Out with the new, Inn with the old.

The fast-casual chain Dig Inn, which shortened its name to Dig in 2019, announced late last month that it would return to its original moniker, much to fans’ delight. The decision to reverse course on the rebrand, according to Dig Inn CMO Jessica Serrano, came from a slow drip of customer feedback over the last six years, with a particularly powerful inflection point on April Fools’ Day of this year.

“We did a post about opening a Dig Inn, as in a bed and breakfast, and it performed really well,” Serrano said. “It reignited that conversation internally about, ‘What is it about Dig Inn? People really love it, and maybe it’s something that we should consider more seriously.”

It wasn’t long ago that it seemed like every brand from Dunkin’ to Jamba was cutting a word from its name. But while a shorter name can come with benefits, it can also come with risks to brand recognition and affinity, as HBO Max and Dig Inn have recently learned.

Since joining the company in 2022, Serrano said she’d become used to getting questions about why the brand dropped the “Inn” in the first place or even having to clarify who her employer was.

“Oftentimes, even if I would introduce myself as a member of the Dig team, I’d get that little head tilt,” she said. “Then [I’d say] ‘Dig Inn.’ ‘Oh yeah, I know Dig Inn!’”

Continue reading here.—KH

For football fans counting down the days until the start of the NFL season, there’s a chance this summer to see their favorite game in action—sort of.

In the midst of the FIFA Club World Cup final last weekend, MLB All-Star Week this week, and WNBA All-Star Weekend kicking off Friday, there’s set to be dozens of hours of coverage across Disney properties and NFL+ of the NFL’s Flag Football Championships, a youth flag-football tournament that brings together hundreds of teams—both regional and international—in Canton, Ohio, to compete in a four-day-long tournament.

Though this is only the second year of the championship tournament, the NFL has been investing in flag football for years, including promoting the sport through a Super Bowl ad and in a new campaign encouraging youth players to find a league that rolled out this week, which stars Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, and several youth flag-football stars.

The effort is designed to help grow the already massive football fandom by getting kids involved in the flag version of the sport from a young age, according to Ingrid Petri, VP, sponsorship strategy and new business development at the NFL. Flag football has been growing internationally, too, she said, and in 2028, it will be an official event at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

Between the NFL and the International Olympic Committee embracing the sport and its increased accessibility among girls and international audiences compared to tackle football, flag football is not only grabbing the attention of younger athletes around the world—it’s also attracting NFL sponsors and fans as well.

“People love football, whether it’s the NFL, it’s collegiate, it’s flag football,” Petri told Marketing Brew. In the US, “for the most part, it’s a passion point,” she said, and “the fans that we have and the enthusiasm that they have for the league is bar none.”

Read more here.—AM

A few months ago, NBCUniversal ad sales chief Mark Marshall descended from the ceiling of Radio City Music Hall to pitch advertisers during upfronts week.

Seems like that high-wire act made an impact.

NBCU announced this week that it had wrapped the 2025–2026 upfront season by hitting its highest ad sales volume ever. The company attributed some of that growth to its stacked sports lineup that includes NBA games for the first time in more than two decades, the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, the 2026 Super Bowl, and the FIFA World Cup, as well as the media giant’s efforts to court small- and medium-sized businesses and boost its programmatic offerings.

Overall, categories such as retail, auto, and travel each saw growth of about 12%, according to the company. In a statement, Marshall described this upfront season as the “most successful…in our company’s history,” but the company did not disclose total revenue or rates.

“In a year set to redefine industry benchmarks, ad-supported reach remains the most influential force in media,” Marshall said in the statement.

Continue reading here.—JS

Hear from Olga Suvorova, CMO of Mobile Experience at Samsung, on September 10 as she shares what’s powering the next wave of marketing innovation. Plus, get insights from leaders at Spotify, Duolingo, Unilever, Ford, Audible, and more. It’s the ultimate download—grab your ticket now.

Tune in to this week's episode of The Refill, the AI-voiced audio recap of the Marketing Brew stories that drive your career forward. This week, learn about the rise of video podcasts, how Dancing with the Stars' Ezra Sosa's social media presence has modernized the show, and why brands are turning to newsletters to connect with customers.

Catch the latest episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your audio media.

Stories we’re jealous of.

• The New York Times wrote about how women in the marketing industry and beyond are turning to freelance gigs and starting their own businesses as they search for flexibility during motherhood.
• Bloomberg wrote about the state of Starbucks’s “homier, cozier, classic” rebrand a year into CEO Brian Niccol’s tenure.
• The Wall Street Journal profiled Goodles, a mac-and-cheese brand that is aiming to win over young-adult consumers.