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Brands you want to bite 👄 | The ClickZ Digest

PLUS: US commerce media forecast 2025

Author

Zihan Lyu
February 15, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

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Hi there!

Highlights from today's newsletter:
😄 B2B marketing needs more humor
📝 Your insider guide to eTail West 2025
📺 The ads that won over creatives at Super Bowl LIX

EDITOR’S PICK

#SENSORY MARKETING

Why do some products feel irresistible before you even try them? Think Rhode’s caramel-drizzled lip balms and Jacquemus' butter-stacked visuals, they both tap into something deeper than aesthetics—they trigger craving.

Brands are using sensory marketing to spark instant desire, from food-inspired packaging to ASMR-worthy textures. Touch, scent, and even sound are shaping how we shop, making products feel indulgent before they even land in our hands.

This shift is about the science of attraction. Here’s how the smartest brands are turning sensation into sales.👇

#EVENT INSIGHTS

eTail West 2025 is where the brightest minds in retail and digital commerce gather to exchange ideas, uncover innovations, and shape the future of online shopping. Want exclusive updates and behind-the-scenes insights? Subscribe to Unofficially eTail and stay ahead of the competition.

📍 Attending eTail West? Let’s connect!

If you’re on the ground, ClickZ Unofficial is too. Meet our team, share insights, and network with fellow industry leaders.

📆 Arrange a meeting with us at eTail West → Book a meeting

WHAT WE ARE READING

Uber Eats secured a dominant position in Super Bowl LIX advertising through its strategic blend of spectacle, celebrity integration, and insightful cultural commentary.

Google Pixel’s “Dream Job” ad impressed with its genuine emotional depth. These approaches highlight an industry pivot towards narrative-driven content, challenging traditional, celebrity-centric advertising paradigms.

CeraVe's Anti-Dandruff Shampoo campaign leverages social and influencer dynamics, rooted in past campaign strategies, to broaden reach. Collaborating with SNL, it tactically tackles dandruff taboos using humor. By selecting authentic influencers, CeraVe amplifies brand authority, exemplifying innovative marketing through diverse media platforms aligned with current digital trends.

The 2025 US Commerce Media Forecast unveils pivotal retail media supremacy, forecasting ad spending to surge beyond $100 billion by 2028. With nonretail sectors activating first-party data, the evolving landscape hints at significant media spending shifts, pushing marketing professionals to reconsider strategies and embrace innovative advertising challenges.

Social Media Marketing

📍 Seattle, Washington, USA

Marketing & Comms

 📍 Austin, TX, USA

TOP VOICE

💭INSIGHTS FROM LOUBY MCLOUGHLIN

How real-world data drives brand advocacy

The best marketing connects, educates, and drives action. These campaigns prove it:

🔹 Heinz tapped into Dutch food culture with ketchup-flavored sprinkles, turning local insights into innovation.
🔹 IKEA reimagined its iconic bag to promote sleep health in Singapore, aligning product with purpose.
🔹 LinkedIn x UEFA made female role models visible, proving that representation drives change.
🔹 Malibu tackled alcohol-related drownings, using Tom Daley’s influence to turn awareness into action.

Understand your audience, tap into their reality, and create emotional connections. That’s how you build advocacy.

💭INSIGHTS FROM LARA ACOSTA

My most important personal brand rule: tell your story.

People don’t just buy products—they buy from people they relate to or aspire to be like. That’s why storytelling isn’t just a personal brand strategy—it’s a playbook for businesses too.

Educational content earns trust, but stories of transformation, lessons, and values build connection. Consumers care about what a brand stands for, not just what it sells.

Brand story is your differentiator, and tell it.

💭INSIGHTS FROM HEIKE YOUNG

B2B marketing needs more humor

Most B2B marketing is beige, corporate, and forgettable—but humor changes that. The key is to find the unusual patterns in your industry and push them further.

✅ Salesforce turned a dry product keynote into a Dreamforce soap opera—and people actually remembered it.
✅ ClickUp leans into workplace quirks with smart, relatable videos that stand out on LinkedIn.

Comedy works in B2B because it disrupts expectations. Want your marketing to be remembered? Make people laugh.

💌 Shhh… yesterday ClickZ had a Valentine 👀

Okay, maybe not a real Valentine… but our sister publication, Search Engine Watch (SEW), has had a major rebrand! 💥

For those who don’t know, SEW has been a go-to source for SEO and search marketing insights for years. Now, it’s back—sharper, smarter, and packed with AI-driven SEO insights.

And since we love a good glow-up, we’re spreading the word. SEW has a brand-new LinkedIn page where all the action is happening. If you care about search, AI, and staying ahead of algorithm shifts, you’ll want to follow along.

WHAT WE ARE LISTENING TO

🎙 MARKETING AGAINST THE GRAIN

Exploring AI's potential in marketing, the episode presents AI tools like OpenAI’s Operator as cost-effective alternatives to traditional consultants. It highlights LLMs such as Qwen 2.5 for website analysis and user engagement enhancement, focusing on strategic investment in AI to meet competitive challenges and stay abreast of evolving digital marketing trends.

Editorial

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