BRAND STRATEGY Calling all who celebrate Lunar New Year! Gather your family, friends, red envelopes, and…brands? The Year of the Fire Horse is officially upon us, and in honor of the holiday celebrated across Asian diasporas, a plethora of companies—from beauty brands like Lush Cosmetics to drinkware brands like Stanley 1913 to luxury fashion brands like Burberry, Staud, and Dior—have rolled out dedicated product lines and marketing campaigns targeted toward the Lunar New Year, with brands across industries embracing the color red, interpretive horse designs, and other festive nods. Some brands have celebrated the cultural holiday for many years, especially in Asian markets, but some creators and marketers told us they have noticed an uptick in Western brand participation, as well as a general increased interest in Asian culture and commodity (take, for example, the "You met me at a very Chinese time in my life" trend on TikTok). The difference between celebration and overcommodification can be a thin line to walk, and is something brands that choose to lean into Lunar New Year should keep in mind, according to Amanda Lee Sipenock Fisher, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging lead at Lush Cosmetics. "If you have this end goal, let's say, for brands who are looking to participate in Lunar New Year, to meet more of their East and Southeast Asian customers…and to do so in a way that's really meaningful, I think when it lands well, [it's] because you can tell that people with an authentic and real perspective were a part of every single part of the process," Fisher told us. Continue reading here.—JN | | |
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Presented By Impact.com How do you know if your influencers are, you know, actually influencing your numbers in an upward direction? Stop guessing and start scaling with help from impact.com's Ultimate Guide to Influencer Marketing. Whether you're a solo marketer or leading a global team, this e-book provides a blueprint to help you foster creator-led success. Some key stats: - 89% of consumers trust creator recommendations over other advertising channels.
- Influencer marketing is projected to remain a core growth channel through 2029, signaling long-term investment rather than short-term experimentation.
- Micro and niche creators consistently outperform larger creators on engagement.
Performance-based influencer models are gaining traction, with brands increasingly tying compensation to outcomes like clicks, conversions, and sales, rather than flat fees alone. Grab the e-book for more. |
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SPORTS MARKETING McLaren has been on a hot streak in Formula 1, winning back-to-back Constructor' Championships and a Drivers' Championship this year. Through it all, brand partner Deloitte has had a seat in the car. The consultancy's yearslong relationship with McLaren dates back to 2017, when McLaren was a Deloitte client and the companies collaborated on tech like race simulators. Over the years, the Deloitte team also worked on McLaren's HR systems. The relationship formally expanded to McLaren Racing in 2020, eventually developing into a sponsorship—a common progression for Deloitte, according to US CMO Scott Mager. Earlier this month, the organizations announced another multiyear expansion of their relationship that makes Deloitte the official transformation partner of the entire McLaren Racing portfolio, including the F1 team, Arrow McLaren in IndyCar, and the forthcoming McLaren team in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2027. Given McLaren's success in F1 and aspirations in the other series, growing interest in motorsports in the US, and the returns Deloitte has seen during its time sponsoring the F1 team, the expansion is only natural, Mager told Marketing Brew. "We've got a great history with them," he said. "Why not double down on it?" Read more here.—AM | | |
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RETAIL When the federal government officially ended its funding for suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth last year, The Trevor Project lost $25 million in support almost overnight. For the long-running nonprofit best known for its crisis hotline and mental health services, that cut meant shedding 200 staff members, including many crisis counselors. Months later, MAC Cosmetics stepped in with a major assist. The beauty brand, which has partnered with The Trevor Project for three years, announced a $1 million grant from its Viva Glam Fund, financed entirely by sales of its Viva Glam products. "They leaned in during what we called our emergency campaign, when we said we cannot just stop servicing this many people," Deborah Barge, chief advancement officer at The Trevor Project, told Retail Brew. Thanks to the new grant, she said, the nonprofit can now "empower nearly 20,000 crisis contacts," totaling nearly 44,000 minutes of crisis services. "In the US, we estimate that every 45 seconds an LGBTQ+ youth attempts suicide," Barge added. "So those minutes are critical to us serving our mission." Beyond financial support, MAC also launched "Makeup Services for All," a gender-inclusive training program for MAC artists created in partnership with The Trevor Project to help them better serve gender-diverse customers. MAC is hardly the only brand redirecting dollars toward social causes. Kenneth Cole is among the brands that continues to invest in mental health advocacy through the Mental Health Coalition, in addition to longtime efforts around HIV/AIDS, women's rights, and gun-violence prevention. Deloitte research shows that purpose-driven companies are three times more likely to retain employees, due to stronger engagement and job satisfaction. Additionally, IDEO data shows purpose-led firms average a 13.1% return on equity, outperforming the S&P by 9%, while reporting 64% higher employee satisfaction. Read more on Retail Brew.—JS | | |
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Together With StackAdapt Breaking the mold. The traditional B2B funnel doesn't work on today's buyers. Join StackAdapt on March 3 at 2pm EST to learn how top teams are modernizing their growth strategies with connected growth frameworks. You'll get the scoop on unifying audience intelligence, performance measurement, cross-channel activation, and more. RSVP here. |
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FRENCH PRESS There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren't those. Open the window: An explainer on attribution windows, aka the time period when a campaign asset can be credited for a conversion. Actually romantic: How brands celebrated Valentine's Day this year. Super boring? Creatives weigh in on this year's largely creatively safe Super Bowl ads. Influencer info: Performance-based influencer models are gaining traction, with brands increasingly tying compensation to outcomes like clicks, conversions, and sales. Stop guessing and start scaling with help from impact.com's Ultimate Guide to Influencer Marketing.* *A message from our sponsor. |
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JOBS | Real jobs, shared through real communities. CollabWORK brings opportunities directly to Marketing Brew readers—no mass postings, no clutter, just roles worth seeing. Click here to view the full job board. |
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JOINING FORCES Mergers and acquisitions, company partnerships, and more. - Kraft Heinz said it is pausing its plans to split the business into two.
- Adidas dropped a surprise collab with Super Bowl halftime performer Bad Bunny after the game, which almost immediately sold out.
- Target is working with OpenAI to pilot contextual ads for its own business as well as for brands in its retail media network in ChatGPT.
- Cuervo became the official tequila of Nascar.
- Ulta partnered with six women athletes, including tennis player Emma Navarro, in a campaign timed to National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
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