Criteo, the commerce media firm known for connecting retailers and brands through programmatic advertising, has just made a bold move to streamline its leadership structure. The company announced the appointment of two long-serving executives—Todd Parsons and Sherry Smith—to newly expanded roles that consolidate its product, R&D, and commercial strategy.

The aim? Faster innovation, tighter execution, and laser-sharp focus on growth in two core areas: Performance Media and Retail Media.

Todd Parsons: AI First, Full-Funnel Focus

Todd Parsons, Criteo’s Chief Product Officer since 2020, now also carries the title of President, Performance Media. That’s a significant consolidation of power, putting one of Criteo’s most experienced AI evangelists at the helm of its cross-channel, full-funnel advertising solutions.

If you’ve been watching Criteo's shift from retargeting roots to outcome-driven, multi-product advertising, you’ve likely seen Parsons' fingerprints. He’s helped lead the charge on AI-driven personalization and self-service activation, key pillars for modern marketers grappling with signal loss and fragmented journeys.

Before Criteo, Parsons held top product roles at OpenX and SocialCode and led data strategy at Acxiom. He also has startup cred—he founded Aditive (acquired by Acxiom) and BuzzLogic—making him uniquely equipped to bridge big-tech muscle with entrepreneurial urgency.

Sherry Smith: Retail Media Powerhouse

Meanwhile, Sherry Smith is stepping into the role of President, Retail Media, following her tenure as Executive Managing Director for the Americas. Smith has been instrumental in Criteo’s rise as a Retail Media leader—a space projected to hit $140 billion globally by 2026.

Smith has championed the expansion of Criteo’s retail network, brokering partnerships that fuel its monetization engine. Her prior stint as CEO of Triad Retail Media (part of GroupM) gave her front-row experience in building retailer-led ad businesses, long before “Retail Media” was a buzzword.

With retailers becoming full-fledged media platforms, Smith’s appointment underscores Criteo’s push to lead the pack—not just keep pace.

What This Means for Criteo—and the Industry

The reorganization reflects a growing industry trend: collapsing silos between product, data, and go-to-market teams to increase speed-to-value. For Criteo, it’s also a bid to defend its turf against platform giants like Amazon and Walmart, while appealing to advertisers who want measurable ROI in an era of budget scrutiny.

CEO Michael Komasinski puts it plainly: this new structure promises "greater agility, sharper accountability, and a foundation for sustained performance."

And there’s more to come. Criteo is now on the hunt for a Chief Customer Officer, a role designed to squeeze more lifetime value from existing relationships—a smart move as customer acquisition costs climb and retention becomes a competitive differentiator.

The Bottom Line

Criteo’s executive realignment isn’t just internal housekeeping. It signals the company’s doubling down on AI, self-service, and commerce media scale—areas where speed, cohesion, and leadership make or break performance.

The commerce media arms race is heating up. With Parsons and Smith steering key divisions, Criteo is putting its best players on the field to keep its edge—and perhaps stretch the gap from rivals.

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KORE’s OmniSIM US Plans Now Available Through TD SYNNEX Marketplace, Bringing Simplicity to IoT Deployments

In a move poised to accelerate IoT adoption across industries, KORE Group Holdings, the self-described “IoT hyperscaler,” has inked a strategic partnership with TD SYNNEX, one of the world's largest IT distributors. The collaboration makes KORE’s OmniSIM® US connectivity plans accessible through TD SYNNEX’s vast distribution network—unlocking new levels of accessibility and simplicity for resellers and end users looking to deploy IoT solutions at scale.

Cutting Through the Complexity of IoT

Let’s be honest—deploying IoT connectivity can be a logistical headache. Between navigating carriers, configuring devices, and managing variable pricing, businesses often find themselves tangled in a mess of technical red tape before they even get to implementation.

KORE wants to change that. The company's partnership with TD SYNNEX is engineered to streamline access to flat-rate, carrier-grade connectivity that’s easier to quote, purchase, and deploy. For VARs, MSPs, and solution providers, it means fewer hurdles and faster rollouts.

“By aligning with TD SYNNEX, we’re making it easier than ever for customers to access best-in-class IoT connectivity with straightforward pricing models,” said Ryan Yahrmatter, SVP of Strategic Partnerships at KORE.

Why It Matters

This isn’t just about distribution—it’s about acceleration. Through TD SYNNEX, KORE’s solutions can now reach a broader swath of channel partners who often serve as the linchpin between emerging technologies and enterprise IT environments. And KORE’s capability to source hardware and components outside TD SYNNEX’s usual catalog adds value for partners building integrated, end-to-end IoT solutions.

The integration brings much-needed clarity to a segment where procurement is often fragmented. It also signals a growing recognition that IoT, once viewed as a niche or experimental domain, is becoming core infrastructure for modern businesses, from logistics to healthcare to smart cities.

A Smarter Route to Market

TD SYNNEX, for its part, sees the partnership as a way to bolster its portfolio with high-growth, cloud-connected offerings. "This collaboration ensures our customers can harness the full potential of technology to achieve remarkable results," said Marcie Stout, VP of Cloud Marketplace and ISV at TD SYNNEX.

From a go-to-market perspective, this is a notable pivot. KORE’s Chief Revenue Officer Jared Deith called it “a pivotal moment,” emphasizing how the new model simplifies procurement, shortens time to revenue, and equips channel partners with tools to deliver meaningful outcomes for clients.

What’s Next?

While the IoT market continues to grow—projected to surpass $1.3 trillion by 2026, according to IDC—frictionless deployment remains a barrier for many enterprises. By lowering the complexity bar, KORE and TD SYNNEX may be giving resellers and system integrators the extra push they need to accelerate mainstream IoT adoption.

And with KORE positioning itself as a single-source provider for connectivity, hardware, and analytics, this deal could serve as a blueprint for how B2B tech players approach future channel distribution strategies.

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Veteran Strategist Josh Emington Joins Martec Group’s Partner Team After 10+ Years of Growth-Driven Leadership

The Martec Group, a leading provider of deep-dive market research and business intelligence, has promoted Josh Emington to Partner, effective July 17, 2025. The move recognizes a decade-plus of leadership and innovation by Emington, who most recently served as Vice President and led the firm’s value creation initiatives.

From Research Strategist to Strategic Partner

Emington joined Martec in 2014 and quickly carved out a reputation for delivering actionable insights across M&A advisory, franchise development, and corporate strategy. He was named Vice President in 2023, taking on broader responsibility for client engagement, internal growth strategy, and cross-sector consulting.

In his new role, Emington will help steer the firm’s long-term vision, working alongside the senior partnership team to expand service offerings, deepen relationships with mid-market and enterprise clients, and evolve how the company delivers value in a rapidly changing market landscape.

A Decade of Results—and Influence

“Josh has been a driving force behind the company’s forward momentum for more than a decade,” said Rick Claar, President of The Martec Group. “We’re thrilled to have him join our senior leadership as we chart the next decade of growth.”

Emington has long played a critical role in bridging Martec’s research capabilities with its clients’ real-world strategic needs. His focus on expanding client access to the firm’s full service suite has helped solidify Martec’s reputation as a trusted partner to private equity firms, corporate development teams, and Fortune 1000 executives.

Deep Roots in the Research Ecosystem

Beyond his role at Martec, Emington is active in industry organizations, including the Insights Association, Alliance of M&A Advisors, Association for Corporate Growth, International Franchise Association, and American Marketing Association. He also sits on the board of Michigan State University’s Master of Science in Marketing Research program, further cementing his place as a thought leader in the insights space.

For Emington, the promotion is both a milestone and a mission.

“Joining this incredible leadership team and building this amazing company has been a personal goal and a dream come true,” Emington said. “It is an absolute honor to carry on the rich 40-year history of serving private equity investors, mid-market companies, and Fortune 1000 leaders.”

A Signal of Martec’s Future Focus

As the business intelligence space becomes more crowded—and clients demand ever more tailored, data-rich decision support—Martec’s elevation of a relationship-first, insights-driven leader like Emington signals a clear strategic focus: bridging deep analytics with high-touch consulting.

In a sector often overloaded with dashboards and under-delivered in relevance, the promotion may mark Martec doubling down on what matters most: clarity, context, and trusted human insight.

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Ragan Communications has officially announced its Top Women in Marketing, Class of 2025—a standout group of marketing leaders driving transformation, creativity, and results across the industry.

Representing a broad cross-section of sectors including corporate, agency, nonprofit, and government, this year’s honorees are not just navigating marketing’s evolving challenges—they’re setting the pace.

Visionaries Driving Tomorrow’s Marketing Landscape

From brand storytelling and audience engagement to digital transformation and data-informed strategy, the 2025 class includes women who are leading with impact and redefining what’s possible in modern marketing. They’re the architects of campaigns that resonate, leaders building cultures of innovation, and mentors guiding the next generation.

These are the strategists launching purpose-driven initiatives, the creators behind award-winning content, and the executives shaping enterprise-wide marketing transformations.

Celebration Set for October in New York

The honorees will be celebrated at the Top Women in Marketing Awards Luncheon, set for October 22, 2025, at City Winery in New York City. The event will bring together peers and industry professionals to recognize the bold vision and lasting influence of this year's recipients.

For many, this isn’t just an individual accolade—it’s a signal of the evolving face of leadership in marketing, where diversity of voice, thought, and approach is being recognized as essential to progress.

Congratulations to the Class of 2025—your work is setting the benchmark for what comes next.

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In today’s digital-first economy, marketing isn’t just a support function—it’s a revenue engine. Whether you’re a startup looking for traction, a mid-sized firm scaling fast, or an enterprise optimizing conversions, your digital marketing strategy determines whether you lead or lag.

And in 2025, with evolving consumer behaviors, platform changes, and AI-driven tools reshaping the landscape, a structured approach to digital marketing is no longer optional—it’s mission-critical.

Here’s a breakdown of the 10 essential components that define a high-performing digital marketing strategy this year—and how to align with the right services to scale them.

1. Start with Business Goals & Customer Clarity

Strategy without direction is just noise. Before you invest in any digital tools or agencies, define your core objectives:

• Brand awareness?

• Website traffic growth?

• B2B lead generation?

• eCommerce conversion?

• Customer loyalty?

Equally vital is audience clarity. Who are your ideal customers? Where do they spend time online? What triggers their decisions? Understanding buyer personas, pain points, and preferred channels will shape your entire digital roadmap.

2. Conduct a Digital Audit

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. A thorough digital audit helps benchmark where you stand—and what’s underdelivering.

Evaluate:

• Website performance & UX

• SEO rankings & keyword coverage

• Paid ad metrics

• Social media traction

• Email engagement

• Analytics implementation (GA4, Hotjar, etc.)

Partnering with a full-service digital marketing agency or a specialized SEO company can reveal performance gaps and streamline your channel mix.

3. Leverage SEO for Sustainable Growth

SEO remains the long game in digital marketing—and the returns compound over time. If you're not showing up in search, you're not showing up at all.

Key pillars include:

• Keyword strategy (especially commercial-intent for B2B)

• On-page optimization (meta tags, internal linking, schema)

• Technical SEO (page speed, mobile-friendliness, crawlability)

• Backlink building

• Local SEO (for multi-location businesses)

Avoid “keyword stuffing.” The best SEO agencies prioritize relevance, user intent, and content depth over vanity metrics.

4. Build a Multi-Channel Content Strategy

Content fuels every stage of your funnel. A well-structured content strategy doesn’t just inform—it nurtures, persuades, and converts.

Smart formats include:

• Blog articles (optimized for SEO)

• Explainer & testimonial videos

• Infographics and data visualizations

• Email sequences and newsletters

• Social content tailored by platform

• Case studies and whitepapers

Your goal isn’t to flood the internet. It’s to provide value, answer questions, and build credibility with every asset you publish.

5. Invest in Paid Media with Performance Focus

If SEO is the marathon, paid media is the sprint. But sprints still need strategy. A strong performance marketing agency will help you:

• Set up targeted Google Ads and retargeting

• Use Facebook/Instagram for D2C or B2C plays

• Leverage LinkedIn Ads for B2B demand gen

• Test YouTube and programmatic channels

• Optimize creatives and landing pages through A/B testing

A data-driven approach ensures your ad budget drives measurable return—not just impressions.

6. Embrace Marketing Automation

Automation is your behind-the-scenes growth engine. It improves efficiency, reduces manual work, and enhances customer experience.

Leading platforms like HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, or GoHighLevel can help automate:

• Lead nurturing journeys

• Abandoned cart sequences

• Onboarding workflows

• Social media scheduling

• CRM-driven personalization

Work with digital partners who know how to customize—not just configure—these platforms.

7. Prioritize Mobile and UX Optimization

Your website is still your most valuable digital asset. But if it’s slow or hard to navigate on mobile, you’re leaking conversions.

Focus on:

• Responsive mobile design

• Fast load times (<2.5 seconds)

• Clear CTAs

• Easy navigation & intuitive layouts

• Accessibility and clean UI

Most top-tier digital marketing firms now bundle UX audits with their service stack—for good reason.

8. Let Analytics Lead the Way

Analytics isn’t optional. It's your GPS.

Track:

• Website sessions and traffic sources

• Conversion rates and customer journeys

• Email open/click-through rates

• ROAS (return on ad spend) and CPA

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)

Integrate tools like Google Analytics 4, Meta Pixel, Hotjar, and Looker Studio to translate numbers into actionable insights.

9. Build a Funnel-Based Approach

Not all visitors are created equal. Some are window shopping. Others are comparing vendors. A few are ready to buy.

Segment your content and campaigns by funnel stage:

• Top of Funnel (TOFU): Educational blog posts, reels, infographics

• Middle of Funnel (MOFU): Lead magnets, webinars, email nurture

• Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): Product demos, comparison pages, testimonials

The best inbound marketing agencies build tailored journeys that move users from curiosity to commitment.

10. Stay Agile and Trend-Aware

The digital landscape is never static. What worked in 2023 may flop in 2025.

Stay adaptive by tracking:

• Google algorithm updates

• TikTok, Threads, and emerging platforms

• AI-based personalization and content tools

• Voice and visual search

• Shoppable posts and influencer integrations

A smart agency will not only keep up with trends—they’ll help you capitalize on them before your competitors do.

The Bottom Line

Digital marketing success in 2025 isn’t about being everywhere—it’s about being strategically present where it matters, with the right message and tools. Whether you’re working with an SEO agency, a performance marketing team, or a full-stack digital partner, ensure your strategy is goal-aligned, customer-centric, and data-led.

Don’t just go digital. Go deliberately digital.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.

Queen One Secures $5.5M to Turn Static Commerce into Living Brand Experiences

Commerce is getting a much-needed creative overhaul. Queen One, a rising brand technology platform aiming to humanize and energize digital product experiences, has raised more than $5.5 million in Friends & Family funding, with backing from Charge VC, Inspired Capital, Red Swan Ventures, Prospeq, and an inner circle of founders and early collaborators.

Unlike many startups chasing AI buzzwords or incremental UX tweaks, Queen One is betting big on brand storytelling—not just as a marketing tool, but as a core business differentiator. The company wants to shift how consumers experience products online—less SKU, more soul.

From SKUs to Stories

Queen One's premise is refreshingly simple: every product has a story worth telling, and commerce platforms have done a lousy job of telling it. Where most online experiences reduce products to specs and data points, Queen One wants to infuse websites with life, movement, and emotional resonance.

“What Figma unlocked for designers, Queen One is now unlocking for brands,” said Brett Martin, Managing Partner at Charge VC. “They're turning static pages into living, breathing experiences.”

That kind of ambition is attracting serious attention. Inspired Capital’s Kamran Ali cited Queen One’s founding team as a rare blend of vision, execution, and cultural intelligence. “Reimagining how people experience commerce is a bold and timely mission,” he said, “and Queen One is the team to lead it.”

Already Moving Fast

Queen One isn’t just raising capital—it’s already building. The company has:

• Released its first product: Connect (powered by Dragon Tiles), a modular technology stack for brand storytelling.

• Secured $6 million in state economic development support to scale operations in New York.

• Grown to a 33-person team.

• Broken ground on the Rise & Fly Vision Centre, a sprawling 30,000 sq. ft. Brooklyn HQ designed to accelerate product, brand, and cultural innovation.

It's a bold move to anchor the company in Brooklyn, but one that fits CEO Ryan Urban’s ethos: “The time is now. New York is rising. I can’t think of a better place to build a worldscale company.”

Building Culture at Scale

Queen One is also shaping its internal culture with the same energy it brings to its products. Co-founder and COO Maricor Resente made it clear: this is a builder's company. “We know what it takes to work hard and ship big. Together with our investors, we’re ready to deliver immense value to every brand globally.”

Sandy Cass of Red Swan Ventures echoed that confidence: “Queen One isn’t iterating on the past — they’re architecting the future of commerce.”

In a digital landscape dominated by template-driven storefronts and one-size-fits-all engagement, Queen One is positioning itself as the connective tissue between performance and presence—between brands that sell, and brands that resonate.

And with over $5.5 million in new funding and momentum, it looks like Queen One isn’t just talking about a brand revolution—it’s building one.

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Audiense Just Made Audience Intelligence AI-Native—Here’s Why That Matters

In a bold step toward reshaping how marketers, strategists, and analysts interact with data, Audiense has launched MCP (Model Context Protocol) connectors—seamless integrations that embed real-time audience intelligence directly into tools like ChatGPT and Claude.

Forget toggling between dashboards, exporting data, or interpreting PDFs. Audiense now lets users tap into its Insights, SOPRISM, Demand, and Tweet Binder data sets using nothing but plain language prompts—no code required.

The result? You can generate detailed persona summaries, creative briefs, content calendars, and even full-funnel campaign strategies without ever leaving your AI chat interface.

From Static Dashboards to Conversational Data

“AI isn’t just a productivity hack,” said Audiense CEO Jim Swift. “It’s becoming the new interface for how brands engage with their audiences. MCP puts insights into that interface.”

It’s a shift from static data access to conversational intelligence. Instead of pulling insights manually, teams can now ask the AI things like:

• “Compare Gen Z and Millennial buying preferences for skincare.”

• “Generate a content plan targeting niche gaming communities.”

• “What are the whitespace opportunities for eco-conscious fashion?”

And instantly get contextualized answers based on Audiense’s robust consumer intelligence platform.

No Code, No Limits

MCP connectors are designed for non-technical users, making it easy for cross-functional teams to access deep audience insights in real time. Use cases include:

• Marketers building ad strategies and campaign messaging on the fly

• Analysts testing hypotheses and benchmarking audience segments

• Strategists identifying whitespace and emerging cultural signals

• Content teams adapting tone and messaging for every persona

It’s not just about speed—it’s about possibility, said Javier Burón, Product Strategist at Audiense. “Whether you’re writing a brief or developing an agent, MCP connectors give you a faster, more flexible way to turn insight into action.”

Plug-and-Play Intelligence for AI-First Workflows

The power of MCP lies in its interoperability and flexibility:

• Custom Prompts: Ask questions your way—no templates required

• Tool-Agnostic: Works across all Audiense products

• Secure by Design: Uses existing authentication, so your data stays protected

• Outcome-Oriented: Generates actionable deliverables—briefs, decks, slides, summaries

• Workflow-Ready: Integrates with other tools—e.g., turn summaries into Canva decks instantly

This launch also marks a broader industry shift: one where AI becomes the default interface for working with data—and where audience intelligence isn’t just something you look at, but something you talk to.

For an industry that's often buried under dashboards and static exports, MCP connectors feel like a future that finally talks back.

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Treasure Data’s AI Agent Foundry Lands in AWS Marketplace—Here’s Why That’s a Big Deal for Enterprises

Enterprise AI just got a serious upgrade. Treasure Data, the intelligent customer data platform (CDP) built for enterprise scale, has launched its AI Agent Foundry in the newly introduced AI Agents and Tools category of the AWS Marketplace. Now, with a few clicks and an AWS account, companies can build, deploy, and orchestrate AI-powered workflows without enduring the usual procurement drag.

This move puts Treasure Data's AI capabilities directly in front of the enterprise buyers already deep in the AWS ecosystem—accelerating everything from agentic workflow development to real-time personalization and data quality checks.

Agentic Intelligence, Now Easier to Access

The AI Agent Foundry, built on Amazon Bedrock, allows organizations to harness custom and out-of-the-box AI agents to automate decision-making, personalize experiences at scale, and surface insights in real-time.

In practical terms, this means marketers and data teams can:

• Automate next-best-action decisions

• Streamline audience segmentation

• Check and validate customer data quality

• Quickly spin up experimental campaigns—without writing a single line of code

"By offering our AI Agent Foundry through AWS Marketplace, we're streamlining access to agentic AI for our customers," said Rafa Flores, Chief Product Officer at Treasure Data. “Some of our biggest customers are already using it to transform how they handle decisioning, personalization, and experimentation.”

Built for Enterprises, Designed for Speed

Treasure Data’s AI Agent Foundry packs enterprise-grade punch:

• Flexible agent frameworks for custom development

• Low-latency decisioning to keep campaigns responsive

• No-code tools that let marketing and data teams operate independently

• Governance baked in, so compliance doesn’t get sidelined

Available through centralized AWS purchasing, the platform helps teams skip long vendor negotiations and move straight to execution—with full visibility into licensing and billing.

Meet MCP: Natural Language Meets Customer Data

Also in the spotlight is Treasure Data’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server, an open standard that allows AI agents to securely query enterprise data sources using natural language instead of SQL. This means anyone—from a CMO to a CX analyst—can interact with customer databases, explore trends, and pull insights by simply asking questions.

It's a democratization of data access without compromising on control, security, or compliance.

By reducing the friction of data exploration and expanding access to non-technical users, Treasure Data is reshaping how enterprises work with data—moving from dashboards to dialogues.

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