Fresh off of Possible, marketers are ready for the next stop on the wheeling-and-dealing calendar.

Upfronts week is officially here, and even if it may not be nearly as glamorous (or scandalous) as it once was, networks and streamers are ready, once again, to make their pitches to advertisers, even if the week itself is less important than it once was.

“It used to just be the upfront,” Carrie Drinkwater, chief investment officer at Carat USA, told Marketing Brew. “Now it’s CES, it’s ANAs, it’s Possible, it’s upfronts, it’s Cannes. We talk about this a lot internally. ‘Where should we start to focus? Where are the most senior clients leaning in?’ So, I would say the glam has gone to Cannes.”

Glam or not, this upfronts week will still be a showcase of premium programming that networks and streamers have to offer, all with the hopes that advertisers will ink significant deals.

According to ad buyers, flexibility in dealmaking remains top of mind this year, especially amid a volatile economic climate, which means measurement—not content—will continue to be a major focus for the week.

That’s in addition to the efforts to nab live sports and tentpole events that tend to move the needle. That means Disney may be in an especially prime position this year, as ABC and ESPN will air the 2027 Super Bowl.

“The desire and demand for the Super Bowl predicates the entire market,” Drinkwater said. “Whoever has it—this year it’s Disney—[says], ‘You have to do your upfront, and this is everything we want.’”

Continue reading here.—KM

The WNBA’s 28th season in 2024 was a break-out one, marking the pro debut of several bona fide superstars as fans and sponsors rushed the league.

The 29th season in 2025, though, was even bigger. There was more record-breaking viewership and further sponsorship changes, with brands signing bigger deals with longer timelines. All in, there was about a 40% YoY increase in sponsorship revenue, according to WNBA Chief Growth Officer Colie Edison.

She expects that trend to continue this year, as the league welcomes blue-chip brands like Procter & Gamble, Mars, and Amazon Web Services in its 30th season.

“We have moved from this idea of potential to proof,” Edison told Marketing Brew. “They’ve seen the impact of partnering with the WNBA for all of these other businesses, and they don’t want to miss out.”

While surging fandom and sponsorship case studies have helped attract new brands to the W, this offseason had “a little bit of turbulence,” as Edison put it, as CBA negotiations took longer than expected and sparked moments of tension between players and league leadership.

With a seven-year deal now ratified, the season officially tipped off over the weekend—bringing with it several landmark sponsorships.

Read more here.—AM

Amazon is getting personal.

Ahead of its upfronts presentation on Monday in New York, the company rolled out Dynamic TV Creative, a feature that personalizes Interactive Video Ads that appear on Prime Video content using data on viewer shopping habits. The feature allows advertisers to upload creative, after which Amazon will use its own data, including shopping and browsing signals, geography, and product availability, to automatically tailor the creative for viewers.

The feature is rolling out to some US advertisers that sell products on Amazon and advertise on Prime Video, with CPG brands like The Hershey Company among the initial cohort. Dynamic Ad Creative will be available more widely in Q3, including on live sports and Prime Video Channel inventory.

The tool makes “TV creative work harder,” Fabrice Rousseau, director of CreativeX at Amazon Ads, told Marketing Brew ahead of the presentation.

For me? You shouldn’t have: Potential customizations that Dynamic Ad Creative can execute span format and messaging, with CTA options including “add to cart,” “send to phone,” “save to cart,” and “visit brand story.” The feature can also modify headline copy depending on whether a consumer is deemed to be at the “awareness” or “consideration” stage, or emphasize product information like potential benefits or pricing.

What Dynamic TV Creative doesn’t do is modify advertiser creative images, according to Rousseau. That could be a differentiator for advertisers who have expressed dissatisfaction over, or are concerned about augmented visuals appearing on other platforms.

Continue reading here.—JS

Executive moves across the industry.

• Old Navy hired former Target CMO Michael Francis to serve as chief customer officer. He also is assuming responsibilities at parent company Gap Inc., where he’ll be head of marketing shared services.
• The Trade Desk’s chief strategy officer, Samantha Jacobson, is joining OpenAI as VP of partnerships, monetization, per Adweek.
• Ogilvy hired Vickie Segar, co-founder of the sports and NIL agency Article 41, to serve as global chief sports and entertainment officer.
• WPP named two global presidents of client growth: Toby Jenner from WPP Media, and Philip Heimann from Ogilvy.