What we do know: Marketers are putting a lot of effort into digital messaging—and for a longer period of time than before. A new report from AI-powered customer engagement platform Iterable found that nearly a third of their customers started going heavy on holiday marketing—or at least brand awareness in preparation for holiday marketing—in early October (well before the traditional November 1 full arrival of Christmas displays in retail stores). Data from the October 2025 Prosper Insights & Analytics survey, conducted in partnership with the National Retail Federation, found more than half of Americans started their holiday shopping in October, though the majority also said at the time that they planned to spend less this holiday season.

This year’s campaigns have been getting deeper into the personal consumer journey, and more native to mobile devices. Iterative customer campaigns through mobile messaging—using channels like SMS, WhatsApp and Push—surged nearly 60% for the beginning of the traditional shopping season. And embedded campaigns were up nearly three-fold this year, compared to last.

These moves are smart ways to meet consumers where they are. Adobe Analytics predicts that mobile devices will be used for more than half of e-commerce sales this holiday, and found that 52.8% of Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales came from mobile. And while spending on the whole may be down, at least these marketers could get a larger piece of the pie.

For that increased volume of messaging, digital tools for marketers and creators are vital. Adobe has been known for its extensive platform of creative tools for decades, and it’s been adopting AI in its tools as technology continues to evolve. I talked to Adobe CMO Lara Balazs about how the company continues to market to marketers. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.

If you like what you read here, you can easily share it online and on your social media pages. This newsletter, and all previous editions of Forbes CMO, can be found on our website here.

The deal could have a profound impact on the entertainment business, writes Forbes contributor Shann Biglione. While Netflix is no stranger to big-budget, long-form and critically acclaimed independent content, it hasn’t made anything specifically for theaters. After announcing the deal, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said that theatrical release windows would “evolve to be much more consumer-friendly.” Earlier this year, Sarandos said the theatrical release model was “outdated,” though he later clarified that was referring to lengthy theatrical runs for new movies. Forbes senior contributor David Bloom writes this attitude—and the post-pandemic way the movie industry has rushed theatrical releases to streaming (if they were in theaters at all)—is the cinema business’ biggest problem. In a statement, trade group Cinema United’s President and CEO Michael O’Leary put it plainly: “Netflix’s stated business model does not support theatrical exhibition.”

The deal would also shake up streaming. Netflix would become the new owner of HBO Max—plus all of the entertainment properties and titles that go with that. Biglione writes that this could be good for the future of ad-supported streaming, considering that it could be rather pricey to subscribe to all of that content advertisement free. On Netflix’s end, it would be pressured to do a better job of measuring streaming audience metrics, writes Forbes senior contributor Toni Fitzgerald—especially since there would be fewer providers for streaming content.

But there are no guarantees this deal will even go through. It will be subject to antitrust scrutiny, given that the merger would place an extraordinary share of the entertainment and streaming businesses in the hands of one company. Hollywood unions representing performers and writers were quick to speak up about their concerns, writes Forbes contributor Cathy Olson. And there are many: Jobs could be lost, wages for those on the writing and performing end of the business could go down, consumer costs could go up, and the diversity of viewpoints in entertainment could decrease.

On Monday, Paramount announced its hostile effort to acquire Warner Bros., giving shareholders $18 billion more in cash than Netflix. Paramount is trying to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery, and says the acquisition target “never engaged meaningfully” with Paramount’s proposals.

Several artists who disagree with Trump and his decisions have objected to their creations being used in these social media posts. Sabrina Carpenter recently succeeded by getting much more support on her X post asking the White House to take down a video than the original video received—resulting in the White House being “ratioed” in social media parlance, writes Forbes senior contributor Dani Di Placido.

The White House’s X account had posted a video montage of ICE deportations, set to Carpenter’s song “Juno,” which has the repeated line, “Have you ever tried this one?” Carpenter responded by writing “this video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.” Carpenter’s reply went viral. A screenshot compared Carpenter’s post—which had 1 million likes—to the White House’s—with just 43,000. The White House deleted the original post when Carpenter’s response had been seen 138 million times.

Keeping in character, the White House didn’t apologize to the pop star. Instead, it doubled down by backhandedly saying Carpenter was defending the “dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles” that were being deported. The White House also posted a new X video, featuring an on-purpose badly dubbed version of Carpenter’s recent SNL appearance, telling cast member Marcello Hernández she “might need to arrest someone for being too hot.” In the edited video, “too hot” is replaced with “illegal.” That video is still up.

While the world does seem to be noisier than ever, many have rejected the selection of white. The term “Pantonedeaf” circulated on social media, with commenters saying that the color evokes feelings of white supremacy—especially in a year that has seen many diversity efforts slashed. This is the first time the color has been a shade of white. But regardless of what people feel about the color, one thing is certain: Many things—from paper to websites to walls—will feature it.

The biggest threat to your brand has nothing to do with geopolitics, money or cybersecurity. It’s the always-looming possibility of becoming irrelevant. In this excerpt from Forbes CMO Network Managing Director Seth Matlins’ keynote address at the Forbes CMO Summit in Aspen, Colorado, he lays out what businesses are doing about it.

On the younger end of the spectrum, nearly nine out of 10 finance students say they already have enough experience to use AI at work. They also see finance jobs as ones with relatively easy schedules. Nearly four out of five expect to work less than 40 hours a week—while 58% of working professionals say they actually work more than 40 hours. Only 16% associate a finance career with burnout, something that 57% of finance professionals have experienced personally.

Men are using AI and technology more frequently than women across all age groups. Just over seven in 10 male finance professionals say they rely on AI at least somewhat often, while only 61% of women said the same. And nearly a third of female finance workers with less than a decade of experience say automation and AI will be the biggest challenge facing their career over the next decade.

Regardless of how different groups feel about AI and technology, these gaps need to be bridged. Hands-on training on AI tools and more education about the functions they can perform could help make all ages feel more comfortable with them. (Considering the current situation with tariffs changing seemingly on a daily basis, deploying AI tools really might be the only way to make sense of the financial picture.) Giving women more opportunities with AI could also help equalize the way that the tools are seen and used. As for the up-and-coming finance students, they may know something about AI that the rest of the profession doesn’t. When the global economy stabilizes, AI tools may actually make the average finance professional’s week less stressful and eliminate long hours.

More and more companies that are looking for new CFOs want a little something extra: A CFO who can eventually become CEO. I talked to Laura McPhail, cofounder and partner at executive search firm Hedley May about this new trend, and how CFOs can use the opportunity to get themselves positioned for growth. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.

If you like what you read here, you can easily share it online and on your social media pages. This newsletter, and all previous editions of Forbes CFO, can be found on our website here.

Until next time.

Last week was another Federal Reserve meeting, and once again, interest rates held steady at the 4.25% to 4.5% they’ve been at since December. “The risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen,” the committee said in a statement. As tariffs continue to shake the economy, the committee said, “uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further.” Considering the uncertain situation, very few predicted any shift in rates—CME’s Group’s FedWatch tool predicted a 98% chance of a hold, while economists at JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America all forecast no change.

The only person who seemed to think a change should come was President Donald Trump, who once again started attacking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on social media after the meeting. “‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell is a FOOL, who doesn’t have a clue,” Trump posted to his Truth Social platform Thursday morning. He added that speaking to Powell is like “talking to a wall.” Unlike Trump’s social media attacks on Powell earlier this month, these didn’t crash markets because he didn’t threaten to fire Powell, and his U.K. trade deal was announced on the same day.

Stocks soared on Monday due to the reduction and pause on Chinese tariffs. By the time the markets closed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.8%, the S&P 500 saw a 3.3% boost, and the Nasdaq was up 4.4%.

But how long will the rally last? While the agreement with China is significant, it’s not permanent and subject to further negotiations—meaning things are still uncertain, especially for businesses that deal with imports from China. Consumer prices also may rise based on the former sky-high tariffs since they were in full effect for a month. And deals will only go so far. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that the 10% baseline tariff on all imports will stay in effect no matter what.

Several companies have already lowered their outlooks or estimated steep losses in profit because of tariffs—including Toyota, which said it lost an estimated $1.25 billion in profits in March and April alone. A new report from Democratic members of Congress said that the tariffs represent a nail in the coffin for small businesses: Costs are rising, hiring is slowing and firms are already laying off workers, writes Forbes’ Brandon Kochkodin. Several small business owners told Kochkodin that their businesses have been damaged irreversibly because of tariffs, and a group of business owners have sued the Trump Administration with the nonprofit legal group New Civil Liberties Alliance, saying that the tariffs are illegal.

Nissan isn’t the only automaker that has seen large layoffs. General Motors, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz have also announced layoffs for cost-cutting amid economic uncertainty, writes Forbes senior contributor Jack Kelly. UPS said last month it was cutting 20,000 jobs, and many layoffs in the federal government—including a planned 1,500 National Park Service staffers in the run-up to summer—are adding to the year’s job cut tally. But while job cuts may be seen as a quick way for a company to free up cash, Forbes senior contributor Caroline Castrillon writes that corporate leaders often overlook some of the costs of layoffs—including severance payments, unemployment insurance tax increases and damage to employee morale and company reputation.

There are many management strategies, but one of the most effective revolves around creating value for others. Businesses that embody this model tend to grow faster, work better with employees and others, and serve as better corporate community members.