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The news: The NFL may dominate sports viewership, but brands are also tuning into sports with smaller, but highly engaged, audiences. A Harris Poll report found that 70% of soccer fans are more excited for the World Cup because it will be hosted in North America. Beyond soccer, women鈥檚 sports is gaining momentum as a critical ad opportunity. WNBA team deals have increased 52% in two years, per SponsorUnited. Our take: Advertisers looking to reach tuned-in audiences at a lower cost of entry should view sports advertising opportunities like soccer and women鈥檚 sports as critical investments, not a last resort.

After beauty's social return on ad spend (ROAS) dipped to $1.90 in Q4 2024, the category saw a marked jump up to $3.50 in Q1 2025, according to a March report from Cart.com.

The finding: Interest in electric vehicles (EVs) has ticked up in the past year, per Deloitte鈥檚 June 2025 ConsumerSignals report. Globally, 44% of consumers said they would prefer an EV for their next vehicle, compared to 39% one year ago. In the US, 37% of consumers want an EV, up from 34% in June 2024. The rise in EV demand marks a fundamental shift in the risk landscape. Insurers can no longer afford to underwrite EVs as they would a regular car and adjust premiums reactively. Instead, they must move to a proactive model. This will include incentivizing safe driving, and educating consumers about their vehicles and how to keep premium prices as low as possible. Next, insurers should consider acquiring cybersecurity insurance, investing in human-centric security, and implementing advanced security technologies.

The news: Instagram is testing a feature that lets users select their favorite movies, books, TV shows, games, and music to encourage intentional sharing and discovery. The offering, called Picks, then surfaces overlapping interests between friends to drive engagement. It鈥檚 still an internal prototype and isn鈥檛 being tested externally yet. Our take: Effectiveness will depend on user adoption, stickiness, and whether shared Picks sparks meaningful interaction or is perceived as just another data-harvesting ploy. If Picks launches, brands should be ready to experiment with interest-based messaging but prepare to navigate privacy sensitivities.

The strategy: Tech platform Bluwhale has released a model for a scoring system that calculates real-time credit signals from both fiat and crypto assets, per Cointelegraph. Why this matters: We called for FIs to consider incorporating crypto assets into lending products in our report 鈥淗ome Lending Trends 2025.鈥� Here鈥檚 why: Cryptocurrency is becoming more mainstream, with big banks increasingly incorporating digital currencies into everyday solutions. Younger consumers are more interested in alternative investments including crypto than their older counterparts. Our take: FIs aren鈥檛 currently offering Bluewhale鈥檚 system, but the model still illustrates how creditworthiness scoring could look in the future. FIs that include financial activity that demonstrates strength but doesn鈥檛 appear on a traditional credit report can assess loan requests more accurately鈥攁nd potentially approve more customers.

The news: Sixty-four percent of Gen Z and 65% of millennial homebuyers say their financial well-being will depend on their ability to refinance to a lower interest rate in the future, per Truework鈥檚 鈥淭he State of Homebuying in America鈥� report. But if rates don鈥檛 significantly drop over the next few years, these customers鈥� mortgages could be at risk of defaulting. Our take: Financial institutions (FIs) can step in to help young homeowners navigate their mortgages while they await rate changes. FIs can start by offering automated refinance alerts, enhancing digital transparency and providing a homeownership/homebuying educational hub.

The news: US Gen Zers鈥� rising interest in financial independence is driving them to favor banking websites over beauty, gaming, or news websites, according to our industry KPI data provided by Comscore. The number of unique visitors ages 18鈥�24 to banking industry websites grew from 15.0 million to 15.7 million between January and June 2025. Other industries saw a drop in unique visitors of that age bracket over the same period. Our take: Financial institutions (FIs) must adapt their strategies to align with Gen Z's priorities and behaviors, because their competitors clearly have.This will require them to rethink the user experience, shift from products to value, and embrace socially native communication.

The Ulta Beauty at Target partnership, which put more than 600 Ulta mini-stores inside Target locations, will end in August 2026 when the current agreement expires. The companies said they mutually agreed not to renew the deal, which launched in 2021. With this business venture set to end, Ulta will focus on new growth opportunities, while Target will gain space to focus on operational improvements and refine its retail strategy.

The news: Klarna鈥檚 revenues jumped 20% YoY to $823 million in the latest earnings released ahead of its IPO this fall. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) spiked 19% to $31.2 billion鈥攏early four times the size of competitor Affirm鈥檚 $8.6 billion. Klarna鈥檚 US GMV growth is even more impressive, at 37% YoY. Our take: Klarna will have an uphill battle if it wants to dethrone Affirm as the dominant BNPL provider in the US. Given Affirm鈥檚 recent partnership with Stripe, Klarna may not be able to rely on the fintech for such rapid growth anymore鈥攅specially considering Affirm鈥檚 more direct integrations with Stripe in-store.

The news: The podcast ad market is maturing and evolving past an experimental medium into a reliable resource for repeat advertisers and larger test budgets. Q2 podcast ad spending grew 28% YoY and 17% quarter over quarter (QoQ), per Magellan AI鈥檚 latest Quarterly Benchmark report. Our take: Podcast audiences are high-intent, highly engaged listeners. Maintaining a positive user experience means advertising remains effective and trusted. Marketers should use podcasts as a bridge medium, not just for conversions, but for brand memory and affinity.

The news: Last year, we covered predicted growth in specialized insurance, including cybersecurity protection, because of the rising costs of data breaches. Allianz Life鈥檚 recent incident is further proof why such protection and precautionary measures are imperative. Why this matters: As a result of this data breach, Allianz Life faces financial and reputational costs that could affect its bottom line for years. This is a powerful reminder for the entire insurance industry to strengthen its cybersecurity defenses. Preventing attacks requires a proactive and comprehensive strategy beyond simple perimeter defenses.

The news: Costco has opted against dispensing the FDA-approved abortion pill mifepristone at its 500+ pharmacy locations, per Bloomberg. Our take: Costco's position could offend many of its customers and reverse the goodwill it has earned by holding firm on its DEI policies amid right-wing criticism. Costco might risk further brand damage if it stands by the reason of weak consumer demand when there鈥檚 evidence showing an uptick in medication abortions.

Quick-service chains like Starbucks, Taco Bell, and Potbelly are leaning into secret menus as a low-risk, high-reward strategy to spark buzz, drive app engagement, and crowdsource product innovation. 鈥淪ecret鈥� is one of the most powerful words in the marketing playbook鈥攊t signals exclusivity, discovery, and insider access. For QSRs, secret menus turn that intrigue into action, gamifying loyalty, testing new flavors, and tapping into cultural trends鈥攁ll without disrupting operations. By inviting fans to co-create, brands get viral traction and fresh product ideas, often using ingredients already in stock. It鈥檚 a low-lift, scalable strategy to boost visits and stay relevant in a crowded, fast-moving category.

More than a dozen food manufacturers have pledged to remove artificial dyes from their products in response to pressure from US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. The shift from artificial dyes underscores the increased sway of public health advocates and consumer demand for cleaner labels鈥攅ven in the absence of conclusive science. It puts food manufacturers in a tough spot: They are under pressure to reformulate without compromising appearance or taste, all while facing steep costs and limited upside for benefits that may be more symbolic than nutritional.

Three in four US online shoppers consider fast delivery to be important, per a YouGov survey. Just 8% believe it to be unimportant. Thanks to Amazon Prime and similar offerings, consumers have come to expect free and fast shipping. But if forced to pick between the two, shoppers will accept slower delivery speeds if it means no extra cost. That鈥檚 good news for brands that can鈥檛 afford to compete with the likes of Amazon and Walmart on speed.

The news: Affirm will be available as a payment option for in-store shoppers on Stripe Terminal for US and Canadian merchants, per a press release. Our take: Snagging a Stripe Terminal integration is a big win for Affirm. This can help expand its lead in the US, where it holds $35.69 billion in payment value鈥攁 $4 billion dollar lead over Klarna.

The news: Western Union will acquire International Money Express (Intermex) in a deal with a total equity and enterprise value of $500 million, per a press release. Our take: Increasing its retail footprint in the US positions can help Western Union capture more remittance outflow from the US, which we forecast to hit $92.58 billion this year.

The news: 26.5% of US adults with type 2 diabetes used a GLP-1 injectable drug last year, per CDC data published Thursday. Our take: While type 2 diabetes is still driving most GLP-1 prescribing today, there鈥檚 a healthcare opportunity to address obesity at the same time. Providers need to proactively educate patients with obesity about the risk for type 2 diabetes, while marketers can message GLP-1s as preventive care. Partner with physicians who鈥檝e seen the benefits for their patients and social influencers touting health benefits they鈥檝e gained after starting GLP-1s for weight loss.

The news: Eli Lilly is hiking the UK price of its diabetes and weight loss drug Mounjaro by as much as 170% starting next month, depending on the dose size. The drugmaker also said it鈥檚 been working on raising prices of its medications in Europe and other developed countries. Our take: Drug pricing is so complicated that it could benefit pharma manufacturers, because it will be hard to know whether they鈥檙e truly equalizing prices or just finding ways around the Trump administration鈥檚 demands that other drugmakers could copy.

The news: YouTube is facing user backlash after rolling out its AI-powered age-verification system in the US. Many users are furious, per TechRadar, citing concerns about 鈥渕ass surveillance and data control.鈥� The age-verification AI estimates a user鈥檚 age based on viewing patterns, search history, and account age. If it flags a user as under 18, YouTube automatically applies teen safety restrictions like disabling personalized ads, limiting content availability, and turning on digital well-being tools. Our take: Disabling personalized advertising for flagged accounts will disrupt retargeting models and reduce audience reach. Marketers focused on Gen 鈥痁ers on YouTube should prepare for reduced targeting precision and to shift toward context-driven campaigns or diversify across other platforms.

The trend: Even amid the surging popularity of weight loss drugs, 60% of respondents to a recent Tebra survey admitted they鈥檙e hesitant to ask physicians about GLP-1 medications. Our take: Healthcare and pharma players in the GLP-1 space will want to double down on messaging that obesity is a chronic condition that often requires medication, while integrating testimonials from GLP-1 patients who are proud of their weight loss achievements. Marketers should also craft content that addresses physicians鈥� specific biases against weight loss drugs and refutes common misconceptions.