Marketing Week

Pet care challenger Jollyes on its ‘unapologetic’ marketing mission

Amrit Virdi — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 11:14:05 +0000

New CMO Sean McGinty is keen to rev up the marketing "growth engine" to help the pet care retailer make the most of its "value specialist" positioning.

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What the rise of AI influencers and digital twins means for marketers

Amrit Virdi — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 07:35:44 +0000

With consumers increasingly resonating with AI influencers and digital twins, what are the benefits and challenges marketers can expect from investing in the sector?

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How are marketers preparing for the World Cup?

Molly Innes — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 07:07:54 +0000

The World Cup is just a few months away - but for brands looking to target the lucrative football audience there are many considerations in play.

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What an AI psychodrama taught me about marketing leadership

Cheryl Calverley — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 07:00:22 +0000

What should have been a simple task for AI Geoff revealed more about the fallibility of most leaders - the inability to admit something isn't working and move on.

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‘Time to be heard’: Norwegian Cruise Line on ’embracing’ its history and disrupting a category

Grace Gollasch — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 11:30:44 +0000

Norwegian Cruise Line is reviving its 1990s tagline 'It’s Different Out Here' as part of a new global platform that uses humour and nostalgia to cut through category sameness and reposition the brand around freedom and flexibility rather than features.

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‘Dehumanised’: How ‘out of date’ workplaces are harming mental health

Charlotte Rogers — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 07:00:05 +0000

From wellbeing policies ignoring maternal mental health to persistent stigma around menopause, poor workplace culture risks a marketing talent exodus.

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Unilever CEO claims era of ‘corporate big brand’ ads is over

Niamh Carroll — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 17:00:47 +0000

The time for 'lazy marketing' - where a couple of ads a year would suffice - is over, to be replaced by an "army" of influencers, says CEO Fernando Fernandez.

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The Warehouse CMO’s pause on ad spend isn’t reckless, it’s marketing leadership

Thomas Barta — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 15:48:25 +0000

The New Zealand retailer's decision to pause ad spend for eight weeks isn't the cavalier move some say, but an A/B test all marketers should follow closely.

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‘Buyer beware’: Brands open up about the ‘skulduggery’ of proprietary media

Grace Gollasch — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 10:30:31 +0000

While some say transparency is improving, as proprietary media becomes more widespread, advertisers share experiences of what has been described as a “murky” practice that, in certain cases, has deteriorated client–agency relationships.

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‘Real, raw, risky’: MotoGP’s top marketer on building a brand with ‘cultural relevance’

Emily Manock — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 07:30:28 +0000

MotoGP is on a mission to establish the motorsport as a "rock and roll" brand as it looks to ingrain itself into sports culture and appeal to a wider audience.

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ISBA launches guidance on how brands can approach proprietary media

Grace Gollasch — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 07:00:54 +0000

The guidance aims to address how brands can approach transparency, governance and effectiveness when using proprietary media – the process of media agencies purchasing media inventory and reselling it to clients at a higher rate.

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‘More impact, less waste’: Coca-Cola CFO praises impact of marketing ‘transformation’

Niamh Carroll — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 17:31:34 +0000

Coca-Cola has 'reinvented' the way it does marketing to be fit for the modern world, while delivering on effectiveness and efficiency, its CFO claims.

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‘A sprawling ecosystem’: How have marketers’ tech stacks got so out of hand?

Josh Stephenson — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 12:54:44 +0000

From outdated systems to a lack of ownership, if marketers want to get the best out of their technology, they need to streamline what they have.

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How the culture of B2B marketing is impacting working mums

Emily Manock — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 07:46:16 +0000

Three female marketing leaders discuss the impact of having children in the B2B space.

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You don’t need a bespoke luxury-style branding strategy to succeed as a luxury brand

Jenni Romaniuk — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 07:33:06 +0000

Luxury marketing doesn't need to create its own ‘laws of growth’ for brands to succeed; there are some law-like patterns that luxury categories share with others and understanding them will make luxury brand marketing stronger.

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Marketoonist on transformation

Tom Fishburne — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 15:23:04 +0000

Tom Fishburne is founder of Marketoon Studios. Follow his work at marketoonist.com or on X @tomfishburne See more of the Marketoonist here

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Scam ads, CMO strategy, in-play advertising: 5 interesting stats to start your week

Niamh Carroll — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 13:31:16 +0000

We arm you with all the stats you need to tackle the week ahead.

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‘The default way of thinking’: Haleon’s outgoing CMO on cementing marketing’s role

Niamh Carroll — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 13:18:43 +0000

Haleon's departing CMO, Tamara Rogers, feels that a true appreciation for brand building has been built at the company, which only became independent in 2022.

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The Marketing Week Podcast: Addressing marketing’s mental health crisis

Marketing Week Reporters — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 07:45:35 +0000

In the latest episode, we expose the issues bringing marketers to the brink of burnout and what can be done to help.

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The phrase ‘marketing sourced revenue’ is a fiction that needs to be eradicated

David van Schaick — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 07:15:04 +0000

The concept is increasingly being used as a measure of success in B2B but it's a backwards looking view of contribution that exacerbates the rift between sales and marketing and risks damaging marketing's credibility.

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‘Intangible magic’: Why Guinness is investing in women’s football

Molly Innes — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 07:08:39 +0000

With Guinness back on the front of a football shirt after three decades, sports partnerships lead Jamie Brooks explains why it chose Bristol City Women for its return.

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Tony’s TV debut and brand investment: Your Marketing Week

Russell Parsons — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 16:09:47 +0000

At the end of every week, we look at the key stories, offering our view on what they mean for you and the industry. From businesses investing in brand to address challenges to Tony's Chocolonely's first foray into TV advertising, it’s been a busy week. Here is my take.

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Airbnb claims AI search drives higher conversion than Google

Grace Gollasch — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 11:57:05 +0000

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says AI chatbots are emerging as effective top-of-funnel channels, as the company doubles down on building its own "AI-native" experience.

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Asda taps B&Q for VP of marketing

Amrit Virdi — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 10:21:23 +0000

Tom Hampson takes over from Adam Zavalis who departed Asda in November.

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‘High stakes’: Tackling marketing’s ‘destabilising’ imposter crisis

Charlotte Rogers — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 06:29:33 +0000

Ever-expanding remits, dwindling respect and the “constant pressure” to justify worth is fuelling “acute” imposter syndrome within marketing.

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Why BBH has succeeded at the risky endeavour of a rebrand

Johnny Corbett — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 15:07:46 +0000

In a world where everybody else has been bolting letters on, taking letters off, splurging together and splitting apart, BBH has struck a fantastically on-brand message that marketers can learn from.

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How Paddy Power brought ‘mischievous’ energy to the festive season

Marketing Week Reporters — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:49:32 +0000

Tapping into the joy and heartbreak of football fandom, Paddy Power’s Christmas ad debut drove record consideration and increased revenue.

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Unilever commits to investing ‘where it matters most’ as it ups marketing spend

Niamh Carroll — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:44:55 +0000

Marketing spend was at its highest level in more than a decade in 2025, with the business underlining it as a crucial part of Unilever’s ongoing transformation.

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What Gen Z search behaviour reveals about the future of intent

Katie Mann — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:39:44 +0000

Younger generations are rewriting the rules of Search for everyone. Discover what Gen Z search behaviour reveals about how intent is forming, and why AI is becoming essential to interpreting it.

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Maltesers’ brand boss on the power of consistency in a volatile world

Niamh Carroll — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 07:00:17 +0000

With brands increasingly in the hands of creators, as well as consumers themselves, consistency is more powerful than ever, says brand chief Rankin Carroll.

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Why tackling the ‘confidence gap’ could open up marketing careers

Molly Innes — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 07:00:11 +0000

Supported by The Marketing Skills Trust, Ogilvy UK and Rapp UK, The Dodds Legacy is on a mission to instil confidence in marketers at the start of their careers.

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Influencers: Ad transparency and performance ‘no longer in conflict’

Amrit Virdi — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:01:10 +0000

New research from the ASA and IMTB reveals consumers not only prefer when influencer ads are labelled, disclosure doesn't impact engagement.

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Heineken CEO: Marketing is about growing consumer penetration

Niamh Carroll — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 13:29:06 +0000

The beer giant is rolling out a new brand building model and putting weight behind its AI-powered virtual marketing agency to drive growth.

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‘A moveable feast’: Why are marketing teams struggling to close martech skills gaps?

Josh Stephenson — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 12:03:29 +0000

From staff rotation to a lack of training, we speak to marketing leaders about what can be done to close marketing’s stubborn martech skills gap.

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‘Missing a trick’: Why are brands ignoring the apprentice ‘value exchange’?

Charlotte Rogers — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 07:15:13 +0000

With skills gaps to fill and talent pipelines to nurture, why are so many brands still failing to embrace the "unbelievable value" of marketing apprenticeships?

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Marketers, we’ve got resilience all wrong

Laura Chamberlain — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 06:40:04 +0000

Resilience isn’t about ‘bouncing back’ after every setback just to prove your worth. It’s building strong foundations that last a lifetime, not just the next crisis.

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Coca-Cola aims to be ‘a little bit better everywhere’ to drive meaningful growth

Niamh Carroll — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 15:46:07 +0000

Making small improvements across every lever of the business is how a company like Coca-Cola will drive growth going forward, says its incoming CEO.

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Gucci owner plans to up brand investment to ‘reignite desirability’

Emily Manock — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:23:23 +0000

Kering's CEO admits the luxury business had cut above-the-line investment but would now be upping focus on activity that "speaks to consumers".

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‘Start the year big’: Lloyds on its plan for an ‘experience-led’ future

Amrit Virdi — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:03:04 +0000

From the "three Ts" of AI to building trust with a social-first agenda, CMO Suresh Balaji claims the banking giant is "ahead of plan" with its experience push.

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Haleon CMO departs as it appoints first chief growth officer

Niamh Carroll — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 07:30:44 +0000

Tamara Rogers is departing Haleon having led marketing through its journey to become a standalone company after its spin off from GSK.

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