Marketing Brew

☕ Next to normal

Marketing Brew's May 13, 2026 edition covers marketers' attitudes toward Cannes Lions Festival amid economic uncertainty, including the war in Iran and holding company consolidation. TelevisaUnivision's new ad sales president discusses the company's upfront strategy after an 11% revenue decline. OpenAI is expanding its ads business to more price-conscious advertisers beyond its initial pilot.

☕ All that glitters

Jewelry brand Gorjana has built a sports marketing program called Gorjana Sports Club, partnering with women athletes across tennis, WNBA, volleyball, and soccer after athlete Jessie Pegula organically reached out in 2023. NBCUniversal kicked off upfronts week at Radio City Music Hall, leaning into its 100-year legacy and announcing new ad measurement tools including a Performance Insights Hub, retargeting updates, and AI-powered live contextual ad options rolling out in Q4 2026.

☕ What marketers are focused on during upfronts

This edition of Marketing Brew covers the 2026 upfronts season, where advertisers are prioritizing measurement and flexibility over content in dealmaking, with Disney holding leverage due to the 2027 Super Bowl on ABC/ESPN. The WNBA's 30th season kicks off with a ~40% YoY increase in sponsorship revenue and new blue-chip partners including P&G, Mars, and Amazon Web Services. Amazon also unveiled Dynamic TV Creative ahead of its upfronts presentation, a feature that personalizes Prime Video ads using shopper data.

☕ Law of the land

Marketing Brew's May 7, 2026 edition covers Swedish legal AI startup Legora's celebrity endorsement strategy featuring actor Jude Law to drive enterprise brand awareness, the Dallas Wings' rapid WNBA sponsorship growth powered by star players Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, and Ulta Beauty's immersive consumer expo in Orlando. Legora, valued at $5.6 billion following a $550M Series D, is taking an unconventional approach for enterprise software by using celebrity spokespeople alongside OOH and athlete partnerships. The Dallas Wings have nearly doubled partnership revenue for three consecutive years by converting top draft picks into a high-profile roster that attracts Fortune 500 sponsors.

☕ Meat-cute

The meat snacks category saw 6.6% growth in 2025 and is forecast to surpass $22 billion in 2026, with brands like Archer Jerky, Slim Jim, and Jack Link's deploying celebrity partnerships and premium positioning to capitalize. Google is previewing new AI Max tools ahead of Google Marketing Live, including 'AI Brief' for creative and targeting workflows. Walmart is overhauling its Great Value private label brand with a 10,000-product packaging redesign targeting higher-income shoppers.

☕ How Expedia is working with creators

Expedia launched a yearlong partnership with creator IShowSpeed (150M followers), kicking off with a nearly 12-hour livestream across four Caribbean destinations. Lowe's entered basketball marketing for the first time, partnering with A'ja Wilson and Jalen Brunson as part of a broader Gen Z/millennial engagement strategy. The issue also previews an interview with Mae Karwowski, CEO of influencer agency Obviously, ahead of a Marketing Brew creator marketing event.

☕ Creators are making their way to the C-suite

☕ The brand partnerships powering ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’

☕ Name a more iconic duo

☕ Inside the clipping marketing machine

Marketing Brew's April 28, 2026 edition covers the rise of 'clipping' as a brand content strategy, where marketers create long-form livestreams designed to be sliced into short viral clips for social distribution. A Tinuiti report finds Meta Reels now account for a third of all Instagram ad impressions, with most major ad platforms seeing double-digit spend growth in Q1. The issue also features Kay Hsu, Spotify's global head of creative lab, discussing creator marketing.

☕ Opting out—again

☕ Why brands keep trekking to Coachella

Marketing Brew explores why brands continue investing heavily in Coachella activations despite criticism that commercialization has damaged the festival's authenticity. The newsletter examines how brand partnerships and influencer presence actually sustain the festival's cultural relevance and provides a platform for storytelling.

☕ In stitches

☕ Soccer sponsors’ local World Cup strategies

☕ The strategy powering a Hollister music video

Marketing Brew covers Hollister's first music video campaign featuring Gigi Perez covering Green Day's 'Good Riddance' to target Gen Z graduates, the WNBA's 30th season anniversary marketing campaign, and luxury retail's shift toward experiential spaces with Bucherer's art collaborations.

☕ What the puck

Marketing Brew covers the PWHL's first nationally televised game in the US on Ion sports network, AI agents reshaping marketing and consumer shopping behavior, and ongoing legal challenges for Meta and Google regarding child safety violations.

☕ AI, all the time

Meta is aggressively pushing AI automation in its advertising platform, with plans to simplify ad creation to just inputting a credit card and business goal by end of 2026. The company has deployed new systems like Andromeda ad retrieval and Manus AI agent, while expanding its Advantage+ tool suite, though marketers report mixed results and concerns about losing control over targeting and creative decisions.

☕ The real deal

Aerie continues its commitment to not using AI in marketing campaigns, building on its 2014 'Aerie Real' pledge to avoid retouching model images. The brand saw double-digit brand awareness growth and 23% sales increase in Q4 2025 after publicly committing to AI-free campaigns.

☕ Running with it

Marketing Brew's newsletter covers rising EV interest due to gas price spikes from the US-Israel war with Iran, creating marketing opportunities for electric vehicle brands. The newsletter also discusses AI's pervasive presence at SXSW 2026, with mixed industry reactions ranging from excitement to wariness.

☕ InStyle, on camera

Marketing Brew newsletter covering InStyle magazine's successful mockumentary social video series approach and Dick's Sporting Goods' basketball-focused March Madness campaign. The newsletter highlights how traditional media brands are adapting to social-first content strategies and retail sports marketing tactics.

☕ How sports marketers navigate athlete injuries

Marketing Brew covers how sports marketers navigate athlete injuries, focusing on brands like Amica Insurance that maintain partnerships during injury periods. TikTok held its NewFronts presentation under new US leadership, unveiling new ad formats including Logo Takeover and Prime Time to reassure advertisers about platform stability.

☕ Buzzer-beater

Marketing Brew covers sports marketing strategies during March Madness and baseball season. The newsletter examines how sportsbooks like BetMGM use March Madness to acquire new players through influencer partnerships, and how the Atlanta Braves market across their six-state territory through the 'We Are Braves Country' campaign.

☕ Crystal ball

Marketing Brew's weekend edition covers social media trends for 2026, focusing on how AI-generated content is flooding platforms while brands seek authentic differentiation. The newsletter features predictions from CMOs at Liquid Death, Duolingo, and American Eagle about longer-form storytelling and human-centered marketing strategies.

☕ Getting heated

Marketing Brew covers brand rivalry strategies, highlighting how McDonald's viral Big Arch burger moment led to competitive responses from Burger King and Wendy's that benefited all brands. MLB is shifting toward new media platforms like Netflix and creator partnerships to engage younger audiences as the 2026 season launches.

☕ Holds barred

WPP has declared it is 'no longer a holding company,' restructuring into four divisions under a single operating model, reflecting a broader industry shift away from the traditional holdco structure. Boston Legacy FC debuted in the NWSL with 30,000+ fans and a five-year jersey patch deal with Hyundai, as women's soccer sponsorship demand surges ahead of the FIFA Men's World Cup. These stories highlight how both the agency world and sports marketing landscape are undergoing significant structural transformation.

☕ Can’t miss it

Marketing Brew's March 24, 2026 edition covers the NWSL's fourth annual marketing campaign 'Imagine Missing This,' which takes a narrower targeting approach based on segmentation research. It also examines how clean energy companies like solar and geothermal are reshaping their marketing strategies after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act altered tax credit structures. A Coworking spotlight features Tara Corey, SVP of Marketing at Optimizely.

☕ For the record

Marketing Brew's March 23, 2026 edition covers brands using Guinness World Records as marketing stunts to cut through a fragmented media landscape, with Nascar and Apple TV as recent examples. The newsletter also examines the blurring line between creators and Hollywood, highlighted by SXSW panels and the Golden Globes inviting creators to red-carpet coverage. ABC canceled the new season of The Bachelorette following domestic assault allegations against its lead, causing brand partners like Cinnabon to distance themselves.