In partnership with
Beadle Across America Speaking Calendar.
Today, Dr. Joy Coates and I will be presenting at Shift Work Forward’s SHIFT Conference 2026 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
I’m also joining members of the Ohio Workforce Coalition today at 3 p.m. EDT for a webinar and discussion on employer involvement in workforce development policy. You can join the coalition here.
I’ll be keynoting the Michigan Health Council’s annual conference at the Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Mich., on October 27. Buy your tickets here.
I’ll be talking about closing the gap on training and employment at CECU’s Executive Summit in Palm Springs on November 5. Sign up here.
This week behind the paywall:
Ad from beehiiv network.
Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads
Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:
After a test campaign reached 211,000 households and achieved 1,010% ROAS, the brand went all in to promote its annual sales event. It removed age and income constraints to expand reach and shifted budget to custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.
The results speak for themselves. As Blu Dot increased their investment by 10x, ROAS jumped to 2,308% and more page-view conversions surpassed 50,000.
“For CTV campaigns, Roku has been a top performer,” said Claire Folkestad, Paid Media Strategist, Blu Dot. “Comping to our other platforms, we have seen really strong ROAS… and highly efficient CPMs, lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”
Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.
Three burning questions about apprenticeship.
I acknowledge it’s been a little apprenticeship-heavy lately in this space. That’s for a reason. Outside of political leaders holding up signs saying “I don’t like college and Workforce Pell should be great,” it’s pretty much the most distinct and tangible conversation we’re having in American workforce policy.
Apprenticeship also seems to be the only bipartisan common ground here, even if neither party acknowledges it. For both parties and all ideological space in between, “apprenticeships and stuff” is the predominant political answer to American workforce needs—especially those that might come from AI-related disruption.
That sets up a fascinating post-midterm environment in this space, if workforce can steal any public bandwidth from instability in the Oval Office. Trump II is in a better place than it was a few months ago on getting Apprenticeship World on board with its plans. That said, there also are still grave doubts about whether its policies are good ideas—and whether the Trump apparatus can overcome its traditional execution challenges and create much-needed change.
Below are three big questions I’ve heard recently on the apprenticeship front. For the uninitiated, these generally refer to questions about Registered Apprenticeship, the consumer protection device that is the main way America regulates and promotes adoption of structured on-the-job training.
Ad from beehi iv network.
Exploring AI Voice With SuperBloom
For Deel's "Feeling of Deeling" campaign, agency SuperBloom needed one consistent brand voice across markets—deployed fast, without sacrificing quality or consent. In this on-demand video session, SuperBloom and Voices break down the casting, production, and governance, plus what they'd do differently and where AI voice is headed next.
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