Citibank is undertaking a major brand refresh through a bold new marketing strategy aimed at boosting relevance and customer engagement. Chief Marketing and Content Officer Alex Craddock outlined a comprehensive overhaul, including hiring specialized marketing talent, unifying wealth management services, and building a new brand platform targeting globally minded “change-makers.” The bank is shifting toward a data-driven, personalized approach using genAI and enhanced cross-channel content. Rather than incremental changes, Citi is reimagining its entire strategy to deliver more impactful, client-focused messaging—signaling a major pivot to a modern, cohesive, and insight-led marketing future aligned with its global presence.
The news: The NBA held steady at 4,668 brand sponsors between 2023 and 2024, but total sponsorship revenues rose 8% to $1.62 billion, thanks to jersey patch deals, venue launches like the Intuit Dome, and record-breaking player endorsements. The Golden State Warriors alone brought in over $200 million, and rookie Jared McCain set a league record with 30 personal brand deals. Our take: The NBA is deepening its value to advertisers, not just expanding reach. With media rights deals and Amazon integration elevating its commercial footprint, the league is fast becoming one of the most lucrative platforms for modern marketers.
The news: OpenAI’s business user base surged 50% since February, reaching 3 million paying enterprise customers. To deepen its footprint in the space, the company released workplace features aimed squarely at Microsoft and Google, per VentureBeat. New options let employees pull and interact with cloud data from SharePoint, Dropbox, Google Drive, and more—directly in ChatGPT. Also added: Record Mode for transcribing meetings and upgrades to Codex and Deep Research. Our take: Expect ChatGPT to continue evolving from a standalone AI app to a productivity platform. Business leaders should evaluate OpenAI’s new business suite not just as a productivity upgrade, but as a strategic shift toward AI-driven business platforms.
Credit unions often market themselves as equal to banks, but they may be undervaluing their unique strengths. Instead of aiming to match competitors, campaigns should spotlight key differentiators like a deep-rooted commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), member ownership and control, and using profits to lower fees and rates. These qualities can build trust and attract younger, value-driven consumers. A strong example is one credit union’s storytelling strategy, which focuses on real member experiences and community impact. By highlighting authentic, mission-driven narratives, credit unions can better showcase their distinct role and value in the financial landscape.
Brokered deposits at US banks decreased for the fifth consecutive quarter in Q1 2025. This means that banks are reducing their dependence on this generally more expensive funding source in favor of lower-cost options. And targeted marketing efforts helped them achieve this. Banks employ a variety of strategies to attract and retain customers of their lower-cost deposit products such as seamless account opening, free checking accounts, early access to paychecks, and competitive rates.
The news: Newsweek is buying healthcare-focused ad platform Adprime to boost its offerings for pharma and healthcare marketers. Our take: Healthcare and pharma marketers looking for targeted, data-driven ad solutions could find valuable niche audiences tuning into Newsweek’s expanding content and events. We’re not convinced Newsweek’s adtech strategy is a slam dunk competing against much larger players, but we do think doubling down on the resilient healthcare and pharma digital ad industry makes sense.
FTC investigates ad groups, watchdogs over alleged boycott: Advertisers must navigate a landscape where protecting brand image could carry legal risks.
93% of business and tech leaders view it as a way to offer proactive support but caution that human empathy and oversight still matter.
Perplexity Labs signals a pivot from AI search to full-stack enterprise tools, positioning the startup as a rising competitor to Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI in workplace automation.
The news: TikTok announced updates to its ad capabilities focused on the evolving creator ecosystem at its fifth annual TikTok World event. Updates included an analytics tool for audience insights at different stages of the buying cycle, promotions targeting audiences likely to take action, and multiple changes to TikTok One. Our take: TikTok’s new offerings are key to reassuring advertisers and creators that the platform’s influencer tools still outperform rivals. The features will convince advertisers that TikTok is essential to connect with relevant creators, while showing creators that TikTok remains the best place to make partnerships.
AI Edge Gallery shows Google's bet on offline AI, turning Android phones into self-contained smart tools. It outpaces Apple’s walled approach but faces usability hurdles.
The news: The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) gave a glimpse of the TV (CTV) advertising’s future at its IAB Tech Lab event—and proved that pause ads are leading the way. Advertising leaders said they offer the best user experience, were most likely to scale with standardization, and provided the greatest increase in ad spend. Our take: The future of CTV advertising will rely on whether advertisers can implement non-intrusive formats that capture attention. Pause ads are positioned to drive action—but advertisers must reimagine their creative strategy to capitalize on this potential.
The news: Clickthrough rates on Google Search for home improvement content fell steadily through 2024, according to Industry KPI data from Databox, as the US housing market languished. Our take: With nothing to ease affordability constraints and high interest rates, home improvement activity and search performance are likely to remain subdued. Retailers that emphasize value-oriented, do-it-yourself home products in their content and marketing will be better positioned to capture sales as the housing market takes time to recover.
This follows a longer-term strategy of focusing its operations.
Multicultural adtech is becoming essential: Mundial’s privacy-first model helps brands reach a $4 trillion Hispanic market with precision.
TikTok shifts away from free traffic for US merchants: The change will require businesses to pay for ads for visibility, but TikTok remains a critical touchpoint.
e at last: Microsoft’s update kills default Edge and Bing prompts, giving rivals room to breathe—and forcing marketers to rethink how they reach EU users.
A successful affiliate strategy means casting a wide net: Captiv8 data shared with EMARKETER shows that each influencer size category has strategic benefits that shouldn’t be overlooked.