☕ House of the dragon
How the Portland Fire found its mascot.
Marketing Brew <[email protected]>
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Morning Brew promotes a story about the Portland Fire's new WNBA team mascot, a dragon named Rose, and the team's efforts to develop its brand. The campaign highlights the importance of creating a memorable mascot in professional sports, particularly in the WNBA. Morning Brew also features a sponsorship by Spotify, focusing on the value of intentional fan engagement.
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600 words · about 3 min to read
September 14, 2026
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Presented By
Sponsor Logo: Spotify
It’s Monday. Get ready with me to go to Wimbledon—or not. After widespread concerns about influencers disrupting the US Open, the All England Club reportedly won’t credential influencers and plans to confiscate ring lights and other creator tools that could be disruptive to matches.
In today’s edition:
Dragon’s in the details 🏀
Grocery gains 🛒
Fits and starts 🛍️
—Alyssa Meyers, Kristina Monllos, Andrew Adam Newman
SPORTS MARKETING
Rose by any other name
Portland Fire mascot Rose, a pink, glitter-breathing dragon.
Ali Gradischer/Getty Images
Late last month, the Portland Fire, the city’s newly revived WNBA team, made like Daenerys Targaryen and hatched a dragon.
The team’s first-ever mascot, a dragon named Rose that breathes glitter, made her debut only a few weeks ago, but her lore dates back 24 years to 2002, when the original Portland Fire team played its last game before folding. According to the team, Rose lay dormant under the city ever since.
Of course, Rose isn’t real, but with the effort that many modern teams across leagues—especiallytheWNBA—are putting into developingtheirmascots, it may be easy for fans to believe she is.
“It was definitely something that we knew we needed to stick the landing on for our fans,” Kimberly Veale, SVP of marketing and communications for the Fire, told Marketing Brew. “There’s an expectation with the WNBA mascots now…There’s only so many [times] within pro sports where you get a chance to make big, public splashes like this one, and we certainly didn’t want to let that opportunity pass us by.”
Continue reading here.—AM
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Sponsored By Spotify
Fandom that actually performs
Fans don’t just hear Spotify content. They choose it, hitting play on the music, podcasts, and audiobooks they genuinely want to listen to. That intentional attention gives brands a rare opening to meet the audiences when they’re already leaned in, not mentally wandering toward scrolling.
Spotify captures 2x more attention than social, giving marketers plenty to tune in to. Leading brands are already turning fandom into measurable business results across audio, video, and display.
Spotify’s Creative Lab experts share ways advertisers can surround those passions with creative built for the moment, while Spotify Ads Manager helps simplify campaign execution.
New Ads Manager innovations also make launching and optimizing campaigns easier. Marketers looking to turn listeners into results can explore advertiser success stories, fresh creative strategies, and the latest tools for making fandom work harder. Find out how at Spotify Sessions.
BRAND STRATEGY
Well carbonated
A transparent glass containing a brownish-red carbonated soda and ice cubes on the left, and a red Mr. Pibb can on the right
Screenshot via @MrPibb/YouTube
Sometimes all you need is a comeback.
In late 2025, Coca-Cola rolled out a new-and-improved Mr. Pibb with more caffeine and a new look, and in less than a year, the 54-year-old brand has nabbed the top spot on Morning Consult’s annual Fastest Growing Brands report.
The ranking is determined by share of purchase consideration among the 2,801 brands that Morning Consult analyzed with online surveys throughout a three-month period comparing results from this year to last year. DoorDash took the top spot in 2025; the WNBA scored that spot in 2024.
“Mr. Pibb was not just the fastest growing brand of 2026 for us; it also was one of the most trusted brands on our Most Trusted Brands report,” Bobby Blanchard, senior director of audience development for Morning Consult, told us, adding that Mr. Pibb’s broad appeal across demographics is “remarkable.”
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