The emergence of the chief brand officer is meant to complement the role of the chief marketing officer, and is responsible for how consumers experience the brand across digital and physical touchpoints, writes Thom Wyatt of Siegel+Gale. "It may start with marketing and advertising, but it extends to legal, technology, product development and innovation teams -- even HR and customer service. After all, in many service industries, the people are the brand," writes Wyatt.

When looking for answers online, 81% of people would rather use chatbots than search engines, an Applause survey found. Just 19% said that chatbots always understand their questions and 89% worry about giving them private information.

"Performance" often refers to conversions and sales in digital marketing and consideration and awareness in TV, a difference Cadent must decipher now that it's purchased AdTheorent. James Hercher says that retail media networks also exploit the term to rob "brands of their hard-earned organic customers" by investing premium budgets in made-for-advertising sites and taking attribution credit.

Taco Bell has seen success collaborating with stars, particularly with Doja Cat and the return of Mexican pizza, a campaign that focused on social media and included a shoutout at Coachella. "We don't just borrow cool; LeBron James, Paris Hilton and everyone we've worked with are fans of tacos and Taco Bell themselves, which helps us engage with consumers in different ways that feel genuine and authentic," said Chief Marketing Officer Taylor Montgomery.

Banks are seeking to reach potential college-age customers by appointing local student-athletes to represent their brand. Deals range from around $1,000 to six-figure sums and often include financial guidance for the athletes. Wisconsin-based Park Bank says its partnership with seven popular local players helped more than double its Instagram engagement.

Rana Reeves, founder and CEO of RanaVerse, explains four ways the advertising world can authentically engage during this year's Pride Month, including focusing on emotion, positivity, nuances and not giving in to potential online backlash. "Focus on the message, live up to your values, and your audience will follow you through the storm," Reeves writes.

Hangover cures, Bluetooth foot massagers and other unusual products have populated social shopping as the medium expands. Amanda Hoover, a staff writer at Wired, joins the magazine's Gadget Lab podcast to discuss the trend and the evolution of TikTok Shop.

Using the image of a pickle jar to represent your day can help you prioritize tasks, filling it first with "rocks" -- which represent urgent tasks -- then "pebbles" that need to be dealt with but are less critical, followed by "sand," such as checking email and finally "water" or your personal life, writes Howie Jones. Make the best use of your pickle jar by ruthlessly prioritizing your tasks, planning for the unexpected, saying no to off-task requests and reviewing your goals and priorities frequently.

Employees of Maison Louvard in Paris have been racing to fill croissants with cookie dough since TikTok influencer Johan Papz drew attention to the crookie in early 2023. Pastry chef Stephane Louvard created the latest croissant hybrid in 2022 and has hired more workers to keep up with daily production of 1,000-1,600 crookies, which Louvard says is "just some cookie in a croissant ... not some revolutionary invention."