The Drum covers modern marketing, agency business, creativity & the future of media. Our content helps global marketers make better decisions.
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KFC in Finsbury Park changes its logo to feature Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta ⚽️ Showing support for the local North London team. It remains in place now during the Champions League final ⚽️🍗 _____________ Follow us for the latest brand and marketing news 🥁
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Shein have reportedly acquired Everlane for $100 million. It's been declared the 'death of sustainable fashion'. Everlane didn't get here because purpose-led branding doesn't work. Patagonia, Eileen Fisher and a handful of others are still doing it - still commanding price premiums, still structurally impossible to sell to an ideological opposite. Everlane are selling because what they built was a position, not an identity. "Radical transparency" was a claim about garments: Here is the factory. Here is the markup. The customer was invited to inspect, approve and purchase, and the relationship terminated at the till. Patagonia's environmentalism is a claim about its customer. To wear it is to communicate something about yourself. It is why the brand sells in disproportionate volumes to London finance bros who will never see a mountain. The fleece signals that the wearer is more than his job, that he has an outside life, that he is not reducible to the Bloomberg terminal. The cultural mood and economic climate that made garment-level ethics feel like identity-level commitment is gone. The 25-year-old who bought the cashmere crew in 2014 is now 37, with a mortgage renewal and forty consequential decisions to make before 9am. Consumers aren't suddenly indifferent; they are just broke, exhausted, and out of bandwidth. But when a product or brand says something about who you are, the purchase is easy, and leaving feels like self-betrayal. That's why identity embedded brands survive where position-led brands fail. The question for any founder building a values-led brand right now is whether your customers would notice if the values quietly evaporated. If they would notice but keep buying, you have built a position. And positions are the first thing to go in a downturn. Full column in The Drum (thanks John McCarthy!) 👇
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Some of the world's biggest businesses have burned annual AI budgets in months. Others have now banned the use of Claude. The initial AI frenzy is over. Now, a much more real. Much more commercial. Much more sensible reality begins. Where we must move from asking "can AI do this?" to "should AI do this?" My weekly column today: https://lnkd.in/eE-cukPp After procurement has checked per-token AI costs, it's clear that many of these mass layoffs might not have even saved money. I share #advertising and #marketing insights daily, follow for more.
In this week’s episode of the Slow the F Down podcast, Sabah Naqushbandi (THE OUTNET.COM) and Zoe Eagle (Iris) join host Emma Harris for a brutally honest conversation about surviving life-changing moments, redefining success, and why 40 minutes of meditation a day might be the ultimate power move. From agency life to cancer recovery, they share deeply personal stories about stress, boundaries, ambition and learning to control the controllables. Raw, funny and full of wisdom. Watch, listen and subscribe now: https://lnkd.in/ejYQEY8t #Leadership
EMEA and AMER here we come! Can’t wait 🥁🎉
APAC said: “make it a night to remember” 🥁🏆 Now it’s your turn 👀 If you’re shortlisted for our EMEA or Americas awards next week, don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s just an awards ceremony. It’s the cheers from your table, the last-minute nerves before your category, the blurry trophy selfies, the “WE WON?!” group chat messages. 🎟️ Final tickets available now EMEA (London): https://lnkd.in/eGfrftug Americas (New York): https://lnkd.in/gWhBeUKp
As AI agents reshape how consumers discover and buy products, retail media is entering a new phase of disruption, enhancement, and reinvention. Caroline Giegerich from IAB explores why the future of retail media is far more nuanced than either the hype or the fear suggests. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eDNX98iR
Burberry celebrates British football culture with sports stars in its new cinematic campaign ⚽ Starring Romeo Beckham, Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and others. The campaign leans heavily into British football identity, from terraces and burger vans to rainy sidelines, scarves, Sunday league energy, and the emotional rituals surrounding the sport. Burberry describes it as a celebration of “football fandom before and after kick-off.” _________________________ Follow us for the latest brand and marketing news 🥁
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Peloton has died. Twice. Column for The Drum https://lnkd.in/gVFsA_-5
Tennent’s World Cup ad captures the emotional baggage of being a Scotland fan 😅 Featuring Rory McCann, the film was shot at the Rose Reilly pub in Glasgow by Leith. The Drum was there behind the scenes documenting it all - read more here: https://lnkd.in/ezGXdjMK _________________ We're sharing World Cup ads all-season. Follow for more! ⚽