How Brands and Cannabis Companies Are Maximizing Their Joint Efforts for 420 Marketing

Tipsy Scoop serves up sweet treats like spiked mint chip and vanilla bean bourbon that are meant to deliver a pleasant, light buzz similar to a dessert cocktail. But for years now, fans of the New York-based chain have been yearning for something that hits, well, a bit differently. Through a first-time collaboration with a…

12 Hot AI Startups That Brands Are Working With

While buzzy AI startups like OpenAI and Stable Diffusion have caught marketers’ attention, many lesser-known gen AI startups have secured investments and contracts with major brands such as L’Oreal, ESPN, Pepsi, and Garnier. AI funding in the U.S. grew by 14% year-over-year in 2023, (OpenAI released ChatGPT in Nov. 2022), raising $42.5 billion across 2,500…

How the Bud Light Boycott Changed Marketing

The idea behind Bud Light’s #EasyCarryContest, which debuted around this time last year, was straightforward: Offer people a chance to win $15,000 for posting a video of themselves carrying as many cans, bottles or glasses of beer as possible. Much like some of the footage participants shared online, the outcome has been messy. Enter to…

Dentsu Launches Its New Merkury for Media Platform

Note: This story is part of an ongoing series covering agencies’ audience management platforms. Previously, Adweek reported on Omnicom’s Omni, Horizon Media’s blu. Havas’ Converged, Publicis’ Epsilon PeopleCloud, PMG’s Alli, Gale’s Alchemy.Ai and DEPT’s Ada. Dentsu Media’s new Merkury for Media data and identity platform is debuting now in U.S. markets. Previously known as M1,…

Inside 5-Hour Energy Founder Manoj Bhargava’s Decision To Sacrifice Sports Illustrated

Manoj Bhargava, the billionaire founder of 5-Hour Energy, has only one piece of furniture in his office: a five-shelf bookcase cluttered with rival energy drink brands, many of which no longer exist, a reminder of the competitors he has bested and a testament to his single-minded pursuit of commercial dominance. A copy of Sports Illustrated…

Inside 5-Hour Energy Founder Manoj Bhargava’s Decision To Sacrifice Sports Illustrated

Manoj Bhargava, the billionaire founder of 5-Hour Energy, has only one piece of furniture in his office: a five-shelf bookcase cluttered with rival energy drink brands, many of which no longer exist, a reminder of the competitors he has bested and a testament to his single-minded pursuit of commercial dominance. A copy of Sports Illustrated…

Inside 5-Hour Energy Founder Manoj Bhargava’s Decision To Sacrifice Sports Illustrated

Manoj Bhargava, the billionaire founder of 5-Hour Energy, has only one piece of furniture in his office: a five-shelf bookcase cluttered with rival energy drink brands, many of which no longer exist, a reminder of the competitors he has bested and a testament to his single-minded pursuit of commercial dominance. A copy of Sports Illustrated…

Exclusive: See What MediaLink Is Charging Sponsors for Its Spaces in Cannes

Want to take over a 10′ x 10′ meeting space from MediaLink at the splashy Cannes Lions advertising festival this June? Be prepared to pay about $850,000, according to a pitch deck obtained by ADWEEK. The deck revealed sponsorship opportunities for potential partners for its numerous spaces across the Palais–the central hub of the Cannes…

The Group Creative Director Is the Player-Coach of the Creative Team

The group creative director gets pulled in many different directions at once. As the step up from the creative director and below the executive creative director and chief creative officer, the GCD can be both a maker and a director, sometimes in the same day. A good group creative director is like a point guard…

AI, the Election and Cautious Optimism: 12 CROs on Ad Trends Shaping 2024

The last few weeks have been brutal for the media industry. Still, a confluence of positive factors has publishers cautiously optimistic about the year ahead, according to interviews with revenue executives at more than one-dozen news and lifestyle publishers. In particular, the broader economic outlook appears far healthier than it did this time last year,…

Super Bowl Case Study: Inside a Spicy Social Marketing Win for Frank’s RedHot and Jason Kelce

McCormick and Company didn’t need Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce or even the Kansas City Chiefs for its Frank’s RedHot brand to win Super Bowl 58. It just needed to cover their zone of influence. Tabata Gomez took McCormick’s CMO role in November after more than six years as a marketing leader with Stanley Black…

The Next Era of Subscriptions: 3 Trends Shaping Publishers’ Paid Products

When TechCrunch shuttered its subscription product last month, the abrupt closure rattled the news industry, triggering fears that reader revenue products, and the stability they provide, were at risk of backsliding. But subscription data from multiple firms, as well as interviews with digital subscription experts, proves the opposite, and trends like an uptick in consumer…

Exclusive: Inside Prime Video’s Ad Tier Pitch Deck to Media Buyers

Prime Video’s ad tier is launching at the end of this month, and Amazon is negotiating with advertisers to make sure that it doesn’t leave money on the table. Specifically, Amazon is letting advertisers buy across three different plans on its new ad-supported streaming tier, according to a pitch deck to media buyers viewed by…

New Agency Business Expected to Rise in 2024

Last September, a study by RSW/US, an outsourced business development firm that works solely with ad agencies and PR firms, found that small agencies were finding it difficult to land new business. Just a few months later, the outlook is a bit sunnier, as RSW has released its 2024 RSW/US New Year Outlook Report with…

2024 Priority List: A New Partnership for the CMO and CEO

At the close of each calendar year, we editors like to ask industry leaders what they learned that year and what they’ll take away into the next. One word has dominated our conversations reflecting on 2023: resilience. A fitting 2023 word, that. Marketing organizations and creative agencies have had to be especially resilient as they…

How CMOs and Executives Plan to See Overlooked Audiences in 2024

Marketers’ expansive reach and myriad tools still miss broad, vital audiences who aren’t being addressed with the exigency their numbers command. In 2024, more people can and should get the message. Advances in technology have given marketers advantages they could’ve only dreamed of even 10 years ago, according to Mastercard CMO Raja Rajamannar, and with…

Why Animated Ads Hit Harder

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, animation became a lifeline for creatives in a world where lockdowns and social distancing rendered advertising production practically impossible. Animation itself can be traced way back to the early 1900s, but it’s a medium that’s continually evolving. For modern marketers, recent campaigns have proven the technique to be…

How Great CMOs Collaborate

How Tech Brands Have Activated the Las Vegas Sphere

Sin City might be where large-scale advertising is catching a glimpse of its future, creating spectacle and generating awe to capture attention. Since September, Sphere has attracted advertising from Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony, the NBA, Aston Martin and Heineken with activations using the building’s programmable LED exterior that’s become a whole new attraction for local and…

How Young Fans Are Changing the Sports Marketing Game

The sports industry is going through transformational changes to meet the needs and expectations of 21st century fans. From leagues and athletes getting closer to culture through music, fashion and gaming tie-ups, to new partnerships designed to drive audience connection, it’s all about engaging with fans beyond the field. However, live sports is facing a…