Meghan Markle’s new Netflix show might be called With Love, Meghan, but there doesn’t seem to be much love for it out there.

People have been falling over themselves to brand the program, in which she shares her tips on hosting, gardening, and cooking, as inauthentic. But let’s be honest, people were primed to hate the show before it even aired—she was never going to win in the minds of those who don’t like her.

Since the Duchess of Sussex married Prince Harry in 2018, she has had a marmite effect on the public. People either view her as a breath of fresh air to the Royal Family or an interloper who stole her husband away to the States.

In the minds of her critics, she should simply fade away into the background and most definitely not put herself centerstage. The British public is used to the Royals attending shows, not starring in them. We’ve become accustomed to them quietly shaking hands and making polite small talk, not giving advice and lifestyle tips.

But Markle was a public figure and a successful actress before her marriage, so having her own TV show is a much more natural move for her. And I imagine the Royal duties she carried out with Harry before they left the U.K. felt far more inauthentic for her than the work she is doing now.

When I watched With Love, Meghan, I saw the complete opposite of inauthenticity. I saw her showing people her true interests and passions in a fun, light-hearted way. 

She used to share content on this type of stuff long before she became a Royal, so it’s clear that we’re getting a glimpse into what makes her tick. In fact, it is likely that Markle has always had aspirations to become some sort of lifestyle guru.

In 2014, two years before she even met Harry, she began her own lifestyle website known as The Tig. Named after the Italian wine Tignanello, she used the blog to share her passion for travel, cooking, fashion, and eating out.

While The Tig was a passion project rather than her career, she managed to attract 70,000 subscribers before she shut down the site when she became engaged to Harry. Her latest show seems to be a return—the main difference is that her marriage has made her a household name all over the world.

Her choice of partner means there is now a powerful spotlight on her every move and everything she does and says is scrutinized and open for criticism. But does that mean she shouldn’t say what she wants to? Absolutely not.

Through With Love, Meghan, she’s letting the public in on who she really is. OK, so she might not be showing off her own home, but did we really expect her to let the cameras into her private space in Montecito, knowing the security risks that would involve?

I can see that some people might feel the content is a little tone-deaf when so many people are struggling to cope with the rising cost of living. But you could also argue that this kind of fluffy, feel-good lifestyle content offers people a welcome escape from what is probably the fastest-moving news cycle any of us have ever known.

One thing I always tell clients is that they’ll repel people as well as attract them, and that’s OK. Not everyone will agree with you or like what you do or say, but that isn’t a reason to stay silent. You can’t appeal to everyone, so focus on what you want to say and who you want to reach and ignore the rest of the noise.

Markle is sharing the things that truly excite her, and instead of celebrating that, she’s torn down once again. Authenticity isn’t about fitting into what others expect. It’s about being true to yourself, whether people like it or not. 

And Markle, despite the endless backlash, keeps showing up as herself. That takes real strength, and I applaud her.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we seek improvements in the world toward gender equality and inclusivity. Sadly, on social media this year, we are seeing the opposite. The rise in “tech bro” culture and content and the reduction in moderation is driving negativity toward women and other marginalized groups.

We’ve spent years watching the digital industry grow and evolve, and frankly, what we’re seeing right now is concerning. The platforms we rely on to build community and grow businesses are being transformed by the decisions of a small but influential group of tech leaders—recently referred to as a “broligarchy”—which includes some of the most visible innovators and entrepreneurs in the world.

Social media acts as a mirror to society, magnifying human behavior. It’s an incredibly powerful global tool that has the ability to shape and inform societal shifts in opinion, and how we behave toward each other in real life. The lack of female tech entrepreneurs and voices of women and marginalized communities in these boardrooms is driving a real power imbalance, exacerbated by recent political events. 

What exactly is the broligarchy?

The term burst into the mainstream last year when The Guardian highlighted how this circle was aligning themselves with Donald Trump. Our own research, alongside data from Talkwalker, shows that mentions of the term “broligarchy” have become much more popular over the past year, with over 248,000 mentions globally across social media. The sentiment? Overwhelmingly negative. And the biggest face of the broligarchy? No surprise, it’s Elon Musk, who dominated the conversation more than 12 times over compared to his tech counterparts.

The values set at the top inevitably shape the spaces we create. And when inclusive, diverse values guide platform policies and algorithms, the positive impact can be felt by everyone. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true.

We are seeing the consequences firsthand. Women—who are the most active users, posters, and trend adopters on social platforms—are often confronted with harassment and misogyny. Our research uncovered sobering figures: Mentions of terms like “feminazi” are up 37% year over year. Gendered slurs like “bitch” have risen 14%. Just as alarmingly, discussions around physically violent language, like “choking women,” climbed 11%.

Women are the builders of online communities—and we deserve better

This is personal for us. As women leading a social agency and parents of teenage children who are highly susceptible to being influenced by these platforms, we are seeing firsthand how quickly the social environment is changing and the impact it’s already having on the people who rely on this space to build meaningful relationships—a high proportion of which is women. 

The numbers speak for themselves. In both the U.S. and U.K., women are more frequent users of Meta platforms than men. More than half (54%) of women report using Facebook or Instagram daily. The very companies benefiting from women’s engagement have an opportunity to make decisions that better support and include them. But we need to act. Now.

What can we do?

As brands, marketers, agencies, and digital leaders, we have both a responsibility and a powerful opportunity to drive meaningful change. It starts with the stories we choose to tell and the voices we choose to amplify.

Every campaign, every partnership, and every influencer collaboration is a chance to prioritize inclusion. If we intentionally seek out creators from marginalized communities and actively spotlight their work, we help reshape the narrative—and the culture—of not only the platforms we rely on but society as a whole. 

But representation alone isn’t enough. We also need to invest in mentorship and leadership programs that empower women to rise within the tech industry. If we want a different future for these platforms, we need to change who’s at the table making decisions. That means supporting initiatives that foster diverse talent within our own organizations and across the broader industry. Let’s lead the way for a women-led platform to succeed! 

At the same time, we need to encourage platforms to be more accountable. When companies roll back their DEI programs and weaken content moderation, we can’t afford to stay silent. Together our voices are powerful—and it’s time we unite to use them. 

Finally, we need to rethink the way we manage our own online communities. If you’re responsible for a brand’s social channels, you’re not just a content creator, you’re a community builder. That means setting clear standards for what’s acceptable in your comment sections, actively moderating conversations, and stepping in when toxicity takes root. If we want to build inclusive spaces, we need to actively shape them, rather than just hoping they’ll evolve on their own. In just eight weeks since Meta announced its decision to replace biased fact-checkers, we have seen a rise in hate-driven and explicit content—imagine where we’ll be eight months from now. 

We know this can feel overwhelming. After all, we’re talking about some of the most powerful people and companies in the world. But we believe in the collective power of community, the very thing these platforms were built on.

We, as marketers, brands, agencies, and creators, can use our influence to lift up the voices that need to be heard and build something brighter and better. What we need now is the will. Together, we can make social better and build a digital future and society where everyone belongs.

Every year when St. Patrick’s Day rolls around in the U.S., I find myself cringing at the spectacle. My daughters and husband hold Irish passports. We lived in Ireland. I’ve managed teams there, and I work there every summer. I’ve never liked how the holiday is celebrated here in America. 

The parades, festivities, and Irish flags are fine, but the American version of St. Patrick’s Day often reduces Ireland to tired stereotypes—green beer, leprechauns, and an overwhelming amount of shamrocks. The Irish in Ireland don’t eat corned beef. Even the phrase “St. Patty’s Day” grates on me, because no Irish person would ever spell “Paddy” with two Ts.

This frustration isn’t just personal; it highlights a broader lesson for marketers. When brands fail to respect the cultural and linguistic nuances of a market, they risk alienating the very audiences they’re trying to reach, and by extension, aligned segments. 

The power (and risk) of linguistic identity

One of my favorite success stories about local adaptation comes from Cadbury. I first saw Cadbury’s limited-edition St. Patrick’s Day Dairy Milk bar when I was living in Donegal, Ireland. 

Dairy Milk is, of course, one of the most recognizable bars across the U.K. and Ireland, as well as the U.S. What made this particular rendition stand out though was the packaging. The familiar purple remained, but instead of “Dairy Milk,” the product name was written in bold Irish Gaelic as “Bainne Déiríochta,” with an elegant Celtic-inspired typeface. The traditional gold accents and the iconic glass-and-a-half-of-milk logo remained unchanged, but the shift in language made it instantly recognizable as something unique.

At first glance, this seemed like a great move. While only about 15,000 people in Donegal speak Irish regularly, the language is a deep source of local pride. My daughters learned it in school, and I love hearing it spoken in Irish-speaking communities. Using it on packaging could generate strong brand affinity.

But as with any localization effort, the line between adaptation and appropriation is very thin, so there are risks. Language is deeply political; in some parts of Ireland, people fight to keep English out of signage altogether. If not handled carefully, a move like this could very easily swing from one side of the acceptance pendulum to unintended offense. 

This tension underscores why simply adapting a global brand locally isn’t enough. Instead, we need to truly localize with a deep understanding of history, sentiment, and consumer expectations, which constantly change.

To successfully adapt a global brand to local markets, businesses must ask themselves three critical questions.

How does a local or seasonal adaptation fit my brand?

Local adaptations must be rooted in a brand’s identity rather than feeling like a forced gimmick. Cadbury had an advantage because its Dairy Milk bars have been made in Dublin for over 80 years using Irish dairy. This gave authenticity to its St. Patrick’s Day campaign. However, if a brand with no real connection to Ireland had attempted the same strategy, it could have backfired. It’s more proof that your brand needs to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

How can my brand create genuine connection?

The best local adaptations resonate emotionally. Cadbury didn’t just add Irish language packaging—it also donated 10 cents from every purchase to the Irish mental health charity Aware. This move added depth to its campaign, ensuring it wasn’t just about acknowledging a culture for the sake of making a profit but rooted in celebrating a proud community. This is especially important in a place like Donegal, which is near the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Is this scalable or a one-off adaptation?

Not every local adaptation should remain confined to a single market. Brands must assess whether an initiative is a short-term play or something that can be scaled. Lululemon’s expansion in China, for example, leveraged a rising wellness trend by engaging local influencers and fitness instructors. The real test was whether this model could translate to other markets. Scalability depends on identifying what made an adaptation successful and whether those elements can be replicated effectively elsewhere.

Global-first thinking

The most successful brands don’t just think about local markets as an afterthought—they integrate local adaptation into their strategy from the beginning. Companies like Canva, which prioritized international investors early on, and challenger brands like Lottie Dolls, which launched globally from day one, exemplify this shift.

A global-first mindset doesn’t mean ignoring local needs—it means starting with a mindset of “many” versus “one” from the very beginning. It also requires continually learning from diverse markets—and segments—and weaving those findings back into both local and global campaigns.

St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the U.S. might never change, but that doesn’t mean brands have to fall into the same traps of oversimplified, one-size-fits-all marketing. By taking the time to understand and respect cultural nuances—and leveraging local insights to inform global strategies—brands can build deeper, more meaningful connections with their audiences.

The best marketers don’t just localize, they listen. And in a world where consumers expect brands to meet them where they are, that might just be the most important lesson of all.

What if it was never going to last?

More than three decades have passed since the first banner ad appeared on a website. Digital wasn’t just a new frontier, it was a place that experienced stratospheric year-over-year growth—and the unspoken expectation was that growth would continue forever.

That expectation makes sense when you consider how the web became a bigger part of our lives; with every passing year, millions more people got online. As the number of connected swelled, it only seemed logical that digital advertising would continue to expand.

But then, things changed. It’s hard to put an exact date on precisely when the mood shifted. Was it when the digital ad market largely coalesced around a handful of super-giant tech companies? Was it when privacy legislation and consumer attitudes changed, and the practices that were once routine became verboten? Or was it when the strategies that once delivered results started to disappoint?

Like any complex situation, the answer to the question is a combination of all those things, plus several others I couldn’t mention within the confines of an introduction. The point is, the ad industry is desperate. It has no new ideas, and no magic tricks up its sleeve.

The missing impact

If you search for the term “declining efficacy of online ads,” you will come across an article from 2024 warning about how Google Ads no longer deliver the performance they once did. Elsewhere in the results, a 2023 op-ed declares, “Digital advertising is dead. Good riddance.” I spotted another article from 2022 making the same case, as well as a blog from the World Federation of Advertisers outlining ways of “reversing the decline in advertising effectiveness.“

And that is before we get to the mountains of anecdotal data from sites like Reddit and Twitter, where marketers bemoan the increasingly ineffectual platforms that swallow their budgets without driving conversions. “Google has finally lost it. $694 for one unidentified click today,” screams one post from late 2024. Another post asks, “Just how much of a scam are Google Ads???,” citing one conversion over a six-month period when the company spent $3,000.

On social media, things are especially bleak. According to one study, spending on social media advertising declined from 17% in spring 2023 to 11% one year later. This was the lowest level seen in seven years. The study—authored by Northwestern University professor Koen Pauwels—points to a few reasons, but arguably the biggest is that marketing decision-makers aren’t convinced that social media delivers much.

While companies like Meta have detailed profiles on their users and their interests, its data becomes much more threadbare when it pertains to activity beyond the platform. Meta tells you what brands you have engaged with, but not which ones you have bought. That ambiguity—combined with a few other factors, like consumer advertising fatigue and the crowded nature of social media advertising—shows why many marketing leaders believe social media has a middling impact on their company’s bottom line. Paradoxically, the companies at the heart of this dissatisfaction are doing fine.

We haven’t quite reached the point where there is mass pullback from digital advertising. For those companies that decide to limit their online marketing spend, there are likely others—particularly smaller businesses and startups—that will start advertising through search and social for the first time. These new entrants, I imagine, are what’s maintaining the status quo.

I also believe the digital advertising industry sees the writing on the wall. They can’t be blind to the growing unhappiness of their customers. And so, I believe that the industry will try to distract with gimmicks and fads designed to convince advertisers that these platforms aren’t as decrepit as they seem—that there is still life in the industry yet.

Digital advertising’s dead cat strategy

The Australian political consultant Lynton Crosby is most notable for the creation of the “dead cat strategy,” wherein you deliberately say something shocking or provocative so people’s attention is turned to that as opposed to a misstep or failure. It’s the equivalent of throwing a dead cat on the table at a dinner party; people start talking about the dead cat, not the fact that the chicken is overcooked.

What does that look like in the digital marketing world? Take Facebook: Over the past decade, it has made subtle (and eventually unsubtle) tweaks to the newsfeed algorithm so that content from the person’s immediate network is buried under a deluge of “recommended posts,” all with the aim of increasing engagement.

Now it’s taken things a step further by expanding the definition of what it considers to be acceptable content, while also eliminating its fact-checkers. Perhaps Zuckerberg knows that political content—especially the most contentious political content—drives engagement, which, in turn, will increase the number of ad impressions and clicks on his platform. I imagine Elon Musk had the same idea with X, although in his case it completely backfired, driving away the large blue-chip clients with the biggest budgets, leaving only drop-shippers and those touting get-rich-quick ebooks.

You can make a similar case about Google’s generative AI results that now appear at the top of almost every search result. You might think that this is Google’s way of helping the end user—even if the generated text is, far too often, complete nonsense. Alternatively, it’s a way for Google to position itself as not just the through point to information, but rather the source of information.

The little boxes of AI-generated text sit right at the top of the page, just above the adverts; often, the two are the only things you will see when the page finally loads. A cynic would suggest that Google has engineered this to disincentivize people from clicking user-generated content, while encouraging them to click on the links where it receives money. And yes, I am a cynic.

The reek of desperation extends to the industry writ large, particularly when it comes to the breathless promotion of AI, and especially AI agents. The implicit suggestion is that these new products will be the silver bullet that changes everything and starts pushing ROAS metrics in the right direction. Trust me, they won’t. The marketing industry has been using AI for years now—it handles the low-level stuff that naturally lends itself to automation. And, at least for the moment, there is no evidence that AI is capable of tackling anything more complex.

Recognizing the problem

It’s time to recognize that these platforms—the ones which we have relied upon for the past two decades or more—have become rotten. Their cost has gone up without any uptick in campaign performance.

While these companies tout their “innovative” breakthroughs, releasing features and products that nobody asked for, they seem impotent at addressing some of the most endemic flaws within their products. Nearly two decades after Google paid a $90 million settlement over claims that it didn’t do enough to protect advertisers against click fraud, click fraud remains a major problem. (Detecting fraudulent traffic? Gee, that sounds like something AI would be really good at.)

We can hope that these companies have a Lazarene revival and start resembling healthy, functional businesses. Or we can accept reality: We have what we have. It’s time for marketers to think critically about the role digital will have in their campaigns going forward.

The smart ones, in my opinion, will be those that recognize the value of traditional advertising mediums—the ones that value human creativity and thought over AI gimmicks. And, most importantly, the ones that refuse to be distracted by the dead cats on the dining table.

In a world where AI decisioning and autonomous agents are reshaping the advertising landscape, data and identity have never been more important. After all, how can you market to someone if you can’t find them?

But the rise of AI-driven platforms like Google’s Performance Max (PMax) and Meta’s Advantage+ has fundamentally altered how advertising operates. These systems now rely more on high-quality first-party data signals and less on manual human optimization—a shift that’s expanding beyond paid media into lifecycle marketing and digital experiences. This has put enormous pressure on the big holding companies to innovate both their tech capabilities and their services offerings. 

Against this backdrop, Publicis’ acquisition of Lotame is a smart strategic move, reinforcing their identity and activation capabilities in an increasingly cookieless world. But I’m not sure it creates a durable advantage.

The future I see unfolding at big brands is founded on first-party data, so this acquisition begs the question: Should brands really be outsourcing identity resolution—or should they be taking control of it?

The answer depends on where you sit in the market. For mid-market brands, CPG advertisers, and those lacking rich first-party datasets, third-party identity solutions like Lotame’s Panorama ID and Data Marketplace can still play a role. But for large enterprises with millions of logged-in users, loyalty memberships, purchase transactions, and real-time behavioral data, external identity providers can still offer value in certain areas. However, overreliance on them can be unnecessary, costly, and increase the risk of vendor lock-in.

The future of advertising isn’t just about buying identity graphs—it’s about building and activating a strong first-party identity foundation while strategically supplementing with partner data where it adds value.

Why Publicis is making this move

There’s a bigger story behind this acquisition. The reality is that holding companies are under pressure as AI-driven ad platforms automate more of the traditional services they provide. 

PMax and Advantage+ have already changed the game. While agencies and trading desks still play a role in creative strategy and audience segmentation, these platforms have reduced the need for manual campaign optimization by autonomously testing and optimizing against first-party data signals. AI is placing similar burdens on agencies and challenging the FTE model, forcing them to find new revenue sources and explore alternate business models.

Retailers are monetizing their own first-party data through retail media networks, reducing (but not eliminating) dependence on traditional intermediaries. Due to privacy laws and other factors, first-party data for activation on retail media and other channels will almost certainly come from brand-owned sources and not agency-owned tech.

CTV platforms are increasingly building and using their own identity graphs, which can reduce reliance on external ID providers in certain cases. As CTV matures as a channel, we expect advertiser and publisher first-party data to play a bigger role in terms of providing signals for audience building, attribution, and measurement.

In-housing of martech, adtech, and measurement by brands, not to mention the trend of brands going paper-direct with platforms, is challenging the agency’s traditional role. For this reason, many agencies and holdcos are building their own tech or making flashy acquisitions like this one, though it is debatable whether these moves will benefit clients or are simply being made to win or retain business.

For Publicis, buying Lotame is a logical play—a way to own more of the identity ecosystem rather than ceding control to ad platforms and media networks. After all, interoperability across platforms, publishers, and ad ecosystems remains a challenge for many advertisers. Publicis’ move is a response to this, promising a more unified identity solution that helps its clients improve addressability and stay connected across a fragmented ecosystem.

But here’s the real question for enterprise advertisers: If the companies that actually own the data—retailers, publishers, and platforms—are moving toward first-party identity, why shouldn’t you?

Build your own first-party identity spine first

For large enterprises, the strongest competitive advantage isn’t purchasing an identity graph—it’s maximizing the value of the first-party data they already have and activating it across the customer journey.

The challenge is that many companies have fragmented data spread across different teams, tools, and platforms—loyalty databases, CRM systems, ecommerce transactions, website behavior, and offline interactions.

Many brands find that they can make significant improvements on their own, simply by breaking down data silos and bringing disparate datasets together to create holistic identities. For example, tying credit card transaction data to a loyalty membership profile can quickly improve addressability and measurement on in-store purchase data.

That’s why, rather than outsourcing identity resolution from day one, brands like PetSmart, WeightWatchers, and Accor Hotels are investing in technology that unifies their first-party data into a persistent, privacy-compliant identity graph in their data warehouse.

• Retailers are linking customer transactions, app behavior, and loyalty memberships to build persistent identity profiles for better marketing and measurement.
• Subscription brands and publishers are connecting logins, engagement history, and customer service interactions to create real-time identity graphs.
• Financial services and travel brands are resolving identity across multiple channels, ensuring accurate personalization even when users aren’t logged in.

This first-party identity spine becomes the foundation for every marketing and advertising decision. Instead of relying on an external provider to tell you who your customers are, you control your identity strategy internally.

Selectively supplement with third-party identity—without vendor lock-in

Once a strong first-party identity graph is in place, third-party identity solutions can still provide value—but as a complement, not the foundation. They can still serve as valuable enhancements, helping to extend reach, fill identity gaps, and improve match rates in specific use cases where first-party data alone isn’t enough.

Third-party identity can drive value in many ways:

• Scaling audience reach beyond your first-party footprint (e.g., a retailer extending its loyalty data for offsite media campaigns).
• Bridging identity gaps in fragmented ecosystems (e.g., CTV campaigns where cross-device matching is difficult or relies on datasets you do not capture, like household IP addresses).
• Improving match rates for data clean rooms and measurement solutions (e.g., resolving gaps between your data and a publisher or partner).

Instead of centering their identity strategy around third-party identity vendors, brands should choose a configurable approach that allows them to own and activate on their first-party identity spine and supplement identity only where it makes sense:

• Retailers can use their first-party identity spine for personalization and lifecycle marketing—but tap into The Trade Desk’s Unified ID for offsite advertising. 
• Enterprise advertisers can integrate directly with Google, Meta, and Amazon to improve first-party match rates—without depending on external identity graphs. This can unlock easy use cases such as audience suppression and look-alike modeling.
• Brands can retain flexibility to choose the right partner for each specific use case—whether for CTV, measurement, or cross-publisher targeting.

This modularity enables enterprises to minimize costs by only supplementing with third-party data where they need it, and minimizes risk by enabling them to quickly swap out identity providers if their needs change or regulatory changes demand it.

The winning strategy: first-party-first

Publicis’ Lotame acquisition makes sense in the short term—it strengthens their data assets, gives them an identity moat for cookieless environments, and allows them to remain competitive against tech platforms that own more of the ad supply chain. But for enterprise advertisers, the smarter long-term play isn’t to buy into someone else’s identity solution—it’s to own their own.

The brands that take control of their identity strategy today won’t have to rely on external vendor solutions tomorrow. They’ll be in the driver’s seat—with full flexibility, cost efficiency, and independence in an AI-first world.

Wet weather in typically sunny Southern California couldn’t put a damper on the kickoff to Expo West, the natural products industry’s biggest trade show, in Anaheim last week. Food, beverage, and better-for-you personal care brands gathered for the eagerly anticipated event, where aisles overflowed with protein-packed pretty-much-everything, a slew of products boasting regenerative agricultural practices, an abundance of functional beverages, and noticeably more baby- and child-focused items than in years past.

“I’m already chock full of protein—I don’t need any more today,” muttered a passerby as I collected my badge and stepped into one of several expansive convention halls for the first time this year. It was an omen for what I’d encounter across the show floor in the coming days. “OMG protein water,” a nutritionist friend texted me in exasperation on the second day of the show after I’d just scarfed down a butter-slathered slice of toasted 22-gram-per-serving protein bread.

Like last year, brands crammed protein into every conceivable product category, but the marketing conversation has evolved to prominently highlight quality alongside quantity. While “high-protein” remains the most ubiquitous claim on packaging, more brands are now emphasizing “how” and “from where” in conjunction with eye-popping protein gram counts.

Regenerative agriculture overtook organic messaging, with dairy and meat producers proudly emphasizing how they restore ecosystems as part of their production process in addition to making nutritional claims. And the regenerative theme extended beyond animal products, with ancient grains emblazoned on everything from artisanal crackers to pancakes, breakfast cereals, and pasta.

“Cows are definitely back!” an investor noted when we met at a well-known plant-based meat purveyor’s booth. We both agreed the presence of meat analogues was more muted than in years past, as the pendulum swung back toward animal-based proteins. That said, plant-based milk challenger brands have upped their game. Corn and pistachio milks were cheekily stationed across the aisle from each other, and a new varietal inspired by luscious Hokkaido milk from Japan’s largest prefecture will hit shelves soon.

Functional beverages could be seen in practically every aisle, their promises spanning gut health, hyperhydration, energy and immunity boosts, adaptogens, and nootropics. Standard canned and bottled water even got glow-ups with more exotic flavors and infusions, with an emphasis on real fruit essences or nods to nostalgic sodas.

On the sweeter side, dates exploded beyond their traditional role in energy bars to feature in confections and desserts as brands look to avoid refined sugars. Not to be outdone, functional and superfood gummies were all the rage, transforming candy into wellness delivery vehicles. Ice cream and popular adjacencies made with mochi, which were once plentiful at Expo West, seem to have dwindled a bit this year.

Finally, food and drinks for the littlest consumers among us had an impressive showing. Parents are increasingly unwilling to compromise on ingredients for their children, and brands are responding with kid-friendly versions of kombucha and products that stretch beyond standard nutrition to selling points like early brain development.

What I saw and tasted this year made clear that in crowded categories with buzzy but now-familiar claims, single-attribute marketing—whether protein content, environmental stewardship, or functional benefits—is giving way to more integrated, story-driven approaches that connect product benefits to broader societal contexts. In an industry where better-for-you is the baseline requirement, effective marketing campaigns must answer not just “what” and “how” but also “why it matters.” Additionally, in an economic environment where consumers face increasing price pressure, marketers must find ways to justify premium price points not just through ingredient quality but through tangible benefits and emotional resonance.

The natural products industry may face headwinds in the coming year as manufacturers deal with supply chain challenges, tariffs on ingredients, consumer price sensitivity, and an impending economic downturn. But if the energy at Expo West is any indication, the sector’s commitment to transforming how Americans eat and drink remains stronger than ever—protein overload notwithstanding.

South by Southwest is where tech, culture, and creativity collide—but it isn’t a marketing conference. The real value for marketers isn’t just in the panels, but also in observing the cultural trends, making unexpected connections, and experiencing firsthand how brands are trying to capture attention.

With SXSW 2025 kicking off, here’s a roadmap to getting the most out of your experience in Austin.

Go for the trends, not just the talks

Based on panel topics, brand activations, and social media discussions, these themes are emerging as dominant forces at SXSW this year.

AI moves from hype to practicality

AI remains the dominant theme across panels and activations, but this year, the focus has shifted from hype to execution. Attendees want to see how AI is enhancing creativity, consumer engagement, and real-world applications rather than just serving as a novelty.

Sessions like AI, Music & Creativity in the Imagination Age with Holly Herndon will explore how AI is augmenting human creativity, while futurist Amy Webb’s Tech Trends Report 2025 keynote is expected to reveal where AI’s next breakthroughs will be.

Across SXSW, AI is being positioned as a tool for augmentation, not replacement, signaling a more mature approach to the technology.

Cultural relevance and storytelling

Brands and creators are focusing on authenticity and storytelling over pure tech spectacle. Marketing experts at SXSW point to “purpose fatigue” with shallow campaigns and the need for deeper engagement.

A standout session, From FOMO to Fulfillment: The Science of Consumer Behavior, will explore how consumers are moving from impulse-driven consumption to values-based engagement. This shift is pushing brands to create authentic, resonant storytelling rather than chase trends.

In another must-see panel, Entertain or Die: Entertainment-First Brand Building, Andy Pearson of Liquid Death and James Kuczynski of Duolingo will discuss how they break through the traditional advertising malaise by “earning fame for your brand by entertaining at all costs.” 

The continued rise of creator-led brand engagement 

The creator economy is no longer just an add-on to brand strategy. It’s a primary driver of engagement.

Beyond the Buzz: Mastering Creator Economy Trends with Jasmine Engberg, vp and principal analyst at eMarketer, will highlight how brands like McDonald’s, Duolingo, and Airbnb are integrating creators into their marketing ecosystems in more meaningful ways. You’ll find me there, and you’ll also find me at Fans & Fandom: The Creatorsphere is Now the Center of Cultural Relevance featuring Evan Shapiro, media cartographer and go-to thought leader in entertainment.

AR, VR, and metaverse reinvention

After a lull in metaverse buzz, SXSW 2025 reframes it with realism. Discussions focus on practical uses of AR and VR in entertainment, gaming, and retail, often powered by AI.

One session entitled The Metaverse 2025: Revival and Reinvention dives into how decentralized tech, XR, and gaming are shaping a reinvented metaverse.

Seek out the most buzz-worthy brand activations

SXSW isn’t just about what’s happening on stage, it’s about how brands are showing up across Austin. These cultural moments serve as case studies in consumer engagement, cultural relevance, and experiential storytelling.

Amazon Prime Video’s Immersive Hotel Takeover — Hotel San José, March 7–8

Amazon Prime Video is transforming Hotel San José into a multiroom experience celebrating its women-led original series, including The Summer I Turned Pretty and Another Simple Favor. Featuring elaborate set recreations, a Prime Bookstore Café with the books that inspired its shows, and interactive elements, this activation has been dominating SXSW anticipation posts on TikTok and Instagram.

FX’s Alien Wreckage Experience — 318 E. 5th Street, March 7–8

FX is making a major impact with a large-scale activation promoting Alien: Earth. The experience features a crashed spaceship installation, life-sized alien specimens, and interactive content. Early buzz compares it to past SXSW standouts, like HBO’s Westworld activation, and suggests this will be one of the most visually striking and immersive activations of the year.

Whataburger Museum of Art — Wanderlust Wine Co., March 8–9

Celebrating its 75th anniversary, Whataburger is embracing fan culture with a museum-style exhibit showcasing over 200 pieces of consumer-created artwork. The activation includes highly shareable elements like the Whataburger Day Dot Room and a Table Tent Mugshot Wall, tapping into local nostalgia and brand affinity. Texas-based creators are already driving significant buzz around this activation.

Dubai Future Foundation’s AI Chocolate and Tech Showcase — Congress Ave & 3rd Street, March 7–11

Dubai’s Museum of the Future is bringing its viral AI-designed green chocolate to SXSW, creating immediate curiosity online. Personally, this is the one I am most excited about, as I have seen countless TikToks with the characteristic “crack” of someone breaking into the mouth-watering chocolate. The activation will also feature AI-generated art from digital visual artist Refik Anadol, holographic displays, and futuristic tech concepts, positioning it as one of the most intriguing activations for those following innovation and emerging technology.

Rivian’s Electric Ice Cream Trucks and Pop-up — South Congress, all week

Rivian is merging sustainability with consumer experience by deploying electric-powered Ben & Jerry’s ice cream trucks throughout Austin. At its South Congress space, Rivian will showcase its latest EV models in a California desert-inspired setting. This activation is generating strong pre-event buzz, especially among sustainability advocates and automotive enthusiasts.

JBL’s Music Lounge and Secret Shows — Various locations

JBL is making a major play to integrate its brand more tightly with the music scene with several activations at SXSW. These will include secret performances at the Rolling Stone Future of Music showcase, influencer meetups, and interactive listening lounges featuring the latest JBL audio technology. Early social chatter suggests this will be a key highlight for both music lovers and brand marketers.

SXSW is a mindset, not a to-do list

SXSW is more about immersion than checking off panels. The best insights come from observing, listening, and engaging in the right conversations.

To that end, a few unofficial events of note include The Female Quotient Lounge (March 8–9), where last year, I had the unforgettable experience of meeting Kara Swisher, and Brand Innovators (March 7–10), which serves as the de facto brand marketers reunion tour, bringing together some of the most influential voices in the industry.

How marketers can maximize their SXSW experience

Be present: You will overschedule, and that’s normal. Make space for unexpected surprise connections that become VIP moments.

Think like a trendspotter, not a marketer: Watch how attendees engage with brand activations and take note of which cultural conversations are gaining traction.

Follow the social buzz: Platforms like Reddit, X, and TikTok will be the best sources for real-time reactions to panels and activations.

Look beyond official events: Some of the most creative activations and pop-ups aren’t on the official schedule. Watch for hidden gems.

Follow up fast: SXSW is about networking, but the real value comes after the event. Make sure to connect with new contacts while the energy is still fresh.

The most valuable takeaways for marketers won’t just come from panel discussions, but from immersing in the real-world conversations happening across Austin.

This week, with Anora winning Best Picture and films like The Substance, Emilia Pérez, and Wicked telling layered stories about what it means to be a woman in this world, it’s hard to remember a time when women’s stories were not invested in and celebrated by commercial audiences and Hollywood awards juries.

But there was a time. Not long ago, stories about women were dismissed as “chick flicks.” And in our field of advertising, which tends to slightly lag behind entertainment, that time feels even more recent.

So as a female creative in this industry, who is finally seeing incredible storytelling around women and women’s products in our marketplace, I want to take a second to celebrate just how far we’ve come. And I’d like to appeal to our industry, to marketers and to advertisers—despite whatever happens in the news or in Washington—let’s keep raising the bar to push women’s creativity even further. 

Creative work for women has been an afterthought

I’ve been doing this job for a while now. And for the majority of my practitioner career as a creative, I was routinely dismayed by how lame and uninspired the creative briefs directed toward women would be. Perhaps this is why I spent all of my time trying to be “one of the boys” and vying to work on their briefs—because the briefs for men had a chance to be interesting, funny, brave, innovative, or even just smart.

I’m not alone. Top women creatives tell me the same thing, again and again, behind closed doors.

But there’s a group out there—about 51% of the population—that needs us to bring our very best thinking when we create messaging directed to and concerning them. 

We are an industry that spends nearly $400 billion each year telling stories. The amount of creativity we put into our work directed to women has real world implications. In truth, it’s one of the reasons I wanted to start my agency—because I felt women audiences deserved better creative work. But I wasn’t prepared for just how much doing great work would actually impact women.

In our time at Joan, I’ve seen our teams create sparkling, breakthrough creative thinking that has worked to close the gender gap in CPR, inspire over 2,000 moms to start businesses, rally women to protect the planet, and erode the stigma surrounding women’s body parts.

We’re not alone here. I am inspired by the work at e.l.f. Beauty, for example, like “So Many Dicks”—the campaign to call out gender gaps in the boardroom. It was entertaining and spread messaging to make women’s lives better—all while helping the brand leap up the charts in market share. 

The commercial power of creativity for women

But the work doesn’t need to be capital-P “Purpose-Driven” to make an impact. In fact, merely caring enough about women audiences to break out your very finest creativity is in itself extraordinarily affirming for the audience. Because it is affirming to simply feel seen. To be understood and cared for. To be shown the basic respect of an advertiser hoping to delight you, and giving it every ounce of insight and imagination to do so.

Women are extremely savvy. They know when they’re being talked down to, and they know when you are putting in the effort of reaching higher. There is incredible commercial power when you strike this chord right.

I’ve seen this effect again and again—and not just in the work for female-driven brands. We do large-scale global work for all audiences, and sometimes we cast a protagonist in a gender-neutral role with a woman actor. It’s surprising, with great effect: Show a woman in a leading role, especially an unexpected one, and you’ve made a friend with a wallet. 

Turn up the heat

So here we are, standing on the edge of the future for women’s storytelling. As the era of dismantling DEI starts coinciding with algorithms offering up how-to videos for conservative Utah curls and tradwives making homemade bubble gum, I fear that the world of marketing will knee-jerk back to a world where “great” creative for women involves singing about how happy your fabric softener makes you.

No real woman sings about her fabric softener. Unless that fabric softener also gives you multiple orgasms. Which, last I checked, it doesn’t. 

So, this trumpet goes to all of the brilliant female creative leaders in the industry. I love you all very much, and we need you more than ever. Remember: The thing that got you in this position is your ambition and your wickedly unique creative POV. You have earned your seat at this table, and we’re all watching … including every single woman out there in the audience. Let’s give them something freaking incredible to watch.

Retail media revenues are existential for retailers. Without profits from ad sales, retailers cannot competitively price their goods on the shelf. This harsh reality has fueled explosion in both the number of retail media networks and their expectations for ad sales growth. 

Retailers essentially have two avenues for driving ad revenue. The first is owned media, or selling on their own digital properties and physical stores. Advertiser demand for these placements is high; they tend to yield a strong ROI, thanks to proximity to purchase, and suppliers earmark trade budgets specifically for these placements. Though demand for these ads is almost limitless, the supply, unfortunately, is not—a retailer can only slap so many ads in their stores before they clutter up the user experience and chase away their shoppers. Larger retailers are expanding their footprint of owned media by developing programming, licensing sports rights, and rolling out ad-supported devices. 

Retailers who aren’t able to build out full-blown media companies rely on a second avenue to grow ad revenues beyond their maxed-out on-site inventory: audience extension ads. These media buys run on third-party digital properties to reach a retailer’s known customers in addressable ad slots across the internet and connected TV. As with on-site ads, closed-loop measurement attributes in-store and online conversion to exposure to audience extension ad impressions. 

The high supply of these ads is ideal for retailers, but the inconvenient truth is that most audience extension ad buys do not meet advertiser’s expectations. With most money in retail media flowing from customer trade budgets, retailers are obligated to use the funds to increase a brand’s sales at their store. Audience extension ads reach shoppers when they’re consuming content, where there is less commercial intent than while in a digital or physical store; that translates to audience extension ads having much lower response rates than on-site impressions. 

Additionally, when retailers overlay their targeting on third-party, off-site inventory, they resell that impression with a cost markup to the ultimate advertiser (the brand) that could range from 30-50% depending on the media channel. Advertisers know they can buy this exact same audience extension ad inventory without the RMN markup if they go direct to the third party who owns that inventory. If they go direct, however, the advertiser loses the customer targeting and the closed-loop measurement.

There is much tension on this off-site inventory because sophisticated brand advertisers often have targeting segments of their own that can predict purchases in addition to the retailer’s data. But the reporting and the strategic relationship with the retailer are what ultimately drive audience extension media buys. 

Four investments to improve performance

What if audience extension ads were funded by brand dollars, with perception-focused KPIs rather than direct response ones? Even if that retailer dream became reality, it’s still hard to make a compelling case for a brand advertiser to justify the RMN markup on audience extension inventory. 

The only way to resolve this tension is to improve the performance of RMN audience extension inventory such that the RMN markup is justified. There are four ways to do so: 

1. Better data: Append more attributes to what a retailer knows about their customer to build audience segments that are more likely to buy the advertised product. This requires clean rooms, data enrichment, data science, and machine learning to do it right. 
2. Better inventory: Run audience extension ads in more contextually relevant locations with commercial intent where impressions trigger a purchase. 
3. Better measurement: The dirty truth is that most claimed conversions from on-site RMN impressions would have happened anyway. Filtering for incremental sales rewards ad impressions that create demand and don’t just harvest it. 
4. Better creative: On-site impressions need to trigger an add-to-basket. Off-site audience extension impressions also need to trigger a shopping trip. Today’s “Available at Retailer X” tags in creative do not stimulate trips. Creative that speaks to why a customer shops at a specific retailer, as well as why they would buy a particular product, work better. 

We still have much work to do to make audience extension inventory perform to the level that earns the amount of revenue retailers depend on. For retailers that can’t build a scaled media footprint of their own, investments in measurement, creative, inventory, and data will help create a more attractive scaled option for brand advertisers.

During peak pearl-clutching over Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, the conventional wisdom in the marketing world was that after changing the name, firing 80% of staff, and alienating advertisers, the newly renamed X was on the short road to oblivion.

So far, the conventional wisdom has been spectacularly wrong. Not only is Musk on top of the world, X appears to be more relevant than ever. Predictions of audience collapse haven’t come to fruition, and Musk has used his megaphone on X to drive value for Tesla, SpaceX, and of course himself, in the form of a White House role. 

Advertisers are also returning. Amazon is the most recent to amp up its spend, joining names like IBM, Comcast, Disney, and Warner Bros. that have flipped the switch back on. This despite X making zero concessions around the looser content moderation policies and replatforming of unsavory voices that drove advertisers away in the first place. 

What changed? 

Of many factors, the first is simply that there aren’t any other platforms that do X as well as X does X. Journalist J Wortham recently noted that they, and many others, are willing to tolerate the noxious content on X because there’s no legit alternative, particularly in the realms of real-time news and events. Throw in a CEO with a direct line (for now) to a mercurial president and a panoply of communities that are harder to reach elsewhere, and X and its 600 million monthly users don’t look so bad. 

Another factor is cultural. We’ve been awash in so much toxic discourse for so long that people are no longer shocked by it. And on the flip side, for millions of users, they’re not on X despite what polite society might consider toxic content—they’re there specifically for it.

Nothing drives this shift home more emphatically than the fact that the vastly more successful Meta is following X’s lead in doing away with human content moderators across its own platforms. In fact, with Facebook and Instagram so much larger than X, Meta may be the one to realize the greatest savings from this “moderation lite” approach. 

Compounding the irony is that Musk doesn’t really want to be in the advertising business in the first place. Not only is his native antipathy to ads well known, but Twitter before Musk was always considered something of an advertising also-ran—hence his push from day one to find new revenue streams, whether selling premium subscriptions, introducing AI tools, or launching the soon-to-debut X Money. 

Of course, Musk can’t quit ads just yet. But if he has to sell ads, he’s clearly going to try to do it on his terms. Witness him at the 2023 DealBook Summit telling Andrew Ross Sorkin in colorful language that he wasn’t going to let advertisers like Disney “blackmail” him with their advertising dollars into toeing a particular political line. 

Yet despite (or because of?) this belligerence, the market and culture have undeniably moved in his direction. Whether that translates into more ad dollars for X is yet to be determined. What isn’t in doubt is that many advertisers are actively resetting their priorities and politics in ways more in line with what could be considered the harder-edged Muskian worldview. They still might not bring him their media spend, but they’ve already sort of brought him their souls.