No, Ellie the Elephant is not in a romantic relationship with Grimace.

This month, the New York Liberty’s mascot, a fashion icon known for her dance moves on the court, was spotted hanging out with McDonald’s mascot Grimace, “a large, purple, rotund being” who also happens to be a major Mets fan.

While the sightings, captured in paparazzi-style photos, sparked dating rumors, Marketing Brew can exclusively confirm that they are not romantically involved, according to Liberty Chief Brand Officer Shana Stephenson. Instead, it’s strictly business: McDonald’s tapped Ellie to help promote this year’s McDonald’s All American Games, an east-versus-west-style competition between high school basketball players that Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan once played in that are taking place at the Liberty’s home court at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn this year.

“I’ve seen the rumors, the speculation around the true nature of their relationship, but this was a collaboration forged through friendship,” Stephenson said.

With the success that Ellie and the Liberty both had in 2024, does the mascot even have time for romance? This year, with Grimace and beyond, Ellie is all business.

Continue reading here.—AM

Ask the teen in your life for their thoughts on your outfit, and you might get a response that has you questioning whether you have any sense of style at all—ouch.

But brands can use that candor to help shape their cultural relevance, according to Rishi Malhotra, founder and CEO of a teen market research platform called cafeteria.

“I’ve always been in the business of culture, and there’s nothing more cultural than this generation; how they define everything from spending to language to music to behaviors,” Malhotra, who previously worked as an exec at HBO and Luminary, told Marketing Brew.

The speed and cost of culture: For brands to identify and capitalize on cultural moments, Malhotra said the key is listening to teens in real time, since their opinions—and thus, culture—are ever-changing.

At his previous stops, including HBO and Luminary, Malhotra said he saw what went into capturing culture via market research, and he recognized two main issues with the existing process: the resources required, and a lack of fidelity in responses.

“Things were very slow. At HBO, we would do focus groups in Q1, and maybe you have it all together three months later,” Malhotra said. “But also, not only were they very expensive, but there was no way to get pure responses. If all of us form a focus group, there’s this thing called groupthink.”

Read more here.—JN

The rise of retail media networks continued in 2024, and this year shoppers can expect to spot even more ads on retail websites.

The last two years have seen new retailers emerge and launch retail media networks. Among the top 100 retailers in the US, 80% have already started building or are working with a third party to build out a retail media network.

Although Amazon dominates the retail media space with roughly 75% of retail media ads, other retailers have also begun reporting double-digit growth in their ads business. Take Walmart Connect, for instance, which grew quickly in 2024, and posted 26% growth in the third quarter, Walmart reported. Emarketer expects Walmart’s ad business to grow 31.6% for the full year in 2024.

Looking ahead, experts told Retail Brew, retail media networks will become more mainstream in 2025. Standard ad units like—display ads, sponsored search ads, and product ads—will become widely available across ad platforms like Amazon, Trade Desk, and Criteo, among others.

“I do think that 2025 will be a defining year for scale, specifically on reporting and integrating retail media into broader national level media plans, as opposed to more of a siloed or ad hoc media channel,” Greg Carlucci, senior director analyst at Gartner, said.

Read more on Retail Brew.—VC

Discover how brands like Saucony, Gainful, and Netflix are using run clubs to engage diverse communities. From exclusive gear to one-of-a-kind events, learn how these partnerships are creating powerful connections and building loyalty by embracing the inclusive spirit of running.