Brick Marketing, the Boston-based B2B digital marketing agency with nearly two decades under its belt, just went all-in on artificial intelligence. The agency unveiled three new services—AI Marketing Solutions, AI SEO (GEO) Search Optimization, and AI Agents for Marketing—each aimed at helping businesses not only keep pace with AI-driven competitors but sharpen their own digital edge.

This is more than a feature refresh; it’s Brick Marketing staking a claim on where B2B marketing is headed. In an industry where generative AI hype often outpaces actual utility, the firm is pitching tangible use cases that promise measurable results.

AI Marketing Solutions: Smarter Decisions, Faster

The new AI Marketing Solutions offering weaves predictive analytics, content optimization, and workflow automation into daily marketing ops. The pitch is simple: use AI to analyze mountains of customer and campaign data faster than humans ever could, then layer in human strategic oversight to keep decisions aligned with business goals. The result? Better targeting, quicker pivots, and the kind of efficiency CFOs actually notice.

AI SEO (GEO): Search With Intent

SEO may be a decades-old discipline, but Brick Marketing’s AI SEO (GEO) takes a fresh stab at it. Instead of broad keyword guesswork, the platform applies AI to predict how buyers search differently depending on geography, industry, and where they are in the funnel. The promise here is sharper visibility for mid-market B2B firms looking to climb rankings both locally and globally. Competitors like Conductor and BrightEdge have already layered AI into search, but Brick Marketing’s GEO twist could appeal to firms that want intent-driven insights without enterprise-level bloat.

AI Agents: Digital Assistants for the Marketing Team

If chatbots and scheduling tools feel like old news, AI Agents for Marketing aim to go a step further. Think digital assistants that don’t just automate repetitive tasks but also analyze performance data and even handle customer interactions. By offloading tasks like campaign scheduling or lead segmentation, marketing teams can spend less time babysitting dashboards and more time on strategy and creative.

The Bigger Picture

Brick Marketing’s president, Nick Stamoulis, framed the move as a logical extension of the agency’s “fractional CMO” model, combining strategy with execution. And it’s timely: B2B marketers are under pressure to prove ROI while adapting to faster cycles of change. AI adoption isn’t optional anymore—it’s the competitive baseline.

For Brick Marketing, the bet is clear: mid-sized B2B firms may not have the budgets for in-house AI teams, but they still need AI-driven outcomes. These services aim to bridge that gap, positioning the agency somewhere between a traditional digital shop and a future-ready consultancy.

Whether the market buys in depends on execution, of course. But in a sea of vague AI promises, Brick Marketing’s three-pronged approach—practical, measurable, and integrated into existing strategies—just might stand out.

The holiday ad race is officially on, and X (formerly Twitter) wants a bigger slice of marketers’ budgets. This week, the platform launched its Holiday Marketing Hub, a resource center aimed at advertisers, publishers, and agencies gearing up for the busiest shopping stretch of the year.

Packed with creative guidelines, webinars, and even an “aesthetic scoring” system, the hub underscores a truth advertisers already know: winning the holiday season isn’t just about showing up—it’s about showing up with ads that look sharp, load fast, and speak clearly.

What’s Inside the Hub

• Webinar Series: Led by X’s ad team, the sessions cover everything from using the X pixel effectively to optimizing creative assets and tapping advanced ad features. For teams that need a crash course before peak season, it’s essentially free training on the tools.

• Creative Guidelines: The rules of thumb are blunt: keep copy between 50–100 characters, be authentic, lean into urgency—but leave the clutter behind. That means no hashtag stuffing, minimal @mentions, and definitely no emoji spam.

• Aesthetic Scoring: Perhaps the most intriguing feature, X now grades ads based on their visual polish. High scorers will see broader reach, making design quality more than just a matter of taste—it’s an algorithmic advantage.

• Visual-First Playbook: With most users scrolling on mobile, the hub pushes for mobile-optimized videos, thumb-stopping imagery, and multi-format campaigns with 3–5 creative variations to test and scale.

Why It Matters

Holiday ad spending is the Super Bowl for digital platforms, and X is jockeying to prove it can still deliver reach and performance in a fiercely competitive adtech market. The aesthetic scoring system in particular signals a shift: ad quality isn’t just about messaging anymore—it’s about how good your creative looks. That makes X’s guidance less of a “nice to have” and more of a new performance benchmark for publishers and marketers.

For advertisers, the hub could streamline creative production just in time for the holiday surge. For rivals like Meta and TikTok, it’s another reminder that X, despite its recent turbulence, is still fighting for relevance in the premium ad mix.

The Bottom Line

X’s Holiday Marketing Hub isn’t revolutionary, but it’s pragmatic. By combining creative discipline, visual quality standards, and mobile-first execution, the platform is giving brands a tactical playbook to maximize seasonal ROI. Whether marketers embrace the aesthetic scoring system—or grumble about yet another metric to optimize against—remains to be seen. But with holiday CPMs climbing, advertisers may find that following the rules is the fastest way to the top of the feed.

Adsquare is putting the real world into Amazon’s walled garden. The Berlin-based location intelligence provider has officially integrated with Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), enabling advertisers to layer geospatial insights onto campaigns running through Amazon DSP.

For brands and agencies, the move means a deeper view of customer behavior beyond the screen—and a clearer link between ad impressions and in-store visits.

Why Location Matters in Amazon’s Ad Ecosystem

AMC already offers a clean-room environment where advertisers can combine their own data with Amazon’s signals while keeping everything privacy-safe. Now, with Adsquare’s datasets, campaigns gain a new dimension: place visits, commuting patterns, seasonal shopping behaviors, and lifestyle attributes.

That translates into more contextually relevant audience segments—think families who shop at certain malls, commuters likely to stop at QSR chains, or seasonal travelers in-market for luggage.

Measurement Moves Offline

The partnership isn’t just about targeting. Adsquare’s footfall analytics allow advertisers to measure whether a user exposed to an Amazon DSP ad actually walked into a physical store. In a landscape where ROI is often debated in impressions and clicks, tying spend to real-world conversions gives marketers something far more tangible.

Key Benefits for Marketers

• Sharper Targeting: Blend location intelligence with demographic and intent data to build high-value profiles.

• ROI You Can See: Link exposures to store visits for measurable business outcomes.

• Privacy-Safe Execution: AMC’s clean-room framework keeps insights compliant.

• Global Scale: Available across Europe, the Americas, and APAC for multiregion campaigns.

The Bigger AdTech Picture

This integration underscores a larger industry trend: programmatic isn’t just about digital reach anymore—it’s about bridging online ads with offline behavior. Rival platforms like The Trade Desk and Google have also leaned into real-world attribution, but Adsquare’s AMC tie-up gives Amazon DSP advertisers a competitive edge just as retail media spend accelerates.

Bottom Line

The Adsquare-AMC integration makes Amazon’s ad platform more powerful by fusing location data with programmatic activation and measurement. For marketers chasing omnichannel precision, it’s another sign that the line between digital engagement and physical action is blurring—and that future ad buys will increasingly be judged by real-world results, not just click-through rates.

PCI Pal®, the global SaaS provider of secure payment solutions, has tapped Kathy Varney as its new Chief Marketing Officer, signaling a push to accelerate enterprise growth and strengthen partner engagement worldwide.

Varney brings over 20 years of experience scaling B2B technology brands and leading high-performing marketing teams across SaaS, AI, and healthcare technology sectors. Her previous roles include CMO at Holon Solutions, Global Brand Marketing lead at LogMeIn (now GoTo), and Senior VP of Marketing at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

Driving Growth Through Strategic Marketing

According to CEO James Barham, Varney will spearhead PCI Pal’s expanded marketing engine and go-to-market strategies, focusing on enterprise customer acquisition and deeper engagement with channel partners. Based in the U.S., she will leverage her regional expertise to grow North American operations while supporting the company’s global expansion in EMEA and APAC.

“Joining PCI Pal at this stage of growth is incredibly energizing,” Varney said. “Organizations worldwide are prioritizing data protection and experience-driven solutions. PCI Pal’s cloud-native, partner-centric platform is more relevant than ever. I look forward to elevating our brand and supporting customer success across all regions.”

Reinforcing Global Momentum

PCI Pal’s secure payment solutions are deployed in more than 50 countries, serving some of the world’s most regulated industries, including financial services, healthcare, retail, and government. The appointment of Varney reinforces the company’s focus on partner enablement, customer-centric innovation, and long-term global growth.

With Varney at the helm of marketing, PCI Pal aims to further integrate its offerings with leading CCaaS, CRM, and payment gateway platforms, while supporting enterprise clients and AI providers seeking secure, flexible, and industry-agnostic payment solutions.

San Diego, CA – Informa TechTarget, a leading growth accelerator for the B2B tech sector, is set to spotlight the power of trust in content marketing at Content Marketing World 2025, running September 15–17. The conference, produced by the Content Marketing Institute, is the largest global gathering of content marketing professionals, offering actionable insights to navigate today’s complex B2B landscape.

Marketers today face a tough challenge: up to 95% of buyers aren’t ready to purchase at any given moment. Decisions are increasingly influenced by outside stakeholders, peer networks, and AI-generated content, making authenticity and trust critical differentiators.

The Trust Advantage: Session Highlights

Informa TechTarget leaders will present “The Trust Advantage: Content Strategy at the Intersection of Innovation & Expertise” on September 16, featuring:

• Mandi Tompkins, Head of Studio

• Travis Gonzalez, Director of Strategy, Studio

Key takeaways for session attendees include:

• The Trust Crisis: Why transparency and authenticity are now mandatory for effective B2B content.

• The Expert Advantage: How collaborations with SMEs, analysts, and media voices establish authority with buyers.

• The Innovation Imperative: Building connected content ecosystems to guide buyers through nonlinear journeys.

“At Informa TechTarget, we see firsthand how critical trust is in today’s B2B marketing landscape,” said Tompkins. “By combining our first-party audience data with authoritative content and expert voices, we give marketers the competitive advantage to cut through AI-driven noise and engage the right audiences at the right time.”

Engaging With Marketers Onsite

Attendees can visit booth #625 to explore Informa TechTarget’s solutions for accelerating growth, engaging high-value B2B audiences, and driving meaningful buyer connections.

With the rise of AI-generated content and increasingly complex buying journeys, the company’s focus on trust and expertise positions it as a critical resource for tech marketers seeking to stand out in a crowded content ecosystem.

Joe Hand Promotions, the nation’s top distributor of live sports to commercial establishments, is entering the streaming arena with the Joe Hand Promotions App, built in partnership with interactive streaming technology company Kiswe. Set to launch on October 1, the platform targets bars, restaurants, and other venues across North America.

The app combines Joe Hand Promotions’ expansive distribution network with Kiswe’s award-winning streaming expertise, offering venue operators seamless access to premium live sports. Select content will be available immediately upon launch, with additional programming rolling out over time.

Maintaining Flexibility for Venues

While the new app represents a digital-first approach, Joe Hand Promotions continues to deliver content via DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS, cable, and traditional streaming platforms, ensuring operators can choose the delivery method that works best for their location. This hybrid model reinforces the company’s commitment to service, convenience, and customer choice.

“This collaboration ensures optionality for our customers in the hospitality industry,” said Joe Hand Jr., President of Joe Hand Promotions. “We are the only company in the commercial space that can offer venue operators the very best live sports experience in a simple, scalable way. Together with Kiswe and our partners across DIRECTV and cable platforms, we’re raising the bar for communal viewing.”

Transforming the Commercial Viewing Experience

Glenn Booth, CEO of Kiswe, highlighted the partnership’s industry impact: “We are thrilled to partner with Joe Hand Promotions to launch this groundbreaking commercial distribution service. This collaboration brings fans closer to the content they love on every screen and fundamentally transforms the commercial viewing experience for the digital age.”

The Joe Hand Promotions App reflects a broader trend in hospitality-focused streaming, giving bars and restaurants new tools to enhance customer engagement, streamline operations, and deliver premium live sports experiences in a mobile-first era.

Dallas, TX – Thryv Holdings, Inc., the small business marketing and sales software provider, has appointed Sean Wechter as Chief Technology Officer, adding a seasoned technology executive to guide the company’s next growth phase.

Wechter brings more than 20 years of experience in technology, software, and media, including leadership roles at Boomi, PwC, Dell, Comcast, NBC, and Qlik. His expertise spans scaling SaaS platforms, product engineering, AI integration, security, and building cross-functional tech teams.

Driving Thryv’s Next Growth Chapter

Under Wechter’s guidance, Thryv aims to maintain its competitive edge as it continues its SaaS transformation and sets sights on reaching a $1 billion valuation. The CTO role will focus on strengthening infrastructure, modernizing the tech stack, and driving innovation across product engineering and AI initiatives.

“Sean has deep expertise in scaling platforms, building customer-first products, and aligning cross-functional teams,” said Grant Freeman, President of Thryv. “His technical vision and leadership will be critical as we complete the company’s SaaS transformation.”

Wechter added: “I’m honored to join Thryv at such a pivotal time. The team has built a strong foundation, and I’m excited to help evolve the organization into a product- and platform-led company. I look forward to unlocking new possibilities for our clients and driving meaningful, sustainable growth through technology.”

The Bigger Picture

As SMBs increasingly rely on SaaS platforms for marketing, sales, and operational efficiency, leadership in technology becomes a key differentiator. Wechter’s appointment signals Thryv’s commitment to innovation, security, and AI-driven product development at a critical moment in its growth trajectory.

SearchStax, the AI-powered Search Experience Company, has claimed the top spot in G2’s new Site Search Software category, debuting as a leader across multiple reports including the Leader Grid®, Mid-Market Grid®, and Momentum Grid® for Fall 2025. The company also ranks #1 in the Enterprise segment, reflecting broad adoption among large organizations.

What Makes Site Search a Strategic Differentiator

G2 introduced the Site Search Software category in August 2025 to spotlight embedded search tools that deliver fast, relevant, and seamless discovery experiences on public-facing websites and applications. Unlike internal search systems, these tools aim to improve engagement, content retrieval, and conversion by helping users efficiently find what they need—making site search a critical piece of the digital experience stack.

“Earning top recognition in the latest G2 reports reflects the trust our customers place in us and validates our team’s dedication to intuitive, fast, results-driven search experiences,” said Sameer Maggon, CEO of SearchStax. “Our AI-powered features are gaining rapid adoption, and we have even more innovative capabilities coming.”

Customers Highlight Ease, Flexibility, and Support

G2 reviews underscore why organizations value SearchStax:

• “The platform strikes an excellent balance, offering flexibility for both developers and non-developers.”

• “SearchStax has become a trusted tool in our digital ecosystem and a vital part of enhancing online experiences.”

• “The intuitive interface makes it easy for non-technical users, marketers, and agencies to manage.”

These testimonials reflect SearchStax’s ability to combine enterprise-grade security, compliance support, and ease of use, particularly in regulated sectors like healthcare, higher education, financial services, and government.

SearchStax Solutions and AI Innovations

The company’s portfolio includes:

• SearchStax Site Search™: Turnkey website search with analytics, relevance, and enterprise-grade control.

• SearchStax Managed Search Service™: Offloads infrastructure and scaling for Apache Solr, designed for high availability and governance.

• AI-Powered Capabilities:

  • Smart Answers for Site Search™: Generative AI delivering direct answers from trusted content.

  • Smart Ranking for Site Search™: Adaptive AI optimizing relevance based on user behavior.

  • Smart Match Assist for Site Search™: Resolves synonyms, typos, and jargon automatically.

By integrating AI into website search, SearchStax not only improves content discovery but also strengthens conversion, engagement, and customer satisfaction, signaling a growing demand for intelligent search across digital experiences.