BRAND STRATEGY

Morning Brew Inc., Photos: Chain, Fishwife

When it comes to merch, there’s a fine line between what’s closet-worthy and what’s landfill fodder.

If executed correctly, brand merch can drive media buzz, provide organic marketing, and deepen relationships with creators, customers, and partners alike. So what does it take to create items that people are willing to wear and flaunt their brand loyalty?

We spoke with executives from top consumer and merch brands like Chain, Fishwife, and Chili’s about the qualities resonating with customers today.

More than a logo: A successful merch launch often requires more than just slapping a label on a T-shirt. Steve Milton is the CEO of Chain, a pop-up-turned-lifestyle-brand that was co-founded by actor B.J. Novak in 2021 and has created products ranging from Pizza Hut-branded bucket hats to a Dave & Buster’s claw-machine bag.

• He told us that the key to a successful merch drop is tapping into a fandom mentality and creating a product unique to the brand, even if it’s not the most functional.

“The way that we think about it is, what is that brand and/or product truth?” Milton said. “And then how is that expressed through the language of fashion?”

Reminisce carefully: Nostalgia has been a particularly strong force behind Chain’s merch collabs, he said, as evidenced through the bucket hats, which were inspired by the Tiffany-style lamps that once adorned Pizza Hut restaurants.

• However, he cautioned against jumping on nostalgia—or any other trend, for that matter—unless it’s something that taps into something consumers naturally love about a brand.

“[Make] sure that you’re thinking about the brand, thinking about the product, [and] what is it about that that connects with the consumer,” he said. “That’s a good way to avoid any missteps.”

Read more here.—KH

      

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Let’s be real for a minute: There’s no measurable impact to pipeline and revenue when most GTM teams use AI “tools” that only answer questions.

GTM functions are also disconnected. Sales, marketing, RevOps, and customer success lack visibility into how campaigns and initiatives move deals forward, making it hard to prove collective ROI and justify continued AI investment. Aaand with all that manual coordination across functions just to scale execution, more time’s spent managing workflows instead of strategizing.

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THE STATE OF THE CMO

Morning Brew Inc.

Nearly two-thirds of CMOs said that AI strategy and governance have been added to their responsibilities, more than any other new duty coming under marketers’ purview, according to a recent Marketing Brew survey. And two-thirds said there’s a pressure to appear “AI-first,” even when it doesn’t improve the work.

Those changes come with some anxieties.

According to our survey, 7 in 10 respondents agreed with the statement that they are worried about how AI will impact the marketing function. And two-thirds agreed with the statement that AI-generated advertising “does more harm for a brand than good.”

Marketers are using AI—but not always for the flashiest work:

• More than half of our respondents said they are using AI for admin tasks (57%);
• for copywriting (54%);
• and for marketing analytics and insights (51%).
• Many (46%) are using it for creative and campaign ideation.

Far fewer are deploying the tech in consumer-facing applications, like personalization or recommendation engines (17%), image/video generation (15%), or customer service (7%).

“We’re at this moment where we now have a tool set that was unimaginable just a couple years ago,” Linda Boff, the former chief marketing and communications officer for GE who is now CEO of the agency Said Differently, told us. “I think that many CMOs are seeing that and seeing the opportunity for that. Great CMOs are thinking about precision, not size.”

Continue reading here.—KS

      

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SPORTS MARKETING

Screenshot via @BoyScoutsOfAmerica/YouTube

Before New York Knicks guard Josh Hart was an NBA champion, he was an Eagle Scout.

In an homage to those roots, Hart’s latest brand partnership is with Scouting America, the nonprofit organization formerly known as Boy Scouts of America. The deal was announced last month, but the first Scouting America campaign video dropped last week, CMO Michael Ramsey shared exclusively with Marketing Brew.

The campaign marks a deeper push into sports for Scouting America, which has in recent years shifted its marketing strategy and target audience after finding an unexpected level of success partnering with NFL running back David Montgomery, Ramsey said.

The work with both athletes has also pushed the organization further into digital marketing, as opposed to relying primarily on recruiting via flyers in backpacks, he added.

“The big shift for us is a digital strategy led by David, led by Josh, [and] led by influencer content that gets mom and dad, reaches them where they are,” Ramsey told Marketing Brew.

Continue reading here.—AM

      

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There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Let the dust settle: Pinterest compiled a list of Q5 marketing tips.

Piece of cake: A guide to understanding Midjourney and using it for e-commerce.

Strut your stuff: Breaking down how AI search optimization tools compare, plus how to conduct a test.

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IN AND OUT

Executive moves across the industry.

• Goodby Silverstein & Partners founder Rich Silverstein is leaving the agency after 58 years.
• Cava tapped Dr. Squatch alum John Ludeke as CMO.
• Red Lobster hired Andy Pitts, formerly at the agency BarkleyOKRP, as CMO.