This story is the latest in our series on women leaders in sports and sports marketing. Read the rest of the profiles here.

Growing up on a farm in Surrey, a county in southeast England, Ellie Norman spent a lot of time around tractors. They’re about as different from a racecar as a vehicle can get (not to mention much slower), but from a young age, Norman knew she wanted to get behind the wheel of something.

“I always had this sense of wanting to be able to drive anything that had an engine,” Norman, who would later go on to market for Formula 1 and Formula E, told Marketing Brew.

Norman started working in the agency world when she was 18, using her early savings to buy a Porsche 968 Clubsport. In 2007, she got her race license, which allowed her to compete in some “low-level national racing,” she said. In 2017, she became the director of marketing for Formula 1, where she’d remain for four and a half years.

When Norman joined the organization in its pre-Drive to Survive days, her goal was to “revitalize Formula 1 for a new generation.” Almost a decade later, Formula 1 has seen a resurgence that seems to be the envy of the sports world—and Norman is now CMO of Formula E, the motorsport championship for electric cars. Her goals for Formula E, which she joined just over a year ago, are arguably bigger than the ones she had at F1.

“One of the things I’ve spoken about inside the organization is, ‘How do we become the defining motorsport for youth culture?’” Norman said. “That’s a very deliberate set of words, but for me, youth culture isn’t about age. It literally is an attitude.”

Continue reading here.—AM

Gen Z might have a reputation for being carefree spenders, but new research suggests they’re actually more financially savvy than they often get credit for.

In a consumer survey conducted by Affirm, Gen Z was found to be approaching money with intentionality and discipline, with a big focus on value in an uncertain economy.

For instance, nearly 24% of Gen Zers chose to thrift or DIY their home decor. Others (40%) opted to blend new with secondhand. Even with apparel, 23% shopped secondhand, while 35% mixed thrifted with new clothing.

Meanwhile, about one-third identify as planners who make budgets and track spending, while a quarter call themselves “value seekers.”

Overall, the younger generation is getting smart with their spending, even those who favor buy now, pay later options. Affirm found that “nearly all Gen Z borrowers pay Affirm back in full across all loans.”

The finding that Gen Zers tend to be big savers shouldn’t come as a big surprise. A recent PwC study that took stock of about 1 million consumer transactions found that Gen Z slashed their spending by 13% between January and April this year, with apparel, accessories, and electronics being some of the top categories they were pulling back spending on.

Meanwhile, findings from NielsenIQ showed that Gen Z’s spending power was projected to rise to $12 trillion by 2030, impacting a range of manufacturers and retailers in the future.—JS

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

Sophie O’Rourke is senior director, influencer marketing, Dialogue New York. She has also worked at Full Picture and at d2 publicity.

Favorite project you’ve worked on? One of my favorite and most creative campaigns I’ve worked on was for our five-year client, Little Spoon. Leaning into the nostalgia of the ’90s, we developed and executed a viral influencer program in support of their Lunchers launch (a build-and-eat array of healthy meals and snacks for big kids) that blanketed social media, driving home the overarching message that you’ve changed since the ’90s, why hasn’t your kid’s food? Our multi-tiered strategy engaged iconic ’90s celebrities, traditional macro influencers, and parent tastemakers via a range of personal, strategically timed partnerships, including paid campaigns, UGC content collaborators, and widespread gifting.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? I loved what the team at Crown Affair drummed up for their launch of the Finishing Spray. From the ode to ’90s New York to the newspaper PR mailer and movie-night screening of The Thomas Crown Affair in NYC, this campaign was creative, inspiring, and most importantly, stayed so true to their identity. They leveraged custom photography, graphic design, comic writers, and original artwork to deliver a 360-degree campaign that touched editorial, digital/social and OOH activations, effectively flooding the feeds of their target consumer and driving huge swell at launch. Such brilliant work.

Read more here.

Mergers and acquisitions, company partnerships, and more.

• Snap partnered with Perplexity AI to integrate the AI brand’s chatbot into Snapchat.
• Gatorade partnered with Netflix on a retro ad and limited-edition vintage product rollout promoting the final season of Stranger Things.
• Kinder Chocolate is partnering with The Elf on the Shelf on a holiday-themed pack.
• Disney and YouTube TV’s ongoing distribution rights standoff that has kept channels like ESPN and ABC from the OTT TV service has stretched into its third week.

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