Rivalry isn’t like other sports betting companies.

The Toronto-based sportsbook was only founded about seven years ago, making it a relative newcomer compared to more established sports betting companies like FanDuel and DraftKings. Its aim is to fill a couple of gaps in that market, targeting esports aficionados and explicitly catering to Gen Z and millennials, according to Global Head of Marketing Grant Flannery.

“Not all of them want to use their dad’s betting platform,” Flannery told Marketing Brew.

Since its inception, Rivalry has expanded its offerings beyond esports, but the company is still focused on tapping into internet and influencer culture, partnering with creators and platforms over big-name celebrities and traditional mass-media channels to connect with its audience in regions around the world.

“We’re a brand that’s a little bit degenerate, but not too degenerate,” Flannery said. “We want to have fun in what we’re doing.”

Under the influence: In recent years, sports betting companies like ESPN Bet, DraftKings, and FanDuel have tapped celebrity spokespeople to lead their marketing campaigns. Rivalry doesn’t have the budget for a star-studded cast, Flannery acknowledged, but even if it did, Flannery said his team wouldn’t want to position the brand similarly to others in the space.

“Our mantra is pretty much, ’When everybody else zigs, we zag,’” he said. “We want people to be able to resonate with [the brand] and look at it and feel like, ’That’s exactly who I would want to bet with. They get me.’”

Continue reading here.—AM

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Is that company powered by proprietary AI insights and solutions or did it just spend some time futzing around with ChatGPT?

Sorting out the reality behind vague buzzwords has become a key skill in the era of generative AI hype, in which a sense of FOMO has pressured startups and big corporations alike to perhaps overstate their AI capabilities. But on top of losing trust with consumers or investors if these claims don’t pan out, such inflated language—dubbed “AI washing”—can come with legal risks.

‘New school’ fraud: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun to crack down on companies that make false claims about AI in recent months following a series of warnings to publicly traded companies from Chair Gary Gensler. In June, for instance, the commission charged the CEO and founder of a now-shuttered recruitment platform called Joonko in “an old-school fraud using new-school buzzwords like ‘artificial intelligence’ and ‘automation,’” as Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, said in a statement.

“As more and more people seek out AI-related investment opportunities, we will continue to police the markets against AI washing,” Grewal added. “It is critical for investors to beware of companies exploiting the fanfare around artificial intelligence to raise funds.”

Beyond enforcement actions, companies also face a risk of shareholder lawsuits, much like with greenwashing or, in rarer cases, “cloud-washing” according to David Shargel, a partner at law firm Bracewell.

Read more on Tech Brew.—PK

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

Christine Guilfoyle is president of SeeHer, a global initiative founded by the Association of National Advertisers focused on increasing representation of women and girls in marketing, media, and entertainment. She spent much of her career in publishing, including at Meredith Corp. and WWD.

Favorite project you’ve worked on? In 2005, I had my first publisher job on the launch of Every Day with Rachael Ray. At that time, Rachael was not well known, although incredibly hard-working and committed to making a brand for herself. Rachael, the editor, the creative director, and I were all under 40, and embraced the idea that through hard work and fun, we would have great success.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? Kotex’s “Progress Feels Like” campaign is one that sits near and dear to my heart. The work came off of a report that found nearly 60% of women believe the speed of women’s progress is either stagnant or moving slowly. The ad exposes the reality of the female experience and its discomforts, from feelings of shame and belittlement to expectations of behavior and appearance. But Kotex pushes against the inevitability of being “uncomfortable” and encourages its viewers to instead focus on a much stronger feeling: progress. The ad depicts women of all identities coming together to feel progress and its attributes—freedom, exhilaration, belonging, uniting, teaching, and more. To me, “Progress Feels Like” is a North Star example for brands and marketers looking to accurately represent women and the female experience. It gives me the chills every time I watch it.

Read more here.

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Mergers and acquisitions, company partnerships, and more.

• Johnnie Walker Blue Label partnered with actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach from The Bear for an in-show integration during the Emmys, a first for the awards show.
• Apple tapped Game of Thrones and The Last of Us actor Bella Ramsey to star in ads for Apple Intelligence.
• JCPenney worked with celebrities including Shaquille O’Neal and Martha Stewart for ads that will run during Thursday Night Football on Prime Video.