☕ Call us obsessed

Focus Features’s game-centric marketing strategy for movies like “Obsession.”

June 01, 2026 View Online | Sign Up | Shop Presented By It’s Monday. After news broke that fast-fashion giant Shein would acquire the debt-ridden sustainable-shopping darling Everlane, the latter’s co-founder Michael Preysman said he would start a new company with the “same principles, but a new take.” Pour one out for millennials everywhere reeling from the news. In today’s edition: Game time Cost of doing business Come back soon 🛒 —Jennimai Nguyen, Jasmine Sheena, Jeena Sharma BRAND STRATEGY Time to focus Focus Features Obsession viewers probably don’t want to live in Bear’s apartment permanently, like his victim Nikki is forced to in the film—but what if they could live in it for just about seven minutes? The new horror movie, distributed by Focus Features, hit theaters on May 15, racking up an impressive $108 million in its first three weeks at the domestic box office on a reported $750,000 budget, per Forbes. The plot follows main character Bear, a hopeless romantic who makes an enchanted wish for his childhood friend Nikki to fall in love with him, leading to much darker consequences. Directed by YouTube filmmaker Curry Barker, the film’s initial online response has been, well, obsessive. But even before the movie had positive internet reviews to bolster its critical praise, Focus Features was stoking online engagement on Discord, where users could solve a puzzle set in Bear’s apartment and engage with the story details themselves, all in about seven minutes. “You’ve got this massive audience playing [on gaming platforms],” Joshua Kornblit, EVP of marketing at Focus Features, told us. “[They’re] highly engaged, global, spending tons of time in these environments, and in doing so, we have this opportunity to immerse them in our stories.” It’s not the only gaming activation that Focus Features has rolled out recently. For upcoming historical drama Pressure, a film based on a true story that follows the 72 hours before D-Day, the studio also partnered with Sawhorse Productions and Genesis Studios to create a custom Fortnite: Pressure game map. Despite the difference in genre, both titles lend themselves to game adaptations because of the story elements that naturally work on each platform, Kornblitt said, and content designed for the gaming world can allow for deeper attention than other ad platforms. “A normal film campaign, you’re running ads wherever you can,” he said. “In this case, we’re living in these environments where they already are and allowing fans to interact with us.” Continue reading here.—JN Sponsored By PwC From experimentation to accountability AI’s been around the block. It’s grown from a buzzword to a measurable integration. In short: It’s not exactly accurate to say AI is still in its experimentation phase. But while expectations are rising, results can still be uneven. PwC shares that nearly half of organizations are seeing measurable gains from AI, while an equal share are still struggling to unlock value. Because it’s not about how much AI you deploy. It’s about strategy. Organizations that prioritize high-impact use cases and align them to business strategy can pull ahead of the competition, and that’s what PwC can help your organization do. At this inflection point, team up with PwC to learn how data, workflows, and decisions can operate as one so AI becomes part of how your business runs—not just a decorative addition. Cut through the AI noise with an outcome-focused approach with PwC. AI More money, more problems PM Images/Getty Images AI tools are getting even more expensive. The Gemini app will now charge users based on a “compute-used model” that takes into account chat length, features used, and prompt complexity, the company announced at its annual Google I/O event in Mountain View, California, in May. It’s a departure from the daily prompt limits it previously used. It’s a response to the staggering cost of providing AI to so many users, and the latest change affecting how major AI companies are charging for their products that could have broad business effects. Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot product is transitioning to usage-based billing this month; Anthropic’s Claude Enterprise made a similar switch in April. As the cost of AI tools continues to climb, many brands and agencies are keeping an eye on how those changes could impact their budgets, according to brands and agencies that Marketing Brew spoke with. Some are also strategizing around how to charge their own clients for AI services they use in their work for clients, even as they seek to balance the value of leveraging AI internally with rising subscription costs. The focus comes amid an increasingly public conversation about stomaching the cost of using AI tools at companies. Uber COO Andrew Macdonald recently said in an interview that high AI costs due to token consumption were becoming harder to justify. Read more here.—Jasmine RETAIL Keep ’em loyal Francis Scialabba Loyalty programs have long been a staple for many retailers, but for the value-driven shopper today, they are more important than ever. Per new research from LoyaltyLion, 91% of respondents said that being part of a loyalty program drives them to make repeat purchases from the same e-commerce brand. The survey, which included responses of 2,000 US consumers, also found that shoppers enrolled in retailers’ loyalty programs on a weekly (58%) and often daily (15%) basis. According to LoyaltyLion, the average member consumer is part of more than three e-commerce loyalty programs, and that doesn’t even include supermarkets or coffee shops. Age was a differentiator, with younger shoppers seemingly more closely tracking these programs. Consumers between the ages of 25 and 34 logged into their memberships about 15.6 times per month, while those over 55 logged in just 7.6 times. “Consumers love loyalty programs,” Charlie Casey, CEO of LoyaltyLion, said in a statement. “They want to engage with them, they’re actively looking for ways to earn rewards, and they’re increasingly choosing brands based on how good that experience is.” Read more on Retail Brew.—Jeena Sponsored By Wistia Do your video metrics need more context? Wistia pulled insights from 13M videos and 100,000 businesses to pinpoint what strong video performance looks like. Their 2026 State of Video Report shows how top brands repurpose webinars to keep engagement flowing long after an event ends. Download the report. Level up your career with these resources from our sponsors! Why some brands might give affiliate partners a larger share of budget From side hustle to scale, Founder Brew covers the moments that define founders FRENCH PRESS Morning Brew There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those. Deep breath: A guide to dealing with challenging customers. Pinching pennies: How to approach creator storytelling in a challenging economic climate, with plenty of examples. Signal and noise: A primer on using Google Analytics 4 for social media tracking and analysis. Turning point: AI’s no longer in its experimentation phase—and it’s time for organizations to account for its value. PwC explores how data and decisions can operate as one so AI becomes part of your business strategy.* *A message from our sponsor. EVENTS Big ideas. Tiny name tags Morning Brew Inc. On September 30, Marketing Brew Summit returns for a day of insightful keynotes, candid panels, and networking with the marketers shaping the future of the industry. Come for the fresh ideas and sharp strategies. Stay because someone finally explains the trend everyone’s been pretending to understand. IN AND OUT Francis Scialabba Executive moves across the industry. Chloé hired Gucci alum Valérie Leberichel to serve as CMO. OpenAI hired a new CMO for its business unit: Colin Fleming, formerly of ServiceNow. Smashburger hired Kate Savelli, formerly of Bagel Brands, to serve as CMO. CNN hired Peacock marketer Anna Frost as head of marketing as part of a broader structural change unifying its brand marketing and growth marketing organizations. SHARE THE BREW Share the Brew, watch your referral count climb, and unlock brag-worthy swag. Your friends get smarter. You get rewarded. Win-win. Your referral count: 0 Click to Share Or copy & paste your referral link to others: marketingbrew.com/r/?kid=77999182 Written by Jennimai Nguyen, Jasmine Sheena, Jeena Sharma, and Kelsey Sutton Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. 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