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Welcome to The Brief by Kuro House, your daily dose of insight to keep you sharp in the ever-evolving world of marketing. Today, we’re diving into some of the most compelling stories shaping our industry—from seismic shifts in mergers and acquisitions to the art of building adaptive marketing teams, and the power of cinematic storytelling in brand campaigns. Let’s get right into it.

First up, let’s talk about the future of mergers and acquisitions. According to Adweek, 2025 was a landmark year for M&A, with deals that have redefined the competitive landscape. One of the most notable was Omnicom’s $13.5 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group, a move that consolidated two long-standing rivals and sent ripples through the agency world. The entertainment sector also saw major action, with Paramount merging with Skydance in an $8 billion deal, and the fate of Warner Bros. Discovery still hotly contested. In total, M&A volumes across all sectors hit $4.3 trillion this year, a staggering 39% increase from 2024, as reported by JP Morgan. Within adtech, martech, and digital content, activity jumped 13% over last year, according to Pitchbook and Luma Partners. The takeaway? Consolidation and big bets on AI and digital transformation are defining the new era of marketing and media, with more multi-billion-dollar deals expected on the horizon.

Switching gears, let’s spotlight a marketing campaign that’s turning heads in Hollywood and beyond. Adweek details how A24’s “Marty Supreme,” starring Timothée Chalamet, is not just a film but a phenomenon. The movie has already set records, achieving the fastest-selling presale for an A24 release and the highest per-theater average for a limited release in 2025—raking in $875,000 from just six theaters in one weekend. Loosely based on real-life table tennis legend Marty Reisman, the film tells the story of a fictional ping-pong prodigy navigating New York’s underground scene in the 1950s. But what’s truly remarkable is the marketing: A24 has transformed Marty Supreme from a character into a cultural icon, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. The campaign’s success underscores the power of immersive storytelling and innovative brand-building in today’s entertainment landscape.

Now, let’s turn our attention to the fitness tech sector and the art of personalization. In a recent episode of the Marketing Vanguard podcast, Kirsten Spittel-Sloan, SVP of Marketing at iFit, shared her blueprint for thriving in a rapidly changing market. She emphasizes the importance of investing evenly across the entire marketing funnel, rather than chasing the latest trend or over-indexing on one channel. Her advice? Build a balanced portfolio that supports awareness, consideration, and conversion simultaneously, so your brand doesn’t become vulnerable to sudden shifts in consumer behavior or platform algorithms. Kirsten also advocates for multi-layered research—combining social listening, surveys, focus groups, economic data, and cultural trend monitoring—to anticipate audience needs before they emerge. And when it comes to team building, she champions a “High Trust + Adaptability” framework: establish core strategic owners, then flex resources with freelancers and agencies as needed, all while maintaining a coherent brand narrative. For companies backed by private equity, Kirsten warns against letting short-term performance metrics overshadow long-term brand-building. Her experience at iFit—home to brands like NordicTrack and ProForm—shows that AI-powered personalization isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential for retention and sustainable growth.

Before we wrap up, let’s circle back to the power of influencer marketing, which, according to Kirsten’s conversation, drives twice as many sales as display ads and boasts a 37% higher retention rate. Platforms like Awin are making it easier for brands to build, track, and optimize influencer partnerships at scale, blending influencer and affiliate marketing into a seamless, results-driven approach. The key is finding the right creators, measuring impact transparently, and incentivizing effectively. It’s a reminder that even as technology accelerates, the human touch—authentic voices and trusted relationships—remains at the heart of impactful marketing.

That’s all for today’s edition of The Brief. Whether you’re navigating billion-dollar mergers, crafting the next viral campaign, or building adaptive teams, remember: the future belongs to those who stay curious, invest across the funnel, and keep their finger on the pulse of culture and technology. Thanks for tuning in, and we’ll see you tomorrow for more insights to keep you ahead of the curve.