Gen Z has been accused of killing lots of things—side parts, malls, and hustle culture, to name a few—but sports isn’t one of them.

Younger consumers are, however, engaging with sports and athletes differently than older fans, executives and athletes repeatedly said during Advertising Week New York.

“I’ve seen emails recently around how Gen Z is killing off email,” Matt Fasano, SVP of Wasserman’s Next Gen department, said during a panel at the conference. “This Gen Z audience is forcing businesses to evolve, and sports are no different.”

Working directly with athletes and letting them steer the content ship can help brands connect with next-gen sports fans who easily detect campaigns that feel inauthentic, as can tapping into nontraditional spaces like gaming and esports.

Read the full story here.—AM

It’s that special time of year again. You probably know it all too well. Fierce competition. Countless hours spent fine-tuning messaging and poring over consumer data. ’Tis the season, so that means you need to have strategies in place.

Luckily for you, we teamed up with Intuit Mailchimp to give you an interactive toolkit with solutions to help curb those age-old holiday season marketing headaches. We’re talkin’ actionable strategies backed by stats and research.

Wanna know what we’re covering? You’ll learn how to:

• use segments to better reach your audience
• navigate Black Friday + Cyber Monday
• effectively implement owned channels into your strategies

Say goodbye to seasonal slog.*

If you’re wondering what your friend with the privacy screen is doing on their phone, there’s a good chance they’re shopping.

A report from Integral Ad Science found that mobile phones are the most popular devices people use to shop, ahead of desktops and tablets. While mobile shoppers are fairly receptive to ads, per the report, relevance can have an impact on how they respond.

More than three-quarters (78%) of consumers use their phones to shop, IAS found when conducting a survey in June. Exactly three-quarters (75%) of the more than 1,000 mobile shoppers surveyed shop on their phones at least once a week, and almost half (45%) prefer that experience over shopping on other devices.

Apparel, accessories, and personal care products are among the most frequently purchased items via phone apps. Half (50%) of respondents said convenience drives their decision to shop that way. Rewards and loyalty programs also contribute, with 61% saying those are among the most impactful features of their mobile shopping experience.

Sales and discounts exclusive to phones are most impactful when it comes to driving actual purchases, followed by the convenience of paying via mobile wallet.

Keep reading here.—AM

Each week, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Pamela Drucker Mann is global CRO at Condé Nast. She’s held several roles at the media company since joining more than a decade ago.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile? My life outside of work is almost as crazy as my work life. My wife and I are so lucky to have three amazing boys, and we have finally added another girl to our family—our new cat, JJ.

What marketing trend are you most optimistic about? Least? I am really eager to see how we can leverage AI more, especially when it comes to getting our brands in front of more consumers. 

But more immediate, I think the current shift toward the attention economy is one that’s been long overdue. Performance marketing is no longer really performing. Business outcomes need to be measured on impact and not just on reach.

That’s why we’ve been doubling down on live moments—consider the viral immediacy of celebrities on the red carpet as a great example. The Vanity Fair Oscar Party delivered 2.2 billion global social media impressions, September’s Vogue World in London had 93 million global views in the first week across all brands and platforms, and Vogue’s Met Live was No. 1 trending on YouTube. At the end of the day, culture is the new KPI, and it’s critical for marketers to lean in.

What’s one marketing-related podcast, social account, or series you’d recommend? I’d listen to anything that Kara Swisher does.

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

Automate it: Check out this review of the AI tools that are best at writing marketing copy, according to HubSpot.

Spooky: Here are some Halloween-themed marketing tips and tricks from TikTok.

Spookier: Plus, some real-life examples of Halloween social media posts that may help capture consumer attention.

Mergers and acquisitions, company partnerships, and more.

• Disney is reportedly close to selling a major stake in its India operations to Reliance Industries.
• Rob Gronkowski, a former NFL player, bought the naming rights to the LA Bowl, taking over from former bowl host Jimmy Kimmel.
• LeBron James and Peyton Manning’s production companies are in talks to create a show for Netflix about the lives of professional basketball players, per the WSJ.
• Chevron plans to acquire Hess in a deal worth $53 billion.