The news: Disney announced that it will merge Disney+ and Hulu in 2026, a move that could save it $3 billion. The news came after a mixed Q3 FY25 that beat expectations thanks to high spending at Disney theme parks and growth in streaming, but saw advertising revenues fall short of analyst estimates. Our take: Disney’s future success depends on whether merging its core streaming offerings boosts advertiser appeal and a successful sports push that can compete on a similar level as rivals with access to tentpole live events like the Super Bowl.
Michael Kors owner Capri credited a sequential improvement in demand for its better-than-expected quarter and upgraded FY forecast. In an otherwise difficult quarter for luxury, Capri’s bullishness stands out. But it has a lot of work to do to revive its brands—particularly Michael Kors, which, following the sale of Versace, now accounts for nearly 70% of revenues.
The results: The US toy industry returned to growth in the first half of 2025 after a flat 2024 and a sales decline in 2023, per a new report from Circana. Dollar sales rose 6% YoY, and unit sales increased 3%. The average selling price also climbed 3%, its first meaningful increase after three years of stagnation. Our take: The toy industry is at a crossroads. While Hasbro and Mattel have both raised their full-year outlooks, short-term risks—from tariffs to economic anxiety—are building. If those pressures persist, the category’s recovery could quickly stall. To stay resilient, brands should double down on the strongest demand drivers: licensed IP and the fast-growing “kidult” segment.
The news: OpenAI is bringing its newest models to Amazon Web Services (AWS) for the first time, marking a major milestone in the ongoing battle for AI cloud dominance. Its open-weight models, gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b—available via Amazon Bedrock and SageMaker AI platforms—are able to handle complicated text-based operations and integrate into cloud-based systems. Our take: OpenAI’s models are getting easier to access, meaning lower costs and fewer technical hurdles to trying powerful AI tools. AWS customers should start testing oss-120b and oss-20b for things like generating subject lines, social copy, and campaign variations and explore ways to fine-tune the models with company data.
The news: Cohere wants to ease enterprise concerns around AI adoption with the launch of North, its new flagship platform. North is a privately deployable agentic platform that lets companies create, manage, and deploy AI agents entirely behind their own firewall. Our take: With the frenetic pace of AI model launches and the pressure for quick enterprise adoption, data governance and security can’t be an afterthought. Platforms like North give enterprises a path to adopt powerful AI tools without giving up control over sensitive information.
The news: Advertisers are increasing investment in up-and-coming digital advertising channels as the shift away from traditional continues, per a DoubleVerify study. Social media maintains the highest level of investment among North American marketers. Seventy-nine percent are already investing, while 19% have plans to. Our take: High-performing traditional ad formats are being overlooked because they’re harder to measure—but optimizing for attribution over outcomes could come at a cost.
The news: Google is gearing up for a wide release of ads in AI Mode search as advertisers grapple with concerns over brand safety and performance erosion in AI-curated environments. Our take: Even as concerns over Google’s ad dominance linger and advertisers consider competitors, cutting spend on Google entirely remains highly unlikely—but the dominoes are stacking up against Google. Ads in AI mode shows the search giant is taking steps to protect itself in an increasingly competitive ecosystem.
In an EMARKETER interview, Reddit COO Jen Wong shared optimism following the platform’s strong Q2, highlighting its focus on delivering ad outcomes over increasing ad load. Despite capturing just over 1% of US social ad spend, Reddit is growing ARPU through investments in machine learning, creative tools like Memorable AI, and advertiser infrastructure. Wong emphasized Reddit’s auction model supports full-funnel goals, while global expansion is underway through localized insights and self-serve adoption. She spotlighted Reddit Community Intelligence as a milestone, enabling brands to tap into decades of authentic discussion data. The company’s long-term bet: authenticity will outperform algorithms.
The result: Mercado Libre’s ad business is gaining speed—and shows no signs of slowing. Retail media revenues jumped 59% YoY on a currency-neutral basis in Q2. Our take: Mercado Libre’s retail media engine is firing on all cylinders, providing high-margin fuel to support key growth levers like free shipping and brand marketing. But while advertising can help offset those costs, it can’t carry the full weight—especially as broader profitability shows signs of strain. “Mercado Libre’s first-mover advantage laid the foundation for its retail media dominance in Latin America, but its real edge lies in continued ad innovation,” said EMARKETER principal analyst Matteo Ceurvels, pointing to new offsite offerings like the Display Extended Network and a deeper push into CTV.
The news: We’ve seen TD Bank lean into comedy before to appeal to younger consumers and launch new products. It’s using a similar strategy to educate current and prospective customers about fractional investing services. Can it work? It’s a clever concept that has prompted consumers, who generally like the ad, to question the legality of using snippets of widely recognized logos, per Creative Bloq. The ad’s core strength is how it takes a complex financial concept—fractional investing—and makes it instantly understandable through a simple visual pun. This approach is highly effective in grabbing attention, especially from younger, digitally savvy audiences, who might find traditional financial ads unappealing.
The news: More than one-third of Pinterest’s 570 million global users are men (30.4% in the US), driven largely by Gen Z, per the company’s first Pinterest Men’s Trend Report. Their searches—spanning fitness, grooming, parenting, and finance—upend stereotypes and signal new ad opportunities. Our take: Advertisers have an opportunity to plug into Pinterest’s male-centric expansion with the following strategies. Launch campaigns via the “Pinterest Man” hub and align creative with top categories (fitness, skincare, parenting). Partner with male creators to boost authenticity, engagement, and time spent. Use Pinterest’s gender-specific analytics and trend reports to optimize ad timing and targeting.
The news: Huntington Bank refreshed its brand with new logos, an ad campaign, and a suite of products to meet the evolving needs of its target customers, per a press release. The details: The brand refresh is changing not only the look and feel of marketing materials but thoughtfully addressing the needs of its target audience. Will it work?: The success of the rebranding will depend on preparation as well as buy-in from employees and customers. But what stands out as incredibly strategic are its products that thoughtfully address its target customers’ life-stage-related needs.
The news: After facing early-career challenges from the Great Recession and then the pandemic, many millennials are now wealthier than previous generations were at the same age. But a significant number remain anxious about their financial future and worry that their wealth could disappear, per The Wall Street Journal. Why this matters for banks: Just as Gen Zers feel they need to earn a whopping $587,800 per year to achieve financial success, millennials may need a reality check from their banking providers so they can productively work toward their financial goals.
China is taking more decisive steps to encourage domestic consumption and rein in price wars that are fueling deflation and straining trade relations. Beijing said it would allocate an additional RMB 69 billion ($9.6 billion) to its consumer goods trade-in program starting in October, bringing the total funds issued this year to RMB 300 billion ($41.87 billion). At the same time, the government plans to “address disorderly competition among enterprises” and more closely scrutinize overcapacity in key industries, according to a Politburo statement. Addressing both issues—domestic consumption and damaging price wars—are key to China’s ability to weather higher tariffs and expand its influence on a global stage. But that’s easier said than done.
The news: US-based rewards app Fetch opened the waitlist for the Fetch American Express Card. Our take: Fetch is positioned to take off for consumers who want rewards that help ease cost concerns when buying everyday essentials.
The news: Klarna and Afterpay will not share the majority of their consumers’ loan information with credit bureaus until they can receive confirmation that their customers will not be penalized for seeking buy now, pay later (BNPL) plans. Our take: Affirm’s early plunge into credit reporting has been blunted against its competitors’ refusal to participate in the system, but it still takes the reputational lead in terms of being a “trustworthy” provider.
The news: Serious delinquency rates held steady YoY, while credit card volume growth continued to slow, per a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Our take: As middle-class educated professionals are slapped with resumed student loan payments, many will falter in the face of reaccelerating inflation and a weakening job market—especially if faced with possible wage garnishment.
The news: Yum Brands Q2 earnings and revenues fell short of analysts’ expectations. Our take: Despite Yum Brands’ efforts to sharpen its value proposition, economic uncertainty still took a bite out of its performance. Consumers are thinking twice about where and when they eat out amid growing concerns over tariffs and a weakening labor market. That caution is hitting nearly every quick-service chain, from Chipotle to McDonald’s, and Yum Brands isn’t immune.
The news: Noom is now selling microdoses of compounded GLP-1 semaglutide for weight loss with a lower price tag and fewer side effects. Our take: GLP-1 microdosing is booming on social media trend and although weight loss drugmakers Novo and Lilly have neither studied nor endorsed mini doses, it’s another tactic for telehealth providers like Noom to stay in the weight loss game. We expect GLP-1 microdosing to gain marketing steam among telehealths this year.