Welcome to The Brand Waves, your weekly snapshot of the most innovative marketing campaigns from around the world. In this edition, discover stories, strategies, and creative ideas that are redefining how brands connect with audiences.
This newsletter is sponsored by Tracksuit, the always-on brand tracker built for marketers and agencies to answer the question “Is my strategy working?”
Today’s newsletter includes: Reformation collaborates with Umbro; New Balance and Miu Miu bring tennis into the luxury world with Coco Gauff; Mercedes-Benz collaborates with KidSuper; NOYZ turns a restock into a marketing campaign; Gucci celebrates Italian identity with Jannik Sinner; Pinterest takes inspiration beyond the screen with Manifestival; SIPMARGS creates a new summer spotlight with Alix Earle; Spotify Beach puts fandom at the center of Cannes Lions 2026; and Doritos Loaded combines food and Formula 1 with Gordon Ramsay and George Russell.
Reformation expands its brand universe with a new limited-edition collection created in collaboration with Umbro.
The six-piece capsule reinterprets heritage sportswear through the American brand’s distinctive aesthetic, featuring feminine silhouettes, coordinated color palettes, and a contemporary approach to everyday dressing.
In doing so, the stadium, the pub, and the city streets become new spaces for self-expression, transforming spectator style into an extension of the fashion lifestyle.
New Balance and Miu Miu continue their collaboration with a new campaign featuring Coco Gauff, the tennis player who has won 11 singles titles and is currently ranked world No. 2.
At the heart of the project is a collection that reinterprets the tennis wardrobe through the intersection of athletic performance and contemporary luxury.
Photographed by Chaumont and Zaerpour, the campaign brings this vision to life through imagery that highlights strength, dynamism, and personality while maintaining a refined and sophisticated aesthetic.
The challenge for many marketers today is not proving that brand has value, but making sure that value is understood in the rooms where budgets are decided.
Nike is one of the most interesting examples of this tension. In 2024, the brand remained one of the strongest names in influencer marketing in the United States, demonstrating the power of its cultural relevance and creator ecosystem. At the same time, however, the company faced a $7.6 billion sales gap. The lesson is not that brand stopped working, but that even the strongest brands need the right balance between immediate performance and future demand creation.
This case highlights an important question for marketers: how do you translate brand impact into a language that management teams can understand and fund?
Marketers often talk about awareness, consideration, emotional connection, and brand equity. Finance teams, on the other hand, think in terms of growth, efficiency, and return on investment. The real opportunity lies in building a bridge between these two worlds.
This is exactly the need that led to the creation of Tracksuit University.
Developed together with marketing effectiveness expert James Hurman, the 8-module course helps marketers measure brand value, communicate its impact, and build stronger arguments when it comes to securing investment inside the boardroom.
Use code THEBRANDWAVES to get 20% off the Tracksuit University course.
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