Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2025 i Adweek

The Most Powerful Women in Sports Awards are back! This is your chance to spotlight the women and non-binary people pushing sports and sports marketing forward. Last year’s class featured soon-to-be WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark along with the executives who helped her, such as State Farm marketer Kristyn Cook. Nominations are open through March 4. It’s time to pick the ADWEEK 50 of 2025. Each year, we spotlight the behind-the-scenes luminaries in media, advertising, marketing, and tech who were essential growth drivers for their businesses in 2024. Rather than recognizing the CEO, ADWEEK 50 honors the operators who keep their companies running efficiently and profitably, while promoting innovation and culture. Submit your candidates by March 4. NOMINATION FORMS CAN BE FOUND AT ADWEEK.COM.…

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FIRM DeepSeek’s R1 model is being cast as China’s answer to OpenAI, throwing Silicon Valley and Wall Street into disarray and wiping out $600 billion in Nvidia’s market cap in one day. But while some paint DeepSeek as an AI juggernaut poised to upend the industry, the reality about its capabilities—and the true competitive dynamics—are far less dramatic, according to sources. Here’s a closer look at the biggest claims about DeepSeek—and why experts say they don’t hold up. CLAIM: DEEPSEEK IS MUCH CHEAPER THAN OTHER MODELS Much of the breathless coverage has focused on DeepSeek’s lower costs. DeepSeek recently released its R1 opensource model, reportedly trained at a fraction of the usual cost despite being constrained by a lack of access to Nvidia’s highest-end AI chips, thanks to…

Mita Mallick, a communications and workplace strategist and the author of Reimagine Inclusion, outlined three ways marketers can be prepared to operate under the Trump presidency. REMEMBER THE CAMPAIGN PROMISES Trump was very clear on the issues he would address, and has rapidly made good on them, from deporting undocumented immigrants to pulling out of climate accords and imposing tariffs on goods from Canada, China and Mexico. “Now is the time for marketers to gain an understanding of what the hot topics will be,” she wrote. “None of this should come as a surprise, and if you do the work to understand the implications of the actions Trump will take, you will be in a better position to know what to do next for your brand.” DECIDE WHEN TO SPEAK…

ALYSSA BUETIKOFER McDonald’s Canada CMO Alyssa Buetikofer has been promoted to chief marketing and customer experience officer of the fast-food giant’s global operations. She takes over from Tariq Hassan, who had led marketing for McDonald’s since 2021. Buetikofer joined McDonald’s in 2011 as global marketing manager of media strategy. She was promoted to the Canadian executive team in 2021, where she orchestrated the launch of MyMcDonald’s Rewards, and was among the creative minds behind the brand’s “Famous Meals” campaign. Prior to McDonald’s, Buetikofer was a strategist at Omnicom Media Group agency OMD for seven years. Under Hassan’s leadership, the QSR giant released popular campaigns including “Fan Truths” and revived its Grimace mascot in a campaign that went viral on TikTok. “Tariq’s leadership helped us to transform into a datadriven,…

No policy has been more in the crosshairs from conservative activists in the new administration than corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion. Walmart, Target, Meta, Amazon, and Google have all either rolled back DEI initiatives or declared them fulfilled and no longer needed. Elly Dembo, global head of data and intelligence at McCann Worldgroup, said leaders will have a tightrope to walk between politics and purpose in 2025. The agency’s recent Truth Central survey of 2,400 people across all 50 states found that 71% of Americans expect brands to stand up for what they believe in. However, only 19% believe that brands should make political statements. But there are ways forward for companies committed to DEI. Sheryl Daija, founder of Bridge, an organization that helps companies build DEI initiatives, is optimistic…

QUIZ TIME WHAT CONNECTS THE CENTER OF GRAVITY, BEETHOVEN’S 7TH, AND THE 3RD OF NOVEMBER? MOST OF US grew up hearing fairy tales at bedtime and watching cartoons. Jack Waley-Cohen’s childhood looked a little different. “My mum was obsessed with quizzes, and she would often not read us stories and would just ask us quiz questions and trivia questions,” recalled Whaley-Cohen, co-founder and COO of location marketing firm what3words. “When we’d get home from school, we wouldn’t watch kids TV because she’d be wanting to watch TV quiz shows.” Her passion became his, and eventually led to a side hustle: Waley-Cohen founded QuizQuizQuiz in 2003, which has grown into one of the world’s top quiz and trivia companies. Getting there required the usual ingredients: a bit of luck and some…