Brand Insider

The US Open is a vibe like no other and this week’s brand knows it. They’ve been with the tournament for 40 years. This year, it’s also celebrating its 200th anniversary and they’re celebrating with Carlos Alcaraz, Frances Tiafoe, Jeff Koons and a host of activities from Las Vegas to New York.But big live moments come with big uncertainty, especially in sports. You can't control how athletes show up on the court, and you definitely can't control culture. How do you modernize while respecting 200 years of heritage?Turning 200 is impressive. Still competing like you're 20? That's the hard part. We sat down with SVP Fran Mulhern at Danone, to talk about 40 years at the US Open and why origin still matters.

There are two kinds of men in the shower. The first are those with a washcloth and a bar of soap. The second are those who assure you he’s fine with what he has. He doesn’t need you to buy him body wash. He likes his stuff. Then he uses yours. Your very expensive, very specific stuff. All of it. And he doesn’t replace it. For a long time, that was the men's grooming aisle: the do-it-all bottles, the bars of soaps, the borrowed products, and not much in between. But men’s grooming is having a moment. It’s one of the fastest growing categories in personal care, which means it's also one of the most crowded.That’s where Every Man Jack finds itself. Nearly 20 years ago, they were one of the few specializing in men’s personal care, but as the competition piled in, "naturally derived and outdoor-inspired" wasn't enough to stand out. They went back to the basics to figure out who their guy really is and rebuilt the brand around him. They realized it’s less about the finish line and more about the grind it took to get there, and that’s how “For Men Who Put in the Work” was born. The messaging landed, but how do you get it out there? Sports are the priciest real estate on TV, audience data costs continue to rise, and every retail media network has its own idea of success. What’s a challenger brand to do? How do you compete for attention when you can’t afford to be the official sponsor? How do you know which dollars are actually pulling their weight?We sat down with Nick Hasselberg, VP of Marketing and Omnichannel at Every Man Jack to find out.

Halloween is eight days away, and this is the candy aisle's time to shine. Lately, though, candy has been cast as the villain. Wellness has become a full-on identity, and it’s easy to get sucked in. It seems like everyone is on a wellness journey, but go too far down the social media rabbit hole and all of a sudden sugar is poison, birthday cake needs a disclaimer, and spinach has become an ingredient in brownies.Candy doesn't have to be the bad guy. It just has to know what it is, and that's what Bazooka Brands is betting on. Yes, Bazooka. If that name doesn’t conjure up a red and blue logo, a comic strip, and a blonde kid with an eye patch then we are living very different lives.It’s synonymous with gum, but it’s also the company behind Push Pop, Juicy Drop and the beloved Ring Pop. They’ve spent the past year moving from candy culture to cultural candy. That may sound like marketing speak, but it’s a small nuance that makes a big difference.It’s things like a Ring Pop wedding collection with celebrity planner Mindy Weiss. It’s giving 70,000 blue and green rings to Seattle Seahawks fans at their home opener. It’s tapping into MomTok and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives to sell candy for a cause. It’s not about the sugar rush; it’s about the way you feel eating it, or wearing it in Ring Pop’s case.It would be easy to call that nostalgia, but nostalgia looks back. This takes something we all grew up with and asks it to do a new job. At a time when everything is supposed to be good for you, convincing people that a treat can just be a treat might be one of the hardest jobs in marketing.We sat down with CMO Dave Dreyer to hear how he’s tackling the job.

Every restaurant has a personality. Some are loud, some are cozy, some you only visit at 2 a.m. That’s the thing about restaurants. We don't always remember the menu, but we remember how the place made us feel. A lot of casual dining restaurants forgot that. Brands tried to be everything to everyone and ended up being nothing to no one. The category is at a crossroads: adapt or die.TGI Fridays is choosing to adapt, and they're doing it by getting their personality back. They’re rebuilding their social presence and giving the brand something it hasn’t had in years: a sense of humor. They've rebuilt their app around the three things guests actually want, and they're rebuilding loyalty around the data they already have so it feels personal instead of promotional.It's a brand trying to have a voice again. With attitude. With opinions. Snarky, sometimes spicy, and a little nonchalant about the whole thing. Because when your guests have a high BS meter, the only way past it is to actually mean what you say.Personality isn't a nice-to-have in the brand guidelines. It's the reason someone picks you at 2am. We sat down with Director of Digital Marketing Christopher Houston to hear how TGI Fridays is getting theirs back.

Like many kids, I was convinced that if you swallowed gum, it would sit in your stomach for seven years. That myth sat right alongside the other greatest hits of '90s parenting. Wait 20 minutes after you eat before swimming. Keep making that face and it'll stick like that. For the record, none of it is true. Gum passes through normally, but frankly seven years in my stomach was the least of gum’s problems. The bigger one? Nobody could figure out what it actually was. Is it candy? Is it a mint? Is it dental hygiene? C'mon, gum. Pick a lane.For most of its life, that lane was fresh breath. Then 2020 happened and suddenly nobody was close enough to smell anything. The job gum was built for just disappeared. What didn't disappear was the pressure, and everybody needs a release valve. Turns out, chewing is also a highly effective way to relieve stress, and that’s exactly the bet that Trident is marketing with its latest campaign. Trident is owning something no mint or candy or toothpaste ever could: the chew itself. The result is the brand's first regional campaign across Latin America. Twelve months. Thirteen countries. Three languages. One global superstar. It's a big swing. Because asking a legacy brand to let go of the thing it's always been known for? That's a whole different level of pressure.How do you reinvent the role of an entire category? How do you build one campaign for 13 countries without losing local nuance? And how do you convince an entire generation to care a little less and chew a little more? We sat down with Lauren Flanigan, Head of the Global Brands Refreshment Category at Mondelez to find out.