Hollis Guerra Promoted to Partner, Lou Paskalis Appointed Advisor

Customer Equity Labs, an AI strategy and implementation firm that helps growing companies increase the value of every customer, today announced that it has been named an OpenAI Select Partner within the OpenAI Partner Network.

The OpenAI Partner Network is a global program for partners to build, sell, and deliver AI solutions with OpenAI.

As an OpenAI Select Partner, Customer Equity Labs will continue working with OpenAI to help organizations build, deploy, and scale AI solutions responsibly and effectively.

“AI is moving fast, and the companies that pull ahead will point it at the work that matters most to their customers,” said Allison Hartsoe, founder and CEO of Customer Equity Labs. “As an OpenAI Select Partner, we can help more growing companies do exactly that.”

Customer Equity Labs helps growing companies use AI to protect and grow revenue: getting found when buyers ask ChatGPT and other AI tools for a recommendation, training teams through hands-on ChatGPT workshops, and building AI agents that serve customers without eroding their trust.

Hartsoe has spent more than 20 years building customer analytics for companies including Nike, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline and Intel. As a managing director of AI, Data & Analytics at EY, she built AI models of customer value that identified millions in operational savings for private equity-owned companies. A three-time founder, she has raised more than $72 million in venture capital and wrote The Age of Customer Equity, the 2023 BIMA Business Marketing Book of the Year.

“Allison audited our AI effectiveness, suggested a more robust AI strategy, trained our 40-person team, then built alongside us. This adds automation to almost every part of our business while honoring our ‘human first, human last’ philosophy,” said Kim Rosengren, CEO of Markentum, a senior living marketing agency.

Looking ahead, the firm plans to expand its AI search visibility services, workshops and AI agents, helping more companies turn AI into lasting customer value.

Learn more about the OpenAI Partner Network: https://openai.com/business/partners/

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Wizstar, an all-in-one AI content creation platform offering AI video generation, image creation, realistic digital avatars, and marketing tools, has announced the integration of Nano Banana 2.1 into its AI Image Generator. The latest addition expands Wizstar’s model offerings, giving creators, marketers, and businesses greater flexibility to produce visual content for different creative and commercial needs.

As demand for AI-generated visuals grows across digital marketing, e-commerce, and social media, content teams increasingly need to create images in multiple formats, explore different creative directions, and maintain flexibility throughout production. With Nano Banana 2.1, Wizstar aims to make these everyday creative tasks easier to manage.

More Flexibility for Different Creative Needs

Creating visual content for multiple channels often involves adapting images to different formats, testing several creative concepts, and balancing image quality with production speed. For marketers and content creators, these repetitive tasks can add complexity to everyday content production.

Nano Banana 2.1 addresses these needs by offering more control over the image generation process. Through Wizstar’s AI Image Generator, users can create images at resolutions up to 4K, select from eight aspect ratios, upload reference images, and generate up to eight images per request. Adjustable thinking levels also allow users to balance generation speed and quality according to their priorities.

Together, these options make it easier to explore creative variations, develop visual assets for different publishing formats, and use existing reference materials as a starting point for new content.

From Image Creation to Broader Content Workflows

For businesses and marketing teams, AI-generated images can serve multiple purposes, from social media graphics and advertising concepts to product visuals and reference materials for video production. Wizstar’s guide to creating multi-shot video ad boards with Nano Banana 2.1 offers a practical approach to planning and reviewing these visuals.

The integration of Nano Banana 2.1 complements Wizstar’s broader AI content creation capabilities, which include video generation, digital avatars, and other creative tools. Rather than relying on separate solutions for every content format, users can access a wider range of creative capabilities through a single platform.

By continuing to expand its model selection, Wizstar aims to support more flexible content production, helping creators and businesses develop visual assets that meet different marketing and communication needs.

Nano Banana 2.1 is now available in Wizstar’s AI Image Generator.

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Omnicom (NYSE: OMC), the world’s leading marketing and sales company, today announced it has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide AI-Enabled Adobe Professional Services 2026 Vendor Assessment (doc #US54114626, October 2026).

The IDC MarketScape evaluated vendors across two dimensions: 1) capabilities, reflecting a vendor’s current Adobe-related services and how well they align to customer needs, and 2) strategy, reflecting how well a vendor’s future direction aligns with what clients will require over the next three to five years. According to the report, “Omnicom can draw on a very broad range of capabilities from agencies in areas including experience design, creative, media, data, and identity services.”

“Omnicom stands out for its ability to pair strategic, value-focused thinking about clients’ Adobe roadmaps with the creative and technical depth to execute against it,” said Douglas Hayward, Senior Research Director at IDC. “Clients described a partner that takes a long-term view of their business and balances pragmatism with creativity in how it solves problems. That combination of strategic vision and practical delivery is what distinguishes companies who are named a Leader in this space.”

The IDC MarketScape recognition follows Omnicom’s earlier announcement about expanding its partnership with Adobe to co-develop an enterprise-grade, industry-specialized AI Agentic Operating Model solution. The solution combines Omnicom’s vertical expertise, Omni’s agentic capabilities, Acxiom’s data and identity assets, and Adobe’s enterprise marketing and creative technology stack. It orchestrates strategy, creative development, planning, activation, and measurement at enterprise scale for clients in Retail, Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals, and Automotive. The solution reflects the same thesis underlying Omnicom’s Leader ranking: pairing deep Adobe platform expertise with Omnicom’s consulting expertise and agency capabilities gives clients a faster, more governed path from AI strategy to production.

“We believe this recognition reflects the strength of our Adobe Practice, which has the depth of a technology partner and the strategic and creative rigor of our award-winning agencies, while giving clients one point of entry to both,” said Paolo Yuvienco, CTO of Omnicom. “That combination is what allows us to help clients move from strategy to activation faster, and it’s why we view our partnership with Adobe as one of the foundational elements of how we deliver marketing transformation at scale.”

The IDC MarketScape noted, “Omnicom is potentially a good choice for organizations looking for a partner with experience in both marketing and technology domains, and with a value-centric approach to engagements.” Omnicom is a Platinum Digital Experience partner of Adobe and holds seven Regional Solution Partner Specializations and three Adobe Accredited Partner Solutions from Adobe. The company is also one of three recognized preferred partners for Adobe Content Supply Chain globally and has more than 2,000 Adobe-related professionals across its network, including Adobe-certified specialists capable of architecting sophisticated solutions across the full Adobe stack. In 2025, Omnicom won the Adobe Digital Experience Partner of the Year – Americas and Adobe Digital Experience Partner of the Year – UK&I awards.

Appier Group (TSE: 4180), an AI-native company built around Agentic AI as a Service (AaaS), today announced the appointment of Sanam Lou as Vice President of Global Marketing. Bringing extensive experience across technology, strategy and growth, Sanam will lead Appier’s global marketing organization across EMEA, APAC and the US, strengthening the company’s positioning and differentiation in the increasingly competitive AI-powered advertising and marketing landscape.

Her appointment comes as Appier continues to expand its international presence, with EMEA and the US representing important areas of long-term opportunity. As part of this commitment, Appier plans to establish an office in London, further reinforcing its regional presence and enabling closer collaboration with clients and partners across Europe, the Middle East and the US. At Appier, she will focus on sharpening the company’s global market presence, expanding engagement and aligning marketing strategy with sustainable commercial growth.

“Sanam brings extensive global marketing experience, strong strategic instincts and industry credibility to connect technology innovation with evolving market and customer needs,” said Dr. Chih-Han Yu, CEO and Co-founder of Appier. “As Appier continues to expand globally, we look forward to Sanam’s leadership in articulating Appier’s differentiated value, deepening engagement with customers and partners, and strengthening alignment across regions. We believe her experience will contribute meaningfully to our next phase of growth.”

Sanam brings more than 25 years of experience building and leading marketing functions across the technology sector. Most recently, she served as Fractional CMO and Executive Coach at Beyond Founding, advising leadership teams on growth and go-to-market strategy. Previously, she led EMEA marketing at machine-learning advertising platform Moloco and served as VP of Corporate Marketing at gaming technology company Aristocrat Digital. She has also advised global technology and software companies, including DXC, Apple, and SAP, on market expansion and brand growth. She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and Communications and is currently completing a Master’s in Business Psychology.

“Over the past decade, Appier has built something rare: a proven track record of turning AI into measurable ROI for marketers,” said Sanam Lou. “Its combination of deep technical expertise, sharp commercial insight and global reach creates a compelling foundation for continued growth. I am excited to join Appier, work with teams across the company to deepen connections with customers and partners, and bring this powerful story—and its value—to more businesses worldwide.”