Kristina Monllos

A deal with the creator also known as Darren Watkins Jr. kicked off with his breakneck visit to four Caribbean destinations, which was livestreamed, clipped and distributed across social. It marks a big bet on creator marketing for the travel brand and took six months to pull off.

Amid rising travel costs, global conflicts, and economic uncertainty, the industry is still shelling out to get execs to the South of France—but some orgs are recalibrating who to send or planning stateside counterprogramming.

Despite the flashy programming announcements, marketers want proven outcomes—which means the week of presentations is “less about the content” than it’s ever been, one buyer told us.

Heineken is using marketing to encourage people out of their homes to make friends. “What we want to do is use technology in a way that actually does bring people together,” Heineken’s CMO told us.

Musical guests and jokes from late-night hosts kept things fun, but not every moment was a winning one.

Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, and other comedians at the week’s presentations didn’t hold back.

In addition to a campaign playing on sex-sells marketing tropes, the brand created an OnlyFans page.

“In theory, each brand in your portfolio should have a different positioning, a different benefit associated,” one exec told us.

“We’re really focused on giving a voice to a utility that straddles” Big Tech and finance, CMO Catherine Ferdon told us.

A road trip across the country informed the campaign—and the brand updated its iconic jingle from the 1971 spot "Hilltop."