocks, and another 26% say they'll do so if prices keep rising.

"Tariffs have people looking for cheaper options, and right now, buying from Canada or Mexico online still avoids extra fees thanks to the $800 de minimis rule. If you bring something back yourself, there's a separate duty-free allowance for travelers. However, that is not for long, as on August 29, the de minimis rule will expire for the rest of the world," continued Bauer.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

Imparta isn’t just adding another AI platform to the corporate tech pile—it’s doubling down on the idea that AI should actually remember you. The UK-based sales enablement company has launched a fully agentic version of its award-winning i-Coach® AI system, designed to deliver personalized, proactive coaching at enterprise scale.

The upgrade aims to make every seller a top performer by combining human-like memory, proactive outreach, and an arsenal of 20+ specialized AI agents. Think of it as the difference between a polite waiter taking your order and a personal chef who knows you’re allergic to peanuts, remembers your favorite dish from last month, and has already started cooking it before you arrive.

From Reactive to Proactive AI

When Imparta introduced AI-powered coaching in 2023, it was already ahead of the curve. The new agentic i-Coach takes a bolder leap: it doesn’t just respond—it anticipates.

i-Coach AI remembers your role, goals, strengths, and past discussions. It tracks patterns, delivers methodology-aware roleplays, and sends follow-up prompts to keep sellers accountable. This isn’t the kind of chatbot that answers when you ask—it’s the kind that calls you to make sure you’re hitting targets.

20+ AI Agents, One Unified Platform

Under the hood, i-Coach AI runs on a hefty library of 1.5 million words of best-practice content across sales, service, and management. It powers over 20 AI agents with specialties ranging from call analysis and conversation intelligence to deal planning and creative problem-solving.

Where many AI tools risk becoming “islands” in the tech stack, Imparta designed i-Coach to integrate deeply into enterprise ecosystems. It connects to company data, orchestrates multiple vendor agents, and works with text, voice, and even video avatars. For companies already running AI tools, it can slot in as “headless agents” inside the existing environment.

Fixing the Analysis–Learning Gap

CEO Richard Barkey points out that many platforms can analyze conversations or offer training modules—but rarely both in a connected way. “They re-form the connection between analysis and learning that so many platforms break,” he says. The result is an adaptive coaching loop that doesn’t just evaluate performance but actively develops it.

Avoiding AI Silo Fatigue

Megan Andrew, Head of Platform and AI, says enterprise clients have been vocal about avoiding AI overload. “They already have too many ‘islands of AI’ leading to siloed data and poor UX,” she explains. i-Coach aims to unify those experiences, whether as a standalone platform or a behind-the-scenes orchestrator.

The Rollout Plan

To showcase the upgrade, Imparta is hosting live webinars and interactive demos starting August 28 and September 9. Attendees will get a closer look at:

• How agentic AI differs from traditional models

• The 20 AI agents your sales team actually needs

• The 5 types of human agents who make AI stick

• Key data integrations to maximize performance

• How to avoid AI silos for a unified user experience

Market Context

This launch lands in a crowded yet fragmented AI sales-enablement market, where tools like Gong, Chorus, and Outreach have made their mark. Imparta’s pitch? Skip the siloed analytics dashboards and invest in AI that learns, adapts, and actively coaches—without becoming another standalone system managers have to babysit.

If i-Coach delivers as promised, it could redefine how enterprise sales teams interact with AI—less as a reactive assistant, more as a proactive performance partner.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

If you’ve ever wished your static images could spring to life without wrestling with complicated AI prompts, GPT Proto just made that a reality. The AI model integration platform has announced a strategic integration with Higgsfield AI, a fast-rising name in AI video generation recently courted by Meta.

This move brings Higgsfield’s image-to-video tech—already making waves for its cinematic preset templates and professional-grade effects—directly into GPT Proto’s unified AI platform. For content creators, marketers, and developers, it’s essentially giving you Meta-grade AI capabilities without Meta’s budget requirements.

What’s New

GPT Proto users can now tap into over 70 preset templates to turn single images into dynamic videos—no cinematography degree required. The Higgsfield library covers everything from sleek advertising workflows to blockbuster-style visual effects like vehicle explosions, building breakdowns, and cinematic transitions.

Unlike other platforms where AI video requires complex prompt engineering, Higgsfield’s preset-first approach delivers predictable, high-quality outputs with minimal learning curve. That puts it in direct competition with the likes of Runway, Luma, and Keling—but with a focus on accessibility and speed.

Three Models, Three Budgets

GPT Proto is offering Higgsfield in three performance tiers:

• Higgsfield Standard ($0.5405 per time) – Highest fidelity, full template access, built for commercial advertising and professional production.

• Higgsfield Lite ($0.2703 per time) – Budget-friendly and optimized for mobile or edge computing with respectable output quality.

• Higgsfield Turbo ($0.3784 per generation) – Ultra-fast rendering with a balance of speed and quality, ideal for rapid iteration.

Why This Matters

The AI video generation market is heating up, with use cases exploding across social media, e-commerce, advertising, education, and entertainment. Higgsfield’s tech has already drawn acquisition interest from Meta—an endorsement that carries weight in an increasingly crowded field.

By integrating this tech into GPT Proto, users gain:

• Lower costs than direct API access

• Faster speeds thanks to GPT Proto’s infrastructure

• Enterprise-grade stability with reduced downtime

• Hands-on technical support—a rarity in the AI API market

Target Users

This integration hits multiple sweet spots:

• Influencers & Content Creators – Spin Instagram-worthy videos from static posts in minutes.

• Marketing Agencies – Build polished ad campaigns without full production crews.

• E-Commerce Brands – Generate dynamic product showcases straight from catalog images.

• Educators – Turn diagrams into animated explainers.

• Indie Filmmakers & Game Devs – Prototype visual effects without studio budgets.

Market Context

AI video platforms like Runway and Pika Labs have dominated early headlines, but their steep learning curves and unpredictable output often frustrate non-technical users. Higgsfield’s preset workflow sidesteps that, while GPT Proto’s infrastructure cuts cost and latency.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

Plenty of agencies talk about “embracing AI.” Online Advantages is putting its pivot on display for everyone to see. The SEO and internet marketing firm has launched a 60-day public case study—From SEO to AIO: The Roadmap to Reinvention—to document its transformation into a fully AI-powered, automation-driven marketing company.

The 10-part blog and press release series will walk through each stage of the shift, covering AI Overviews (AIO) optimization, semantic search strategies, and automation-first client services. In other words, the company isn’t just swapping a few tools—it’s rebuilding its entire business model for 2025’s search and content ecosystem.

From Ranking Pages to Optimizing for AI

Founder Matt Maglodi says the change reflects how search is evolving. “This isn’t just a rebrand—it’s a complete rebuild of our agency model to match the way search, content, and marketing automation work in 2025,” he explains.

Part of the overhaul includes a brand-new website—OnlineAdvantages.digital—designed to showcase updated services, transparent pricing, and measurable results tailored for the AI-driven marketing landscape.

With Google’s AI Overviews reshaping SERP visibility and semantic search making keyword stuffing obsolete, agencies are under pressure to adapt—or risk irrelevance. By going public with its transformation, Online Advantages is positioning itself as a case study in agency survival tactics for the AI era.

The move also plays into a growing trend: marketing firms leveraging transparency not just as a trust signal, but as a content strategy in its own right.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

In healthcare, every missed appointment isn’t just a lost slot—it’s lost revenue. Marchex (NASDAQ: MCHX) thinks it has the fix. The conversational intelligence company has launched a new AI-powered healthcare solution aimed at health systems, ambulatory care groups, and healthcare marketers that want to track patient leads more precisely, prioritize high-value appointments, and catch engagement issues before they become revenue problems.

Beyond Call Transcripts

Most healthcare contact centers can tell you how many calls they answered. Marchex wants to tell you why a patient did—or didn’t—book. Its Healthcare AI Solution ingests unstructured call data, applies healthcare-specific AI models, and spits out structured insights like:

• Conversion & fallout rates across the patient journey

• Reasons patients hesitate—insurance issues, pricing, appointment availability

• Which marketing channels bring in the most valuable patients

• Campaign tweaks to reduce cost per lead and improve bidding

The goal: replace generic AI summaries with context-rich intelligence that’s actually useful to operations, marketing, and patient experience teams.

Tuned for Marketing ROI

Healthcare marketing spend isn’t small, and attribution is notoriously messy. Marchex’s platform integrates advanced marketing attribution models so organizations can see which campaigns drive not just calls—but appointments with the highest potential revenue impact. That data can then feed back into ad spend optimization, lead scoring, and patient targeting.

Edwin Miller, Marchex CEO, puts it bluntly: “We empower leaders to respond proactively at scale… to improve patient satisfaction and accelerate growth.”

The Competitive Context

The move taps into a fast-growing niche: AI-powered conversation analytics for healthcare, where rivals like Invoca and CallRail have been making moves, but often with broader, less industry-specific tooling. By going deep into healthcare’s quirks—insurance checks, HIPAA constraints, complex scheduling—Marchex is betting that verticalized AI beats general-purpose solutions.

Given the industry’s pressure to do more with less staff, tools that connect marketing dollars directly to booked (and kept) appointments could quickly shift from nice-to-have to non-negotiable.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

Visa has appointed Meble Tin as its new Head of Marketing for Oceania, overseeing Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, effective 2 September 2025. Tin will be based in Sydney and joins from Airbnb, where she led Asia-Pacific marketing, following senior global brand roles at Apple.

Global Brand Expertise, Local Market Insight

Tin’s track record spans global brand development and regional adaptation, including leading Apple’s award-winning Today at Apple program across 500+ retail locations worldwide and steering Airbnb’s marketing strategy for diverse Asia-Pacific audiences.

At Visa, she will direct brand, client, and consumer engagement strategies while scaling marketing services for partners in banking, fintech, and merchant sectors. The role comes amid a shifting payments landscape and Visa’s push to deepen regional partnerships.

Strategic Marketing Services Push

Visa is investing heavily in data-driven marketing services for clients, aiming to help businesses grow through its data resources, creative capabilities, and marketing platforms. Tin’s experience translating complex technology into compelling narratives will be key to these efforts.

Alan Machet, Visa’s Group Country Manager for Oceania, called the hire “pivotal,” while Danielle Jin, Visa’s APAC Marketing Head, praised Tin’s instinct for connecting innovation with customer relevance.

Author - ITBrief  New Zealand

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

The Marketing Club (TMC) has announced a partnership with SMK, a leading digital training provider, to expand professional development opportunities for marketers across Australia and New Zealand.

Under the agreement, TMC members will gain discounted access to SMK’s flagship courses — including Marketing AI, Meta and Google Ads, LinkedIn for B2B, and Email Strategy — along with early access to whitepapers, trend briefings, and on-demand learning. Co-branded events and live sessions will be shaped directly by member feedback.

Addressing the Professional Development Gap

TMC, which has hosted over 85 events and built a community of 12,500+ marketers in three years, recently found that 85% of its members struggle to keep up with professional development, citing time and relevance as the biggest barriers.

“TMC members want to keep learning but often don’t know where to start,” said Chanel Clark, TMC Founder. “SMK’s content is clear, focused, and built for real-world marketing — that’s what makes this partnership so exciting.”

Flexible, Real-World Learning

Founded in 2010, SMK trains more than 10,000 marketing and communications professionals annually. Its courses are designed for practical application rather than theory overload.

“Marketers already have a lot on their plates, so training often gets pushed down the list,” said James Fitzgerald, SMK Executive Director of Programming. “By teaming up with TMC, we’re delivering learning that’s both doable and directly applicable.”

The first courses and events from the partnership will roll out to all TMC members in the coming weeks.

Author - mediaweek

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.