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KimekoM

@kimekom.bsky.social
823 followers 364 following 189 posts

Senior writer @ Digiday As seen in: Adweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Andscape, Atlanta Magazine Professional yapper

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Reposted by KimekoM
Rainesford Stauffer @rainesford.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
This fellowship is one of the greatest things I've ever had the opportunity to do. I learned so much, pursued a project that otherwise would not have been possible, and love keeping up with the work the other fellows continue to do, too. Highly recommend applying for this:
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
When Elon Musk bought X, the algorithm became a political battleground. With U.S. ownership of TikTok looming, creators worry the same thing could happen again — this time to the “secret sauce” that makes TikTok. If politics shapes algorithms, what happens to culture? digiday.com/marketing/ti...
digiday.com
TikTok’s U.S. ownership shift raises creator concerns over algorithm changes
TikTok influencers and creators brace for changes to the algorithm as U.S. firms plan to take control of the algorithm.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
AI may not “kill” Google, but it’s definitely changing how people search for things online. It’s creating a slow chaos for marketers, like declining web traffic and chatbot optimization. I get the sense marketers are scrambling to keep up.
digiday.com
How AI is rewriting the rules of search and shopping – by the numbers
With generative AI becoming the new front door to commerce and online shopping, the real question is: can brands keep up?
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Reposted by KimekoM
Sam Bradley @sammbradley.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
and I teamed up with @kimekom.bsky.social for this piece on the lack of measurement around brand AI investments digiday.com/marketing/cm...
digiday.com
CMOs might be pushing ahead on AI, but lack of measurement’s holding them back
CMOs embrace AI, but lack clear ROI metrics to justify full investment. Until then, measurement remains the missing link.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Meta’s aiming to fully automate ads with AI by 2026 — and creative agencies aren’t exactly shocked. Many are already using AI tools. But questions around job displacement, creative control, and the agency’s evolving role still loom large. I dug into it for @digiday:
digiday.com
Meta’s AI ad plan raises stakes – even if creative execs are shrugging it off
Meta’s AI tools aim to automate ad creation by 2026. Creative agencies aren’t surprised—but they are preparing for what’s at stake.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
TikTok’s deadline is quickly approaching. There are multiple buyers, competition from Pinterest, Snap and Meta and it’s unclear if Trump will extend that deadline again. This time, the TikTok ban has left more questions than answers. What we know so far on the @digidaymedia.bsky.social podcast:
digiday.com
TikTok ban looms closer, leaving more questions than answers in its wake
The halfway point for the looming TikTok ban has passed. What's next for advertisers, creators and marketers?
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
YouTube is really dominating America's TV time. What do y'all watch on YouTube? Which creators are you following?
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
After Pinterest's first billion-dollar revenue quarter, I sat down with Chief Revenue Officer Bill Watkins to talk about how Pinterest pulled off its play for ad dollars. (Spoiler alert: They banked on performance/lower funnel ad offerings to drive what advertisers care about, which is sales.)
digiday.com
How Pinterest went from selling views to selling clicks and conversions, with CRO Bill Watkins
Pinterest's is getting louder in its battle for ad dollars with AI-powered ad tools and an increase in ad volume.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
The most interesting part of the AI ad buying domination is this: As much as advertisers say they want transparency, they'll continue to spend as long as it generates sales.
wsj.com
AI Will Soon Dominate Ad Buying, Whether Marketers Like It or Not
Advertisers are grappling with trade-offs of AI-powered ad planning and buying tools for automating nearly every step in digital ad campaigns.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
At best, we are gravely misunderstanding the concept of free speech. At worst, that supposed misunderstanding is a feature, not a bug.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
I've recently been informed that the car brand Hyundai is pronounced hun-day, like Sunday, and not hi-yun-day, as I've been saying it for the past 30 years.
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Reposted by KimekoM
Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 20/02/2025
New: The FTC was set to tackle "surveillance pricing" and "surveillance wages" before Trump took office. Now consumer and worker advocates are taking the battle to the states instead—and four have already introduced bills to ban the practices: wapo.st/4iacqAZ (w/ @laurenkaorigurley.bsky.social)
wapo.st
Analysis | States eye bans on ‘surveillance pricing’ that exploits personal data
Democratic lawmakers in California are latest to try outlawing personalized pricing amid a nationwide push by consumer protection advocates.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
what are things you do to be more whimsical? every year on new year's day, i tell the same joke and say "i haven't showered since last year." anytime i edit a story and send it back to my editor, i say "see if this shoe fits better."
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Storytime: Last week, I was working on an article looking at the impact of DEI's dismantling. I reached out to one of my go-to comms pros to help me line up some interviews. Normally, she has sources. This time, she said no one wants to talk DEI. They're scared. Call it the Trump Effect:
digiday.com
'Gag orders all around’: Confessions of a comms professional on DEI backlash
DEI backlash puts 'gag order' on communication professional clients.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Diversity seems to be the Boogeyman in the DEI shitstorm. But if everyone backs away from the 'D' in DEI, that leaves a watered-down version of past commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion. My latest for @digidaymedia.bsky.social here:
digiday.com
'The D-word is the most problematic': Why diversity could soon be stripped from DEI values and branding
Marketers say it might be time to rebrand what DEI stands for as backlash to the values that the strategies once upheld continues.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
"I loved who I became when I baked: a calmer, more precise person who turned raw ingredients into gold. Why, then, did baking seem to make me closer to something I didn’t understand and wasn’t sure I wanted to become, which was a wife?"
lithub.com
A Fantasy of Domesticity: Why We’re Drawn to the False Promise of the Tradwife
When I left New York City last September to live upstate with a man, I immediately began baking. The first loaf cake I made was terrible: eggy, over-mixed; its one redeeming quality was the layer o…
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
If you are someone who works in communications, you should absolutely have your phone number in your email signature. Even if it's just a Google Voice number, you have to give folks an alternative way to contact you during business hours.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Google's third-party cookie phase-out is less of a "long kiss goodnight" and more of a slow, but somehow never-ending death. So if Google's cookie phase-out ever comes, Mars' chief brand officer Rankin Carroll says the snack company has two alternatives: partnerships and, of course, AI.
digiday.com
If Google's cookie phase-out ever comes, here's what a cookie-less future looks like for Mars' chief brand officer Rankin Carroll
As the future of third-party cookies remains rather ambiguous, Mars has started eyeing partnerships and leveraging artificial intelligence to fill in the gaps, with an eye toward a cookie-less future.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Super Bowl spots seem to be going the way of seasonal marketing, rolling out earlier and earlier each year. This year's Big Game spots were deemed a bit lackluster. Is the early rollout to blame? @kristinam.bsky.social answers that in this week's Marketing Briefing:
digiday.com
Marketing Briefing: Is the early ad rollout to blame for a lackluster Super Bowl?
Without the element of surprise or excellent storytelling, much of the Super Bowl advertising won’t be remembered long after Sunday’s airing.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Just saw Kars4Kids take a shot at Drake, following Kendrick's Super Bowl halftime show. Duolingo, I get. Kars4Kids? A nonprofit car donation organization?! ENOUGH.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
“How did we fumble remote work so badly?” The sexy answer is middle managers and people who hate their families wanted a return to office. Maybe. But also, there’s an entire ecosystem that is built around in-office work and the commute. In other words, money was at stake.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Another day, another ended set of diversity goals.
businessinsider.com
Google just ended diversity hiring goals. Read the memo.
Google said that "as a federal contractor, our teams are also evaluating changes required following recent court decisions and executive orders."
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
So many people thought TikTok would be the so-called second screen for the Super Bowl last year, replacing X. Then came the TikTok ban. I talked to marketers and strategists to see what becomes the second screen this year, and it seems there's no definitive answer.
digiday.com
Social media fragmentation exposes cracks forming in Super Bowl second screen plans
Between the TikTok ban and turbulence on Elon Musk's X, marketers seem unsure of this year's definitive Super Bowl second screen.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Here's what's interesting about the DEI walk-backs: On one hand, retailers are tapering down their commitments to DE&I. But on the other, they're still spending with multicultural marketing agencies. As my mother would say, "They're talking out both sides of their mouths."
digiday.com
Boycotts and backlash reveal complications in changing DEI landscape
Amidst changes to the DEI landscape, brands and marketers say it's a complicated matter.
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Reposted by KimekoM
cale weissman @caleweissman.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Macy's has abruptly ended its tuition-free college program for employees less than three years after it launched. Shows how much the landscape has changed for retail workers over the last few years—companies no longer feel the need to offer these perks. www.modernretail.co/operations/m...
modernretail.co
Macy's ends program that offered tuition-free college degrees to employees
Macy's is ending a program that provided college degree programs and other educational courses to its employees at no cost.
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Reposted by KimekoM
Canopy Atlanta @canopyatl.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Justice Impacted This personal essay from an Atlanta mom describes her devastation after the judge she helped elect detained her son without bond or trial Read the full story: buff.ly/40ohc6G
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
There is so much focus on the presidential election that more local happenings are often second-thought. This is a stark reminder to prioritize both. This is a gut-wrenching, devastating read, but a vital look at the justice system in Atlanta from the perspective of the city's homegrown voices.
canopyatlanta.org
Justice Impacted — Canopy Atlanta
Atlanta mom describes devastation after judge she helped elect detains her son without bond or trial
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Adding “I don’t know if it’s true or not” before sharing something doesn’t absolve you of spreading misinformation or disinformation. Either confirm with a legitimate news site or simply don’t share if you’re unsure.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
i hope everyone who starts meetings with cameras off on default is having a good day.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Linear TV is dying and marketers seem to think sports is the last man standing. That means there's a gold rush and it's getting harder for ads to stand out, even for a massive brand like Verizon. I caught up with Verizon's VP of partnerships Nick Kelly to talk about how they're adjusting.
digiday.com
Verizon revamps sports strategy, works with Paige Bueckers and NIL athletes
It’s getting more difficult for brands to stand out from one another as more advertisers flock to sports marketing, even one as big as Verizon.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Saw someone refer to Barnes & Noble as the Applebee's of book stores and I've been giggling ever since.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
A "wild episode from the gold rush known as retail media advertising" that's worth reading if you're into that kind of thing.
bloomberg.com
Walgreens Replaced Fridge Doors With Smart Screens. It’s Now a $200 Million Fiasco
A startup promised the pharmacy chain its high-tech coolers would track shoppers and spark an in-store ad revolution.
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Reposted by KimekoM
Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
TikTok now says it is "in the process of restoring service"
STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK:

In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive. 

It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
Oh. I guess I should read a book or something.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
I think this ties into a broader narrative around all of renting space from our digital landlords, finding a new spot whenever the rent goes up. I do wonder if any of this will fast-track interest in the fediverse, physical media or other spaces you can own more easily.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Stanley wasn't the only brand with a "TikTok Made Me Buy It" moment. So many companies went viral on TikTok, launching them into a new realm of success. With the TikTok ban only days away, I caught up with a few of them to see what a future without the For You Page looks like. Read here:
digiday.com
'I need those home runs': TikTok viral brands plan a future without the For You Page
Brands that rode a wave of virality thanks to TikTok’s algorithm now grapple with the challenge of recreating virality elsewhere.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
This final season of TikTok reminds me A LOT of when Twitter got rid of Fleets and everyone immediately posted their thirstiest thirst traps.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Amanda's stories are always so good. I've been thinking a lot about the decline of legacy brands, like Nike and Gap, and who's responsible turning those companies around. There's a similar phenomenon happening in marketing--brand storytelling versus performance marketing.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Last week, Amazon, Meta, Publicis Groupe and McDonald’s joined the growing list of companies to revamp (or roll back, depending on who you ask) their DE&I policies. Some say it's just the evolution of business, but the timing makes these announcements interesting. digiday.com/marketing/de...
digiday.com
DE&I recalibration from the likes of Amazon, Meta, Publicis sparks questions around faltering commitments
For all the talk of embedding diversity into day to day operations and continued commitments to inclusion, there are questions about the intentions behind these changes.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
I want to point out that what’s happening with Meta, Walmart and McDonald’s DEI rollbacks coincides with DEI practitioners being laid off, fired in the name of company restructuring and budget constraints. These are many of the same people that were hired in response to George Floyd protests.
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Reposted by KimekoM
Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
Mark Zuckerberg's Meta is terminating major DEI programs, effective immediately
axios.com
Exclusive: Meta kills DEI programs
The company cut its DEI programs as it pushes to make inroads with the Trump administration days after it ended its fact-checking programs.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Monoculture on social media doesn’t really exist anymore. We all live in separate corners of the internet, but there are only so many dollars to chase audiences around online. My latest for Digiday:
digiday.com
As social fragmentation continues, marketers rewrite the social playbook
As social fragmentation continues, marketers are looking to rewrite the playbook in an increasingly complex and unpredictable environment.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
We’re about to see the “Muskification” of social media, I fear.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Ah, 2024, the year that nearly every brand realized the potential of an ad network. The thinking seems to go, if everyone else has one — and they’re getting the additional revenue from ad dollars — why shouldn’t my brand have one too? h/t @kristinam.bsky.social
digiday.com
Have we reached peak ad network?
Ah, 2024, the year that nearly every brand (well, every brand that hadn’t yet done so) realized the potential of an ad network.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
“You can continue to compete in a diminishing market, or you can go on offense and you can go after where the growth is. We have to be fishing in the ponds where the growth is.”
cnbc.com
Comcast to launch Universal Ads in bid to win smaller advertisers over from tech
Comcast plans to launch Universal Ads, a platform meant to attract advertisers of all sizes and grab back ad dollars from social media and tech companies.
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Over the weekend, I celebrated something big. Saturday marked my 4th work anniversary with Digiday. It's the longest I've stayed anywhere, which really speaks to how I feel about the amazing group of folks I work with. Grateful for it all. Here’s to more storytelling 🫶
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Between Meta's AI slop problem and now Fable's AI-generated books in review fiasco, are we ready to admit that AI has still not delivered its promise to improve things? Not to mention, it's a crushing weight on the environment.
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Reposted by KimekoM
Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
NEW: Meta tells me that it is deleting the AI profiles that are currently going viral, and that there is "confusion" about these versus what is to come in the future. A few of them are being deleted as we speak: www.404media.co/metas-ai-pro...
After this article was originally published, Liz Sweeney, a Meta spokesperson, told 404 Media that "there is confusion" on the internet between what Hayes told the Financial Times and what is being talked about online now. She also said they are deleting these older profiles.
"There is confusion: the recent Financial Times article was about our vision for AI characters existing on our platforms over time, not announcing any new product," Sweeney said. "The accounts referenced are from a test we launched at Connect in 2023. These were managed by humans and were part of an early experiment we did with AI characters. We identified the bug that was impacting the ability for people to block those AIs and are removing those accounts to fix the issue.” 
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KimekoM @kimekom.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
CNBC unveils its firm streaming plans as it prepares to be spun off, along with several other cable networks from NBCUniversal.
variety.com
CNBC Seeks $14.99 Per Month for New CNBC+ Streaming Service
CNBC will seek $14.99 per month, or $99.99 per year, for a new streaming service called CNBC+
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Rainesford Stauffer @rainesford.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Thursdays should not feel like Mondays.
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