What Mad Men did for making day-drinking look cool again, it has also done for making agencies seem disingenuous, amoral, and a bit gross. Meaning brand marketers are struggling to trust agencies, conscious that in the race for new business and retention, what are they prepared to promise? How much of what they say is real and what is pure Type-2 Liarbetes? An XL whopper meal with extra lies?
The Iteractive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has revised its 2025 annual forecast of ad spend, "macroeconomic concerns" among ad buyers across multiple channels. The overall outlook has been revised downward by 1.6%. "Advertisers, facing a shifting economy, are sharpening their focus. Amid rising tariff concerns and macroeconomic headwinds, ad buyers expect to spend less in the second half of the year than originally projected." IAB.
Possibly advisors don't prioritize Gen Xers because they carry more credit card debt than any other generation. Or maybe it's because they are struggling to raise their children and put them through college while simultaneously taking care of aging parents. Younger Gen Xers are in mid-career, still paying off their student loans. As they age, many will have adult children returning to the nest.
"The global lifestyle company behind Hello Kitty has launched "Kuromi's Mischief Mansion" - a month-long celebration that seamlessly blends digital gaming, retail experiences, and limited-edition merchandise across multiple major partners including Hot Topic, Roblox, Crocs, Liquid Death, and BoxLunch. This isn't just another seasonal marketing push. It's a strategic blueprint for how food and beverage brands can create immersive, multi-touchpoint campaigns that drive both online engagement and in-store sales while building long-term brand equity."
Gravity Global's secret sauce isn't just strategy, or creativity, or media. It's the ability to help brands in complex markets earn an unfair share of attention and turn that attention into commercial results. We're not interested in playing by the old rules of 'reach.' We play to win attention. Not just any attention. The kind that earns fame, sparks admiration, and drives belief - our proprietary FAB model. And it's the North Star behind everything we do.
He said the "whole concept of brand safety" is a "problem." "That's just subjective," he said onstage in conversation with measurement giant Nielsen. "You look at somebody and you look at their audience and you say they're not necessarily safe. What does that mean? There was a time a couple of years ago they were saying Judy Blume books weren't safe - Judy Blume!
British brands are failing to unlock an estimated $10 billion in value by relying too heavily on short-term marketing tactics and struggling to differentiate themselves, according to the latest Kantar BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable UK Brands report. Globally, brand contributes 33% of company value on average, but in the UK that figure slips to 29%, highlighting a significant gap in long-term brand building.
Jenny Meassick is the Chief Marketing Officer at Socium Advisors. Over the past few years, content has become a cornerstone of the modern marketing strategy. The role of content is twofold: unifying campaigns across channels, from social media to email newsletters, and establishing a cohesive brand narrative that allows audiences to recognize your company's tone, values and voice. Selling a product is one thing, but selling an idea and trust is another entirely.
Step inside, and you're greeted by shelves overflowing with the toys many of us once begged for - or, if we were lucky, owned. There's the iconic Thunderbird 2 - a personal favourite, though as a child living abroad and seeing the show years later, I was mildly crestfallen to learn it was "just" a cargo plane. Still, that green leviathan retains all its charm.
"This reset isn't just a visual update - it's a transformation of how we show up in the world," said Steve Lesnard, president at Godiva, in a statement shared with Marketing Dive. "We're stepping into our second century with more purpose, passion, and power than ever. From our partnership with Leighton Meester to the iconic products we're spotlighting, this is a brand ready to lead the premium chocolate industry again."
Beauty advent calendars have become big business. They started around a decade ago - for example, Liberty's first beauty advent calendar launched in 2014, at a cost of £149 (packed with products worth £420).[1] This year Liberty's calendar is yours for £275 and gives you products worth £1245.[2] As the season turns from summer to autumn, and we pull out winter coats and jumpers and boots, we start the countdown to Christmas. (Around 80 days at the time of writing.)
The number-one job of a marketer is to invest budget wisely to drive sales. That inherently requires accurately measuring the performance of that spending. Yet most advertisers still rely on flawed measurement methods that systematically overstate performance and misallocate resources. The measurement crisis Even the smallest Fortune 500 companies generate roughly $10 billion in revenue, meaning they likely spend at least $1 billion on advertising. Whether you're spending billions or mere millions, the stakes are too high to rely on half-measures when optimizing ROI.
Authority is currency. Without it, you chase clients instead of attracting them. Without it, you're invisible while others get attention. Stop waiting for recognition. Manufacture it. Engineer the exact perception you want people to have when they hear your name. Establishing yourself as the go-to expert in your field is simpler than you think. ChatGPT can help with the right prompting. Copy, paste and edit the square brackets in ChatGPT, and keep the same chat window open so the context carries through.
Reputation is often the most fragile currency in business. For companies rocked by scandal, studies suggest it can take more than a decade to regain lost trust. Yet Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has managed to rebound far more swiftly. Rather than retreat, the company seized the moment to reposition itself as a globally regulated player, signaling a new era of compliance and transparency in crypto.
This shift means that having a strong digital footprint is no longer optional, it's essential for growth. But the challenge for small businesses is clear: how do you stand out online when competing against big-box chains with bigger budgets, established websites, and in-house marketing teams? The answer lies in leveraging strategic media exposure, targeted SEO, and trusted publications that rank on Google's first page.
Sign up today for the DraftKings promo code and claim over $200 off the NFL Sunday Ticket for this season, PLUS, $200 Bonus Bets Instantly at DraftKings Sportsbook. Not only can players earn potential bonus bets when wagering on the NFL, but they can also enjoy $200 in savings on the NFL Sunday Ticket! In addition to this incredible offer, the DraftKings Sportsbook is among the best in the US, thanks to its leading sports betting features.
