ADWEEK Daily marketing news digest

View in Browser Good morning, Severe weather cancelled several planned music events in NYC this weekend, including the Global Citizen Festival and the All Things Go NYC Festival. Still, MTV's annual Video Music Awards (VMAs) brought out the big names and, naturally, plenty of brands looking to connect with music fans. Dunkin', which enlisted Rachel Dratch to promote pumpkin spice season, was among the advertisers that took over the VMAs on Sunday, along with Spotify and Bacardi. Speaking of Global Citizen Festival, we have a story on the creators blitz it had planned to raise awareness of causes it supports. We also look at Kara Swisher leaving CNN, and report on how Microsoft, Pearpop, and AntiSocial are measuring creator-led marketing campaigns. Before you dive into the headlines, register for ADWEEK's webinar on September 30 at 1 PM ET, The Human Half of Agentic AI, to learn from Treasure AI's product leaders what "human in the loop" should actually look like when marketing teams run on AI agents, including how to stop re-briefing your agents from scratch every morning. Grab a coffee and dig in. Lauren Johnson, deputy editor, commerce Must Reads 1. Move Over, Taylor Swift. The Brands Are About to Spice Up the VMAs Brands were out in full force during MTV's Video Music Awards last night. Hosted by Snoop Dogg, Dunkin’ and Bacardi were just a couple that popped up during the show. Dunkin’ promoted its pumpkin spice coffee with help from Rachel Dratch in a sketch that was part programming, part ad. And ICYMI, Taylor Swift debuted her new music video for “Patient Zero,” starring Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell. Swift also received the inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honor. Read more 2. Global Citizen Taps Influential As Its Official Creator Partner Anti-poverty organization Global Citizen enlisted creators to drum up awareness for its annual festival in New York’s Central Park. To do so, Global Citizen hired Publicis-owned Influential, reports Mark Stenberg. Some 20 creators were supposed to post from the grounds to help Global Citizen promote issues around farmers, schools, and electricity. Unfortunately, the festival was cancelled due to severe weather in New York—although some of the creators had already been posting about the event. Read more 3. Apostra Wants to Be the Agentic Ad Layer. Does the Industry Need One? Adtech firm Scope3’s pivot from sustainability into AI last week, including changing its name to Apostra, wasn't much of a surprise to the industry and had been in the works since early 2025, reports Kendra Barnett. Over the past couple of years, the firm has invested more in AI agents, winning the support of Amazon and LiveRamp. But now, there's a bigger question: does the digital ad industry even need to standardize agentic buying when everyone can already use existing open standards? Read more 4. Creators That Convert: 4 Business Leaders on Driving Full-Funnel Marketing Results Creator marketing is no longer just about generating awareness or social engagement—it’s impacting how consumers discover and buy brands. Executives from Microsoft, Pearpop, and AntiSocial discussed how to measure creator marketing during a new episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK. They also break down how to balance creator marketing with brand safety, as well as how deals with creators increasingly have stronger retail components. Read more The Round Up Here are your morning news ratings, (ADWEEK). Major networks resume Trump TV coverage, (New York Times). Apple owes $5.7 billion for patent infringements, (CNBC). How Meta turned Muse from a dud to a hot AI product, (Business Insider). 3 ways participation turns seasonal marketing into lasting business results, (ctrl+A with Strava for Business). Read more Revolving Door Kara Swisher leaves CNN, (ADWEEK). Ibotta names Tony Weisman to its board, (Ibotta). Monster Beverage’s Rob Gehring moves to run Coca-Cola’s North America unit, (CNBC). Rebecca Stewart will