🏆 UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 Breaks Records: Why Player Power and Cultural Relevance Are Reshaping the Game

In a rematch of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final, England defeated Spain to win the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 in Switzerland. But beyond the final result, this year’s tournament signalled a shift in scale, attention and cultural value - across attendance, digital engagement, athlete influence and brand performance.

The women’s game has moved from breakthrough to benchmark.

📊 Tournament Performance Snapshot

• 657,291 total fans attended across 31 matches (29 sold out)

• 34,203 fans attended the final in Basel

• 35% of attendees travelled internationally, representing 160+ nationalities

• Swiss host cities reported a 12% visitor increase and 27% spending growth

• 500M+ global viewers engaged with the tournament (projected)

• The final is expected to surpass 45M streams globally

• UEFA’s app and website saw over 49M views, with 20.7M+ social engagements

• 95K+ fans joined organised fan walks; 1M+ engaged in fan zones

🌟 Player Power: Michelle Agyemang and the Youth Surge

• Michelle Agyemang, 18, became a breakout star and Young Player of the Tournament

• She scored stoppage-time goals in both the quarter-final and semi-final, despite playing just 138 minutes

• Her personal story - from Wembley ball girl to national hero - trended across major platforms and inspired high-volume, high-sentiment content

• Other emerging stars like Iman Beney, Vicky López, and Smilla Vallotto also gained sharp follower growth and commercial attention

• Player-led content outperformed official or sponsor-led creative across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts

📣 Brand Share of Voice & Engagement (Campaigns That Cut Through)

The brands that succeeded at EURO 2025 didn’t just sponsor - they participated in culture, activated quickly, and let players lead.

🏁 Nike - 11OME & the Journey Home

• Nike led the post-final moment with “It’s not just coming home. It’s 11OME.”, deployed across OOH, social and live activations.

• Featured arrival content, fan installations and cultural commentary.

• Delivered a 35% spike in Instagram engagement on @nikefootball during finals week, with 4.2M+ views on the hero video in 48 hours.

🔥 Adidas - Icons of the Future, Aygemergency & Star Power

• Adidas’s Icons of the Future featured Alessia Russo, Aitana Bonmatí, Michelle Agyemang and Vicky López - blending performance footage with off-pitch storytelling.

• Their reactive “Break in Case of Aygemergency” stunt went viral after Agyemang’s second clutch goal:

  • Store displays, TikTok assets and GIF packs generated 2.5M+ video uses in 48 hours

  • Agyemang’s follower count surpassed 1M during the campaign window

• Adidas led earned share of voice among sponsors from quarter-finals through to the final (source: Talkwalker).

💳 Visa - Fans Without Borders

• A docuseries highlighting fan journeys across Europe drew 12M+ views and lifted brand favourability by 11% in UEFA-related social media conversations.

🎧 Spotify - Player Soundtracks

• Spotify's curated playlists featured players like Russo and Batlle, generating 400K+ streams and strong organic shares via athlete profiles.

💄 L'Oréal - Game Face

• TikTok-first beauty content featuring Iman Beney and Selma Bacha became the most engaged branded beauty content during the tournament.

🚗 Volkswagen - Penalty Challenge Fan Zones

• VW’s interactive zones drew 18,000+ participants, with 120K+ UGC moments feeding directly into UEFA’s official channels.

👀 How It Compares: Men’s & Women’s Benchmarks

To frame the scale of EURO 2025:

• The FIFA Club World Cup Final 2023 drew 81,118 attendees and ~107M viewers - less than EURO 2025's combined reach

• A 2025 men’s pre-season friendly (Man Utd vs West Ham) drew 82,566 - the biggest US football crowd of the year, but with limited global broadcast impact

• The UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 had 574,875 attendees and 365M viewers - both surpassed this year

• The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 reached over 2B viewers, with ~2M attending in person

• The UEFA Women’s Champions League Final 2025 (Arsenal vs Barcelona) drew 38,356 and 3.6M viewers

• By comparison, the FIFA Men’s World Cup Final 2022 drew 88,966 in-stadium and 1.5B peak global viewers

• The UEFA Men’s EURO 2020 reached 5.2B total audience, with 328M for the final

📌 Key Takeouts

• UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 broke all previous records across attendance, engagement, and economic impact

• Player-led narratives drove the tournament’s reach, especially among younger and digital-first audiences

• Nike owned the post-final moment, but Adidas’s real-time cultural play and player focus captured early share of voice

• Digital-first, culturally fluent brands like Spotify and L'Oréal delivered standout performance through relevance over reach

• Women’s football is no longer emerging - it’s defining what successful sports marketing looks like in 2025

🔮 Next Steps for Brand Marketers

• Get closer to athletes, not just federations - player-driven content is now the primary mode of influence

• Plan for culture, not just coverage - campaigns must be reactive, meme-literate and mobile-native

• Treat women’s football as primary commercial territory - not CSR or secondary inventory

• Use live experiences to feed digital storytelling - not just as standalone stunts

• Track ROI by share of voice and cultural impact, not just legacy prestige

UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 wasn’t just a tournament. It was a live demonstration of where fan energy, brand value, and cultural influence are moving next.

The players are ready. The fans are watching. And the smartest brands are already on the pitch.

📊 Fans Know What Matters: Man Utd vs West Ham Outdraws FIFA’s Club World Cup – and What It Signals for the Game

This past week (July 2025), a pre-season friendly between Manchester United and West Ham drew 82,566 fans in the United States - the largest football crowd in the US this year.

It beat the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup final, which drew 81,118 fans. That’s significant. A low-stakes, off-season match between two Premier League sides generated more in-stadium interest than FIFA’s global club showcase.

For brand strategists and rights holders, the message is clear: fans aren’t just following official prestige - they’re showing up for clubs, culture and connection. And this shift is mirrored by the continued surge in women’s football, which is rewriting the rules of engagement at both club and international level.

⚽ The Crowd Numbers Tell Their Own Story

Here’s how the Man Utd vs West Ham figure stacks up against recent high-profile matches:

It’s not just about the match on the pitch. It’s about what the match represents - for fans, for brand partners, and for the cultural moment.

Manchester United Still Moves Culture

The crowd in the US wasn’t there because of a trophy. They came because Manchester United still commands cultural relevance, global fandom, and mass appeal - even during the off-season.

The Club World Cup, by contrast, has struggled to become more than a technical trophy. Despite being loaded with top-tier teams, it hasn’t generated the emotional or cultural connection that drives turnout and tune-in.

Meanwhile, Women’s Football Keeps Smashing Records

The past three years have been defining for the women’s game:

• The Women’s EURO 2022 final broke all-time EURO attendance records - men’s or women’s – with 87,192 at Wembley.

• Barcelona Femení attracted 91,648 fans for a Champions League semi-final - still the record for a women’s club match.

• The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup doubled its reach from 2019, hitting over 2 billion viewers and selling out stadiums across Australia and New Zealand.

• In 2024, Chelsea Women sold out Stamford Bridge for a WSL fixture for the first time in club history.

The commercial and cultural trajectory is clear: the women’s game is no longer just "growing" - it’s outperforming long-standing men’s formats in engagement and visibility.

📌 Key Takeouts

• A men’s pre-season friendly in 2025 outdrew the FIFA Club World Cup final, underlining the enduring pull of club loyalty over tournament branding.

• Women's football continues to set records in attendance and viewership - matching or surpassing men’s benchmarks.

• Fans are turning up for meaning, story, and access - not just silverware.

• Cultural and commercial value is being driven by engagement, not just tradition.

🔮 Next Steps for Brand Marketers

• Rethink where ‘value’ sits in football – prestige formats aren’t guaranteed returns.

• Invest in club identity, not just competitions - fan allegiance often lies with teams, not tournament banners.

• Treat the women’s game as a premium platform - audiences already are.

• Be where the energy is - record crowds, sold-out stadiums, and cross-market relevance are clearer signals than ever.

In 2025, it’s not FIFA’s format that’s drawing the biggest crowds - it’s Manchester United on a quiet July night. That’s the story. And for those paying attention, it’s a blueprint for where football’s cultural capital is heading next.

⚙️ 25 July Deadline: UK’s Online Safety Act Enforced - Is Your Platform Ready to Comply?

From 25 July 2025, the UK enforces a pivotal shift in how digital platforms must protect young users online. The Online Safety Act (OSA) places legally binding responsibilities on social media companies, search engines, and adult content providers to filter harmful content and verify user ages. For tech platforms and brand marketers alike, this is a regulatory watershed - with significant reputational and financial stakes.

Why It Matters

The legislation follows years of scrutiny over platform accountability, particularly after high-profile cases like that of Molly Russell, the teenager who took her life after viewing harmful online content. The OSA now requires platforms to actively prevent under-18s from accessing inappropriate content - not merely respond after the fact.

Supporting Stats

• 8% of UK children aged 8–14 accessed online pornography within a month, per Ofcom (2025).

• Facial age estimation tools such as Yoti, when set to a “challenge age” of 20, wrongly allowed access to fewer than 1% of 13–17-year-olds.

• Fines of up to £18 million or 10% of global turnover can be imposed for non-compliance - for Meta, that could mean $16bn.

Pros - What’s Working?

• Codified responsibilities with regulatory oversight: Ofcom now has the power to fine, block access, or prosecute senior managers for repeated safety failures.

• Tech-led compliance: Platforms are deploying tools like selfie-ID matching, facial age estimation, and digital identity wallets. Reddit, OnlyFans, and Meta are already incorporating compliant features.

• User experience segmentation: Platforms like X and Instagram are using default teen settings and content filters to provide age-appropriate browsing environments.

Cons - Where Risks Remain

• Uneven application: Smaller adult content providers may delay or dodge compliance, gambling on low enforcement risk in the early phase.

• Privacy trade-offs: Age verification mechanisms raise concerns, even when images are not stored. Users may be deterred by ID requests or facial scanning prompts.

• Self-defined compliance: Companies can propose “valid alternatives” to Ofcom’s codes, which may lead to fragmented or inconsistent safety standards.

Opportunities - What Should Brands and Platforms Focus On?

• Innovation in identity assurance: Age verification is fuelling investment in privacy-first identity solutions - a rapidly emerging space for strategic tech partnerships.

• Brand safety and trust: Advertisers can align with verified-safe environments and avoid the reputational risks of being associated with non-compliant platforms.

• Proactive content governance: Brands can play a role in co-creating safe, engaging experiences for younger audiences across compliant platforms.

Challenges - Structural and Strategic Barriers

• Bias in age estimation AI: Accuracy may vary across demographics, raising potential for unfair access issues or legal exposure.

• Business model friction: Age checks can reduce frictionless access - a potential revenue hit for platforms reliant on anonymous or underage traffic.

• Global inconsistency: Tech companies must adapt to localised compliance regimes - the UK’s rules may set a precedent but are not yet globally harmonised.

Key Takeouts

• From 25 July 2025, the UK’s Online Safety Act is enforceable - targeting harmful online content and mandating age checks.

• Platforms must proactively restrict access to suicide, self-harm, eating disorder content, and pornography for under-18s.

• ID verification and facial age estimation are being adopted - but privacy and user experience concerns remain.

• Ofcom has enforcement power: heavy fines, service blocks, and criminal charges for persistent breaches.

• Brands have a stake in ensuring their digital presence is aligned with child-safe, compliant platforms.

Next Steps for Brand Marketers and Platform Leads

1. Audit platform compliance: Verify that your brand’s media partners or owned platforms meet OSA requirements.

2. Update digital policies: Review internal guidelines around youth engagement, ad placement, and content targeting.

3. Partner with safe tech: Explore opportunities in verified ID, digital wallets, or age assurance technologies.

4. Prepare for global ripple effects: Use the UK as a case study to model readiness for similar legislation in the EU, Australia, or US.

5. Champion responsible engagement: Position your brand as an advocate for safer online environments through partnerships, campaigns, or platform collaborations.

⚽📵 The FA’s Social Media Stand: What Brand Leaders Should Learn from Football’s Online Reckoning

Racism in football isn’t new - but the Football Association (FA) is signalling it might finally be done waiting. After England defender Jess Carter revealed the racist abuse she's endured throughout the Women’s Euros, the FA has said it may consider boycotting social media platforms altogether. As pressure mounts on tech giants like X and Instagram to act, this moment marks a sharp inflection point – not just for football governance, but for how brands engage with online platforms that fail to curb hate.

Supporting Stats

• 74% of online abuse in UK football during major tournaments is racially motivated (Kick It Out, 2024).

• 64% of fans believe social media companies should be legally accountable for abuse on their platforms (YouGov, 2023).

• After the men’s Euro 2021 final, over 2,000 abusive posts were reported against Black players – yet only 11% resulted in prosecutions (Home Office, 2022).

Pros - Why the FA’s stance matters

• Institutional visibility: The FA’s position sends a clear message that governing bodies can no longer be passive observers of digital hate. A public boycott, even symbolic, sets precedent.

• Public alignment: The FA reflects a growing cultural consensus that platforms must enforce safety and dignity. This resonates strongly with younger, values-driven audiences.

• Leveraging legislation: The UK’s Online Safety Act empowers Ofcom to fine platforms for failing to remove harmful content. The FA’s call could accelerate enforcement.

Cons - The risks and limitations

• Reduced fan engagement: Social media is a core driver of visibility for women’s football. A boycott could limit tournament reach, media coverage and grassroots excitement.

• Platform apathy: Despite pressure, companies like X and Instagram have made minimal proactive changes. As of July 2025, neither had responded to the FA’s latest reports of abuse.

• Short-term disruption: Pulling teams and players off social media mid-tournament could affect brand partnerships, audience retention and commercial commitments.

Opportunities - What brands should watch

• New standards for online sponsorships: Brands can demand safety assurances from platforms before committing ad spend, helping to shift industry norms.

• Backing zero-tolerance movements: Brands that align publicly with anti-abuse actions (like Coca-Cola during the 2023 Women's World Cup) build credibility and loyalty.

• Building alternative platforms: With declining trust in legacy platforms, there’s space to invest in safer, niche digital communities or direct-to-fan channels.

Challenges - What stands in the way

• Corporate accountability loopholes: Many platforms still argue they are not ‘publishers’ and dodge liability for user-generated abuse.

• Regulatory inertia: Ofcom’s powers under the new legislation are promising, but enforcement mechanisms are still ramping up.

• Normalisation of abuse: Without sustained visibility and pressure, online racism risks becoming ambient - tolerated as part of the ‘cost’ of public life.

Key Takeouts

• The FA is actively exploring a boycott of social media platforms due to persistent racism.

• Social platforms like X and Instagram have failed to respond to abuse reports - highlighting systemic gaps.

• New online safety laws may introduce meaningful fines and accountability, but brands can’t afford to wait.

• Public opinion and cultural momentum are firmly behind those demanding action.

Next Steps for Brand Marketers

• Audit your partnerships: Re-evaluate sponsorships or media buys involving platforms that lack adequate safety measures.

• Take a stance: Don’t wait for governing bodies to act. Public statements, policy updates and influencer partnerships can reinforce a brand’s position.

• Design with safety in mind: Ensure your digital campaigns build community without fuelling toxicity. Moderate comments, train teams, and protect talent from online harm.

• Support athlete wellbeing: Collaborate with teams and associations to create protective infrastructures for players - especially during high-stakes tournaments.

The FA’s reckoning with online abuse is a warning shot for digital complacency. For brands, the choice is clear: lead with integrity, or be complicit in silence.

💰 The Hidden Crisis: Why the Gender Wealth Gap Demands Urgent Attention

The gender pay gap has long been a headline issue for campaigners and businesses alike. But new data reveals a deeper and more persistent financial divide - the gender wealth gap. While pay inequality affects women month to month, the wealth gap shapes their entire financial future, from savings to retirement. For brand marketers and strategists, this underreported disparity raises critical questions about long-term equity, representation, and economic empowerment.

📊 Supporting Stats

• The gender pay gap currently stands at 13%, according to the Women’s Budget Group.

• The gender wealth gap is wider at 21%, with men holding an average of £378,079 in total wealth compared to women’s £300,017.

• There’s a 43% pension wealth gap, with men owning nearly £67,000 more than women on average.

• Single mothers have the lowest wealth of all UK household types: just £117,405, compared to £269,627 for working-age women in couples with children.

• The top 10% of UK households now control 57% of total wealth.

(Sources: Women’s Budget Group, Fawcett Society)

✅ Pros - What’s Working?

• Increased awareness: Public discourse around pay and wealth inequality is growing, pushing institutions to investigate and address root causes.

• Policy attention: Think tanks like the Women’s Budget Group are helping quantify the issue, providing foundations for change.

• Employer transparency: Mandatory pay gap reporting is pushing some brands toward more equitable hiring and promotion practices.

⚠️ Cons - What Are the Limitations?

• Wealth is harder to track and address than income: It includes pensions, property, investments - often invisible in annual reporting.

• Unpaid care work skews outcomes: Women still carry out nearly 50% more unpaid domestic labour than men, limiting earning and investment potential.

• Legal frameworks lag behind: Wealth division upon separation often leaves women more vulnerable, especially where assets are jointly held.

🔍 Opportunities - Where Can Brands Add Value?

• Financial empowerment campaigns: Brands in finance, retail and tech can build trust by offering women-centric tools, education and planning support.

• Representation in advertising: Move beyond aspirational imagery to reflect the real financial challenges and goals of different life stages - especially single mothers.

• Support for carers: Brands and employers can create practical solutions that address the economic cost of unpaid caregiving.

🧱 Challenges - What Barriers Persist?

• Structural inequalities: Wealth accumulation is shaped by decades of systemic bias, from property ownership to pension access.

• Slow cultural shifts: Despite policy strides, expectations around gender roles in caregiving and work persist.

• Limited brand accountability: Few brands audit their impact on wealth-building opportunities across the consumer and employment journey.

📝 Key Takeouts

• The gender wealth gap (21%) is significantly wider than the pay gap (13%) and has long-term implications.

• Pension inequality is a major driver, compounded by unpaid care responsibilities.

• Single mothers are among the most financially vulnerable groups in the UK.

• Brands can’t ignore wealth inequality if they’re serious about inclusion, equity, and consumer trust.

🚗 Uber’s Gender Preference Feature: A Strategic Move for Safety and Trust in Ride-Hailing

Why it matters:
Uber will begin piloting a new feature next month that allows women riders and drivers to opt into being matched only with other women. Launching in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Detroit, the feature is positioned as a way to increase comfort, control and safety, especially in light of ongoing scrutiny around harassment and assault on ride-hailing platforms.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Uber’s new preference tool builds on earlier rollouts in markets like Saudi Arabia, France and Argentina, and follows a similar move by Lyft in 2023.

• While women can set a preference to be paired with other women, Uber notes that same-gender matching is not guaranteed - this could impact user trust in the feature.

• Framed as a tool for empowerment and safety, the update responds to long-standing feedback from women users, and may help improve driver retention, with only around 20% of Uber’s U.S. drivers currently being women (Uber, 2015).

• Legal and ethical questions could arise around exclusion, algorithmic fairness, and access for nonbinary users, especially if the feature is rolled out more widely.

• The success of this pilot will depend on clear communication, user education, and consistent UX - if buried in app settings, adoption could be low.

• Strategically, this positions Uber as a brand responding to user concerns with tangible tools rather than statements, but the perception of this as a reactive rather than proactive move may persist.

• Brands beyond ride-hailing can learn from Uber’s approach: offering user choice, building for trust, and enabling personal agency can strengthen loyalty in safety-sensitive environments.

🦁 The Lionesses vs The Rest: EURO 2025 Smashes UK Viewing Records

England’s Lionesses are dominating not just on the pitch, but across screens and platforms. The UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 is proving that women’s football can deliver mass national audiences that outstrip global men’s club competitions – and the numbers are emphatic.

✅ The Lionesses' semi-final audience was nearly 10x larger than the Club World Cup final average, and more than 4x the peak UK audience for Chelsea vs PSG.

📌 In 2017, a Lionesses semi-final would draw around 1.5 million viewers. Today, that’s multiplied by nearly 7x.

📱 Social Media & Digital Engagement

• Player Influencer Power:
  Chloe Kelly and Leah Williamson now earn up to £8,000 per sponsored Instagram post, driven by visibility and audience growth.

• Tournament-Level Social Reach (EURO 2022):

  • 453 million social interactions globally

  • 14.6 million direct engagements, 30× higher than EURO 2017
    (EURO 2025 figures pending post-final)

• ITV Digital Streaming:

  • EURO 2025 semi-final was one of ITVX’s highest live-streamed events in 2025

  • ITV reported best Sunday night viewership volume of the year across all channels on 13 July

💰 Commercial Implications

• Advertising Revenue:

  • Prime-time dominance and record reach make Lionesses matches highly valuable ad inventory.

  • With peak figures outperforming men’s club matches by 3–10x, brands are paying increasing premiums for association.

• Sponsorship Leverage:

  • UEFA EURO 2025 partners (including Visa, Adidas, PepsiCo, Unilever, and PlayStation) are benefitting from more exposure per £1 than many men's tournaments this year.

  • Athlete-level deals are strengthening – with more visibility, expect multi-channel endorsement growth.

• Rights Value Growth:

  • After a 289% increase in broadcast rights for women’s football post-2022, EURO 2025 is set to drive the next round of rights escalations, particularly in digital and global syndication.

🧾 Summary

• England’s semi-final vs Italy (10.2M) outperformed the Club World Cup final by a factor of 9x (avg) and 4.4x (peak) in the UK.

• Women's football has moved from niche interest to major national media event.

• The audience today is younger, more diverse, and brand-attentive, making it one of the most valuable segments for advertisers and rights holders.

• Social engagement and player influence are reinforcing long-tail commercial value.

• With the final still to come, EURO 2025 is already a landmark media moment for the women’s game in the UK.

🎵 Payback Time: UK Songwriters Secure Per Diems in Landmark Label Agreement

A quiet revolution is happening in the music industry - and this time, it's songwriters leading the charge. In what’s being described as a world-first agreement, UK songwriters will now receive £75 per diem plus expenses when attending label-organised writing sessions with the UK's major record labels. Even more significantly, these payments will be non-recoupable.

Why This Matters Now

For decades, songwriters have been the unsung heroes of the music business - crafting chart-topping hits while often working without upfront pay, basic subsistence, or guaranteed income. In the streaming era, where song royalties are split disproportionately, their position has become even more precarious.

This new agreement marks a major shift in how the industry recognises creative labour. Spearheaded by The Ivors Academy, the deal signals a growing momentum behind fairness and financial transparency in music creation.

The Pros - Why This Is a Win

• Direct support for creative labour: A per diem system, common in film and other production industries, finally acknowledges that creative time has real cost and value.

• Non-recoupable status: Unlike advances, these payments won’t be clawed back from future royalties - a crucial win for fair compensation.

• Industry precedent: This is reportedly the first such agreement in the world, setting a new benchmark for other markets and genres.

According to Music Business Worldwide, the initiative was secured through sustained campaigning by songwriter members and advocacy by The Ivors Academy, one of the UK’s leading music rights organisations.

The Cons - What’s Still Lacking

• Limited scope: At present, the deal only applies to sessions organised by the UK’s three major labels (Universal, Sony, Warner). Independent songwriters or those working outside label frameworks are still without coverage.

• No fix for streaming: While the per diem offers short-term relief, it doesn’t address the broader structural inequity in streaming revenues, where songwriters often earn far less than performers or labels.

Opportunities - A Door Opens for Broader Reform

• Setting global standards: This model could be replicated in other countries or by independent labels and publishers.

• Shifting the power dynamic: By recognising songwriters as workers entitled to fair conditions, the agreement may catalyse wider industry reforms - from session fees to royalty splits.

• Brand partnerships with values: For agencies and brands working in music, supporting artists and writers with fair pay has become an increasingly important reputational issue.

Challenges - What's in the Way?

• Implementation logistics: Claims will initially be processed via a temporary system through The Ivors Academy, with a new form in development. Ensuring smooth and consistent payment will be key.

• Keeping the pressure on: Without continued visibility and union-like organising, such gains can stagnate or be undermined in the long term.

Key Takeouts

• UK major labels will now provide £75 per diem plus expenses to songwriters for writing sessions.

• This is a non-recoupable payment - a landmark development.

• The agreement was secured by The Ivors Academy and its members.

• It sets a global precedent, though broader systemic issues in streaming remain unresolved.

Next Steps for Brand Marketers

• Watch how value is shifting: Creators are increasingly organising for fairer conditions. Brands working in music should ensure they’re on the right side of that shift.

• Consider how you fund creative work: Are freelance writers, composers or designers in your campaigns being treated with the same principles?

• Support fair culture: If your brand is using music as a marketing vehicle, showing active support for songwriter rights can demonstrate real cultural fluency.

🧠 Meta’s AI Ads: Scale Without Soul?

Mark Zuckerberg just declared that by 2026, every ad on Meta will be made by AI. A bold claim, and one with serious implications for anyone building brands in an algorithm-driven world.

So, here’s the big question:
If every brand uses the same AI, where does that leave originality, voice, and human nuance?

📊 Supporting Stats

• Meta currently pulls in $160bn annually from advertising (The Guardian, June 2025).

• Capital expenditure is set to hit $72bn next year, largely to build out AI infrastructure.

• News of Meta’s plans saw WPP shares drop 3%, and Publicis Groupe fall by nearly 4%.

• Meta says the move will “redefine the category of advertising” - shifting from human-crafted strategy to machine-generated execution.

✅ Pros: Automation at Scale

• Efficiency for SMEs: AI-powered tools lower the barrier to entry for brands with limited resources. Just upload a product shot, set your budget, and Meta does the rest.

• Rapid testing: Infinite variations of creative and copy, all auto-optimised based on performance.

• Accessible targeting: Built-in geolocation, dynamic personalisation and budget alignment streamline previously complex media buys.

⚠️ Cons: The Sameness Trap

• Zero differentiation: If everyone uses the same toolset, creative homogenisation becomes inevitable.

• Performance ≠ brand equity: AI-optimised ads may deliver short-term clicks, but lack long-term resonance.

• Commoditised creativity: When platforms decide what “works,” distinctiveness becomes a liability.

🌱 Opportunities: Creator-Led Brand Building

• Human-first storytelling: In a sea of AI-generated sameness, authentic, founder-led narratives will stand out.

• Culture as moat: Real voices, faces and values will become key brand assets - not just “nice-to-haves”.

• Multichannel presence: As Meta ad feeds become flooded with AI output, premium audiences may migrate to platforms like YouTube, podcasts, newsletters, or owned brand spaces.

🧱 Challenges: Platform Dependency

• No leverage: If your brand lives entirely within Meta’s ecosystem, you play by its rules - and price hikes.

• Eroding creative control: Automation limits experimentation and lateral thinking - the kind of creativity that builds cult followings.

• Agencies at risk: While Meta claims to support agencies, full-stack automation threatens their core value proposition.

💡 Key Takeouts

• AI-generated ads will dominate Meta by 2026.

• Creative optimisation will favour performance over personality.

• Mass automation risks mass commodification.

• Brands need human stories to stay culturally relevant.

• Creator-led brands offer a viable, defensible alternative.

🚀 Next Steps for Brand Marketers

• Double down on brand identity. Invest in the human, the founder, the creator behind your product.

• Build outside the feed. Explore YouTube, podcasts, brand communities, and direct channels where storytelling still matters.

• Audit your dependence. If Meta flipped a switch tomorrow, would your brand still have a voice?

• Champion cultural fluency. AI can’t read the room - but your team can.

• Use AI selectively. Let machines handle the grunt work, but protect the soul of your brand at all costs.

The AI ad age is coming. The only way to win?
Stay human.

🧒🤖 Baby Grok: What Kid-Friendly AI Signals About the Future of Childhood Tech

Elon Musk’s xAI has announced Baby Grok, a child-focused version of its AI chatbot platform. Positioned as a safer, simplified alternative to the edgier mainline Grok product, Baby Grok promises only “kid-friendly content”. The move follows recent controversy over hyper-customisable 3D AI companions - some of which were criticised for being overly sexualised.

With increasing scrutiny over how AI shapes young minds, Baby Grok arrives at a cultural flashpoint. It’s not just a product announcement, but a signal of the growing urgency to define ethical, educational, and emotional standards for how AI engages children.

Why This Matters

AI is no longer confined to adult productivity tools. It’s embedded in homes, classrooms, and now, potentially, the early digital experiences of kids. According to Ofcom (2024), 56% of UK children aged 8-11 own a smartphone. And one in three children aged 12-15 uses generative AI tools regularly (Children’s Commissioner for England, 2024). This trend raises pressing questions about content moderation, bias, emotional development, and long-term cognitive effects.

At the same time, reports like Voice of the Boys from Male Allies UK spotlight how young people are already grappling with darker tech-driven narratives: boys describing choking as normal, joking about nudify apps, or comparing AI girlfriends as a form of social status. These aren’t fringe behaviours - they’re evidence of a growing disconnect between digital design and developmental safeguarding.

Key Concerns and Watchouts

• Lack of Transparency: Beyond the “kid-friendly” label, xAI has offered little clarity on what safety architecture, content controls, or ethical oversight will differentiate Baby Grok from its mainline counterpart.

• Brand Trust Gap: Grok is known for its uncensored tone and sometimes controversial content. The pivot to child-safe AI invites scrutiny - especially from parents, educators, and child safety advocates.

• Regulatory Grey Zones: Existing frameworks like the UK’s Online Safety Act are still catching up with the realities of generative AI. This leaves open questions about data collection, content monitoring, and age verification in platforms like Baby Grok.

• Commercialisation of Childhood: By introducing AI companions into children's lives, even with the best intentions, there's a risk of deepening tech dependency and shifting play or learning into commercialised, screen-based domains.

• Moral Delegation to Machines: There’s a broader ethical issue around offloading parental, educational, or emotional support roles to AI. No matter how well-designed, chatbots can't replace nuanced human interaction - especially in formative years.

As AI expands its reach into childhood, the conversation around safety needs to evolve from technical compliance to cultural responsibility. The launch of Baby Grok is not just a product test - it’s a societal one. Whether it becomes a meaningful educational tool or another cautionary tale will depend not just on xAI, but on how regulators, brands, educators, and parents choose to respond.

🧠⚽ Football on Prescription? Tackling Depression Through Community, Not Pills

A groundbreaking new initiative in Gloucestershire is rewriting the rulebook on mental health support. Instead of antidepressants, some patients experiencing mild to moderate depression will be offered a prescription for something unexpected: live football. Launched by Labour MP and former GP Dr Simon Opher, in collaboration with Ecotricity founder Dale Vince, the scheme allows patients to attend matches at Forest Green Rovers - a club known for its eco credentials and deep community roots. It’s a bold move, with timely implications for how the UK approaches mental wellbeing.

Dr Opher, who has long advocated for social prescribing as a clinical tool, previously offered alternatives like gardening and stand-up comedy. His approach is rooted in the idea that loneliness and disconnection are core drivers of low mood - and that reconnecting people with social spaces is a critical intervention. “It’s really quite toxic,” he says of modern isolation. “You can quantify it - it’s the same health risk as smoking about 20 cigarettes a day.”

This latest intervention, which will run across twelve GP surgeries near Forest Green’s stadium in Nailsworth, offers free matchday tickets as a way to stimulate connection, routine and joy. The idea isn’t that football is a universal cure, but rather that it’s one more option in a toolkit that moves beyond pharmaceuticals. As Dr Opher notes, “Football isn’t going to be for everyone. Nothing is, but we need a range of options.”

He also raises concerns over the scale of antidepressant use in England, with 8.7 million people currently on prescriptions - a figure that rose by 2.1% last year alone. For many of those with mild to moderate symptoms, antidepressants may offer limited benefit, especially in the absence of broader social or psychological support. “Quite a few of them would just come back no better,” he reflects on his early days as a GP. “I thought we needed to try something different.”

Forest Green Rovers, known as the world’s first vegan and carbon-neutral football club, are providing the tickets free of charge. The club has become a symbol of alternative thinking in the football world - making it a fitting host for a health scheme built on rethinking the norm.

As the pilot launches this August, questions remain around long-term effectiveness, scalability, and how such schemes might fit into wider NHS strategy. But what’s clear is this: mental health support in the UK is evolving. And sometimes, the way forward starts with a roar from the stands.

🇨🇭 Euro 2025: Women’s Football Delivers a Tourism Windfall for Switzerland

The UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 is turning out to be more than a sporting event - it’s proving a powerful catalyst for tourism, retail, and national visibility in Switzerland. As the group stages wrap, early indicators point to a transformative moment not just for women’s football but for the broader cultural economy of the host nation.

Women’s Football as an Economic Engine

According to Visa data shared with CNBC, Switzerland saw a 12% year-on-year increase in visitor numbers during the first week of the tournament. Most significantly, fans from Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands led with a 25% increase, while UK visitors rose 20% and those from Italy and France followed with 15% and 10% increases respectively.

Consumer spending across Swiss host cities spiked 27%, with retail sales alone up 30%. Cities like Bern and Thun reported nearly double restaurant and entertainment revenues. It’s a surge that underscores the multiplier effect of major women's sporting events - one that cities and marketers should not ignore.

📊 Supporting Stats

• 600,000+ advance tickets sold, with 35% purchased by international visitors (UEFA)

• 22 out of 24 group-stage matches sold out

• Visitor spending rose 25% in key host towns like Thun (Visa via CNBC)

• Euro 2022 saw global TV viewership reach 365 million, up from 178 million in 2017 (UEFA)

Changing Perceptions, Shaping Culture

For years, packed stadiums for women’s football seemed unlikely. But Euro 2025 builds on the momentum of Euro 2022 in England, which saw landmark achievements in audience numbers, media visibility, and commercial value. The current tournament has amplified those gains, with supporters travelling from 114 countries and matches drawing sold-out crowds.

UEFA’s Nadine Kessler highlighted that over 61,000 Germans, 41,000 English, and thousands more from the US, France, and the Netherlands have travelled to Switzerland - a figure that underscores women’s football’s growing global appeal.

Fans and stakeholders report strong local engagement in cities like Lucerne, where the tournament’s branding and energy permeated daily life. In contrast, cities like Geneva showed a more muted atmosphere earlier in the group stage, suggesting varying levels of local integration.

Still, the atmosphere around the event has been praised for its inclusivity, family appeal, and community spirit - traits that differentiate it from the male-dominated football experience and present a fresh proposition for brands and tourism boards alike.

📝 Key Takeouts

• Euro 2025 is already a tourism and commercial success for Switzerland, driven by women’s football’s global momentum.

• The economic impact is tangible: +12% visitors and +27% consumer spend in just one week.

• Fan experience and civic participation differ across host cities, highlighting the importance of local activation.

• Long-term value will depend on legacy planning, from grassroots investment to tourism brand-building.

Women’s football continues to redefine expectations. With the right vision, it can do the same for national brands, cities, and economies.

⚽️📱 Beyond the Statement: Why Football Is Still Failing Players Like Jess Carter on Online Abuse

When Jess Carter stepped onto the pitch during the Women’s EUROs, she represented the future of football: world-class, proudly Black, openly gay. But once again, her success was met with a wave of online racial abuse. The response? Familiar statements, fleeting outrage – then silence.

As someone who led internal reform efforts at a Championship club, I’ve seen how deeply broken the system is. Clubs, leagues and platforms talk a good game. But when it comes to player protection, safeguarding and accountability, the infrastructure just doesn’t exist.

📊 The Scale of the Problem: Discrimination Is Rising, Not Falling

The 2023/24 season marked a record high in reported discrimination across football:

• 1,332 reports of discriminatory behaviour were made to Kick It Out - a 32% increase year on year

• Racist abuse rose 47%, from 496 to 731 cases, making it the most reported form of discrimination.

• Player-specific abuse rose 43%, from 277 to 395 cases in the professional game.

• Reports of online abuse more than doubled, from 281 to 589 cases.

• Players of East and South-East Asian heritage were disproportionately affected, accounting for over 55% of targeted racist incidents in the pro game.

This is evidence that despite years of campaigns and hashtags, the sport is becoming less safe for many players  -  especially online.

⚙️ The Current Setup: Who Holds Responsibility?

Clubs and Leagues

While individual clubs issue public statements and occasionally report abuse, there are:

• No mandatory standards for digital safeguarding.

• No enforced training or escalation protocols.

• No consistent player support beyond basic wellbeing provision.

In my time at a Championship club, we attempted to build better reporting pathways and player support, but there was no structural guidance from the league. Responsibility sat with individuals, not systems.

Leagues (FA, Premier League, EFL)

The leagues remain heavily invested in PR-driven campaigns like Kick It Out and No Room for Racism. These raise visibility, but they:

• Lack enforcement power.

• Do not publish club compliance data.

• Have no framework for holding clubs accountable for repeated inaction.

Police

Policing of online hate is sparse. With matchday costs already contentious - many forces now ask Premier League clubs to cover a greater share - online enforcement drops down the list. Unless there’s a direct physical threat, police are unlikely to pursue online abuse, especially when perpetrators are anonymous or based overseas.

Social Media Platforms

Despite the Online Safety Act (2023), platforms continue to:

• Allow anonymous users to target players with minimal moderation.

• Delay or ignore takedown requests.

• Withhold data that could support law enforcement action.

Even when clubs escalate serious abuse, there’s often no response unless the issue goes public.

🧱 Structural Challenges: Why the System Doesn’t Work

• No central accountability: No body has both the mandate and the power to enforce protection for players.

• Platforms profit from engagement: Hate still drives traffic. There’s little financial incentive to act.

• Cross-jurisdictional barriers: Online abuse is global. Enforcement is not.

• Inconsistent club appetite: Many clubs lack the infrastructure, leadership or pressure to act decisively.

• Legislative lag: While the Online Safety Act is a step forward, it wasn’t designed with athletes in mind.

⚖️ The Online Safety Act: Progress, But Limited

The Online Safety Act (2023) introduces Ofcom regulation and fines for platforms failing to prevent illegal content. It’s a significant policy milestone, but:

What it might achieve:

• Greater platform transparency and reporting.

• Fines for non-compliance.

• Strengthened moderation standards for all users.

What it won’t fix:

• There’s no athlete-specific protection or escalation channel.

• It doesn’t mandate real-time moderation during live sporting events.

• It doesn't force platforms to verify accounts or share user data with clubs or leagues.

Without targeted provisions for high-risk groups like footballers, the act remains a blunt tool.

✅ What Needs to Be Done: A Clear Action Plan

To protect players and rebuild trust, football must move from awareness to enforcement. Here’s what that requires:

1. Create a Central Abuse Monitoring and Response Body

• Independent from clubs and leagues, with powers to escalate abuse cases to platforms and police.

• Provide real-time support to affected players.

• Publicly report trends and platform accountability.

2. Mandate Safeguarding Standards for All Clubs

• Minimum standards for online abuse monitoring, reporting and player care.

• Built into club licensing agreements.

• Regular audits, with non-compliance linked to financial penalties.

3. Reform Platform Policy

• Mandatory ID verification for users interacting with verified accounts.

• Permanent bans for repeat offenders.

• Real-time reporting and takedown mechanisms for athletes under attack.

4. Enhance Police and Legal Infrastructure

• Fund specialist online hate units with football-focused expertise.

• Require social platforms to share user data under streamlined legal processes.

• Hold top-tier clubs accountable for funding part of this work.

5. Amend the Online Safety Act

• Recognise elite athletes as a defined “at-risk group”.

• Introduce enhanced protections, takedown speeds and support services.

🎯 Final Word: Statements Are Not Protection. Systems Are.

Jess Carter should never have to trade visibility for vulnerability. And players shouldn’t have to rely on public outrage to trigger action.

From my own experience inside a Championship club, I can tell you: the appetite to tackle this issue exists on the ground. But without clear standards, funding and accountability, it remains piecemeal and unsustainable.

Football has the money. Social media platforms have the tools. The law is starting to catch up. Now we need leadership - not from players, but from those paid to protect them.

No more statements. It’s time for structural change.

🌿 Eco-Scoring Beauty: Will Labels Make Sustainability Stick?

As greenwashing scrutiny intensifies and conscious consumption becomes a competitive battleground, major beauty brands are betting on a new tool: eco-score labelling. With Nivea, L’Oréal, and Chanel now rolling out standardised A-to-E environmental impact scores on products, the industry is pivoting toward radical transparency. But will this shift actually influence shopper behaviour, or simply serve as reputational armour in a crowded, eco-hungry market?

This article breaks down the implications of eco-scores in beauty - the good, the bad, and the potential for real brand differentiation.

The Pros: A Common Language for Impact

Standardised eco-scores are designed to cut through the marketing noise and offer a clear, credible view of a product’s environmental footprint.

• Consistency builds trust: Consumers are overwhelmed by unverified green claims. An A–E scale provides accessible, at-a-glance information.

• Backed by science: The initiative uses a methodology endorsed by the European Commission via the EcoBeautyScore Consortium, including L’Oréal, Beiersdorf, and others.

• Market differentiation: Brands proactively disclosing impact scores can position themselves as leaders in sustainability transparency.

• Regulatory alignment: The system aligns with upcoming EU regulations focused on anti-greenwashing and product sustainability disclosures.

🧴 According to NielsenIQ, 78% of European consumers say sustainability influences their beauty purchases, but only 44% trust brand-led sustainability claims. Eco-scores aim to bridge that gap.

The Cons: Labels Don’t Change Habits (Yet)

While the system is robust, its power relies on consumers actually noticing and understanding the labels.

• Behavioural lag: Studies show sustainability ranks below performance and price in beauty purchase decisions (McKinsey, 2024).

• Label fatigue: Shoppers are already juggling nutritional scores, cruelty-free badges, and vegan icons - eco-scores risk getting lost.

• Greenwashing risk persists: If not communicated clearly, brands might use eco-scores selectively or inconsistently, undermining credibility.

Opportunities: Strategic Leverage for Brands

Eco-scores aren’t just a compliance tool - they’re a storytelling opportunity.

• Educate and elevate: Brands can build campaigns around improving scores, spotlighting supply chain changes and product reformulations.

• Connect with Gen Z: Younger consumers prioritise ethical production - clear, digestible impact scores can drive deeper engagement.

• Retailer alignment: Major beauty retailers may adopt eco-score frameworks as shelf standards, influencing buying visibility.

🛒 WGSN predicts that by 2026, retailers will increasingly categorise products by ethical or environmental score as much as by function or brand.

Challenges: Regulation and Reputation

Eco-scores don’t exist in a vacuum - they’re launching into a turbulent policy environment.

• Policy flux: The European Commission’s anti-greenwashing regulations are still evolving, making standardisation complex.

• Brand disparity: Smaller or niche brands may lack the resources to conduct full lifecycle assessments, widening the gap between Big Beauty and indie disruptors.

• Sustainability inertia: Without consistent enforcement or incentives, there's a risk of the system becoming symbolic rather than transformative.

Key Takeouts

• Eco-scores reflect an industry-wide pivot toward standardised sustainability communication.

• Consumer awareness is still low - education and clear messaging will be critical.

• Brands that integrate scores into wider ESG narratives will gain trust and loyalty.

• Retailers and policymakers will play key roles in scaling adoption and accountability.

Next Steps for Brand Marketers

• Don’t wait for enforcement: Treat eco-scores as an opportunity for brand leadership, not just compliance.

• Make it visible: Integrate scores into packaging, campaigns, and ecommerce - not just the fine print.

• Invest in education: Use storytelling and digital content to demystify what an A vs. a C score really means.

• Benchmark competitors: Understand how your brand’s scores stack up and where improvements can be made.

• Think beyond the label: Pair scores with real shifts in materials, sourcing, and production for lasting impact.

The race for sustainable credibility is on. Eco-scores are no silver bullet, but for brands willing to go deep on transparency, they may just be a tipping point for trust.

🦾 Sun Valley 2025: AI Hype, Media Moves & Billionaire Flexing in the Mountains

Each July, the Allen & Co. Sun Valley Conference turns a sleepy Idaho resort into the epicentre of global business gossip. This year, 2025 was no different - except maybe louder, richer, and more AI-obsessed. From speculative media mergers to tech titans swapping notes on artificial intelligence and stealth-wealth dress codes, Sun Valley once again delivered a potent mix of influence, strategy and spectacle.

Here’s a brand-marketer-friendly breakdown of what mattered most.

📊 Supporting Stats & Context

• AI industry spending is expected to surpass $400 billion by 2027, with enterprise adoption increasing 2x year-over-year (source: IDC, 2025).

• Traditional cable viewership in the US fell below 40 million households this year - a drop of 20% since 2020 (source: Nielsen, Q2 2025).

• According to WARC’s Global Marketing Trends 2025, 63% of CMOs are exploring partnerships or acquisitions to future-proof content and data strategies.

✅ Pros - The Good Stuff at Sun Valley

1. AI Was the Centre of Gravity
Described as the "1,000-pound gorilla" by Flowcode CEO Tim Armstrong, AI dominated every conversation. Executives from OpenAI, Microsoft, Apple, and Meta shared insights on enterprise use cases, safety governance, and proprietary models - hinting at possible cross-sector collaborations in finance, entertainment, and retail.

2. Potential Big Media Shifts
Skydance CEO David Ellison reportedly explored acquiring The Free Press, possibly installing co-founder Bari Weiss in a senior editorial role at CBS News. This would merge creator-led media with legacy distribution—a sign that alternative voices are being folded into institutional power structures.

3. Strategic Retreats from Legacy Media
Disney’s announcement of plans to sell its stake in A&E Global Media aligns with an industry-wide effort to cut losses and lean into scalable, digital-first portfolios.

❌ Cons - What’s Less Promising

1. No Major Deals Finalised (Yet)
Despite high-level talks, no headline-making acquisitions were sealed during the event. For all its glitz, Sun Valley continues to be more of a rumour mill than a signing table.

2. Optics of Excess
With billionaires showcasing £400 retro-futuristic sunglasses and Western cosplay, the contrast between this elite enclave and the wider economic climate was stark. This may further fuel public perception issues around tech and wealth inequality.

🚀 Opportunities - What Brands Should Watch

1. AI Partnerships Are on the Table
Marketers should take note: top CEOs weren’t just talking about AI, they were exploring how to operationalise it. Whether it's content automation, predictive analytics, or customer personalisation, brands should be actively vetting AI collaborators.

2. Indie Media’s Institutional Rise
If Skydance does acquire The Free Press, it would mark another moment where independent media platforms are legitimised by traditional powerhouses. For brand marketers, this suggests fresh partnership potential with high-reach, low-legacy publishers.

3. Rethinking Legacy Media Strategy
As Disney and others divest, the opportunity grows for challenger brands and media startups to acquire underleveraged IP or airtime, especially as older players cut back on cable investments.

⚠️ Challenges - What Might Hold Brands Back

1. AI Uncertainty
While enthusiasm is high, consensus on regulation, ethics, and implementation remains fractured. Brand leaders may struggle to pick the right AI tools or partners in the current fog.

2. Lack of Transparency
With no confirmed deals and off-the-record chats, it’s hard to glean clear signals from Sun Valley. The opacity makes it difficult to benchmark competitor strategies.

3. Cultural Disconnects
Billionaire fashion choices may seem trivial, but they symbolise a deeper issue: the gap between corporate leadership and consumer realities. Brands should be cautious not to follow aesthetic signals that alienate broader audiences.

🧠 Key Takeouts

• AI remains the dominant theme across sectors, with early-stage B2B opportunities surfacing.

• Media consolidation continues - especially around non-traditional editorial voices.

• Legacy media assets are in retreat, signalling white-space for emerging players.

• Sun Valley’s cultural signals reflect wealth-world norms that can jar with mass-market sentiment.

• There’s energy around innovation, but little immediate deal flow.

🧭 Next Steps for Brand Marketers

• Audit AI Capabilities: Map current vs. desired AI tools in your marketing stack. Start with low-risk pilots.

• Track Creator-Led Media: Explore partnerships with new voices that have cultural capital and potential for scale.

• Monitor Divestments: Identify media properties being shed by legacy firms—there may be undervalued assets to leverage.

• Watch for Strategic Shifts: Follow key players like Ellison, Weiss, and Altman to spot directional shifts in tech, media, and influence.

• Avoid the Cosplay Trap: Be wary of replicating elite aesthetic codes that may alienate your core customer base.

💸 Coming of Age in a Cost of Living Crisis: Why Brands Must Rethink Youth Milestones

For generations, brand marketers have mapped their campaigns around predictable life stages: graduation, first job, engagement, marriage, first home, parenthood. But those assumptions no longer hold. Today’s under-40s are reordering, delaying or outright skipping major life milestones - not because values have shifted, but because affordability has collapsed.

According to a recent Financial Times report, over half of 18- to 34-year-olds in the UK have either delayed or reconsidered major life events due to financial pressure. Weddings, house moves, even divorce proceedings are being postponed, while others are deferring higher education or parenthood altogether in a bid to stay financially afloat (FT, 2025)

Source: https://www.ft.com/content/7879fd4d-8f9d-4ee0-afc6-a86bc030f24d

This financial reshaping of early adulthood has profound implications for how brands understand and engage with younger audiences.

What’s Working: Adaptability and Financial Literacy on the Rise

Despite the squeeze, younger consumers are adapting fast. More than half of young adults are actively reviewing their spending and looking for smarter financial solutions, including switching savings accounts, claiming childcare support, and using budgeting tools. As Alexandra Loydon of St James’s Place points out, this shows a “proactive” approach to financial planning that didn’t exist to the same extent in previous generations.

Brands in fintech, education, and wellness sectors are already responding, with increased focus on budgeting tools, flexible payment options, and mental health support for financial stress.

What’s At Risk: Traditional Life-Cycle Marketing

Brand narratives built around traditional milestones are rapidly losing cultural and commercial relevance. Wedding-centric ad campaigns, home-buying promotions, or "starting a family" product bundles now risk alienating or excluding a large swathe of the under-40s. The assumption that adulthood progresses in a linear, milestone-driven fashion is increasingly out of touch.

With nearly 10% delaying weddings and 8% reconsidering having children, the very foundations of many long-term brand strategies are being eroded (FT, 2025).

Opportunities: New Milestones, New Messaging

Marketers have the chance to reshape milestone marketing around moments of agency, not fixed timelines. This includes:

• First time achieving debt freedom

• Moving out of shared housing

• Reaching personal savings goals

• Starting a side hustle or portfolio career

• Taking mental health breaks or sabbaticals

Brands that champion autonomy and flexible success metrics will resonate more authentically than those that reinforce outdated life scripts.

There is also room for bold action: product ranges, services, and loyalty schemes that align with this shift - such as fractional home ownership, rent-to-own models, or non-traditional celebrations - can address emerging needs while earning cultural credibility.

Challenges: Inheritance Isn’t a Strategy

One concerning trend from the FT report is a reliance on future inheritance to cover retirement or milestone costs. Nearly a quarter of Gen Z and millennials are not saving for retirement because they expect to receive money or property later in life. But this expectation is highly uncertain, and brands must avoid building messaging around wealth transfer assumptions that may never materialise.

Instead, there is a role for brands to support sustainable financial independence, particularly through education, transparent pricing, and inclusive product design.

Key Takeouts:

• 56% of young UK adults are delaying or reconsidering life milestones due to financial pressure (FT, 2025).

• Traditional milestones like weddings and home purchases are no longer guaranteed markers of adulthood.

• Brands must shift focus from age-based assumptions to behaviour-based insights.

• Financial optimism is growing through budgeting, planning, and alternative paths to success.

• Messaging that relies on milestone rituals may be losing relevance with younger audiences.

Next Steps for Brand Marketers:

• Audit your audience assumptions: Are you still marketing to a life path that no longer exists?

• Embrace modular storytelling: Tailor your campaigns to reflect diverse paths, not fixed timelines.

• Design for financial flexibility: Offer products and services that adapt to inconsistent income, delayed milestones, or non-linear life journeys.

• Rethink rituals: Help audiences celebrate alternative victories - financial stability, community building, or self-care investments.

• Speak to agency, not aspiration: Make your audience feel in control, not behind schedule.

The story isn’t that young people have stopped growing up. It’s that the rules of adulthood have changed - and brand strategies need to change with them.

🎧 Why Gen Z Is Streaming Oasis - and What That Tells Us About Culture in 2025

In July 2025, Oasis returned to the stage after 16 years apart - and reignited far more than just their fanbase.

The numbers were instant and staggering:

• Oasis streams surged by over 400% in the UK and nearly 320% globally over their reunion weekend.

• They gained 16.6 million new listeners this year alone.

• And perhaps most significantly: Gen Z now accounts for over 50% of those new fans.

No new album. No modern marketing campaign. Just a band from the 90s re-entering culture with precision and force. So what’s really going on?

It’s Bigger Than Nostalgia

On the surface, this looks like a textbook nostalgia boom. But dig deeper, and it reveals something more strategic - and more culturally telling.

We’re in an era of infinite choice and limited connection. Music, like much of media, is increasingly hyper-personalised and algorithmically fed. While discovery has never been easier, shared experience has never been harder to find.

A 2024 Ipsos study found that only 1 in 5 Gen Z listeners regularly share new music preferences with their friends, compared to 3 in 5 in 2004. Everyone’s listening to something—but often, no one’s listening together.

That fragmentation has created a cultural vacuum. And legacy music is filling the gap.

The Emotional Pull of Legacy Acts

The rise of Oasis in 2025 is far from an isolated case. According to MRC Data, older songs now account for over 70% of music consumption in markets like the US. Vinyl sales are up 11% year-on-year in the UK. Legacy albums like Definitely Maybe and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? continue to chart, bolstered by limited-edition pressings, pop-up merch stores, and festival placements.

And far from resisting the past, Gen Z is embracing it.

• A 2023 Deloitte Digital report found that 68% of Gen Z actively seek out music “from before their time.”

• Spotify Culture Next data shows they describe older tracks as “comforting,” “identity-forming,” and “shared.”

This isn’t nostalgia—it’s emotional utility.

Shared Culture Is the True Commodity

What Oasis represent in this moment is more than Britpop. They represent shared cultural memory in a landscape of digital disconnection.

In a streaming era where “niche” dominates, legacy acts offer scale, cohesion and shorthand. They stand for something recognisable, communal, and often familial. Whether it’s singing “Don’t Look Back in Anger” in a stadium or buying the same £30 Lidl x Oasis-inspired parka, people want common cultural ground - and legacy music is delivering it.

It’s why Google embedded Oasis Easter eggs in its search UX. It’s why bucket hat sales spiked 89% in the weeks leading up to their first 2025 gig. And it’s why brands from Adidas to Lidl didn’t just ride the wave - they helped shape it.

What It Means for Brand Marketers

There’s a powerful lesson here for anyone trying to build meaningful connections in a fragmented market:

• Relevance doesn’t always mean newness. It means resonance.

• Legacy can outperform novelty - if it’s reactivated in the right way.

• Cultural equity isn’t about time passed. It’s about emotional shorthand.

For Gen Z, music from the past isn’t old. It’s shared. And in a culture defined by endless choice, shared experience is more valuable than ever.

Key Takeouts

• Oasis gained 16.6M new listeners in 2025, with Gen Z making up over 50%

• 400%+ surge in UK streams shows explosive re-entry

• Nostalgia isn’t passive - it’s a strategic tool for emotional commerce

• Brands that activated around Oasis - like Lidl and Adidas - tapped into cultural cohesion, not just content

• The future of marketing isn’t just innovation. It’s reconnection

🎸 Black Sabbath's Final Bow Was a £140M Power Chord for Charity.

Here’s what happened when metal legends, cultural memory, and real purpose collided in Birmingham:

👇
✅ £140 million raised for three UK charities: Birmingham Children's Hospital, Cure Parkinson’s, and Acorns Children's Hospice.
✅ Thousands packed Villa Park to witness the final Sabbath moment - joined by Metallica, Slayer, and a wave of global fans.
✅ Ozzy Osbourne - seated on a gothic black throne crowned with a bat - delivered a dramatic farewell performance, gold cane in hand.
✅ Musical director Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) said it took over a year of planning - calling it “a labour of love.”

✅ Donations will fund:
- A giant aquarium and new cinema for young patients at Birmingham Children’s.
- Support for children’s palliative care amid rising demand at Acorns.
- Research and patient support at Cure Parkinson’s - a cause close to Ozzy, who revealed his diagnosis in 2020.

This was cultural legacy with purpose.

Even the loudest genres can deliver quiet power when mobilised for good.

Read more via BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-68843728

🗞️ For more cultural deep dives across music, sport, fashion and fandom, subscribe to On The Record: https://lnkd.in/eczFBS_4

🎬 Feast or Famine: The Uneven Boom in UK Film and TV Production

Why the UK’s global production glow is masking a local industry in crisis

The UK is basking in the spotlight of big-budget Hollywood productions, from Avengers: Doomsday to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Yet behind the scenes, much of the domestic industry is in disarray. While the soundstages are humming with activity, thousands of UK-based workers face chronic underemployment. This split-screen reality has created an unstable industry juggling extreme growth at the top and widespread stagnation below.

📊 Supporting Stats

• UK film and high-end TV investment jumped 31% in 2024 to $7 billion (British Film Institute).

• However, the number of total productions dropped by 30% year-on-year - fewer, bigger projects dominate the landscape.

• 68% of UK film and TV workers surveyed by Bectu in early 2024 reported being out of work.

• Over one-third are planning to leave the industry within five years.

• Prestige programming fell by 25% (BFI), driven by streamer pullback and domestic broadcaster cuts.

✅ Pros: What’s Working?

Global Demand for British Infrastructure

• London’s Pinewood Studios and the UK’s state-of-the-art facilities remain irresistible for U.S. productions, drawn by generous tax incentives and experienced crew bases.

Government Incentives

• A new UK tax credit for independent films under $20 million (as of April 2025) is driving cautious optimism and renewed investment in mid-tier British filmmaking.

Upskilling Momentum

• Past shortages triggered rapid skills development, with ScreenSkills and BFI-backed programmes elevating thousands of crew to senior positions during the COVID-era surge.

⚠️ Cons: What’s Not Working?

Freelance Fatigue and Burnout

• The freelance-heavy workforce is exposed to boom-bust cycles with limited job security. A majority of crew are now idle despite the high-profile productions.

Disappearing Mid-Budget Space

• Streamer consolidation and inflated costs have squeezed out lower-budget UK productions. Even acclaimed projects like The Mirror and the Light required major pay cuts to move forward.

Overcapacity, Underemployment

• While production value is up, actual job creation is not. Expensive tentpole projects hire short-term, specialised teams, leaving many traditional crew roles sidelined.

💡 Opportunities: What Brands Should Watch

Homegrown Storytelling Incentives

• The independent film tax credit is a model that could be extended to prestige TV. A local-first funding ecosystem may unlock unique British narratives fit for global export.

Cultural Reinvestment from Streamers

• There are rising calls for a UK streamer levy (akin to models in France and Germany) that could fund domestic storytelling — potentially reshaping local content investment.

Cross-Sector Talent Mobility

• Bridging gaps between unscripted TV, high-end drama, and indie film could help redeploy sidelined talent. Brands involved in production should encourage cross-training and reskilling.

🧱 Challenges: Structural Headwinds

Local Broadcaster Decline

• Budget cuts at the BBC, Channel 4 and others have hit domestic programming hard, with ripple effects on content diversity and crew employment.

Geopolitical Instability

• A potential Trump administration has floated tariffs on foreign film and TV production, which could devastate international work in the UK.

Inflated Production Costs

• The presence of major studios has driven up costs industry-wide, pricing out many smaller UK-led projects and exacerbating inequalities between global and local production.

📝 Key Takeouts

• UK’s film and TV sector is thriving in value but shrinking in volume.

• Major U.S. studio investment props up headline figures but leaves many UK workers behind.

• Domestic content creation is under threat from cost pressures and lack of commissioning.

• Policy levers like targeted tax credits and levies could rebalance the ecosystem.

• Long-term, sustainable growth depends on rethinking workforce structure and creative funding.

🔮 Next Steps for Brand Marketers

• Support Local IP: Partner with or fund British indie productions to help diversify content pipelines and associate your brand with cultural relevance.

• Advocate for Structural Reform: Lobby for policies that stabilise the creative ecosystem - such as levies on streamers and reinvestment in public broadcasters.

• Back Skills Mobility: Invest in cross-functional talent development within production, especially initiatives that connect brand storytelling with emerging UK creative talent.

• Rethink Production Strategy: Don’t rely solely on high-gloss global projects. Explore partnerships with smaller-scale UK teams who offer fresh perspectives and creative agility.

The UK remains a powerhouse for global production. But without recalibration, the spectacle on screen may come at the cost of local sustainability - and cultural depth.

Read more on Variety here: https://variety.com/2025/film/global/uk-hollywood-boom-bust-local-film-tv-1236429372/

🧹 Cleaning House: YouTube Tightens Rules on AI-Generated ‘Slop’ Content

YouTube’s crackdown on “inauthentic” content marks a strategic shift in the platform’s fight against low-effort, AI-generated media. As of 15 July, the company will update its YouTube Partner Program (YPP) monetisation policies, targeting mass-produced and repetitive content - much of it now made possible by generative AI tools.

For brand marketers, recruiters, and content strategists, this policy update is more than a tweak to platform guidelines. It signals a growing platform-wide push to preserve quality, trust, and authenticity in the age of synthetic content.

📊 Supporting Stats

• AI content is booming: According to Goldman Sachs, generative AI could automate up to 25% of content creation across industries by 2025.

• Low-quality content is on the rise: A 2024 report from 404 Media uncovered that a viral YouTube true crime channel was entirely AI-generated, sparking user backlash and wider platform scrutiny.

• Trust is fragile: Research from Edelman’s Trust Barometer shows that 61% of global consumers say they would lose trust in a platform if it profits from misleading or fake content.

✅ Pros - What’s Working?

• Clarification, not overreach: YouTube insists this is a “minor update” designed to provide clearer examples of inauthentic content. This could help creators better navigate what’s monetisable.

• Spam deterrence: Cracking down on mass-produced AI content helps reduce spam-like experiences for users, which could increase watch time for high-quality content.

• Brand protection: For advertisers, clearer boundaries help ensure their ads don’t appear alongside deepfakes, misinformation, or AI-generated “slop.”

⚠️ Cons - What Are the Limitations?

• Unclear enforcement: The actual policy language hasn’t been released, which creates uncertainty for creators and agencies alike.

• Reaction and remix grey areas: While YouTube says reaction videos and clip commentary are safe, the subjective nature of what counts as “original” could lead to over-moderation.

• Risk of over-correction: Without nuance, some small creators using AI ethically could be penalised alongside bad actors.

🔍 Opportunities - What Should Brands Focus On?

• Authenticity as currency: This policy shift reinforces that audiences (and platforms) value originality. Brands investing in distinctive, human-led content will stand out.

• Human-AI hybrids: AI isn’t banned - but lazy automation is. Brands can explore ethical, creative AI integration (e.g. voice cloning with disclosure, AI-enhanced scripting) that complements rather than replaces human input.

• Content audits: Now is a smart time to evaluate brand channels and partnerships for content integrity and alignment with evolving YPP standards.

🚧 Challenges - What Barriers Persist?

• Platform inconsistency: YouTube’s track record of enforcement is mixed. Scams, deepfakes, and AI spam still surface despite tools for reporting them.

• Speed of AI innovation: AI video creation is advancing faster than moderation systems can adapt. This creates whack-a-mole enforcement challenges.

• Monetisation anxiety: For creators and agencies managing influencer talent, these updates raise fears of sudden demonetisation without clear recourse.

📌 Key Takeouts

• YouTube is updating monetisation rules to combat AI-generated, repetitive, or spammy content.

• The update, while framed as minor, reflects growing concerns about platform quality and user trust.

• Ethical AI use is still allowed, but originality and value-add are critical.

• Brands must reassess content strategies, especially where AI tools are involved.

🎯 Next Steps for Brand Marketers

• Audit creator partnerships for content originality and compliance with YouTube’s evolving standards.

• Avoid full automation: Refrain from publishing fully AI-generated content without significant human input or editorial oversight.

• Prioritise disclosure: Where AI is used, make it transparent to viewers.

• Explore quality signals: Invest in creators and content that demonstrate thought leadership, creativity, and audience trust - all of which are likely to be favoured by future algorithms.

YouTube’s tightening grip on AI slop isn’t just policy housekeeping. It’s a cultural signal: originality still pays.