The news: Seven & i Holdings is making a bold expansion push to modernize 7-Eleven and better align with evolving consumer expectations. Our take: Convenience stores face an array of challenges, from slowing growth to rising competition across brick-and-mortar and ecommerce. That’s why Seven & i’s push toward larger-format stores, fresh food offerings, and strategic expansion is a bold attempt to reposition 7-Eleven in North America. That won’t be easy. But if the brand can deliver on food quality and reimagine the in-store experience, it has a real shot at winning over a new generation of consumers.
The news: Instacart’s efforts to win over more cost-conscious consumers and its growing suite of enterprise and advertising solutions helped the company handily beat Q2 expectations. Coming on the heels of record quarters for DoorDash and Uber, Instacart’s strong results point to resilient demand for delivery services in an otherwise challenging consumer environment. Instacart’s strong Q2 shows that the company is well-equipped to manage any slowdown in US digital grocery sales—as well as fend off growing competition from Uber and DoorDash. The surge in orders will be particularly reassuring to advertisers, particularly the many CPGs looking to increase marketing spend.
The news: Eli Lilly’s stock plunged about 14% on Thursday as clinical results of its experimental obesity pill orforglipron fell short of Wall Street expectations. Our take: We think Lilly has the edge over Novo, despite Thursday’s market reversal due to Lilly’s obesity pill falling short in its trial. That’s likely just a near-term blip—12% weight loss in a little over a year validates that the medication is quite effective, especially when considering that most people would prefer a pill to injecting themselves. Lilly also has in its favor that Zepbound drives better weight loss results than Wegovy, while it faces less competition from the copycat GLP-1 market since semaglutide is more commonly compounded than tirzepatide.
The news: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. canceled $500 million in federal mRNA grants, eliminating flu, COVID-19, and infectious disease research that used the technology. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) agency nixed 22 contracts, including ones with Moderna, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca.
The news: The maker of the Cologuard at-home colon cancer screening test, Exact Sciences, is buying the rights to a promising blood test for colon cancer. The takeaway: As early colon cancer rates increase, more young people are becoming interested in screening. Blood tests adds another option, and for Exact’s Cologuard, known for irreverent ad campaigns for the at-home stool sample kits, another way to advocate for more screening.
The trend: Over half of US adults with health insurance (51%) said they needed a prior authorization for a medical service or treatment in the past two years, according to a July 2025 KFF study. The final word: Prior authorizations can lead to delayed—or even denied—care. To date, health plans have not been held accountable for their increased frequency of coverage denials. That could soon change due to a flurry of bills on prior authorization reform at the state level—but for the time being, insurers’ promises and pledges are more PR spin than actionable improvement.
The news: YouTube is testing a collaboration option that allows all creators to share credit on individual videos, boosting visibility across channels. MrBeast is among the first to trial the co-author credits. Our take: YouTube is copying an offering that Instagram and TikTok have already rolled out—a common tactic across social media. It will likely give influencers—YouTube’s bread and butter—a helping hand to increase collaborations and subscriber counts. But it could also decrease production as multiple creators share a single video without producing their own individual content.
Warner Bros. Discovery posted strong Q2 2025 results, with studio revenues rising 55% YoY to $3.8 billion and HBO Max adding 3.4 million subscribers. A major company split is planned for 2026, separating Max and the studio from WBD’s legacy TV networks. Max is gaining momentum in a crowded market, with restrained ad loads and projected 85% growth in US ad revenues by 2027. With $10.76 billion earmarked for original content next year and major IP releases coming, WBD is positioning Max and its studios for standalone success. The split could offer investors a clearer, more compelling growth story.
Ralph Lauren posted higher-than-expected quarterly results and raised its full-year revenue outlook, though it warned that tariffs could pressure consumer spending in the second half. Amid economic uncertainty, Ralph Lauren’s performance highlights the resilience of brands that sit at the intersection of aspiration and accessibility. The company appears better positioned than some of its luxury peers to weather volatility. Its quarterly results offer a blueprint for its retail peers, showing the value of a diversified supply chain and brand equity over aggressive discounting and heavy dependence on a single market.
The news: President Donald Trump said he will enact 100% tariffs on all chips imported into the US, exempting companies that have promised to build or have begun building in the US. The plan was announced during a White House meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who said Apple will invest another $100 billion in US manufacturing and jobs, bringing its total commitment to $600 billion, per The Financial Times. Our take: Brands should prepare for new marketing challenges and opportunities tied to supply chain visibility, patriotic manufacturing narratives, and potentially longer product cycles if companies reshore production. Keeping an eye on where key suppliers are building and how quickly they can pivot to US-based operations will be crucial in forecasting product costs and shaping future campaigns.
The news: Instagram added a host of new features for connecting with friends. The offerings could expand brands’ peer-to-peer visibility and location-based content and boost their chances of going viral. Our take: Brands should lean into organic discovery by creating engaging, visual-driven content that encourages reposts and peer engagement. Prioritize geo-aware promotions to tap into Instagram’s shift toward real-time social discovery and exploration.
Almost half (49%) of US Gen Zers are much more likely to pay attention to ads that make them laugh or use music they like, per a June report from Edison Research and SiriusXM Media.
Dupes are being purchased at high rates among affluent consumers, even more than those with lower incomes. 70% of high-income US adults (earning $150,000 or more) have tried a dupe private label product, per April 2025 First Insight data. This outpaces the 53% of mid-income consumers ($51,000 to $149,000) and the 41% of low-income consumers (under $50,000) that bought dupes.
Snap posted 9% YoY revenue growth in Q2 2025, reaching $1.35 billion, but fell short of expectations due to a technical ad platform error that temporarily underpriced inventory. DAUs rose 9% to 469 million and Spotlight engagement surged, yet global ARPU remained flat and margins tightened. Snap’s performance contrasted sharply with stronger ad results from Meta, Google, and Reddit, raising concerns about its ability to monetize growing usage—especially in fast-expanding but low-yield regions. Snap did see promising gains in subscription revenue and AI-driven commerce ads, but must execute better on monetization to remain competitive in a rebounding ad market.
The news: Google faces another anticompetitive accusation as ad tech company OpenX becomes the latest player to challenge Google’s grip on the digital advertising ecosystem. OpenX filed a lawsuit accusing Google of anticompetitive conduct in the digital ad space, claiming the company’s actions “crippled competitors like OpenX at every turn,” preventing fair competition. Our take: Google’s dominance means advertisers won’t completely cut spending—but OpenX’s lawsuit is building on advertisers’ growing concerns over Google’s control of the ad ecosystem and curiosity about viable alternatives.
The news: McDonald’s delivered strong Q2 results that topped analysts’ expectations, signaling a rebound in its core US market. Our take: McDonald’s regained its footing in Q2 after posting its steepest same-store sales drop since the pandemic. While rivals like Yum Brands and Chipotle struggled with consumer pullback, McDonald’s played to its strengths by leaning into value, nostalgia, and limited-time promotions.
Demand for food delivery strengthened in Q2, DoorDash and Uber said, as more customers become used to ordering restaurant meals and groceries online. Order frequency on Uber’s delivery platform reached all-time highs during the quarter, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in prepared remarks, while volumes and profitability for the unit also hit record levels. Delivery bookings jumped 20% YoY, while revenues surged 25%. DoorDash also broke records, with total orders (up 20% YoY), marketplace GOV (up 23%), and revenues (up 25%) all surpassing previous quarterly highs. Food delivery is one area that is so far immune to uncertainty—a sign that consumers are increasingly wedded to services that offer convenience, and are willing to pay a premium (or at least a membership fee) to get food and other goods delivered quickly to their doors.
Marketers have long associated connected TV (CTV) with big-budget national campaigns, but that’s rapidly changing. As CTV technology becomes more sophisticated and accessible, local businesses are entering a new era of precise, data-driven advertising that blends digital accountability with TV’s scale.
The news: Startup ElevenLabs launched Eleven Music, a platform that gives brands and creators copyright-safe tools to generate custom music and audio. Users can enter prompts in plain English—such as “make me an upbeat disco track with background vocals”—and get a track within minutes, per The Wall Street Journal. Our take: Services like ElevenLabs can democratize music creation for video campaigns and empower smaller brands to create original campaign content with minimal effort. But with growing concern over AI’s role in creative industries, brands should remain transparent about AI use, keep human creatives on staff as backstops, and use AI when it can complement rather than replace human work.