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Artificial intelligence promised faster content, lower costs, and the ability to scale almost instantly. For a while, that was enough. Now brands are starting to pay the price for moving too fast.

The AI Backlash in Marketing: Why Smart Brands Are Rethinking Generative AI Use in 2026

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Over the past 20 years, Google has been the gateway to the internet. Every marketing plan, from SEO and paid search to content and analytics, has orbit­ed around one assumption: people Google things.

Is Google Losing Power in the Age of AI?

Marketing for Micro Audiences

If your company is like many of our clients, your 2026 marketing plan is well underway. But in a world where mass marketing feels noisy and overwhelming, we’re helping our clients “zoom in” their marketing strategies, rather than “zooming out”. 

Marketing for Micro Audiences: Why Less is More for 2026

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“Be Like Me” campaigns aim to present an idealized image– making you want to buy the product in hopes of achieving that same look or lifestyle. This type of marketing is often seen in beauty and fashion.

Was the Sydney Sweeney Ad Even Good Marketing? The Case for Relatability Over "Be Like Me" Marketing

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Consumers are feeling overwhelmed by juggling numerous services. A Deloitte survey from early 2025 reports that half of U.S. households have no money left after essentials and won’t increase streaming spend—many explicitly cited subscription fatigue.

Streaming Isn’t Dying—It’s Evolving: Why 2025 Is a Golden Moment for Medium-Sized Businesses to use CTV Advertising

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There’s a lot of noise right now about how artificial intelligence is transforming marketing. And while AI is indeed changing how we work, here's a truth that gets less attention: the fundamental framework of marketing hasn't really changed that much.

Think AI Changed Everything About Marketing? Look Closer.

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If you've recently searched Google for something like "best budget travel camera reddit" or "quietest dishwashers reddit," you're not alone.

Why Everyone’s Adding “Reddit” to the End of Their Google Searches—And What It Means for Your Marketing StrategyWhy Everyone’s Adding “Reddit” to the End of Their Google Searches—And What It Means for Your Marketing Strategy

Why Everyone’s Adding “Reddit” to the End of Their Google Searches—And What It Means for Your Marketing Strategy

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One of the most common things I hear from clients when we start working together at Xeno Media is: “Sorry, we’re kind of a mess.”

Your Company Isn’t the Only Messy One—And That’s Okay

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Does using influencer marketing even work anymore?

As a marketing agency we get that question a lot these days…

It’s working a lot less than it did. A 2024 study found that while influencer campaigns are increasing in number, their ability to capture attention and influence purchasing decisions is diminishing due to oversaturation and lack of distinct storytelling. But that doesn’t mean getting content from “real people” (not paid actors) isn’t an important method of marketing your business.

From Glossy to Gritty: Why User Generated Content (UGC) is Outshining Influencers in Marketing

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As a marketing professional, I’ve spent years helping businesses promote their services and products. Now, as the President of Xeno Media, I’m proud of the work we do—crafting campaigns that resonate, build connections and help businesses thrive. Yet, as a person and a parent, I often find myself reflecting on the role marketing plays in consumerism—and the delicate balance between promoting products and encouraging overconsumption.

Leading a Marketing Agency in the Age of Overconsumption

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Welcome back, fellow marketers, to the second installment of our blog series on harnessing the power of AI in marketing. In this edition, we’re diving deep into the realm of writing and exploring how AI can revolutionize the way your marketing team creates content.

How AI Can Transform Your Marketing Team’s Writing Process

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AI is revolutionizing the marketing landscape by enabling businesses to harness the power of data and automation to create more personalized and effective campaigns

AI Efficiency: How Your Marketing Team Can Use AI for Images

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The Department of Energy’s Energy Frontiers Research Centers (EFRCs) is a research program of the U.S. Department of Energy that brings together creative, multidisciplinary, and multi-institutional teams of scientific researchers to address the toughest challenges at the forefront of fundamental energy science research.

The Department of Energy’s Energy Frontiers Research Centers

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Many of our clients are getting ominous messages through Facebook Messenger stating that their pages will be either deleted or disabled, or that they have violated a Facebook policy. These are phishing scams and should be ignored.

Facebook Messenger Scam

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Since 2017, Dark Matter Day has been a collaboration-wide project with labs, universities, and other physics groups hosting and managing live and virtual events. Celebrated on or around October 31st each year, Dark Matter Day was initially given a slightly eerie vibe. Now that we’re six years into this successful annual endeavor, it was time to review the brand, graphics, and messaging in order to keep things fresh and moving forward.

Dark Matter Day Elevated Through Rebranding

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When it comes to building a website or web application, you want one that’s eye-catching, user-friendly, and helps you sell your product or service to your target audience effectively. Countless websites use Drupal as their content management system (CMS) to create and manage both the back end and front end of their website. Drupal gives the website developer the ability to create the right dynamic look while providing a high-quality experience for website visitors. Headless Drupal lets you have all the back-end power of Drupal with a perfectly customized front end experience.

Headless Drupal: New & Here to Stay

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What started out as humble beginnings working out of an apartment in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood has turned into a profitable full-fledged web agency and digital marketing agency. Their client base has expanded rapidly to include major companies such as Allstate Corporation, Mount Franklin Foods, and Young Innovations.

Xeno Media Celebrates 25 Years as Chicagoland Digital Agency | Xeno Media

Xeno Media Celebrates 25 Years as Chicagoland Digital Agency

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From The O'Hare 21 expansion to The Michael Reese / Bronzeville Lakefront Redevelopment to the Adaptive Reuse of the Old Cook County Hospital, Level-1 is Chicago's Smart City Innovation leader in IT infrastructure design and planning--integrating hardware, software and network infrastructure systems to create environments that are optimized for the future.

Xeno Media helps Level-1 drive IT infrastructure | Xeno Media

Xeno Media helps Level-1 drive IT infrastructure

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If you’re running a specific promotion campaign that sends people to your website, you should add campaign parameters, called UTM parameters, to your links to track how well they perform in Google Analytics. This simple guide will walk you through it!

Track Campaigns with Parameters in Google Analytics | Xeno Media

Track Campaigns with Parameters in Google Analytics

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Xeno Media had the pleasure of working with Mount Franklin Foods, a national food brand that manufactures unique and flavourful snacks and candies. This Christmas we brought them a quirky, fun, a little bit out-there video concept, and they were all in. 

Brewhouse Legends Craft Beer Christmas | Xeno Media

Brewhouse Legends Craft Beer Christmas

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We migrated Durabilt's site from BigCommerce to a modern and responsive WordPress/WooCommerce platform.

Durabilt Redesigned: From BigCommerce to WordPress | Xeno Media

Durabilt Redesigned: From BigCommerce to WordPress

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Google's de-indexing bug has been resolved. What should you do to see if you've been affected?

What you should do about Google's de-indexing bug. | Xeno Media

What you should do about Google's de-indexing bug.

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Web design and web development are two parts of a process - one's drafting a blueprint for a website, the other is building it.

What’s the Difference between Web Design and Web Development? | Xeno Media

What’s the Difference between Web Design and Web Development?

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As trends shift in digital marketing, what your visitors will expect and accept will change too. Learn to see the most common red flags that you're in need of a refresh.

When Should You Redesign Your Website? | Xeno Media

When Should You Redesign Your Website?

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Reports have been flowing in of a new email threat: pay a ransom in bitcoin or have embarrassing webcam footage of you sent to your contact list. Learn what to do when this phishing scam lands in your inbox.

What should you know about the Bitcoin Email Extortion Scam? | Xeno Media

What should you know about the Bitcoin Email Extortion Scam?

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We are proud to share that we have been recognized as a top developer in Chicago for our open communication. Now featured on Clutch.co with an overall 5-star rating and on The Manifest. These ratings and reviews are independently verified by an independent business analyst through a phone interview.

Communication is the Key to Great Client Relationships | Xeno Media

Communication is the Key to Great Client Relationships

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Website maintenance is the regular monitoring, updating, and patching of your sites core software as well as optional modules and plugins. This is a critical and often overlooked part of owning a website. We automated a portion of the process for increased accuracy, speed, and thoroughness.

Faster, Smarter Web Maintenance through (Semi) Automation | Xeno Media

Faster, Smarter Web Maintenance through (Semi) Automation

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Open-source is great for business. With the source code being openly available, we can modify, improve, or build on it as we need and updates are actively developed and released in a collaborative community. But open source isn't just good for developers. It's great for business.

4 Key Reasons Why Open Source is Great for Businesses | Xeno Media

4 Key Reasons Why Open Source is Great for Businesses

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We were honored to be recognized by the Greater Oakbrook Chamber of Commerce for our &quot;Model Workplace&quot; culture. Why is workplace culture important? Happy people support each other and make better stuff for their clients.

Good Office Culture Builds A Model Workplace | Xeno Media

Good Office Culture Builds A Model Workplace 

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Website design isn't just about delivering a website. It's about delivering the benefits of a website. Your website should be delivering increased sales, or higher conversion rates, or some other specific and measurable goal.

Benefits of a website are more important than the website | Xeno Media

Benefits of a website are more important than the website

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Xeno Media opened it's doors in January of 1997. We're finally 21.

Xeno Media Turns 21 | Xeno Media

Xeno Media Turns 21

In our third installment on web accessibility, we look at some of the tests, resources and guides to ensure your website is accessible and useful to everyone that needs it.

Web Accessibility Part III: Tools and Resources | Xeno Media

Web Accessibility Part III: Tools and Resources

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Xeno Media Principal Karen Acklin chooses the Geneva Library Foundation for December's Xeno Cause.

Xeno Causes: Geneva Library Foundation | Xeno Media

Xeno Causes: Geneva Library Foundation

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There are guidelines and laws that tell you what you need to be doing in order to make your site useful to all of your visitors, regardless of ability. Check out the second part in our series and learn about what's out there to get you on the right track.

Web Accessibility Part II: What Guides Accessibility Efforts? | Xeno Media

Web Accessibility Part II: What Guides Accessibility Efforts?

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Web accessibility is the removal of impediments that could limit access to or interaction with a website by any person with disabilities. Check out the first part in our series on making sure your site can be reached by everyone that needs it!

Web Accessibility Part I: Do we still need to ask? | Xeno Media

Web Accessibility Part I: Do we still need to ask?

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Xeno Media's Mike Acklin selects Disabled American Veterans as our Xeno Cause for November.

Xeno Causes: Disabled American Veterans | Xeno Media

Xeno Causes: Disabled American Veterans

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Xeno Media's Diane Minton selects Understood.org as October's Xeno Cause

Xeno Causes: October is Dyslexia Awareness Month | Xeno Media

Xeno Causes: October is Dyslexia Awareness Month

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Oakbrook Terrace, IL Xeno Media - a leading web agency headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois - announces the launch of a new, WordPress-based website for the Greater Oakbrook Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Partnership.

Press release: Xeno Media and Greater Oak Brook Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Partnership Launch New Website | Xeno Media

Press release: Xeno Media and Greater Oak Brook Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Partnership Launch New Website

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Xeno Media Site Builder Lauren Manasse chooses the Melanoma Research Foundation for March's Xeno Cause

Xeno Causes: The Melanoma Research Foundation | Xeno Media

Xeno Causes: The Melanoma Research Foundation

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The Dare to Dream: STEM Conference is geared toward increasing the participation of the number of Latina girls in science, technology, engineering and math

Dare to Dream

Recent posts

The AI Backlash in Marketing: Why Smart Brands Are Rethinking Generative AI Use in 2026

Is Google Losing Power in the Age of AI?

Marketing for Micro Audiences: Why Less is More for 2026