October Industry Chatter: Netflix & Spotify Joins Forces, Monetizing ChatGPT, & Mastercard & AmEx Enter Advertising
Marketing never stops moving. Wpromote's monthly Marketing Industry Chatter newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the biggest headlines, updates, and trends in the wide world of marketing and media—with the expert insights you need to take action.
The race to own the next era of advertising intensified in October. Financial giants Mastercard and American Express made bold moves into the ad data business, monetizing billions of purchase signals in an effort to capture market share from retail media networks. Meanwhile, OpenAI began laying the groundwork for ChatGPT’s first ad platform, a development that could soon put conversational AI in direct competition with traditional digital ecosystems. Even Meta is reimagining its advertising offerings, turning everyday chatbot conversations into intent-rich personalization engines.
At the same time, media and entertainment players are reinventing what attention looks like in a fragmented landscape. Netflix and Spotify’s partnership on video podcasts signals a new front in the streaming wars, while Paramount+ is betting on appointment-style “event viewing” to bring back the collective magic of live TV. Across platforms, the message is clear: marketers who adapt to new forms of engagement, whether through AI-driven personalization or emerging ad formats, will be best positioned to capture audiences as technology reshapes how, where, and why people watch, listen, and buy.
Netflix & Spotify set to compete with YouTube on video podcasts
What you need to know: Spotify and Netflix announced a licensing deal to bring select video podcasts to the streaming platform starting early 2026 in the US, with global markets to follow. The partnership will feature sports, culture, lifestyle, and true crime content from Spotify Studios and The Ringer, designed to complement Netflix's existing programming while expanding creator distribution.
Spotify now hosts over 430,000 video podcasts as of Q2 2025, with video consumption growing 20x faster than audio-only since 2024. More than 350 million users have streamed video on the platform, up 65% YoY. A recent Cumulus Media study found 72% of podcast listeners prefer shows with video, validating the strategic shift.
What you need to do: Video podcasts have been on the rise for awhile, most notably on YouTube. Now Netflix and Spotify are joining forces to compete more directly with YouTube for high-intent audiences in a quickly growing arena. That opens up a lot more opportunities for advertisers; early adopters will get the benefit of favorable rates and other incentives, so don’t sleep on video podcasts.
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Mastercard & American Express enter the advertising data race
What you need to know: Both Mastercard and American Express announced they are launching advertising businesses this month, looking to monetize their first-party consumer data (500 million and 34 million enrolled cardholders, respectively) to power digital advertising.
Emarketer predicts that financial media networks alone will surpass $1 billion in ad spend by 2026. Early pilots shared by Amex showed strong results: Marriott achieved 300% above ROI targets targeting flightbookers without hotel reservations, while Tumi generated 30% higher ROAS reaching younger buyers. Retail media, the other major source of commerce data, is already a hyper-competitive arena and experts predict some level of contraction, though economic uncertainty could drive short-term growth as marketers prioritize performance channels.
What you need to do: Advertisers can use retailer data to understand how people are spending in their stores, but credit card data gives more insight into where people are spending money in specific categories, authenticating purchase intent and confirming offline transactions. But the value isn’t completely proven yet: look to pilot high-intent platforms now while inventory and rates remain favorable, or risk losing to competitors accessing closed-loop measurement.
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ChatGPT is ramping up its ad platform infrastructure
What you need to know: In the wake of Perplexity pausing new ad deals and ChatGPT’s new partnership with Walmart, there are some new clues to how OpenAI is positioning itself in the race to figure out how to effectively monetize LLMs. The company is looking to appeal to advertisers interested in reaching its current crop of 700 million weekly active users and develop new sources of revenue to offset its massive investments.
OpenAI is hiring engineers to build internal ad campaign management tools, including platform integrations, real-time reporting, and automated spend optimization across Google, Meta, and other channels. Fidji Simo, who built Instacart's ad platform, is reportedly leading the search for talent to bring ads directly into ChatGPT by 2026, transforming the product from media buyer to ad seller.
What you need to do: If (when) ChatGPT launches its ad platform, brands could gain access to a channel with reach that rivals Meta or Google, but with conversational context that fundamentally changes how targeting and creative work. There’s a lot still unknown about how monetization in LLMs will work, but early movers will have the advantage of learning how users engage with ads in dialogue-driven spaces. Remember to set aside part of your budget for experimenting in new media environments to keep your edge.
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Meta turns to AI conversations for personalization opportunities
What you need to know: Meta will start using conversations with Meta AI (which has 1 billion monthly users) to personalize both content and ads across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp starting December 16, with no opt-out option. Users who discuss hiking, travel plans, or shopping needs directly with the chatbot are providing explicit intent signals that go beyond traditional social behaviors like likes or clicks.
Meta won't target ads based on sensitive topics, including religious views, sexual orientation, political affiliation, health, or racial/ethnic origin, discussed in AI conversations. The policy rolls out globally except in the UK, EU, and South Korea, where data regulations likely prevent implementation.
What you need to do: Meta just turned every AI conversation into a focus group. When users tell a chatbot what they need or plan to do, they're providing intent data that's richer than any scroll pattern or like history. Brands advertising on Meta will have access to signals that capture problems users are actively solving, creating an opening for creative that feels helpful rather than interruptive.
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Paramount+ looks to recapture the ad magic of appointment viewing
What you need to know: Just ahead of the holiday season, Paramount+ has launched Streaming Fixed Units, allowing brands to buy fixed ad placements in the first seven days of new episodes from hit shows like Tulsa King, Landman, and Mayor of Kingstown.
The format targets "appointment viewing" behavior where fans watch new episodes immediately upon release, creating collective attention moments similar to traditional broadcast TV. After seven days, the fixed placements revert to standard programmatic, dynamic ad insertion across Paramount+ inventory.
Early adopters include AI, travel, and quick-serve restaurant brands looking to align with premium entertainment content outside of sports. Western-wear brands in particular have already snapped up some of this premium inventory in the Taylor Sheridan-verse.
What you need to do: Paramount+ is taking a page out of the sports playbook, looking to offer advertisers a taste of the old linear magic where people watch episodes in real time, at the same tie. Brands will now be able to show up when attention in new episodes of known hits is highest, then follow with programmatic precision. If you’re chasing fragmented audiences, this could be an opportunity to take part in the kind of “event viewing” now largely the domain of live sports.
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October Featured Content: The Creator Flywheel Webinar
Creators aren’t just another channel; they’re the engine of modern storytelling, shaping culture in real time and driving measurable growth. Join Wpromote, IKONICFOX, and creator Reilly Meehan for a live webinar on 11/13 at 10 a.m. PT/ 1 p.m. ET that connects the dots between storytelling, performance, and scalable brand growth. You’ll learn what separates transactional from transformational creator relationships, how to align platform storytelling with brand strategy, and where new tools actually accelerate creativity instead of stifling it.