Marketing winners and losers of the week

This week’s marketing winners, losers and newsmakers. NextGen Marketing Summit Join us for a crash course on Gen Z, DTC marketing and the creator economy Register today Winners NBCUniversal The network logged a win this week with its 10-year deal for the rights to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, an iconic event that last year attracted 31 million viewers. Neither party disclosed terms of the agreement, which includes streaming rights, Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks special and a new as-yet-to-be-announced special event. Macy’s will host its 99th parade this year. Home Depot The home improvement chain posted an impressive sales increase of 14.1% to $39.7 billion for the fourth quarter, ending what CNN called an “epic losing streak.” After enjoying robust growth during the pandemic, Home Depot has more recently been pressured by high interest rates and increased home prices. Despite such headwinds, the retailer expects full-year sales to climb by 2.8%. Nissan Sentra The vehicle made it onto Consumer Reports’ list of the top cars of 2025. The publication named the Sentra the best small car of the year, calling out its value, safety features and road-test score. “Altogether, the Sentra is proof that you can still find a good all-around new car for under $25,000,” according to Consumer Reports. Losers DoorDash The delivery service was fined $17 million over claims it did not allow its New York workers to keep their customer tips; instead, DoorDash used the tips to subsidize the wages of its workers and reduce company costs. The unfair wage treatment was used between May 2017 and September 2019, according to Letitia James, New York’s attorney general. She noted that the brand also did not communicate to customers how it was using the tips. Meta The social media giant issued an apology after Instagram users reported receiving violent and graphic content recommendations on their personalized Reels pages. Blaming an error, Meta said it had fixed the problem. Consumers had complained about the issue on social media earlier this week, with some saying they were able to see the imagery despite “Sensitive Content Control” settings. Earlier this year, Meta said in a video post from CEO Mark Zuckerberg that it was changing the way it enforces content rules to “get back to our roots around free expression.” Starbucks The coffee chain said it was laying off 1,100 corporate employees, or 7% of its non-retail staffers, as it battles slowing sales. The company has been trying to cut costs as part of the agenda of new CEO Brian Niccol, who joined Starbucks last fall after leading Chipotle. Last month, Starbucks introduced a new ad campaign as it tries to convince consumers to return with promises of better customer service. Quote of the week “It is still a sizable out-of-pocket to purchase inventory in the show, and it’s a one-off event. Clients are looking for there to be more legs and longevity to the impact of media investment.” —a media buyer on how the strategy of advertising during the Oscars is no longer enough Read more: Inside Oscars ad deals—how awards show demand is following Super Bowl market trends Social post of the week Isn’t Barney already live action? Are they getting a real dinosaur this time? https://t.co/vjCdWXQHcn— Nick Miller (@NickMillerMusic) February 25, 2025 Number of the week $1 Price of McDonald’s McMuffin on the restaurant chain’s app on March 2, as the brand says it is resisting issuing surcharges on eggs despite rising costs On the move Ulta Beauty promoted Kelly Mahoney to chief marketing officer from senior VP, customer and growth marketing. Nationwide named Ann Bair chief marketing officer as Ramon Jones is set to reitre next month. She had been senior VP of financial services marketing at the insurer. Amex GBT named Alisa Copeman chief marketing officer. She had been senior VP of global marketing. Jay Livingston, who has been CMO at Shake Shack for six years, announced on LinkedIn that he was stepping down from the role next month. Become an All Access subscriber Get access to exclusive resources including Leading National Advertisers, World’s Largest Advertisers, Agency Report, Agency Review Tracker and TV Pricing Report. Click here

Marketing winners and losers of the week

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