LUMA Event Draws 375, Unveils Hall of Fame

AI’s growing influence on digital media and advertising featured across industry discussions and business updates. At LUMA Partners’ DMS event, executives examined AI-driven disruption and the challenges of innovation and revenue allocation in digital advertising, while the firm’s Terry Kawaja criticized the industry’s awards business. Phoenix Media reported that third-quarter revenue rose 8.3%, supported by faster-growing paid services, including digital reading, and that gross margin improved; advertising revenue fell and its net loss widened. The company said revenue from AI and robotics clients had more than tripled in the first nine months of 2026 compared with all of 2025, largely from original content services, and that it was exploring ways to make its content accessible to AI platforms. Separately, an upcoming San Francisco event will bring content and marketing professionals together to discuss AI’s use in producing short-form video, including what is working and what may be hype.