You don’t have to look hard to find good deals on EVs right now—and they may get even sweeter as consumers trying to avoid the gas station give battery-powered models a second glance.

The US average price for a gallon of gas is about $1 more than it was a month ago, as a result of disruptions to global oil supplies because of the US-Israel war with Iran. This sudden increase has caused car shoppers around the world to mull EVs, though last month, US market analysts said higher interest in electrified models hadn’t yet translated to more sales.

Car shopping website Edmunds reported that shopper consideration of electrified vehicles made up 23.8% of vehicle research activity on its website the third week of March, up from 20.7% in late February. On used-car platform CarMax, searches for electrified models grew nearly 13% between February and late March.

“While this trend is encouraging, we’re not in uncharted territory,” Erin Keating, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, said during an analyst call. “It tells us there’s renewed curiosity, but we should be watching whether this momentum sustains or whether it’s another short-lived spike.”

Search intelligence firm Adthena’s data suggest that after the demise of federal tax credits for EV purchases, consumers continued to search for EVs, but with more focus on value, financing deals, and the total cost of owning an EV. Adthena’s data also point to “an aggressive but volatile increase in ad spending, specifically on mobile,” with more than 3,100 active advertisers in mid-February.

With an excess of new EVs sitting on dealer lots, a coming influx of off-lease EVs, uncertainty about when the war will end, and consumers looking for value wherever they can find it, there’s an opportunity for EV makers to win over new customers.

“We’re not always in this situation where people are more open to EVs,” Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ head of insights, told us. “To capitalize on this short window is quite important, especially for the all-EV brands. This is your moment to do what you need to do to get your message across.”

Continue reading here.—JG

Ay yi yi…or shall we say, AI, AI, AI?

That’s how pervasive artificial intelligence was at South by Southwest this year—and as the weekend went on, it seemed the general attitude toward the ever-present tech topic ping-ponged between performative excitement and prolonged wariness.

There was no industry agnosticism about it either: The entertainment sector saw panels on everything from using AI to revitalize film history to NBCUniversal’s celebration of its new AI-powered Your Bravoverse product to dissecting AI’s impact on IP and fair use.

Meanwhile, the creator economy reckoned with how AI slop might change the online world while also searching for ways to implement the tech.

It’s a big tent, and everyone wants in, so they say.

“Last year, there was a lot on blockchain, and crypto, and different forms of payment. That seems to be completely by the wayside at this point,” Dallas Dolen, US technology, media, and telecommunications industry leader at PwC, told me. “[This year], you can’t go 20 feet without seeing something about AI and the disruption it’s having to broader society, and certainly to the specific things that are a focus here with media, music, and movies in particular.”

Read more here.—JN

If anyone picked their March Madness brackets based on the talent in Geico’s campaign for the tournament, they might find themselves in good shape: Both of the college stars featured in its work, UConn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd and Michigan Wolverines guard Trey McKenney, are headed to the Final Four.

The marketing team at Geico wasn’t purposefully trying to pick winners, according to CMO Arianna Orpello. Instead, they were largely focused on finding athletes with stories that matched the narrative the company is trying to convey in its docuseries campaign about families and support systems. The docuseries approach, Orpello said, is meant to help Geico stand out in the sports space, which is crowded with insurance companies.

“Geico has always tried to redefine the storytelling of the category,” Orpello, who joined from Goldman Sachs three months ago, told Marketing Brew. “That’s been happening for over 30 years, mostly in the traditional advertising space, and…we really tried to think about, ‘How do we create a different kind of platform for NCAA than we have in any of the other sports?’”

The resulting campaign, a three-part docuseries about Fudd, McKenney, and WNBA star and UConn grad Napheesa Collier, marks the start of Orpello’s effort to differentiate Geico in the insurance category, in part by betting more on women’s sports, she said.

Continue reading here.—AM

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Stories we’re jealous of.

• Bloomberg wrote about how Arc’teryx has captured the attention of customers ranging from backpackers to C-suite execs.
• The Atlantic looked into the proliferation of “maxxing” trends.
• Business Insider wrote about “AI-driven” layoffs and how they could be a covert way for some companies to shift to contractor-based workforces.