Brand Strategy


  • Urban Outfitters and Dunkin' collaboration
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    Courtesy of Urban Outfitters
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    How Urban Outfitters connects with Gen Z through brand collaborations

    The retailer has increased sales growth and brand affinity in part by teaming with brands like Dunkin’ and artists like Tinashe to meet consumer needs.

    By Nov. 26, 2025
  • Amanda Batula for Vaseline
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    Courtesy of Vaseline
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    Q&A

    Inside Vaseline’s social-first, innovation-led marketing playbook

    The brand is “pioneering the kind of desire at scale thinking” that Unilever wants to replicate across its portfolio, CEO Fernando Fernandez has said. 

    By Nov. 25, 2025
  • Explore the Trendline
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Multichannel Optimization

    There’s greater urgency around the need to optimize multichannel marketing efforts and unite channels including retail media, social media and others.

    By Marketing Dive staff
  • Martha Stewart poses in a denim-wrapped kitchen for American Eagle's 2025 holiday campaign.
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    Courtesy of American Eagle
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    Why American Eagle tapped Martha Stewart to extend beyond Gen Z

    After making headlines with its fall campaign, the retailer is targeting gift givers and recipients alike for the next chapter of its “Give Great Jeans” holiday push. 

    By Nov. 25, 2025
  • Currency Group co-founders
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    Courtesy of Currency Group
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    3 ex-Cashmere execs seek to unlock culture’s enterprise value

    Currency Advisory Group looks to operationalize culture as a strategic business function, not just a marketing layer. 

    By Aaron Baar • Nov. 24, 2025
  • A person wearing a black puffer jacket is shown from the back facing her suburban home
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    Permission granted by Uber
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    Uber debuts first national holiday ad as focus on suburbs grows

    “Close” packs an emotional punch, showing a traveler reflecting on a complicated relationship with her father on a ride home from the airport.

    By Nov. 24, 2025
  • People walking out of a store.
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    Daphne Howland/Marketing Dive
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    Sephora reorganizes US marketing department

    The mass beauty retailer shifted the team’s structure to improve efficiency, impacting 27 roles.

    By Dani James • Nov. 24, 2025
  • Kraft Mac & Cheese's Best Thing Ever campaign
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    Courtesy of Kraft Heinz
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    Why Kraft Mac & Cheese went hypercontextual for ‘Best Thing Ever’ push

    The brand will make its largest media investment to date with a campaign that seeks to reach consumers in unexpected and disruptive ways.

    By Nov. 24, 2025
  • person shopping
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    Adobe Stock / Serhii

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    Sponsored by Vestcom

    Delivering effective in-store messaging: evidence-based best practices

    Evidence-based best practices to turn in-store intent into action. Preview Vestcom’s new guide.

    By Shock Torem, SVP, Media Solutions, Vestcom • Nov. 24, 2025
  • Katseye for Gap
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    Courtesy of Gap
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    Gap ties viral marketing to retail results as Gen Z relevance rises

    A recent campaign with girl group Katseye delivered 8 billion media impressions and contributed to double-digit gains in the adult denim category.

    By Nov. 21, 2025
  • McDonald's Grinch meal
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    Courtesy of McDonald's
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    McDonald’s lets the Grinch take over with holiday campaign

    The seasonal effort was led by agency of record Wieden+Kennedy New York with creative by Agency 123, Alma and Translation.

    By Nov. 20, 2025
  • Screenshots of Target's ChatGPT app on three screens
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    Courtesy of Target
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    Target to launch ChatGPT app with multi-item baskets, fresh food

    The mass retailer is deepening its work with OpenAI as consumers continue to turn to generative chatbots for shopping support.

    By Dani James • Nov. 20, 2025
  • Nick Offerman for Carnival
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    Courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line
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    Carnival combats screen-induced ‘fun deficit’ with new brand platform

    New ads starring Nick Offerman tackle doomscrolling while showing the actor enjoying cruise activities like waterslides and bungee jumping.

    By Nov. 20, 2025
  • Person using phone creating video content for social media
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    Getty Images
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    How Danone optimizes creator-driven ads as investment surges

    CreativeX has developed creator content benchmarks to help advertisers bridge the gap between authenticity and measurable effects.

    By Nov. 20, 2025
  • A man stands in a board room, looking out on the horizon
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    Getty Images
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    CMOs see support for brand building fade while ROI scrutiny rises: NIQ

    Fewer marketers see CEOs and CFOs backing long-term brand investment while confidence in brand purpose has plunged in a divided climate.

    By Nov. 19, 2025
  • Former NFL player Marshawn Lynch holds up a football jersey with the name "Beastmode" inscribed across the back
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    Permission granted by Dove Men+Care
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    How Unilever is pushing sports marketing beyond broadcast convention

    Set to nearly double its spend on U.S. sports marketing, the CPG giant sees the category as emblematic of a shift to “many-to-many” marketing.

    By Nov. 19, 2025
  • Khalid at Urban Outfitters LA Holiday Preview
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    Courtesy of Urban Outfitters
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    Deep Dive

    How Gen Z is reshaping holiday marketing — and what brands can do about it

    The cohort’s reliance on social media and influencers for product discovery remains, while new levels of comfort with retail media and AI take shape.

    By Nov. 19, 2025
  • A group of people splash around in the water in an ad for Johnnie Walker
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    Permission granted by Diageo
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    Johnnie Walker updates ‘Keep Walking’ to focus on individual pursuits

    The long-running brand platform, which in recent years has focused on post-pandemic social connection, is being retooled to emphasize self-expression.

    By Nov. 18, 2025
  • Chobani utilize an Albertsons and NBCUniversal collaboration
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    Courtesy of Albertsons Media Collective
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    Chobani drives CTV ad outcomes via Albertsons, NBCU data collaboration

    Albertsons Media Collective and NBCUniversal are working to provide closed-loop measurement that bridges connected TV ads and retail performance.

    By Nov. 18, 2025
  • App icons for generative AI assistants OpenAI ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, DeepSeek, Meta AI and xAI Grok are pictured on a smartphone screen.
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    Getty Images
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    Gartner: AI agents fail to ease CMO pain amid need for deeper shifts

    Nearly two-thirds of marketers believe AI will dramatically change their role, but many are not making the organizational changes needed to deliver results.

    By Nov. 17, 2025
  • Actor Walton Goggins (right) appears as the Grinch alongside Mindy Lou Who in new holiday ads from Walmart.
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    Permission granted by Walmart
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    How Walmart is deploying the Grinch to boost holiday marketing

    The Dr. Seuss icon, played by Walton Goggins, appears in new ads and a Times Square takeover showcasing deals on products like the Switch 2. 

    By Nov. 17, 2025
  • Emmitt Smith for Geico
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    Courtesy of Geico
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    Geico puts emotional spin on value for new brand platform

    Created with The Martin Agency, “It Feels Good to Geico” enlists the Gecko and NFL greats A.J. Brown and Emmitt Smith across a series of ads.

    By Nov. 14, 2025
  • A Liquid Death ad in The Running Man
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    Retrieved from Liquid Death on November 13, 2025
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    Column

    Campaign Trail: Liquid Death lands a commercial inside ‘The Running Man’

    The beverage brand’s latest movie collaboration moves beyond traditional product placement with an in-film ad starring Colman Domingo’s character.

    By Nov. 14, 2025
  • E.l.f. products on the shelf
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    Retrieved from E.l.f. Beauty on November 13, 2025
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    E.l.f. bets on power of sound for kinder social media algorithms

    A campaign timed to World Kindness Day includes audiovisual stories designed to interrupt consumers’ feeds and combat doomscrolling.

    By Nov. 13, 2025
  • Josh Allen wears a pizza sweater at a holiday party behind a table filled with pizza and Pepsi while holding a slice of pizza.
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    Courtesy of Pizza Hut
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    Pizza Hut dishes out holiday value in multichannel campaign

    The pizza chain supports its value-oriented holiday messaging with comedic ads, in-person events and digital games. 

    By Nov. 13, 2025
  • Shea Moisture shoppable ad
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    Retrieved from Bravo on November 12, 2025
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    Why marketers like Unilever, State Farm are headed to NBCU’s BravoCon

    Bravo’s fan convention for its reality shows led to double-digit lifts in brand recall, purchase intent and emotional engagement for participants in 2023.

    By Nov. 13, 2025