This WNBA postseason looks a little different than it has in past years.

Perhaps most noticeably, the stands are packed with fans.

This year’s playoffs, which tipped off late last month, are already breaking viewership records, and brands are packing into the W’s arenas and broadcasts, too: The league has signed eight new partners since the end of the 2023 season.

“We’ve definitely seen the tide turn when it comes to supply and demand,” Colie Edison, chief growth officer at the WNBA, told Marketing Brew. “The demand to be involved with the league, from a sponsorship standpoint, really has never been higher.”

Amid that demand, though, the W isn’t saying yes to every brand that comes knocking: Edison said her team looks to work with sponsors that are open to long-term deals, as well as ones that have similar values as the W and are looking to help continue the growth of women’s sports, while also seeing business results themselves.

“If you’re just looking to do a logo slap, you’re probably not the right partner for the WNBA,” she said. “We really don’t have space for partners who just want to come in and maybe ride the wave because they think it’s trendy.”

Continue reading here.—AM

Totino’s is turning to the funny guys to take on football season.

This month, Totino’s introduced the adorable alien Chazmo to the world with the help of I Think You Should Leave and Detroiters stars Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson in a new campaign spotlighting the pizza snack’s affordability.

The campaign, called “Chazmo Goes Home,” features Robinson and Richardson as two suburban dads interacting with Chazmo after a visit. As the friendly extraterrestrial is leaving to return to his home planet, the dads ask the alien about paying them back for the Totino’s Pizza Rolls it ate—to which Chazmo gently informs them of the snack’s low cost.

The ad is part of the brand’s effort to continue building out an “entertainment-first content approach,” according to Totino’s brand experience manager, Taylor Roseberry.

“Comedy’s always just kind of been a part of the DNA of this brand,” Roseberry told Marketing Brew. “And I think this brand has always showed up not taking itself too seriously, and has always been very lighthearted and used comedy as a way to connect, which we know resonates with our teen audience as well.”

Out of this world: When discussing who could star in the spots, the team focused on bringing Totino’s value message to life in a brand-authentic way, which meant homing in on humor, Roseberry said.

“As we thought about who could be the right fit, Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson came to mind right away for us,” she said. “They just have such a unique form of comedy that is absurd and unexpected and lighthearted.”

Read more here.—JN

TikTok may have overcome its reputation as a dance app, but that doesn’t mean its users don’t still want to be entertained.

Adult TikTok users in the US primarily follow pop culture and entertainment accounts on the platform, according to a study from Pew Research Center released Tuesday. Creators and influencers who built their following on social media, as well as celebrities, make up half of all TikTok accounts followed by that demographic.

In good news for micro creators, accounts with less than 5,000 followers make up more than a third of the TikTok accounts followed by adults in the US “Mega influencers” with 1+ million followers, on the other hand, make up around 22%.

News dump: While some news accounts have built large TikTok followings, including the Washington Post, NPR’s Planet Money, and Under the Desk News, Pew found that politicians, civic actors, traditional media outlets, and journalists make up less than half of a percentage of followed accounts.

• According to the report, a “typical US adult on TikTok follows no accounts in each of these categories.”

Read more here.—KH