Dear reader, let it be known that if Netflix has a hit TV show, the streaming giant probably advertised the heck out of it.

And season three of Bridgerton, the Shonda Rhimes-produced historical romance, is no exception.

The new season, which had its first part release in May, was the most-streamed TV series that month, notching 5.5 billion viewing minutes. The following month, when part two of the season was released, the show racked up 9.3 billion viewing minutes, making it the most-watched show across any single month for the entire year so far.

Bridgerton is already slated for a fourth season, and Rhimes has hinted that many more seasons of Bridgerton are ahead, telling Deadline that she looks forward to bringing the series to screens “for years to come.”

While viewers were undoubtedly keen on tuning in to watch the show’s surprise engagements and torrid affairs, shows don’t always become hits overnight, and Netflix leaned heavily into marketing the series to encourage audiences to come back again and again since it first became a hit in 2020.

Ahead of this season’s release, the streamer leveraged consumer products aimed at women viewers and hosted themed activations around the globe to help build excitement after a two-year gap between seasons.

Continue reading here.—JS

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You’ve heard of shrinkflation, when brands make their products smaller, often undetectably so, and charge the same price. You may also have heard of skimpflation, when products remain the same size but are made with cheaper ingredients. Here’s a new one: spaving, a merging of “spending” and “saving” where consumers are enticed—you’re $9.37 away from free shipping!—to save more by spending more.

Like those other portmanteaus, it’s a strategy that many retailers are executing but which personal finance experts are cautioning consumers about.

Term on a dime: If it seems like the term came out of nowhere, it’s because it kind of did. Google searches for “spaving” were virtually nonexistent over the last five years, then spiked on the week of May 5–11, according to Google trends.

In the 30 days ending June 30, there were 693 mentions of “spaving” on social media, an astonishing 34,550% increase over the previous 30 days, when there were just two, according to Hootsuite data compiled exclusively for Retail Brew.

During that same period, the three posts about spaving that earned the most engagement all were on YouTube, with CNBC topping the list, followed by The Millionaire Morning Show with Anton Daniels (which posted about spaving twice), and The Ramsey Show, per Hootsuite.

While the coinage may be new, many practices spaving encompasses are as old as the—ka-ching!—cash register.

Continue reading on Retail Brew.—AAN

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

Kathleen Braine is chief marketing officer of 818 Spirits, the tequila brand founded by Kendall Jenner, and Sprinter Spirits, the canned-cocktail brand founded by Kylie Jenner. Prior to 818 Tequila, she held marketing roles at AB InBev, MetLife, and Samsung.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? As a marketer, I’m always looking to expand the medium of advertising beyond what people think advertising can be, so it’s no surprise that my favorite campaigns expanded what people thought was possible for advertising overall. A few that come to mind over the years are Dollar Shave Club’s “Our Blades Are F***ing Great” Campaign, which was a phenomenal piece of creative that also heralded the newfound power of digital and social advertising, or Reddit’s QR code Super Bowl Ad, which used an old technology (QR codes) on a relatively old medium (TV advertising) in a new and unique way. I also love that one for kind of thumbing its nose as the traditional concept of a Super Bowl ad and a massive ad spend. I am always a big fan of that kind of irreverence in advertising when it lands.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile: I have an almost-10-month-old baby girl at home. Being a working mother at a startup like 818 Tequila has been a new challenge, but I have found that I have a better sense of how to prioritize my time and look for efficiencies throughout the workday.

Read more here.—KS

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Gen Z is different from older generations. Members of this generation are digitally native, spend more time watching videos, and have embraced the overlap between media and technology. But Gen Z has some particular habits marketers should pay attention to.

EMARKETER’s free guide is your brand’s roadmap to making a lasting impact with Gen Z in 2024 and beyond. Access it here.

Mergers and acquisitions, company partnerships, and more.

• Venu Sports, the joint sports streaming venture between ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, will cost consumers $42.99 a month when it debuts later this fall.
• Mars is reportedly considering acquiring Kellanova, the company that makes snacks including Cheez-Its and Pringles.
• Bud Light is back for its 28th season as the official beer sponsor of the NFL, starting with an ad starring Peyton Manning.
• The Philadelphia Phillies added Independence Blue Cross as their first jersey patch partner, as jersey sponsorships become more prevalent in Major League Baseball.