5 lessons on digital marketing we can’t ignore
I attended the EMARKETER Future of Digital Summit yesterday. Tucked away inside Pier 57 in Manhattan is a wine bar that usually hosts live music and now, apparently, thought leadership events like this one. It was a curious choice of venue, with both the location and acoustics proving a bit challenging, but the speakers and content more than made up for it.
The summit brought together a strong lineup of digital marketing thought leaders, including EMARKETER’s top analysts alongside senior executives from major brands and agencies. Names like Benoit Vatere, Caroline Proto, Jay Altschuler, Arthur Sylvestre, Jim Hamilton and Sara Resnick stood out.
Here are my five takeaways on the major themes of the day:
1. AI is no longer emerging — it’s your audience’s new go-to
“More than 80% of consumers already trust GenAI responses as much as or more than organic search.” -Nate Elliott
AI is now generating its own content and determining how brands are portrayed to consumers. Those consumers are leaning on it from discovery right through advocacy. But the real signal here isn’t how many people are using AI — it’s how much they trust it. Sure there are concerns around accuracy, but consumers are willing to forgo some of those concerns to get the answer to their specific questions. As marketers, we’ve got to meet customers where AI shows up in their journey — not just passively observe.
2. Search has morphed — it’s conversational, fragmented, and cross-platform
“Consumers are searching differently—it’s conversational, fragmented by generation, happening across Google, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat.” -Sara Resnick
SEO used to mean keywords and rankings at Google. Now queries sound like texting or chatting with a friend. And those queries don’t just live at Google. They might live in TikTok, in AI chatbots, or in video feeds.
Visibility no longer means a spot on page one of the SERP, it means being recognized across the feed-based, AI-curated ecosystem.
3. Attention is the new currency — and the rift screen is winning it
“Engagement does not equal likes or comments—success is about shaping attention.” -Benoit Vatere
“The second screen has become the rift screen; mobile often overtakes TV as the primary stage.” -Dina Liu
Likes aren’t the endgame anymore: attention is. Whether it’s a 6-second video or a thoughtful article, you either catch the eye — or don’t. And attention has shifted to mobile, which makes digital the anchor, not a side channel. For us, that means every format must be mobile-first and built to hold eyeballs — not just generate clicks.
4. Authenticity isn’t optional — it’s table stakes
“PR is more important than ever. LLMs pull from multiple sources. Your brand needs to show up everywhere to build authority.” -Caroline Proto
With AI pulling answers from everywhere including: blogs, news, social media, reviews being in one channel won’t cut it. Brands must be present and credible across the ecosystem. Content marketing is no longer just about your owned assets; it’s about how your message resonates even in conversations you didn’t create.
5. We’re all just figuring this out — experimentation with humility wins
“We’re building the plane while flying it. Measurement is immature, and executives need to understand we’re testing and learning in real time.” -Caroline Proto
It could also be argued that we’re flying the plane but still trying to figure out who should be the pilot. There are no rulebooks yet, and that’s okay. The best brands will be the ones whose leadership embraces trying new things, making mistakes, learning, then pivoting. In short, humility is the new strategy.
So, what should marketers and publishers do next?
- Lean into AI visibility — optimize for agents, not just users: AI is the new search and discovery engine.
- Build trusted signals — PR, UGC, and cross-platform visibility: AI responses favor brands with authority across multiple domains.
- Make mobile-first, attention-grabbing content: Mobile is the rift screen that defines performance.
- Run experiments and test-and-learn cycles transparently: No benchmarks exist yet, so experimentation is required.
- Preserve human creativity and oversight: AI is the engine. We’re still the drivers and editors.
All in all, the setting may have been unconventional, but it reinforced the point: the future of digital won’t be about perfect environments. It’ll be about adapting fast and making sense or tuning out the background noise.
Author Bio
Robin Riddle is the Chief Strategy Officer at Content Solutions. He works across B2B as well as B2C and specializes in financial services, insurance and healthcare. Prior to his time here, he led content marketing businesses at both The Economist and The Wall Street Journal. A passionate advocate for the value of content marketing, Riddle is also heavily involved in industry issues and speaks at many events on the intersections of content marketing, native advertising and AI.