| How the Portland Fire found its mascot. |
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It’s Monday. Get ready with me to go to Wimbledon—or not. After widespread concerns about influencers disrupting the US Open, the All England Club reportedly won’t credential influencers and plans to confiscate ring lights and other creator tools that could be disruptive to matches. In today’s edition:
—Alyssa Meyers, Kristina Monllos, Andrew Adam Newman |
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SPORTS MARKETING Rose by any other name  Ali Gradischer/Getty Images |
Late last month, the Portland Fire, the city’s newly revived WNBA team, made like Daenerys Targaryen and hatched a dragon. The team’s first-ever mascot, a dragon named Rose that breathes glitter, made her debut only a few weeks ago, but her lore dates back 24 years to 2002, when the original Portland Fire team played its last game before folding. According to the team, Rose lay dormant under the city ever since. Of course, Rose isn’t real, but with the effort that many modern teams across leagues—especially the WNBA—are putting into developing their mascots, it may be easy for fans to believe she is. “It was definitely something that we knew we needed to stick the landing on for our fans,” Kimberly Veale, SVP of marketing and communications for the Fire, told Marketing Brew. “There’s an expectation with the WNBA mascots now…There’s only so many [times] within pro sports where you get a chance to make big, public splashes like this one, and we certainly didn’t want to let that opportunity pass us by.” Continue reading here.—AM
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Sponsored By Spotify Fandom that actually performs  |
Fans don’t just hear Spotify content. They choose it, hitting play on the music, podcasts, and audiobooks they genuinely want to listen to. That intentional attention gives brands a rare opening to meet the audiences when they’re already leaned in, not mentally wandering toward scrolling. Spotify captures 2x more attention than social, giving marketers plenty to tune in to. Leading brands are already turning fandom into measurable business results across audio, video, and display. Spotify’s Creative Lab experts share ways advertisers can surround those passions with creative built for the moment, while Spotify Ads Manager helps simplify campaign execution. New Ads Manager innovations also make launching and optimizing campaigns easier. Marketers looking to turn listeners into results can explore advertiser success stories, fresh creative strategies, and the latest tools for making fandom work harder. Find out how at Spotify Sessions. |
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BRAND STRATEGY Well carbonated  Screenshot via @MrPibb/YouTube |
Sometimes all you need is a comeback. In late 2025, Coca-Cola rolled out a new-and-improved Mr. Pibb with more caffeine and a new look, and in less than a year, the 54-year-old brand has nabbed the top spot on Morning Consult’s annual Fastest Growing Brands report. The ranking is determined by share of purchase consideration among the 2,801 brands that Morning Consult analyzed with online surveys throughout a three-month period comparing results from this year to last year. DoorDash took the top spot in 2025; the WNBA scored that spot in 2024. “Mr. Pibb was not just the fastest growing brand of 2026 for us; it also was one of the most trusted brands on our Most Trusted Brands report,” Bobby Blanchard, senior director of audience development for Morning Consult, told us, adding that Mr. Pibb’s broad appeal across demographics is “remarkable.” Mr. Pibb scored the top spot with an 11.2 percentage-point increase this year. The brand is also representative of a broader trend in the report where older brands made new inroads with audiences. “A lot of the brands that grew were brands that consumers already had some familiarity with,” Blanchard said, noting that “they were brands that you find in the grocery store, household goods, household items.” Much of the remaining top 10 could be someone’s grocery list: Jimmy Dean scored the No. 2 spot, Snickers was No. 3, and Energizer was No. 5, while Sweet Baby Ray’s came in at No. 7 and Listerine at No. 9. Other household-name brands commonly found in grocery stores in the top 25 include Febreze, Marie Callender’s, McCormick, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Duracell, Hershey’s, Life Savers, Stouffer’s, and Knorr. All that said, though, 2026 was a tough year for brand growth, with only 14% of brands seeing purchase consideration growth in 2026, according to Morning Consult. That’s a big change from last year’s list, which had 94% of brands growing from the year prior. Read more here.—KM
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Sponsored By AT&T Business  |
Out of bandwidth. You’re juggling customer demands, economic pressure, + navigating new tech while trying to plan for the future. There’s a lot on your plate. This article explores how to reclaim time, reduce complexity, and make smarter decisions. Sponsored by AT&T Business. |
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DATA & TECH Out with the old  Getty Images |
As GLP-1 users shed pounds, their wallets may be getting lighter too, at least when it comes to clothing purchases. Among those who’ve lost weight on drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, 40% plan to increase their apparel spending over the next year, compared to 25% of all respondents, according to a new report from Tinuiti. Those losing weight also expect to offload some clothing that no longer fits in the next year, with GLP-1 users more likely to resell clothing online (24% compared to 19% of respondents overall) or in physical secondhand stores (33% compared to 20%). The cohort is also more likely to rent clothing through companies such as Rent the Runway, with 25% expecting to do so in the next year, compared to 12% of respondents overall. Ditto for apparel-trial services like Stitch Fix, with 26% of weight-loss drug users planning to partake, compared to 13% of respondents overall, according to Tinuiti, whose findings are based on a July survey of 1,000 US shoppers who purchase apparel regularly. “Given that they may still be in flux and not necessarily know where their ultimate weight might land, those types of options are probably going to be pretty appealing,” Andy Taylor, VP of research at Tinuiti, told Retail Brew. Stitch Fix CEO Matt Baer told investors during a March earnings call that mentions of weight loss in the notes customers write to Stitch Fix stylists before shipments tripled over the previous two years. “We are out in market and have been for a while explaining to consumers that are on a GLP-1 medication that, as their body transforms, they have the ability to work with a personal stylist to help ensure that they have everything that they need so that they can dress in clothing that fits at each stage of that weight loss journey,” Baer said. Read more on Retail Brew.—AAN
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Sponsored By Marketing Architects  |
Do those numbers add up? CTV attribution, targeting, and fees rarely work the way marketers assume. So what can you do about it? Find out at this upcoming webinar with Marketing Architects and Adweek. It takes a data-backed look at common CTV challenges and how to curb them. Save your spot. |
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There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those. Charmed: A breakdown of marketing strategies powering the jewelry brand Pandora. Scaredy cat: Halloween hashtags to keep in as we approach spooky szn. Baby steps: Agentic AI use cases and other potential applications for brands.
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IN AND OUT  |
Executive moves across the industry.
- The Vitamin Shoppe hired Kimberley Gardiner, the former SVP and CMO of Tractor Supply Company, as EVP and chief marketing and growth officer.
- The Boston Beer Company, which owns brands including Samuel Adams and Truly Hard Seltzer, hired a new CMO: Allison Stransky, who previously served as Samsung Electronics America’s CMO.
- Gap brought on board former Paramount Global executive Jamie Drew as head of strategic partnerships and growth, per Business Insider.
- Hilton global CMO and head of luxury brands, Mark Weinstein, announced that he is exiting the role after 16 years at the hospitality brand.
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