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After Celsius Holdings acquired Rockstar Energy from PepsiCo in 2025, it is fully driving the brand's revival. Chief Marketing Officer Rishi Daing points out that Rockstar possesses brand value far exceeding its market share. By reshaping the 'Live Loud' brand image, deepening engagement in music subcultures, and sports sponsorships like NASCAR, the brand aims to attract a new generation of consumers and strengthen its presence in the Eastern and Southern U.S. markets.
A report jointly released by Ebiquity and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) indicates that marketers invest heavily in measurement, yet the impact of effectiveness outputs on budget decisions is limited. Only 15% of leaders state that marketing effectiveness outputs are the primary basis for budget allocation, while 75% of respondents expect that within the next three years, more than half of budget allocations will be guided by measurement-driven insights. The report emphasizes that investment speed in emerging channels such as retail media and connected TV has outpaced the maturity of measurement infrastructure, and a lack of consensus with CFOs within organizations further constrains the conversion of measurement value.
A Gartner survey of more than 3,500 B2B and B2C customers found that customers are three times more likely to use third-party generative AI tools for customer service than brand-owned chatbots. Over the past year, usage of third-party generative AI has doubled, while brand chatbot usage has shown no statistical growth since 2022. Analysts point out that brands need to rethink their AI customer service strategies, focusing on action support and presentation.
Farmers Insurance announced a brand refresh, launching the 'Honesty is Policy' platform, changing its iconic jingle from 'We Are Farmers' to 'You Have Farmers,' and adopting an all-pink visual identity. This move aims to break through insurance industry homogeneity and meet consumer demand for clarity and transparency. The new campaign, created by Dentsu Creative, spans TV, digital, social, and other channels.
Heinz launched a social-first marketing campaign during the World Cup quarterfinals, responding to long-standing consumer complaints about insufficient condiment packet portions with oversized 'penalty card packaging,' while continuing its 'Irrational Love' brand platform.
Meta is updating disclosure labels for AI-generated content in Facebook and Instagram ads to align with recent changes to its ad disclosure list. The new labels will appear in the "About this ad" section, accessible via the three-dot menu at the top right of an ad. Meta will automatically add AI information labels to ads created using its generative AI features, such as background generation, image generation, or adding animations, as well as to ads where AI editing traces are detected through third-party tools like Photoshop and DALL-E. This move aims to increase transparency of AI content and help identify potentially misleading ads.
Netflix announced two custom ad campaigns for the golf-themed new film 'The Hawk' starring Will Ferrell, in partnership with Mike's Hard Lemonade and Genesis, the luxury brand under Hyundai. Mike's Hard's ad continues its brand refresh initiated earlier this year, featuring Luke Wilson as the character from the film; Genesis's creative revolves around the character seeking tranquility in a car during high-pressure moments. Netflix stated that such deep content integrations help it stand out in the competitive ad-supported streaming market.
Aéropostale launched the 'Intern Diaries' content series in 2025, and in 2026, the second season was upgraded to a social-native mini-series starring creator Déjà Clark, who has over 6.2 million TikTok followers, in partnership with Authentic Studios and Emmy-nominated director Eve Van Dyke. The first two episodes have amassed 3.5 million views, with each episode running approximately 3-4 minutes. Additionally, the brand announced that Clark's 2026 collaboration collection (featuring 71 items, starting at $19.95) will be exclusively available on the app from July 16-17, with an omnichannel launch on July 18. This strategy builds on the success of last year's partnership with creator Demetra Dias, which drove a surge in app downloads and a top-five ranking on the App Store.
Vitaminwater, in collaboration with My Code, launched the second season of the 'Neighborhue' series, 'Still in Color,' featuring Puerto Rican and Cuban-American artists across New York and Orlando, aiming to reach the fast-growing Hispanic consumer segment through multicultural content.
AI search is reshaping the rules of brand visibility: 37% of consumers have turned to AI tools to start searches, and 60% of searches end with zero clicks. In this context, earned media (such as publisher coverage and community discussions) has become a key signal of trust for AI systems, surpassing traditional paid media in importance. Based on research by Mediassociates, this article analyzes the new logic of media planning in the AI era and proposes actionable strategic adjustments.