⚡ The B2B Stack — Friday Pulse; Week Ending: Jan 9, 2026

As we finish off the first full working week of 2026, we’re starting to get some interesting news coming out of Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which is always the source of hyperbole, speculation, big announcements and general noise. The big ad agencies are making a lot of noise around AI operating systems, and we’re seeing signs of growing AI maturity and deep embedding of automation.

As we get into this year, I’m aiming to keep these Friday pulses running. I use a bunch of AI agents which scan over 160B2B sources, from deep SubReddit’s to LinkedIn, to specialist news, vendor sites and everything in-between. I then package up the more interesting stories and try and capture the changing sentiment from these sources

⚡ Fast Takes (with receipts)

1. Audio finally gets real measurement inside the DSP workflow
   Comscore launched audio targeting + measurement capabilities with The Trade Desk — framed around incremental reach + better accountability. Comscore, Inc.+1
   Why it matters for B2B: audio becomes a mid-funnel influence channel you can defend, not a brand-only line item. Audio, when properly cranked, will be a beast for B2B, especially in contextual podcasts

2. Audio brand lift gets “default-on” energy
   DAX US partnered with DISQO to bring brand lift measurement across podcast + streaming audio campaigns. PPC Land+2Radio Ink+2
   Why it matters for B2B: it’s another brick in the wall for attention/impact scoring beyond clicks.

3. CTV gets closer to the bidstream (which is where the leverage is)
   OpenX rolled out a new API suite that (per AdExchanger) gives buyers a more detailed view of the bidstream, and tvScientific is getting “closer to the bidstream” as a result. AdExchanger+1
   Why it matters for B2B: more bidstream transparency = more room for account-level logic, curation, and quality controls.

4. DOOH is being “programmatic’d” with premium video/CTV adjacency
   DIRECTV Advertising announced programmatic enablement that brings more premium CTV video options into DOOH inventory (CES-timed). Basis+1
   Why it matters for B2B: DOOH becomes a viable field-awareness + event + geo strategy layer, especially for enterprise ABM in key metros. Aligning with CTV talks my language, these channels need to be much less silo’d and much more joined up so we can surround accounts and nurture to pipeline

5. DOOH supply-side infrastructure keeps consolidating
   VIOOH announced a strategic partnership with Dolphin OOH to extend premium DOOH supply. marcommnews.com
   Why it matters for B2B: more aggregated premium supply makes it easier to buy DOOH like a repeatable play, not bespoke planning.

6. The Trade Desk is still pushing “open supply chain” narratives hard
   TTD press room: first wave of OpenAds publishing partners (Jan 6). The Trade Desk
   Why it matters for B2B: anything that increases supply-chain clarity tends to improve signal fidelity + measurement confidence (and reduces “mystery meat” inventory).

7. Agency innovation signal: WPP goes agentic (properly)
   WPP launched Agent Hub on WPP Open (Jan 5) — positioned as an internal “app store” of AI agents built on WPP expertise/data. WPP+2Campaign Live+2
   Why it matters for B2B: holding companies are productising workflow + expertise. Expect more “agency as operating system” positioning as they thrash around to defend market share

Paid Media By Channel

Programmatic Core (curation, containers, standards, protocols)

• Bidstream visibility is a battleground again (OpenX API suite / tvScientific). AdExchanger+1

• Open supply-chain pushes continue (TTD OpenAds partners). The Trade Desk

• Context worth keeping warm: IAB Tech Lab’s framework on agentic ad buying + containerisation is still the backbone narrative for “programmable media”. AdExchanger

CTV

• CTV platforms want more direct bidstream access (tvScientific + OpenX API suite). AdExchanger

• CES spillover into cross-surface video (DIRECTV DOOH programmatic enablement). Basis+1

DOOH

• Programmatic DOOH gets closer to premium video ecosystems (DIRECTV Remote inventory enablement). Basis+1

• Supply-side partnerships keep scaling premium DOOH access (VIOOH + Dolphin). marcommnews.com

Programmatic Audio

• Comscore + TTD = measurement gets operationalised. Comscore, Inc.+1

• DAX + DISQO = brand lift becomes easier to standardise. PPC Land+1

• Broader signal: industry voices keep pushing MMM + signal fidelity in audio. The Advertising Club

LinkedIn Ads (B2B-specific)

• No meaningful “new” product update surfaced today from LinkedIn’s public product update hub (it’s… not exactly fresh). LinkedIn

• Practical reality: LinkedIn remains expensive, and practitioners keep debating delivery/rotation behaviour in smaller matched audiences (useful as a sanity check for ABM lists). Reddit

🧩 Agency Watch (big + indie B2B)

• WPP: Agent Hub launch + CES-stage messaging about “AI-first marketing without losing human judgement.” WPP+1

• Realm B2B: recent POV leaning into trust/credibility + human expertise as differentiators in an AI-noisy market. LinkedIn

• Just Global: “Future is Flexible” POV (intent + adaptability + AI shaping media strategy). Not new today, but still aligned with where clients are going. Just Global | B2B Marketing Agency

• TMP: recent posts continue to hammer planning under pressure + trust leadership themes. LinkedIn+1

💸 M&A + Money (what we actually have today)

No major B2B adtech/agency acquisition popped in the sources I scanned. What did show up is the continued drumbeat that 2026 is expected to see elevated deal activity . Adweek+1

🧵 Reddit + Field Notes (operator reality)

LinkedIn Ads folks still flag delivery/rotation weirdness and small-audience economics — a reminder that ABM lists need creative + offer + measurement discipline. Reddit

🔮 One Emerging Pattern

Measurement is creeping into the channels that used to be defended with storytelling (audio, DOOH), while bidstream/standards work is creeping into channels that used to be “black box enough.”
That combination is the real 2026 shift: less arguing about “channels”, more arguing about “signal quality.” The Trade Desk+3Comscore, Inc.+3Basis+3

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Key themes this week

1) Paid & Media: Full-Funnel Wins Over Standalone Lead Gen

Observation: The mental model for paid B2B media is shifting. It’s no longer just “lead capture.”

• Paid channels (PPC/paid social) are being evaluated for full-funnel influence — from awareness to retention. Extramile Digital

• The real ROI conversation now includes influence on research + mid-funnel credibility, not just the bottom line lead count. Extramile Digital

Fast Take: Paid becomes useful when it augments signals, not just drives clicks.

Earlier this week I wrote the following on LinkedIn;

“The real shift in 2026 is this:
Paid media isn’t just a growth lever anymore.
It’s a sensing layer, generating signal which isn’t dark and invisible. Casting for signal to help accelerate an understanding of in-market accounts at the right time, to gain a competitive speed environment in an ever deepening dark funnel environment” full post here

To me this shows the growing role of strategic paid media; signal is harder to get, organic reach is down everywhere - from search to social and everything in-between - so paid media gives buyers the chance to control their signal capture and alleviate some dark funnel challenges

What People Are Saying: Marketers on Reddit note that LinkedIn reach and targeting are unpredictable — and that platforms formerly seen as networking channels are failing as pure lead sources. Reddit

→ Signal note: Paid should help you observe behavior, not just interrupt it.

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🔍 2) Identity & First-Party Data Matter More

Landscape: 2026 trends show that first-party data activation + measurement is now foundational — not optional. Experian

Why: AI’s value is proportional to data quality. Garbage in = noise out. AI is great at amplifying noise, so first party data needs to be clean, curated, hygiened and generally well architected to add value, as teams start exploring smarter lookalike modelling using AI Experian

Fast Take: Teams ignoring identity and governance now are behind.
Systems like CDPs that unify signals are table stakes, not toys. Wikipedia

Source Link:

• Why first-party matters in 2026: Experian’s trends report — activation + measurement converge. Experian

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📊 3) Signal Quality > Volume of “Intent” Data

Trend: There’s a real backlash against sloppy intent signals — people are calling out the common practice of misinterpreting “intent” from shallow sources. Reddit

Fast Take:
Most B2B teams still treat intent signals as checklist attributes (funding news = intent, job changes = intent). That’s outdated.
Real intent is cascade logic + context + timing.

Used right, intent signals are very powerful but I believe they need more reactive signals like engagement scoring, and the addition of first party High Value Actions to be meaningful for specific vendors. This personalised intent transforms the signal

Practical Twist:
If your model doesn’t cascade signals into causation, you’re scoring noise as intent and will end up with every account having some intent…

Signal Insight:
Quality over quantity: better signals come from systematic interpretation, not more data dumps.

🧠 4) Search & Discovery Are Being Rewritten

New Reality: AI answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Bing AI) are increasingly where buyers start — not just Google.
Reddit users report B2B buyers using AI answers in early exploration, which changes discoverability. Reddit

Fast Take: Being “number one in Google” means little if you’re not discoverable in AI responses.

Signal Insight:
Clarity of framing, structured answers, and credibility signals (backlinks, references, expert citations) matter more than raw keyword rankings.

LLM’s encourage deep prompting + are user-aware. Ranking here is much harder to track and measure, BUT single conversations could present hyper-qualified leads versus the volume that came from search

🌐 5) Channels & Community Are Fragmenting

Reddit vs LinkedIn:
Reddit is emerging as a high-intent B2B space — people ask honest, technical questions that signal real interest. Reddit

Fast Take:
LinkedIn still dominates professional reach, but organic engagement + real signals are stronger elsewhere.
If you want raw intent signals — dig beyond polished feeds.

Caveat: Reddit signals require listening infrastructure, not push tactics.

📈 6) Brand & Clarity Re-Emerging as Strategic Priorities

Trend Data: Multiple trend pieces show that marketing in 2026 rewards clarity over volume — AI makes production trivial, but meaningful differ­entiation is still rare. Em Marketing

Fast Take:
Brand isn’t fluff. It’s commercial protection.
Clarity -> trust -> shorter sales cycles -> better signal interpretation.

📣 7) Content & Thought Leadership Are Maturing

What the Analyst Reports Say:
B2B content effectiveness isn’t about more AI-generated copy — it’s about structure, depth, and alignment with decision processes. Content Marketing Institute

Fast Take:
Short-form virality doesn’t replace useful insight.
Marketing teams that treat content as an asset win.

This goes a long way to explaining the rise of B2B influencer marketing in 2026 too

👨‍💻 Reddit & Community Voices

Signal: B2B outreach success correlates with data discipline and social listening, not random templates or gamified sequences. Reddit

Fast Take:
If you’re still blasting templated outreach, you’re missing the info-to-action link that separates noisy spam from genuine engagement.

🧩 Quiet Shifts Worth Tracking

A) Paid measurement realigns with influence:
Paid media influence is now measured by journey impact, not last-touch leads. Extramile Digital

B) AI visibility reshapes search:
Brand must be answer-able, not just findable. Reddit

C) Intent signals require context:
Raw data ≠ action potential. Reddit

D) Reddit becomes a real signal pool:
Long ignored, now valuable for decision context. Reddit

🧠 The Pattern

Clarity is the new scale.

From identity to content to paid media — success in 2026 is about interpretable, contextualized signals driving decisions, not noise amplified by budget or volume.

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🗞️ B2B Stack News Pulse — Signal Summary

This week’s dominant themes:

• Signals > Spend

• Clarity > Volume

• Measurement > Momentum

Want deeper frameworks to turn these signals into operational advantage?
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