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Katie Hicks

Katie Hicks is a senior reporter for Marketing Brew covering culture, social media, and influencer marketing. Previously, Katie worked at Vox and Axios in Washington, DC. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

A collage of David Protein marketing efforts, including a billboard advertising "Boiled cod," a close-up of a David Protein bar, and a minimalistic OOH advertisement showing a packaged protein bar on a white background
Social & Influencers

Why David Protein isn’t afraid to defy category norms

From selling cod fillets to sending vibrators to creators, the marketing team behind David is aiming to prove it’s not like other protein bars.

Screenshots from Vita Coco's TikTok account on mobile phone screens
Social & Influencers

Inside Vita Coco’s ‘super fluid,’ organic-first social strategy

The brand’s latest stunt, a jingle with creator Romeo Bingham, helped boost the company beyond 1 million followers on TikTok.

Ring light on top of mobile phone and tripod
Social & Influencers

Creators showed up at this year’s Super Bowl ‘more than ever’

From MrBeast’s and IShowSpeed’s in-ad cameos to Alix Earle’s halftime show appearance, creators were on the screen and on the scene.

stills from Yorgos Lanthimos' ads for Squarespace (Emma Stone screaming in a black-and-white ad) and Grubhub (an ornate dinner table with a fish-eye lens)
Brand Strategy

Why Grubhub and Squarespace tapped the same director for the Super Bowl

Award-winning director Yorgos Lanthimos, who has previously made ads for brands like Gucci and Jameson, is making his Big Game debut with the two brands.

Two stills from Super Bowl ads. In one, William Shatner sits in a purple control room with "America: Low on Fiber" on three screens behind him in an ad for Raisin Bran; in the other, Kathryn Hahn throws her fist in the air while standing on a San Francisco streetcar track in an ad for Oikos
Brand Strategy

Can health messages break through during this year’s Super Bowl?

Doug VanDeVelde, chief growth officer at WK Kellogg Co, seems to think so, telling us, “it’s fiber time.”

Vivian Tu holding phone
Social & Influencers

How Vivian Tu went from creator to SoFi’s chief of financial empowerment

Tu, who assumed the role in November, is now the face of SoFi’s latest TV and streaming campaign.

Three stills from AI-generated ads from Dollar Shave Club, Almond Breeze, and Equinox, including a barista milking a goat, Nick Jonas in an astronaut helmet sipping on Almond Breeze almond milk, and a horse diving into a swimming pool.
Brand Strategy

Brands are using generative AI to make fun of generative AI

The question is, is it working?

A young man holding a smartphone casts a shadow as he walks past an advertisement for social media company TikTok
Social & Influencers

TikTok’s US operations sale is official

The legal and political battle to divest or ban the app in the US has concluded. What comes next?

A still from Wikipedia's ad campaign showing volunteers who help run the site in puzzle-piece-like shapes
Brand Strategy

Wikipedia’s 25th anniversary is a celebration of human knowledge

A rare ad campaign for the online encyclopedia peels back the curtain on the importance of human insight and collaboration in the age of AI.

A graphic of a phone in a ring light stand next to a cutout of a woman in formal suit carrying a box of personal belongings after being laid off
Social & Influencers

For some impacted by layoffs, content creation is a new safety net

Some marketers are turning to social media as a backup income source and a chance to get in front of new employers.