Specific takeaways from top creative campaigns of this year for your 2025 inspo
+crowning our 2024 marketing queen +THE guide to LinkedIn you need (pls trust us)
quick summary ⚡️
Tactics that made Sabrina Carpenter stand out from everyone else
We’ve poured our hearts into the ⭐️ LinkedIn Guide you need to nail the platform in 2025
Cultural gems for your to-read list, including how YouTube is addressing AI deepfakes, the major cultural moments of 2024 and more
how to apply Sabrina Carpenter’s approach to your own strategy
We’re almost there, guys.
If you’re like us, you’re tired. [More on that for our paid subscribers tomorrow!]
So we need content that grabs our attention, and that got us thinking about what an amazing year 2024 was for marketing. It feels like brand teams took inspiration from the 2023 Barbie-mania and ran with it. And that made things really fun, even in an otherwise challenging year.
Our marketing queen of the year is, obviously, 👑Sabrina Carpenter. Her strategy is a great example of how personal branding can drive buzz and engagement. From brand partnerships with Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, REDKEN, Skims, Marc Jacobs, and Supergoop to promoting her tour and music videos, she leaned into creative, audience-first strategies that made her campaigns impossible to ignore.
All of that culminated with a holiday special on Netflix, which put her right at the heels of Mariah Carey. Holiday content, even if it’s cheesy, has the ultimate ROI. If you do it right, people hit “play” on an annual basis.
You probably know that you’ve seen Sabrina pretty regularly this year, but when it’s all laid out like this, one thing is clear: it’s by design. She and her team have done an A+ job in diversifying her audience, and she’s the new blueprint for what it will mean to be an “entertainer” in 2025.
Beyond individual talent, brands like Heinz stood out by tapping into what sets them apart with “The Wait” campaign, which celebrated how diners are willing to wait longer for ketchup if it’s Heinz. Surreal Cereal nailed absurdist humor with its “Real People Named Cereal” series, generating conversations and word-of-mouth buzz. Meanwhile, Wicked’s pre-release campaign showed the power of well-timed teases and behind-the-scenes exclusives to sustain excitement. [And, needless to say, it worked.]
TLDR; The best campaigns of 2024 all had one thing in common: they connected with audiences in ways that felt natural and shareable. Whether it was through humor, nostalgia, or strategic partnerships, these campaigns leaned into creativity without feeling forced. They’re a reminder that strong cultural insights and a willingness to take risks pay off.
MTD Strategy Guide: LinkedIn
“This is the perfect tool to help you start a strategy from scratch or breathe new life into one you already have. Having worked on social strategies with execs at companies like NBC, Chobani, and GoFundMe, this guide helps them focus on ways that produce actual growth, especially with actionable tips you can start using immediately.” - Kait Richmond, comms and social strategist
If you’re looking to step up your LinkedIn game in 2025 - when to post, what to post, how to stand out from the rest (we promise we’re making your life easier) - check out our LinkedIn Strategy Guide for paid subscribers here.
💎cultural gems💎
The cultural moments and news that caught our attention this week:
🌟 THE POP CULTURE MOMENTS THAT DEFINED 2024, dazed magazine
Even more creative inspo to be found on this list!
💚💗 THE MARKETING HURRICANE OF ‘WICKED’ SAYS A LOT ABOUT OUR CULTURE, ny times
As we were saying…
“Only by partnering up, as ‘Barbie’ did by collaborating with 165 brands last year, can a promotional campaign become truly inescapable. ‘Wicked’ went even bigger, teaming up with over 400 brands to ensure a saturation that would be, in the words of Universal Pictures’ chief marketing officer, Michael Moses, ‘just short of obnoxious.’”
⛪️ 2024 WAS THE YEAR OF MORMON WOMEN, washington post
“At a time when conservative politics, personalities and media are surging in popularity, women ‘Saints’ aren’t just mirroring pop culture; they are, perhaps for the first time, at the forefront of it.”
[This article owes the Salt Lake City housewives a lot more credit!]
🤖 YOUTUBE TEAMS WITH CAA TO LET TALENT IDENTIFY - AND PULL DOWN - AI DEEPFAKES OF THEMSELVES, variety
“YouTube’s message to Hollywood is that it’s trying to be a good partner to creative industries by taking ‘proactive steps to build responsible AI.’”
inspo
same.
h/t Emily Flake The New Yorker
👋 Welcome new subscribers! If you like what you see, we’d love for you to join us on the paid side for the full experience ⬇️