Start spreadin’ the news.

While some brands are using Substack partnerships for affiliate marketing, others have opted to take it a step further and are creating newsletters of their own.

In recent months, Madewell, American Eagle, Billboard, Rare Beauty, The RealReal, Bandcamp, and Tory Burch have all launched newsletters on Substack. At the same time, Substack has courted brand founders, including fashion brand owners Clare Vivier of Clare V. and Rebecca Minkoff, to build on the success of other founder-led newsletters, like that of Melanie Masarin, the founder of drink brand Ghia, according to Christina Loff, head of lifestyle on the Substack partnerships team.

“We’re always looking for bringing the most important, influential voices to the platform,” Loff told us.

For both Substack and brands, a newsletter can serve as a gathering place for a community of brand loyalists who can engage with long-form content for entertainment, advice, and even behind-the-scenes content.

With that said, Loff cautioned against viewing the newsletter as just another form of email marketing. That’s not just sage advice—that’s according to Substack’s own content guidelines, which specify that the platform is intended for “high-quality editorial content, not conventional email marketing.”

Continue reading here.—KH

Like it or not, GenAI is coming to digital video ad creation.

Almost 9 in 10 digital video buyers are using or plan to use gen AI to aid in the creation of digital video ads, according to a new report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). According to the report, which is based on a survey of 368 advertisers fielded between February 17 and March 7, around 30% of digital video ads will be made with or enhanced by GenAI tools this year, up eight percentage points from 2024; that number is expected to grow to 39% next year.

Small- and mid-tier brands are expected to adapt the tech quicker than larger companies, according to the IAB: “Small spenders,” which the report defines as companies spending less than $10 million annually, expect 45% of their ads to be created with GenAI by 2026, while 36% of “large spenders” (those who spend $50+ million annually) said the same.

Of the respondents who said they were using or planned to use GenAI to create multiple versions of ads, the largest share (42%) said they were doing so to create “versions for different audiences,” while a slightly smaller percentage (38%) said they were using the tech to make “visual and style changes.”

The responses “suggest that the other GenAI capabilities become more valuable when buyers have already solved for reaching the right audience first,” the report read.

Read more here.—JS

The WNBA is headed to Oregon in 2026—or should we say, headed back?

The league had a team that played in Portland in its early days, from 2000 to 2002, and starting next season, the city will get an expansion team with the same name: the Portland Fire. The name and new branding debuted on Tuesday, just ahead of WNBA All-Star Weekend.

While the name is the same, other aspects of the branding, like the visuals, are fresh, part of an effort to highlight the Fire’s roots while also creating a modern identity to help represent the city and attract new fans, according to Clare Hamill, a former Nike exec who was recently named interim president of the Fire.

“When I walked in the first day, I saw all the branding and the creative, and knowing Portland like I know it, it just feels right,” Hamill told Marketing Brew. “I think the depth of bringing Portland and all the strength of Portland into the new branding and the new logo, and then tapping into that heritage, it’s going to be fantastic.”

Continue reading here.—AM

On September 10, join Alex Lieberman, executive chairman of Morning Brew Inc., for a full day of marketing insight and innovation. From breakout brands to industry giants, this summit spotlights the strategies shaping what’s next. Can’t be there in person? Join virtually!

From TV screens to bite-sized videos, YouTube is reshaping how creators reach audiences—but not without challenges. As it dominates both long-form and Shorts, what does this mean for the future of content, costs, and creator survival? Dive into the platform’s evolving playbook and its impact on the creator economy.