Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how consumers discover, research and evaluate products, creating a hybrid search ecosystem where traditional engines like Google remain dominant while GenAI tools increasingly shape mid-funnel decision-making. Shoppers turn to AI for clarity, comparison and confidence, yet still validate information before purchase, altering the structure of the journey and the expectations placed on brands. As AI-driven search and shopping become more influential, the implications for marketers and retailers are profound, demanding new approaches to trust, data accuracy, discoverability and optimization for agent-driven environments. This Knowledge at Hand and CMO Brief reports show how AI is reorganizing the consumer path to purchase and what this means for the future of brand visibility and retail marketing.
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Based on two decades of Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) data and a complementary custom study, this ARF Cognition Council report examines why some brands maintain strength over long periods while most decline. The research identifies differentiation, consistency, cultural relevance and sustained visibility as critical drivers of long-term brand resilience in the face of market and consumer change.
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A new Journal of Advertising Research study investigates how music tempo—a ubiquitous but understudied element in video advertising—interacts with regulatory focus to shape consumer purchase intentions. Analyzing 26,025 real-world video ads and running three controlled experiments, the researchers find that fast-tempo music significantly boosts purchase intention for promotion-focused ads, while tempo has no meaningful effect in prevention-focused ads. The mechanism is driven by time pressure and consumers’ reliance on heuristic vs. systematic processing. These findings offer actionable insights for advertisers optimizing creative strategy in short-form video environments.
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