Clean rooms are growing up. The former buzzword du jour of ad tech has matured, no longer just a shiny, new privacy tool, but something that can potentially help brands boost sales, advertisers told Marketing Brew.

Two years ago, clients led with questions about data privacy. Today, they’re asking about how the tech can impact the bottom line, Drew Paquette, VP of product at clean-room tech company Optable, explained.

“We trust that your team and your technology is capable of doing and delivering upon what it needs to in terms of privacy protection. But let’s move past that and talk about dollars and cents. How does it help me day to day?” he said, referencing questions he gets from clients.

Read the full story here.—RB

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It’s a new soundtrack (for the NFL). Ahead of last Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets, NBC released a Sunday Night Football promo featuring Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York,” a nod to the singer’s rumored relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce that’s taken the world (and brands) by storm.

If viewership stats are any indication, it seems the league is welcoming some new fans into the fold, at least for now, thanks to those tuning in because of Swift.

End Numbers game: NBC said the game saw an average of about 27 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, according to Nielsen ratings, making it the most-watched Sunday game since this year’s Super Bowl.

• That’s up 22% from last year’s Week 4 game, which drew just over 22 million viewers, according to NBC.
• The game reached more than 19 million households, according to Roku TV viewership data measuring cable and satellite viewing, including about 20 million adult women. Both total viewers and women viewers were up 17% from the previous SNF game on traditional TV, Roku found.
• The Chiefs’ Week 3 game against the Chicago Bears—which Swift attended alongside Kelce’s mom—was the most-watched telecast of the week across networks, according to Fox Sports. It also ranked first among women across age demos.

Ready for it: The NFL seemed prepared for the influx of fans, at least after Swift first made her appearance in the Kelce suite at Arrowhead Stadium during Week 3. Ian Trombetta, the league’s senior VP of social, influencer and content marketing, told Ad Age the league “wanted to capture the moment” before the night hype train left the station.

Continue reading here.—AM

Marketing budgets, like many of us, have had a tough year. But CMOs are feeling good about 2024, according to the latest CMO Survey from Deloitte, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and the American Marketing Association.

The prior edition of the biannual survey clocked softening spend, and six months later, researchers found little shift in that trend. Economic optimism is on the rise, though, and the industry is continuing to experiment with new developments like generative AI.

Marketing spend increased by about 3% from last year, according to the survey, which was conducted this summer among more than 300 marketing leaders in the US. That reflects a 75% drop in the growth rate from last year, which was about 10%.

Keep reading here.—AM

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

It’s personal: Tips for perfecting your personal brand, according to LinkedIn creators.

Pumpkin creep: Why pumpkin spice season is starting earlier and earlier for brands.

Time for more: Meta is expanding access to its generative AI tools that help with ad creation.

Get personal: Intuit Mailchimp’s Holiday Report explores 6 data-backed insights into crushing holiday sales with a strategic, personalized approach. See what works and what doesn’t by reading it for free.*

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