What’s the price of getting in on the AI boon? For two agencies, it’s just around $300 million.

Earlier this year, both Publicis and WPP pledged to increase their investments in the technology, with Publicis saying it would spend $326 million over three years and WPP promising to spend $318 million annually.

Generative AI is being used increasingly to support work in a number of industries, including in the advertising and agency world, while brands like Mastercard are building out teams with marketers who specialize in the technology. According to June data from Forrester, 91% of US ad agencies are using GenAI or exploring its use cases, with 78% of large agencies (defined as those that have over 201 employees) using GenAI, compared to 53% of small agencies with fewer than 50 employees.

As agencies have scrambled to adapt to new business imperatives, Marketing Brew took a look at how two companies that have made big investments in the technology are using it.

Continue reading here.—JS

This story is the fifth in a series about how marketers for sports teams and leagues around the world approach social media strategy.

The Seattle Mariners are looking to keep things casual. On social media, that is.

In recent years, the team has been making an effort to connect more with younger fans. To do it, the Mariners have embraced a more relaxed and relatable tone of voice than they have in the past and have pushed into what might strike some as nontraditional content for a baseball team, like memes and Twitch streams, according to Tim Walsh, director of digital marketing.

“Our voice has certainly evolved in the time I’ve been here, and we’ve really tried to get more casual, personable, [and] interactive with our fans, really leaning into the meme content and fun angles and casual tone that we can have to be relatable with fans,” Walsh told Marketing Brew.

Curve-ball content: To strike the team’s desired tone online, the Mariners’ marketers have tried to think outside the box when it comes to their posts. Beyond posting stat graphics and replays of big moments, there’s a healthy mix of content across the Mariners’ channels.

Keep reading here.—AM

As the calendars flipped to October, retailers switched into holiday mode, or, in the case of the beauty category, haul-iday mode.

Ulta Beauty is preparing for those beauty hauls and the shopping behaviors that drive them to look a bit different this year, however, as consumer wallets remain pressured. Ulta Beauty reported lackluster results in Q2 that CEO Dave Kimbell noted were “short of our expectations,” as demand cooled in mass beauty and the makeup category, and competition increased within prestige as distribution grew and competing retailers opened.

Though shoppers will likely be “cautious,” Ulta Beauty is aiming to infuse some joy into the holiday season, Ulta Beauty CMO Michelle Crossan-Matos told Retail Brew, hoping its new products, campaigns, and doubled-down focus on its mass and prestige offerings will help the season sparkle. “The consumer needs choice this holiday more than ever,” she said.

Sitting pretty: While consumers may spend conservatively this holiday, Crossan-Matos noted “splurges” persevere, but are shifting, perhaps from a several thousand dollar Gucci handbag to a Chanel beauty item priced under $200.

Keep reading here.—EC

Executive moves across the industry.

• Revlon hair-care brand Creme of Nature brought on Keke Palmer as chief brand officer.
• Domino’s promoted Kate Trumbull from SVP, chief brand officer to EVP, CMO. She starts the new role in November.
• IMAX hired Netflix vet Jonathan Fischer as its chief content officer.